TC Palm reports from Florida. "Don't expect the Treasure Coast real estate market to make any positive strides until 2009. That's according to a new report by (exonomist) Hank Fishkind. 'It's going to take some time to absorb the inventory levels in the residential market,' Fishkind said. 'Residential housing prices rise like rockets and drop like feathers.'"

"'I can tell you that sales have slowed in our area because of rising inventory, so it will take a while for things to settle down here,' said Sherry Wetzel, president of the Realtors Association of St. Lucie County. 'We do have about 3,500 homes for sale at the moment, but I don't think that it will take until 2009 for things to recover.'"

"Overall, Fishkind said the Treasure Coast real estate market is still doing better than other parts of the county. 'It's not all crashing, we're not seeing an overall market deterioration.' Fishkind said."

From Business First. "M/I Homes Inc. warned investors Thursday of a drop in sales in the fourth quarter and for the year, with its Florida market suffering the most from the depressed housing market. The builder saw new contracts in Florida fall 60.2 percent to 640, from 1,609 new contracts signed in 2005."

The Orlando Sentinel. "Orlando's hot housing market lost much of its spark in the second half of 2006. The number of homes for sale in December dipped below 20,000 properties for the first time since July, to 19,537 listings. But that still represented a more than 11-month supply at the recent, more sluggish sales pace."

"'There's just a lot more supply than demand out there,' said William Weaver, a University of Central Florida finance professor and real-estate specialist. 'Basic economics 101 tells you that prices are going to get softer.'"

"Weaver warned that, even with lower interest rates, many home buyers who bought at or near the market's peak in 2004 or 2005 using 'various exotic mortgages' and adjustable loans with low 'teaser rates' will be trying to sell in the weaker market."

"Many mortgages will be adjusting upward, pushing the monthly carrying costs out of reach for some. 'Those folks are going to be in trouble,' he said."

The News Journal. "Although 2006 was its third-best sales year in history, the Pensacola Association of Realtors is going on the offensive to stimulate more housing sales. The 2,350-member group launched a major advertising campaign Thursday centered on a simple message: It's a good time to buy a home."

"'Interest rates are down, and the inventory of homes for sale is very good,' said Doug Gooch, the newly installed president of the association."

"Gooch said even if the Florida Legislature cannot find a way to lower taxes and insurance rates, the economic advantages of owning a home still make sense."

The Herald Tribune. "This will probably not come as a major surprise: The Sarasota Association of Realtors thinks it is time to buy. Many of the group's 4,200 members experienced a tough 2006."

"The 'Time2Buy' effort is the first large-scale marketing campaign in the association's history, said Kathy Roberts, SAR's chief executive. Expect to see Realtors wearing 'Time2Buy' buttons. Also expect to see advertisements in magazines, Web sites, newspapers, billboards, television, radio and at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport."

"'If you have missed an earlier opportunity to purchase a home, now is the time to take advantage of low interest rates, stabilizing home prices and a plentiful inventory of homes,' Roberts said in a statement. 'We are discovering that savvy buyers are finding sellers to be more flexible in their pricing than perhaps anytime in the past three years.'"

"(Realtor) John Allen contends that 'the campaign will focus on information that has not been reported in the mainstream media.' There is a good selection of high quality inventory of condos and homes. Tens of thousands of baby boomers will be added to the area over the next 25 years."

The Sun Sentinel. "For the first time in 30 years, United Van Lines Inc. says it moved more people out of Florida than in, and analysts see that as a sign that consumers are looking elsewhere for a cheaper slice of life."

"The nation's largest moving company reported 16,212 inbound shipments to Florida last year and 17,019 outbound shipments."

"The housing boom brought more people to the Sunshine State at the start of the decade, but the run-up in home values during the past five years sent property-tax rates soaring. Many residents now say they can't afford to move elsewhere in Florida because of the huge hit they'd take on taxes."

"What's more, busy hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 led to massive rate hikes from the state's largest home insurance companies. 'It all just pushed us past the breaking point,' David Levin, a Delray Beach-based housing consultant, said."

"A couple of years ago, Paul Mount and his wife moved from Wellington (to) a log-cabin home on two acres near Chattanooga. In Wellington, their property taxes were $9,300 a year; their tax bill in Tennessee is $1,100."

"'We just got tired of it,' said Mount. 'Everything is financial. The state of Florida is just going crazy.'"

"As Floridians struggle with housing affordability and wages that have not kept pace with the cost of living, other states are aggressively trying to capture the Northeast migration that Florida once relied on for its growth, said Levin."

"'People move to where their well-being is going to be the greatest,' said Grant Thrall, a professor of business geography at the University of Florida. 'Many people find the urban-built environment of Florida totally disgusting.'"