A housing report from Florida Today. "Stan Smith, professor of finance at the University of Central Florida, said the latest numbers from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight indicate there is no housing bubble bursting or about to burst. 'Central Florida housing markets are currently experiencing the soft landing that many hoped for,' Smith said."

"'As we watch the effects of higher inventories and discounts on new homes, it is possible that the situation may change. But, for right now, the Central Florida housing markets look like a good investment. It may be raining, but the sky's not falling yet,' Smith added."

"'We're only having a soft landing, if you believe we hit the bottom, and, let's face it, the inventory hasn't gone anywhere. There are more than 10,000 properties in Brevard County. The buyers are coming back, but there's so many more homes to choose from that sellers have to be realistic,' said Gene Collins, president of the Melbourne Area Association of Realtors."

"'The urgency to 'buy quickly or it won't be available' is gone, so that makes for a fabulous time for buyers,' Collins said. 'It's all on their side of the ledger. Short-term (interest) rates are down, and you have a lot of Realtors who want to work with buyers.'"

"Collins said he expects January to be a strong time for seller, but they have to price their houses smartly. 'Just because a guy next door got $300,000 for his home last July doesn't mean you'll get that in January 2007,' Collins said. 'You have to be realistic.'"

The Herald Tribune. "Michael Tringali is having trouble making payments on the massive real estate-related debt he accumulated with help from his former partner, Neil Mohamed Husani."

"Tringali faces deadlines on three more loans, totaling nearly $34 million, payable in the next three months."

"The pending foreclosures are the first sign of financial trouble resulting from the series of multimillion-dollar transactions by Husani and Tringali during the last two years, deals that, to some observers, typified the excesses of the boom-boom real estate market of 2004-05."

"They also represent the strongest example to date of the potential risks that the region's lenders put themselves in by assigning so much value to the properties when market prices were much lower."

"Attempts to sell his land to other developers or to get more financing have fallen through. In the meantime, Tringali has not been able to sell houses fast enough to pay a debt that now amounts to nearly $87 million."

"The ones most to blame for the situation are the banks that lent Tringali all that money, says Jack McCabe, a real estate industry consultant. 'I don't know of any other builder in the state that got that kind of credit with minimal assets and experience,' McCabe said. 'He is a perfect example of the recklessness on the part of developers, appraisers and bankers that permeated the recent housing boom.'"

"When Tringali met Husani in May 2004, he abandoned his conservative approach to development and home building and went on a whirlwind buying spree. Between July 2004 and January 2006, Husani spent $42 million for about 1,900 acres of land."

"He then sold the property to Tringali in cashless transactions for $98 million, and Tringali used the high purchase prices and accompanying appraisals to obtain $83 million in loans from seven banks."

"The market slowed dramatically in 2006, especially in the Myakka City area that is home to two of Tringali's active developments. 'It's been a horrible year,' said Jim Schmitt, a Realtor who formerly worked for Tringali's real estate company. 'There are so many homes on the market.'"

"More than a dozen customers have opted out of contracts, causing Tringali's inventory of unsold homes at Golden Verna to swell to 19. 'The big hook was that they were only asking for $2,500 deposits for houses,' said Mark Pierson, who bought several homes in Golden Verna. 'Now everyone has gotten buyer's remorse. Mike is sitting on a bunch of houses and the market is dead.'"

"Residents at Golden Verna are worried that Tringali is not going to have enough money to build the clubhouse and pool he promised. 'There's a lot of very unhappy people out here,' said Larry Bartgis, who owns a Golden Verna house. 'They charge us $500 a year for a pool and it hasn't been built yet. That's not right.'"

"So far, the delays have caused three builders to either postpone or cancel their plans to build in the subdivision."

"'It's a soft market and they don't want customer deposits sitting around,' said Mary Smedley, who is the head of sales for Tringali's La Vista Homes."

"Tringali remains confident that the market will pick up once home buyers realize the values he is offering. 'In the long run, the market will turn around. Don't forget that baby boomers want to move here and they will have to have somewhere to live.'"