The News & Observer reports from North Carolina. "Raleigh Realtor Gary Hooker already has lost three sales to first-time homebuyers since lenders this month began cracking down on easy mortgage money. But his real worry is the effect that tougher restrictions on subprime borrowing may have on the Triangle's unsteady housing market. Hooker said his clients weren't able to get mortgages because they could not meet a new requirement for a 5 percent down payment."

"'I don't think we've scratched the surface how it will turn out,' said Hooker. 'It's a big deal,' he said. 'It's coming at a time when all regions need it the least.'"

"Up to a quarter of the homes sold in North Carolina in 2006 were bought with subprime loans, according to industry estimates. Today, those loans are being blamed for a record number of foreclosures in the Triangle and the state last year."

"This month, Advantage Lending in Raleigh said it has turned away about 10 customers because of tighter credit and down payment guidelines. Mark Timberlake, a mortgage broker in Cary, said two potential buyers left empty-handed when they found out they needed big down payments to buy investment homes. Before, he said, they could have borrowed the full sales price. Now they need 10 percent up front."

"'There are ... people who were able to qualify for loans in the past few years who aren't going to be able to get loans,' said John Crawford, a mortgage banker in Greensboro."

"Della McDowell, a broker in Durham, said that some of the lenders she uses now want borrowers to have at least two mortgage payments in the bank. Others are asking for canceled checks as proof of paying rent on time. Before, lenders would simply call the landlord and get a verbal confirmation, McDowell said."

"Fremont Mortgage, the second-largest subprime lender in North Carolina, has ended relationships with a third of its mortgage brokers because of high defaults, said Mark Pearce, deputy commissioner of the N.C. Banking Commission. Charlotte-based AmeriTrust Mortgage also closed its subprime unit."

"Wells Fargo has lowered its maximum debt-to-income ratio from 55 percent to 50 percent, Pearce said. For example, if a home buyer earns $3,000 per month, then his total monthly debt can not exceed $1,500."

"Robin Green is finding out just how hard. Green fell in love with a $164,000 house. Even though her credit history suffered from large medical bills and a recent bankruptcy, she was able to get a contract on the home. Then Green got a call from her mortgage broker telling her things had changed. She would need to increase her credit score substantially or come up with a 5 percent down payment."

"'I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm not going to be able to get this house,' Green said."

The Telegram from North Carolina. "'Bubbles' do indeed exist, and our conversations with brokerage firms in the northeast portion of the United States, along the North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida coastal areas, confirm that property values are declining in those areas."

"One specific South Carolina brokerage firm in the Myrtle Beach area stated that the year 2005 showed an average decrease in value of waterfront properties of 25 percent. The year 2006 was estimated to follow with an additional drop of 10 percent."

"We cannot confirm these numbers, but the point being made is that real estate buyers or investors are not willing to pay prices that in some cases reflect astronomical equity increases annually."

The Palm Beach Post from Florida. "Overdue mortgage payments in Florida rose in the final three months of 2006, and soared over the previous quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. Meanwhile, new foreclosures in Florida set a record as borrowers with troubled credit histories fell behind in their payments, the MBA said."

"Mortgages in Florida overdue for 30 days or more in the fourth quarter of 2006 climbed to a record 4.86 percent of all loans tracked - up sharply from the same period in the previous year, when 4.66 percent of loans were delinquent."

"'As Florida was rocketing up in values, we had lots of investors that bought with the expectation of flipping these homes,' said Jim Sahnger, VP of Palm Beach Financial Network in Sewall's Point. 'Many of these people are now over-leveraged or they're 'upside down' - they owe more than their house is now worth.'"

"The delinquency rate for subprime loans in Florida in the fourth quarter was 12.53 percent, up 139 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2005, the survey showed. The delinquency rate for FHA mortgages, government-backed loans used by first-time home buyers, was 12.74 percent."

"'The FHA borrower profile is one with either little or no down payment,' Sahnger said. 'As with subprime borrowers ... they are often ripe for a fall.'"

The Sun Sentinel. "The number of South Floridians facing foreclosure has spiked in 2007. Many took out short-term, adjustable-rate mortgages and are seeing their monthly payments balloon as interest rates rise. Increases in property taxes and insurance rates also are making it difficult to pay the monthly mortgage."

"'These are not bad people,' said Louis Spagnuolo, a mortgage banker in Boca Raton. 'But a lot of them are on fixed salaries, and they can sustain only so many price increases.'"

"The number of late payments in Broward County hit 983 in February, a 333 percent increase over the 227 last February, according to Realestat.com. Broward had 315 foreclosures last month, compared with 206 in February 2006."

"Last month, Palm Beach County had 733 property owners with late payments, up 382 percent over the 152 last February."

"Honey Hartman of Hollywood is facing a mortgage crunch. A huge property insurance increase this year pushed her monthly mortgage payment to $770, which exceeds her income of $643."

"She negotiated with her lender to cut some of the added costs, and her two grown children are helping her make up the rest of the shortfall. Hartman expects she'll ultimately have to sell her two-bedroom home and leave South Florida. 'I'm in dire straits,' she said."

From CBS4.com in Florida. "Foreclosure actions filed against homeowners nearly tripled in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in January and February, compared to the same months last year, according to proceedings filed with the clerks of court."

"Florida is particularly vulnerable to the risks of so-called subprime loans, which go to borrowers with lesser credit. After California, the state has the second-highest percentage of borrowers with subprime loans, generally recognized as having the greatest risk of default."

"In Miami-Dade and Broward counties, 23 percent and 18 percent of all loans are subprime, respectively; of those, about 6.7 percent are more than 60 days overdue, according to First American Loan Performance."

"Alan Rosenthal, who supervises the mortgage litigation practice at Coral Gables-based Adorno & Yoss, said the firm was seeing a 'huge spike' in foreclosure cases initiated by lenders."

"'I don't believe we have seen the full impact of these what I call junk loans -- the negative amortization loans and all these other weird loans. They are too new,' he said. And real estate professionals are gearing up for what could be the start of a surge of homeowners desperate to sell."

The St Petersburg Times. "The developers of Trump Tower Tampa learned Wednesday that they can't stop buyers from suing to get back deposits on the much-delayed condo high-rise."

"For Tom Long, the attorney arguing against Trump Tower, the ruling has significance beyond his clients. 'I think this now, frankly, opens the floodgates to others to demand their money back,' Long said. 'It's a three-year project and they're at ground zero.'"

"Long said developers, more than $3-million behind in paying contractors, may lack the money to come up with refunds."

The Tampa Tribune. "Two buyers of a condominium in the stalled Trump Tower Tampa project overcame the first hurdle Wednesday in their quest to get their deposits back."

"The decision is a 'fairly critical blow' for the troubled development and could result in other buyers following suit, said Sander Moody, a professor at the Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville."

"'Now, instead of pouring concrete and meeting with lenders, these developers have to pore over documents to hand over in discovery,' Moody said."

"The publicity, he said, could make it more difficult for developers to get financing, and Wednesday's ruling increases the likelihood that developers could settle with the plaintiffs to avoid more lawsuits from other buyers."

"The plaintiffs in this case put down 20 percent on a $1.4 million condo in August 2005 and contend that it is now impossible for developers to complete the 52-story downtown tower by the December 2008 deadline specified in their contract."