The News Observer reports from North Carolina. "The coastal housing boom of the past few years has come to a screeching halt. In Myrtle Beach, new and existing condo sales dropped 37 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier. In Wilmington existing home sales fell 17 percent in the same July-to-September period, according to the N.C. Association of Realtors."

"Nearby Brunswick County, home to miles of beach towns, saw a 64 percent drop, while there was a 30 percent drop in sales on the Outer Banks. 'There is going to be a huge number of units on the market next year, and lots of them vacant,' said Carl Van Horn of Market Opportunity Research."

"There are about 10,000 condos on the market along South Carolina's Grand Strand, several thousand more than a year ago, according to Tom Maeser, a real estate marketing analyst in Myrtle Beach."

"Van Horn said that many of the buyers of coastal property in the past two years have been speculators or investors who purchase a property with the intention of selling it for more in the near term. Continued drop in demand could leave them, as well as developers, with unsold inventory and no cash to pay back their loans."

"That's a potentially big hit to coastal community banks, which funded much of the housing boom of the past three years. Community lenders tend to hold on to the loans they originate, rather than sell them to other investors on secondary markets, as bigger banks do."

"'Banking institutions with a lot of exposure to [condo] projects are going to have a difficult time,' said Grant Yarber, CEO of Raleigh-based Capital Bank."

The Ledger from Florida. "Polk County's building permit totals dropped again in November, for the ninth consecutive month, and builders don't see any relief in sight. Last month's 315 permits was nearly a 60 percent drop from 782 in November 2005. The inventory of new homes is at an all-time high."

"'That is kind of expected in the reports we are hearing,' said Joel Adams, VP of Highland Homes in Lakeland. 'Sales are off about 35 to 40 percent in most of the major markets around the state.'"

"Auburndale's permits fell from 22 a year ago to 18 last month, and Lakeland's permits dropped a staggering 71 percent in November, from 98 in November 2005 to 28 last month."

"An increased inventory of new homes has forced some builders, like Highland Homes and Southern Homes, to offer more incentives for new home buyers. 'It's going to take most of 2007 to move that inventory,' Adams said."

From TC Palm in Florida. "Layoffs at another leading Treasure Coast homebuilder again raises questions as to when the new-home market will rebound. DiVosta Building Corp. executives said Tuesday they will lay off 218 employees in the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County."

"'I think this is a continuing indication of larger national builders downsizing to accommodate the changes in the residential housing market,' said Don Santos, past president of the Treasure Coast Builders Association. 'I think there's a lot more of this going on in the field, but we don't hear about it.'"

The Herald Tribune from Florida. "Tuesday was the day that Sheila Schaller decided her problems as an Avalon Homes customer had gone beyond a civil matter."

"As the informal leader of a group of disgruntled Avalon customers, she took the matter to the North Port Police Department, requesting a criminal probe against Avalon Homes and its owner Joseph Pufta."

"Sheila and Fred Schaller's struggles with Avalon started when the Ortonville, Mich., couple bought two $228,000 North Port houses and lots from Avalon in May 2005. One was meant for the couple and the other for Sheila Schaller's retired mother. Pufta promised the homes would be ready in August."

"The family moved into a $1,500 monthly rental to await their homes' completion. Then, the couple got hit with liens totaling about $10,000 from various subcontractors."

"Another lien came in from a window supplier. That is when Sheila Schaller 'knew we had a problem' because there were no windows installed in the houses yet. Then the couple noticed that all work had stopped on their homes."

"The Schallers hired a lawyer and sent Pufta a letter. On Oct. 10, the Schallers got a letter from Pufta's Tampa attorney. 'It is not the intention of Avalon Homes to close its doors,' Bernard J. Morse said."

"That was the last time that the Schallers heard anything from Morse, Avalon or Pufta before Avalon closed its doors in late October or early November."

"Morse said Pufta remained in Sarasota but had changed his home and cell phone numbers because Pufta 'had received several death threats and threats of violence against his family.'"

The Palm Beach Post. "A housing developer has defaulted on a $9.5 million contract to buy and demolish the Kokomo Mobile Home Park. As a result, Kokomo's longtime owner says he will continue to operate the Old Florida-style trailer park."

"The developer's agent, Robert M. Hall, didn't return phone messages requesting comment. In June, Hall had vowed that condos would be built to replace the trailer park. 'The people who live there now need to get out,' he said at the time."

"'It will stay the way it is,' said John C. Mitchell, whose family opened Kokomo in 1960. Mitchell blamed the collapse of Palm Beach County's housing market for the developer's failure to raise $9.5 million for a purchase."

"'The whole year has been a disaster,' Mitchell said. 'The economy went to hell and everything fell apart.'"

"Mitchell gave the developer a 10-day extension to restructure his project. But bankers apparently remained leery. 'In the end, the buyer just didn't have the money,' he said."

"Mitchell hopes to keep the developer's $375,000 deposit. But Palm Beach Kokomo has asked a judge to return its deposit, which is now in a court escrow account."

"Park resident Joanne Stifter said she and other neighbors believe their ordeal has reached a happy ending. 'We are all so relieved that we will have our homes. It's been a very tough year,' she said. 'It will be nice to have a quiet Christmas,' her husband Bob agreed."