The Tampa Tribune reports from Florida. "It should be no surprise then that sales of existing homes locally fell 35 percent in 2006 after the hot real estate market a year before. Some real estate agents, such as Brenda Wade in Brandon, said she's seeing homeowners lower asking prices. 'Homes are down in value, I think,' Wade said."

"For example, Wade said, a home in the FishHawk Ranch neighborhood that went on the market in December 2005 listed at $850,000. The seller has gone through several real estate agents and lowered the price to $694,000. It's still on the market."

"Another home in the Brandon area was listed for $745,000 in January 2006, she said. The price dropped to $699,000 in June and then to $679,000 in August. In late December, one of Wade's clients purchased the home for $575,000."

"'It's a good market for buyers,' she said, 'and I think this year will be a good year because sellers are motivated and getting realistic. They see the for sale signs in their neighborhoods.'"

The News Press. "Lee County's housing market took a tumble in 2006, ending the year with December prices of existing homes down 19 percent and sales down by almost half from a year earlier."

"'We had a lot of greed in 2006,' said Larry Johnson, CEO of Old Florida Bank. 'I had a lot of customers who held out for more and missed the deal' when prices started to fall."

"Wayne Watson bought the house next to his in Lehigh Acres for $300,000, intending to pay for it with proceeds from selling a house he owned in Gateway. But despite cutting the price numerous times he has been unable to sell the Gateway house."

"Four days ago he dropped the price $20,000 to $279,000, Watson said. 'I have to move this house,' he said. 'I told my Realtor, 'Get it sold.' This housing market sucks.'"

The Sun Sentinel. "After a five-year boom, Broward's housing market faded last year. Broward now has 35,362 homes and condominiums for sale, more than double the number from this time last year, according to Keyes Co. Realtors."

"Sherrie Nemetz of Plantation has been trying to sell her four-bedroom home for nearly a year. She finally fielded her first offer, and it was for more than $100,000 less than the $449,900 listing price. She has reduced the price and switched agents."

"'There are just so many houses on the market,' Nemetz said. 'If your house isn't marketed correctly, there's no incentive for people to look at it.'"

"Broward had one foreclosure for every 35 households in 2006, said a report released Thursday. The county had more than 21,000 foreclosures last year, up more than 55 percent from 2005."

The Palm Beach Post. "Palm Beach County's 37 percent decline in single-family resales in 2006 was second only to the Naples area, where existing home sales fell 41 percent. Naples' 2006 sales were incomplete, however, partly because the Naples Area Board of Realtors did not report December sales."

"The standoff between buyers and sellers caused inventory to climb to a peak of 28,886 unsold homes in September, falling to 21,888 by year's end, a 71 percent increase, nevertheless, over December 2005, according to Illustrated Properties Real Estate."

"'The national housing market was like a trauma patient last summer, suffering multiple wounds and at death's doorway,' (analyst) Michael Larson said. 'Since then, a mild decline in interest rates, and aggressive incentives and price-cutting, have helped stabilize the patient. But he's not getting off the gurney and walking out the door - not for some time.'"

The St Petersburg Times. "In Pinellas County, December's inventory of unsold single-family homes was 9,876, more than double what it was a year earlier. In Pasco County, condo listings nearly tripled from 2005, with 514 units on the market at year's end."

"Ann Guiberson, chief executive of the Pinellas Realtor Organization, said Florida's coastal areas suffered most in the downturn. 'The price may stay up, but buyers can get lots of concessions,' Guiberson said."

The Miami Herald. "Fewer single-family homes in Miami-Dade and Broward sold in 2006 than in any of the past 12 years, which is as far back as data from the Florida Association of Realtors goes. At the same time, far more houses and condos for sale came on the market -- and sat there."

"'The current market is lackluster, and I don't see an upside for several years to come,' said real estate analyst David Dabby."

"The clearest sign of a slowdown is in the swelling inventory of unsold homes, which must be reduced before the market recovers, observers say. The number of homes listed for sale actually decreased, albeit slightly, at the end of the year. From December 2005 through November 2006, the number of homes for sale in both counties jumped from 31,351 to 66,477. But in December 2006, it declined to 65,827."

The Herald Tribune. "The median price for homes last month in the Sarasota-Bradenton market was $284,700, down 17 percent when compared with the same month last year. But sales were down only 7 percent -- 'only' in the context of a market that has seen declines as high as 50 percent during the past six months."

"'What we are seeing is that the 2005 spike is gone and, in the real world, homes are selling for plus or minus what they were worth in 2004,' said Al Horrigan of RSVP Real Estate in Bradenton. 'It is not doom and gloom, it is reality. 'When you see the handwriting on the wall, read it.'"

The Sun Times. "Confusion may be an understatement for the current state of the residential Real Estate market. Everything seems to be for sale. Many homes have literally had 'for sale' signs in the yard now approaching three years. Many similar properties have as much as a 30 to 40 percent difference in pricing."

"Sweeping differences in asking prices, combined with the fact that many 'asking prices' are now down as much as 40 to 50 percent from the unsustainable levels just 18 months ago, certainly 'confuses' potential buyers, which is evident by the 'locked tight' position of their wallets."

"The old saying, 'Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it' is clearly lost on many in the Real Estate community. Perhaps reducing the 'artificially inflated and unsustainable' current price levels may stimulate some buying activity."

The News Journal. "Robert McGlone of Port Orange isn't a Realtor, but he thinks it's only common sense that the prices of homes in Volusia and Flagler need to come down. The retired engineer has become frustrated watching his 27-year-old son, who works at Lockheed Martin Corp. in Orlando, try to find a house he can afford."

"'My first house cost me twice my salary. He is up to four times his salary,' McGlone said. 'That's a virtually impossible situation to overcome.'"

"The Florida Association of Realtors reported Thursday that home prices indeed have come down in the Volusia-Flagler market, as McGlone predicted. McGlone has seen the 'for sale' signs go up in his neighborhood. He said one house was on the market almost a year and finally sold after the owner dropped the price from $289,000 to $213,000."

"'I think the prices will keep coming down until the end of the year, despite what Realtors may say,' McGlone said. 'The prices have to keep going down until people can start affording houses again without killing themselves financially.'"