The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "The number of homes with 'For Sale' signs in South Florida reached new highs in February. At the current sales pace, it would take nearly three years to sell all the condominiums on the market. For single-family houses, it would take almost two years. 'The market is trying to find itself,' said Richard Barkett, CEO of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale. 'We are still in correction mode.'"

"Sluggish sales pushed the number of unsold homes in Miami-Dade and Broward counties up to 69,734. A year ago, it was 37,495. Over the last 12 months, the number of condos for sale grew 81 percent to 21,308 in Miami-Dade and 91 percent in Broward to 22,243 -- that's 36 months' worth of inventory in Miami-Dade, 31 months in Broward, at the current sales pace."

"'Sellers must make adjustments,' said Gus Rubio, the Miami-Dade head of the biggest residential brokerage in South Florida. 'If not, you are a seller thinking in yesterday's world.'"

"Two weeks ago, Bill McGee drove to Circuit City and plunked down $5,000 for a 52-inch flat screen television. McGee said he had already lowered the price for his 2,850-square-foot house from $549,900 to $530,000. 'It was a tough decision for me because I think it is worth more money,' said McGee."

"The Sharp Aquos is now sitting in his home, awaiting anyone who buys his home. 'I have not got a red bow on it,' McGee added. 'But I am going to get one.'"

The Herald Tribune. "Sarasota-Bradenton's median sales price dropped 9 percent last month when compared with February 2006. Charlotte County-North Port registered an 11 percent drop in prices, taking the market to near the $200,000 threshold."

"'They have to put aside unrealistic expectations in order to sell their homes -- and they are,' said real estate agent Joni Adno."

"A growing number of people are defaulting. Lenders are reacting by tightening their loan standards. That has potentially broad implications for Southwest Florida, with its already bulging inventories of single-family homes: 130 weeks' worth of homes in the Sarasota MLS alone."

"The subprime shakeout is bleeding over into the broader home loan market. Lenders are being pressured by investors to take back earlier loans, and that is limiting their ability to offer fresh ones. 'We were already having inventory issues,' said Bob DeCecco, Florida regional manager for Opteum Financial Services. 'This is just adding another layer of complexity because there are less people who can actually qualify to purchase a home, who would like to.'"

"Marta Grande of Commonwealth Mortgage Corp., predicted that the fallout would get worse before it lets up. 'Say they borrowed 100 percent when they bought the house,' Grande said. 'What that in essence has done is made it impossible for them to refinance the house, because their value since when they bought the house has dropped. That is the nightmare, and you are going to see more foreclosures than you are seeing now.'"

The Palm Beach Post. "In Palm Beach County, there were 560 sales of existing single-family homes last month, a 21 percent drop from 707 in February 2006, the Realtors group said. Palm Beach County home prices also continued their slow decline, falling 4 percent to a median of $374,300 from $391,000 in February 2006."

"Even more worrisome, the inventory of unsold homes from Boca Raton to Hobe Sound climbed to a near-record 23,713 in February, a 33 percent increase from a year ago, according to Illustrated Properties Real Estate."

"'With widespread media reports about potential property tax and insurance changes, many buyers are sitting on the fence waiting to see how significant the reforms will be,' said Mike Pappas, president of The Keyes Co."

From TC Palm. "Home sales in the Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie market were off 37 percent in February from the same month in 2006, while median sales price dropped 9 percent."

"Metrostudys Brad Hunter added that an uptick in foreclosures in the next year could put further 'downward pressure on prices.' 'The next wave of issues we have to deal with is people who bought homes they couldn't afford,' Hunter said, adding that sales will likely stabilize before prices do."

"While Stuart is included in the Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie data, the Realtors Association of Martin County reports its own figures. There, existing single-family home sales and median home prices both dropped about 19 percent last month compared with February 2006."

"Realtors Association of Martin County President Jennifer Atkisson-Lovett said because of the rapid increase in home prices the past couple of years, those who have lived in their homes for more than five years, and were not part of the flipper crazy the last two years, still saw sales prices above when they bought."

"'A lot of the $330,000 was an over inflation of the last five years, during the boom we were seeing a boom of 45 and 50 percent a year,' she said. 'As long as they didn't buy in the last two to three years should still be fine.'"

The Sun Sentinel. "Real estate agents across South Florida swear they're busy. But for the most part, finicky buyers are waiting for prices to keep falling and for property tax relief to trickle down from Tallahassee. 'We have a lot of buyers sitting on the fence,' said Mike Kleinrichert, an agent in Wellington. 'But we've got people saying, 'I'm not going to buy until I know what's going on.'"

"The number of homes and condos for sale continues to grow in Palm Beach County. The number now stands at 33,587, a 10 percent increase from a year ago, according to the Miami-based Keyes Co. At the current pace, it would take several years to sell those properties."

"Kelly and Todd Gilmore have tried to sell their three-bedroom home in Boca Raton since early November. He moved to Denver last year to take a new job, and she finally joined him this month when it became clear no sale was imminent."

"The couple originally listed the home at $599,000 before reducing it to $549,000. This week, they cut it to $519,000. 'It's been an emotional experience,' said Kelly Gilmore. 'We're trying to bide our time.'"

The Tampa Tribune. "Sales of previously owned, single-family homes around the northern rim of Tampa Bay declined 32 percent in February compared with a year ago, while the median sales price declined 2 percent to $213,300."

"'I think sellers were slow to realize this is a buyer's market, but now they have begun to deal from that perspective,' said Carlos Fuentes, president of the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors."

The St Petersburg Times. "After swimming in gains last year, Florida homeowners continue to sleep with the sharks this year. Homes sales in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater gave back 32 percent year over year, from 2,957 in 2006 to 2,001 in 2007. Condo sales fell by 43 percent. Only Fort Myers-Cape Coral and Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie registered bigger declines."

From Florida Today. "Mark Buhrkoff of Satellite Beach said trying to sell his home has been a disappointment. He said he has been trying to sell the house himself for a year, dropping the asking price from $350,000 to $275,000, but he still is not getting much interest."

"'People can't afford to buy,' Buhrkoff said. 'People around here don't make that much money.'"