The Sun Herald reports from Florida. "Sales of existing homes dropped 28 percent statewide during the 2006 fourth quarter compared to 2005, according to figures released Thursday by the Florida Association of Realtors. The Punta Gorda area reported a 10 percent drop in median prices, a healthy step toward putting the market back in motion. Punta Gorda's fourth quarter median price of $209,700 compared with $233,700 during the 2005 period."

"Local Realtors have coined the term 'reality-based pricing' to reflect the decline in prices, which they largely see as a positive development. Simply, if you want to sell your house, cut your price at least to what similar properties have sold for locally."

"Indeed, 'I dispute that properties have only come down 10 percent. I think they've come down more than that,' said Bill Dryburgh, president-elect of the local Realtors."

"'The agents who are self-motivated and do their homework are making money while the agents who just sit back and wait for someone to call are starving,' Dryburgh noted."

"Both of Charlotte County's neighboring metro areas showed both a substantial drop in sales volume combined with a big drop in median prices. At least through the end of 2006, 'reality-based pricing' wasn't enough to turn prospects into buyers."

"Median prices in Fort Myers-Cape Coral were down 23 percent, to $256,400. Sarasota-Bradenton was the same story, down 18 percent to $281,500."

The Bradenton Herald. "Existing home sales in the Bradenton-Sarasota market fell 11 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 compared to 2005. In addition, there is a greater inventory of homes available for sale now than a year ago, which works to the advantage of buyers, said Ron Cornette, Wagner Realty's marketing and training director."

"Those 'more realistic' prices might be just what is needed to jump-start the market, said Cornette. 'The buyer is going to control the pricing,' said Sue Louis, vice president of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate's Sarasota division."

From Florida Today. "Sales of single-family homes in Brevard County jumped 20 percent in the final three months of 2006, compared with a year earlier. The median sales price fell 17 percent, dropping to $207,300 from $250,700 in 2005, the Realtors group said."

"Local condominium sales dropped 35 percent, to 270 in the fourth quarter of 2006 from 414 in 2005, while the median price fell 22 percent, to $171,000 from $219,600."

"The practice of 'flipping' dropped in Florida in the last quarter, compared with the final three months of 2005, HomeSmartReports said. 'Speculative buying and selling of homes contributes to market volatility and risk, all part of that 'bubble' theory people were talking about,' President Mike Ela said.

The News Journal. "Sales of existing single-family homes in the Volusia and Flagler market dropped about 33 percent for the fourth quarter of 2006, according to FAR."

"Some people may be holding on to homes because they are afraid to sell them, said Gloria Weimer, president of the New Smyrna Beach Board of Realtors, while they wait for prices similar to those in 2005. 'They need to be realistic. There are ups and downs throughout the years,' Weimer said, calling 2005 'a fluke.'"

The News Press. "The Florida Realtors released a report saying that Realtor-assisted sales of single-family homes in Lee County fell 23 percent in the fourth quarter, down to $256,400 from $332,000 in the fourth quarter of 2005. Condominiums fared somewhat better: down 14 percent from $300,000 to $258,600."

The Herald Tribune. "Sellers have been giving ground on home prices, and during the fourth quarter of 2006 it really showed. The median sales price for a home sold in the Sarasota-Bradenton market was down 18 percent from the same time in 2005. That was the second biggest drop in the state behind Fort Myers-Cape Coral, which saw a drop of 23 percent."

"Condos in the Sarasota-Bradenton market were selling at about half the rate they were in 2005 during the fourth quarter, down 46 percent from the 1,063 in the previous year's fourth quarter. The median sales price was $230,900, down 24 percent from $304,100."

"The state's biggest sales drop was Lakeland-Winter Haven at 56 percent. That community was followed by Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater at 40 percent, Naples-Marco Island at 34 percent, and Orlando and Daytona Beach, both at 33 percent."

"Martin Higgenbotham did everything he could to get people bidding on Michael Tringali's high-end Sarasota and rural Manatee County properties."

"In the end, high bids on properties came in at a half or a third of what the real estate sold for at the height of Southwest Florida's phenomenal boom."

"The high bid for a 3,300-square-foot luxury home in Tringali's Portofino on the Bay subdivision off Vamo Road in Sarasota, that might have commanded more than $1 million in the boom, was just $500,000. Bids for undeveloped lots in the same subdivision that sold for $325,000 and up in 2005, came in at $170,000 or less."

"And finished homes in the Golden Verna Estates subdivision near Myakka City, selling for around $380,000 during the boom, generated bids of no more than $240,000 and most garnered no more than $170,000. 'That's low,' said Barbara Anson, a veteran Realtor in Myakka City. 'But this is an auction.'"

"The Lakeland organization hired to conduct the sale had hoped to sell 32 of Tringali's properties, but many, especially the building lots at Portofino on the Bay, didn't draw any bidders."

"It will not be clear until Monday night whether bankers, who loaned millions of dollars to Tringali during the boom, will be willing to accept the bids that did come in."

"Tringali's 253-acre tract near Myakka City was bought by an unidentified Manatee County rancher for $6,500 per acre. That is is $5,500 less than the $12,000-per-acre price Husani paid for the property in August 2005 and $23,500 less than the $30,000-per-acre price Tringali supposedly paid a week later."

"If it accepts that price, Coast Bank, which loaned $4.94 million to Tringali in August 2005, would have to take a $3.3 million loss."

"Though Higgenbotham told his audience that they were missing tremendous opportunities, agent Garrick Newman expects there will be a lot more opportunities for the region's buyers to get deals at auction. 'We'll see a lot more of these.'"