The St Petersburg Times reports from Florida. "Joe Shultz and Louis Ricci tried to disregard Trump Tower Tampa's growing distress. They will disregard them no longer. Partners on a $1.48-million condo, Shultz and Ricci have become the first Trump Tower buyers to sue to get their deposit back."

"The pair allege local developer SimDag LLC breached a sales contract by failing to build their 38th-story luxury condo on time. They also blame Donald Trump, suggesting the New York tycoon misstated his relationship to the project. Trump said at the time he had a 'substantial stake' in the $300-million tower when, in fact, his exposure is limited to a licensing deal with SimDag."

"'No hard feelings, but I just don't think they'll have it finished,' Shultz said Monday. 'I'm kind of baffled why they haven't returned the money.'"

"The partners may be the first to sue, but they represent an undercurrent of disgruntled buyers, said Tom Long, the men's Tampa attorney. 'I think these suits are going to become more frequent. I think we're three months away from when developers say, 'Forget about it,' Long said. 'There's a real risk many people will not get their money back. There's a real risk you're going to see a bankruptcy filing.'"

"Long suspects SimDag is out of money and has used up some of the deposits. How else to explain why developers owe more than $3-million to contractors forced to place liens on the property?"

"'I understand their position. To a certain extent it's a floodgate: If they give one person money back, it's the same for everyone else,' Long said. 'A lot of people are going to be hurt on this thing.'"

"As the stocks of subprime mortgage lenders melted down Monday on Wall Street, one struggling bank put several hundred of its Tampa employees on ice."

"Fremont Investment & Loan, the country's eighth-biggest subprime lender, told most of its Tampa staff to stay home Monday on paid leave. The move followed news that Fremont General Corp., its California-based parent company, had decided to quit lending money to home buyers who have bad credit and to try to sell that business line."

"Other subprime lenders with significant bay area operations include third-ranked Countrywide Financial Corp., for which Tampa is one of four regional hubs, and New Century. Local economic development officials helped attract thousands of financial-service jobs in recent years while the industry enjoyed a growth spurt."

"Even its commercial loan business showed some signs of weakness lately. In January, the company filed two foreclosure lawsuits against a St. Petersburg developer it had loaned a total of more than $50-million."

The Herald Tribune. "So far, bankers have only accepted bids on two of the 32 properties that formerly belonged to real estate developer Michael Tringali and were put up for auction on Feb. 15."

"Bankers who lent Tringali money to finance his developments could not stomach letting assets go for half their value during the boom. 'That's what the property is worth today,' said Martin Higgenbotham, whose Lakeland-based auction house handled the sale. 'It's just less than the sellers want.'"

"'What has happened is that the market got way overbuilt,' Higgenbotham said. 'Just like with oranges, when you grow too many, the price goes down.'"

The News Press. "I had a friend come into my office the morning after I delivered my Market Watch speech and she said she wanted to see for herself the man that had a target on his back. This is the same day that the front page of The News-Press had my picture with the headline 'Home sellers advised to get real on prices.'"

"I have also received the anonymous calls stating that I (along with the local media) am killing the real estate market."

"Irrational demand drove up the median price almost 90 percent in about 18 months. Sorry to burst your cream puff, but those inflated prices were being supported by frenzy buying, not fundamental investing. In other words, those values were not real, so as they say, what goes up must come down."

"You only have to drive two blocks to lose count of the number of 'For Sale' signs you saw. Our inventory has increased more than 600 percent since the peak of the market. We are approaching 25,000 resale condos and homes."

"Unfortunately, too many sellers are acting irrationally because they are either needy or greedy. The needy need a certain price because of what they owe. The greedy want a certain price because of what they feel they are owed."

"The media can run all the positive articles they want, but that will not change the fact that we have more homes for sale than we could sell in two years, assuming that no new listings were taken."

The News Journal. "Area housing construction plunged 47 percent last year, dropping off even more toward the close of the year, a research firm reported. Building permits were issued for 5,707 new homes and apartments in Volusia and Flagler counties, down from the 10,858 total issued in 2005, according to Hanley Wood."

"The slowdown worsened during the October-December period, the firm reported. During that quarter, only 904 permits were issued locally, or 63 percent fewer than the 2,414 issued during the same period of 2005."

"'We still have a lot of inventory to clear out,' said Sue Darden, executive director of the Volusia Home Builders Association. 'I hear inklings that the market is starting to turn around, but we all know it's never going back to what we had in 2005. The recovery is going to be slower than what we're accustomed to.'"

"Mark Vitner, a Wachovia Bank economist, said he expects Florida's housing construction to continue shrinking throughout 2007. 'Prices are no longer rising, so buyers don't feel pressured to make a decision right away,' Vitner said. 'They feel they can wait six or nine months, and prices will be the same, or even lower.'"

"Mark Soskin, a University of Central Florida economist who has done consulting work for local builders, said younger builders don't realize how precarious their industry is right now because they haven't experienced a full-fledged recession."

"'People need to be aware this thing could get a heck of a lot worse,' Soskin said."

"Susie Labrie used to see herself as a Realtor moonlighting as a bartender, but lately it is hard to say which job is her 'real job.' She finds she is working more and making more as a bartender with the area's housing market slump."

"'The real estate market is so bad right now, you have to have another job,' said Labrie, an agent in Daytona Beach."

The Palm Beach Post. "Some folks, but not, we hope, our Dear Readers, blame 'the media' for falling home sales and prices."

"Now, some Realtors are grumbling about prices not falling. Guess who they're blaming? Here's what Thomas Lawler, former Fannie Mae economist and current president of Lawler Economic & Housing Consulting, has to say in his private newsletter:"

"'A growing number of Realtors in Florida are frustrated with the state and national Realtors groups' efforts to 'spin' the market as one that is strengthening and where home prices are stabilizing.'"

"'Many (though probably not yet most) Realtors are frustrated by customers who continue to list their homes at price levels that are 'unrealistic,' and as a result, sales volumes, and thus commissions, continue to remain depressed.'"

"'While Realtors have noted to customers that many home builders in Florida have slashed new-home prices in order to move bloated inventories, many home sellers are still holding off, hoping, along with FAR and NAR, that prices will start moving back up soon.'"