The St Petersburg Times reports from Florida. "As the housing downturn consumes their livelihood, home builders and Realtors soothe themselves with a steady mantra: The seas are turbulent now, but retiring baby boomers will keep the market afloat. Researchers at the University of Florida suggest they may have a point."

"That's the conclusion of a report 'The Florida Housing Boom' published this week by UF's Bureau of Economic and Business Research."

"A UF survey of real estate professionals released this week by the Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies held that prices have already bottomed out. That view isn't universally shared: The number of homes for sale in the Tampa Bay area, about 40,000, is quadruple the inventory of 2005. Oversupply tends to drive down prices."

"The bureau's research economist, David Denslow, predicts that higher home prices will force Florida employers to increase wages. 'We've got to adjust to the fact that Florida is now a higher-cost state,' he said."

The Tampa Tribune. "Whether you're trying to sell your house or contemplating buying a home, there's one question on everyone's mind: Has the housing market bottomed out yet?"

"There may be a glimmer of hope, however, according to a study released Thursday by the University of Florida. 'I expect that for most of Florida, prices are as good as they're going to get,' said Wayne Archer, director of the Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies, which conducted the report. 'This is comforting news.'"

"The university surveyed industry professionals, including real estate lawyers, title insurers, financial advisers and real estate scholars. There were 318 respondents."

"Some analysts and economists are doubtful and were quick to question the report. 'I see absolutely no scope for rising prices this year,' said Per Gunnar Berglund, senior economist with Moody's Economy.com. 'I think prices have a bit further to go.'"

"The median sales price of existing single-family homes in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area was $214,000 in January, down 7 percent from December and significantly below the real estate market's $239,900 peak in June, according to data released last month by the Florida Association of Realtors."

"There were 1,768 sales in January, down 41 percent from a year ago and down 27 percent from December's sales volume of 2,438. More than 34,000 existing homes are on the market in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, according to local real estate trade groups."

"Berglund says inventory levels in the Bay area are more than twice the normal level. It would take more than 16 months to sell all the houses, Berglund said. 'The ratio of homes on the market has risen way above the six-month supply that is considered equilibrium,' Berglund said."

The Bradenton Herald. "A shaky house of cards built with loans to countless borrowers who should have never qualified is about to come crashing down, experts believe. Locally, that could mean that an already stagnating housing market may see even fewer buyers in the future because lenders will be tightening loan guidelines, or in cases like New Century Financial, not writing new loans."

"Warren Herman, senior lending officer with Premier Mortgage Funding Inc. in Bradenton and Sarasota, believes the subprime fallout will be limited, although his company is suggesting caution for the time being."

"'They're suggesting we hold back on these loans right now and see how the fallout happens,' Herman said. 'It will stabilize and it would be an opportunity for banks to make money on people who are recovering. There's always good that comes out of something that is seemingly bad.'"

"Patrice Yamato, president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers, fears the impact tighter loan guidelines will have on Florida. 'I'm afraid we're going to take a lot of people out of the market here in Florida,' Yamato said. 'I'm also afraid we're going to be prevented from helping folks keep their homes who could have been helped through these loan programs.'"

"Although stories abound like the one in a recent Forbes article involving an hourly Target worker who was able to finagle financing on a $696,000 home, some subprime loans can actually help homeowners get out of trouble, Yamato said."

"'Let's say they went delinquent on a mortgage and got into trouble and we're able to put them in this option ARM for two years until they could get out of trouble,' Yamato gave as an example. 'I understand the pre-emptive strike (by lenders) but I think they may actually be causing what they are trying to prevent. We're not going to be able to help homeowners who are going to need help. I'm afraid for how it's going to affect our marketplace.'"

"But John Bancroft, editor of Inside Mortgage Finance, says tough medicine is needed to prevent future defaults and foreclosures from subprime loans."

"'Certainly, for many borrowers, they're going to have a more difficult time finding replacement financing,' Bancroft said. 'But I'm not sure that's a bad thing because obviously getting into those types of financing in the first place wasn't such a great idea for them. I think generally this kind of medicine is good all around.'"

"Florida ranked No. 3 in foreclosures in January, behind California and Texas, with 11,709 new filings. As of Friday, there were 633 properties in Manatee County and 742 in Sarasota County in pre-foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac."

"Herman said lack of financing availability, coupled with rising property insurance costs and taxes, may put a temporary dent in Florida's housing market."

"'You have a lot of people going out of the state. They can't afford to stay,' Herman said. 'We've been through this boom cycle where the fish were jumping in the boat. Now the lenders and Realtors and mortgage brokers actually have to put a line in the water.'"

The Times Union. "WMC Mortgage Corp., a unit of General Electric Co., is shutting down its Jacksonville office and laying off 68 employees."

"The announcement from the company, which decided to discontinue some of its subprime lending operations, comes as subprime lenders across the country face increasing loan defaults and skittish investors and creditors. Jacksonville, in addition to facing a high foreclosure rate on local loans, has a wide base of processing centers for financial services companies."

"WMC Mortgage will no longer give loans with no down payment."

"Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner said that Jacksonville's exposure to the contraction being experienced by the mortgage market is greater than average but that he didn't expect the difficulties experienced by subprime lenders to carry over into the rest of the mortgage industry."

"'It's not driven by a deterioration in credit quality but by fraud,' he said. Vitner said many subprime borrowers exaggerated incomes to receive loans."

The Orlando Sentinel. "Condominium owners in the Metropolitan at Lake Eola, a downtown Orlando complex that was converted from an aging hotel, are complaining that they bought into a property rife with problems."

"A lawsuit filed in state Circuit Court by the Metropolitan at Lake Eola Condominium Association seeks to have the condos' developer repair everything from the roof to the heating-and-cooling systems."

"As many as 50 percent of the owners who bought from David Eichenblatt, the Atlanta developer, later resold their properties to others for big profits during the height of the home-buying frenzy, the developer contends. Those higher prices paid by the resale owners may have led them to think their properties were comparable to the new condo-tower units rising all around the Metropolitan in downtown Orlando, Eichenblatt argues."

The News Press. "For a number of people who tried to buy a house as an investment in 2005, 2007 has become a bad year. For the second time in 30 days, a builder has filed more than a dozen lawsuits against buyers who contracted to buy houses then opted not to close."

"The problems revolve around a soft housing market and appraisals that are lower than expected because of the number of homes on the market."

"Real estate experts say it could become common for builders to look to the courts to make up money lost on houses they already have built but are unwanted. 'I think you're going to see it more and more,' real estate attorney Kevin Jursinski said."

"He said buyers often don't have much of a remedy if the contract states they can be sued if they don't close. 'It's like playing poker and the other side knows your hand,' Jursinski said. 'You can't bluff.'"

"This week, Advantage Builders of America filed lawsuits against 13 people, four from Southwest Florida, each for more than $15,000 in damages and attorney's fees. In February, the builders of Sail Harbour, a south Fort Myers development, asked the court to force 29 people to complete payment."

"Jursinski, who has practiced real estate law for 25 years, said the houses that people bought two years ago as investments have depreciated because the market is flooded. 'Now they're walking from their contracts,' he said. 'The builders are wanting people to close.'"

"For Mark and Kerry Trenkamp, of Fort Myers, the Cape Coral house they contracted to buy from Advantage Builders in August 2005 was going to be a new home. Then it became an investment. 'We were kind of looking out there to move,' said Mark Trenkamp, one of the 13 being sued. 'Then the market went so bad.'"

"Cape Coral attorney Bill McFarland, who represents Advantage, said the company is just asking for what its contracts state. 'They can't stick their heads in the sand and hope it goes away,' he said."

"McFarland said many banks are opting out of loans with buyers, which leaves builders developing a house that can't be funded. That has been happening when houses don't appraise for the loan amount. 'Nobody wants to be responsible for the shortfall,' he said. 'It's a mess, and it's going to get worse as things continue.'"

"In the Sail Harbour cases, investors said they were misled about aspects of the properties and the company took too long to build their units. The company is asking the court to force 29 investors to buy houses on which they didn't close. Jursinski said the soft market is affecting banks, buyers and builders. 'It's a trickle-down effect,' he said. 'We've got a big, big supply to get rid of.'"

"McFarland said the supply is going to take years to drain. 'It's the stuff that was written in '05, in '06 that is still out there,' he said. 'The market fell fast. It's falling faster than it went up.'"