The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "In January, the developers of condo project 2 Midtown announced they would build 455 units instead of 459. That's all it took for buyers Barry and Rachel Craemer to declare their contract void a week later and demand their $117,000 deposit back. The buyers for 47 units have sent such letters, and the builder is determined not to let any of them out."

"The tension is rising as closing day approaches for the roughly 25,000 new condos expected this year and next. This may be the beginning of the 'interesting period,' said real-estate analyst Michael Cannon."

"Attorney Gary Saul, who represents developers for 2 Midtown and other projects, said that six months ago he didn't receive any letters from buyers wanting out. Now they're coming from 10 percent of the buyers in buildings, sometimes as much as 20 percent."

"'The scary thing is, people who have flaked on me tell me they have like five other contracts in other buildings under construction,' said developer Gregg Covin."

"'These are not people who have been wronged,' Saul said. 'These are flippers who wouldn't be saying anything if the market was going well.' To which Rachel Craemer replied: 'Who are they to decide? The person who makes the determination should be the buyer, not the seller.'"

"Developers in turn are worried that if they give one buyer a break, they will lose the building. With their support, legislation is pending in Tallahassee that would make it tougher for buyers to get out of condo contracts."

"'If I am a developer and you come to me with your lawyer and I let you out, the first thing that lawyer does is tell everyone else in the building, 'I can get you out, too,' said Miami attorney John Sumberg, who represents builders."

"At 2 Midtown, buyer Susan Linnell of Burlington, Vt., is among those seeking to get out. She said the developer did not respond for months to her queries about when she could see her two-bedroom unit or the date to close. 'I couldn't get any information out of them,' said Linnell, a real-estate agent. 'The whole thing started to have a really bad feeling.'"

The Naples News. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen. A few years ago, Collier County ranked as the second-fastest-growing county in the nation. But U.S. Census figures set for release today reveal that Collier is now the 97th fastest-growing county, based on growth from 2000 to 2006."

"Fewer people coming to Collier has created a situation in which many homes aren’t selling, said Bob Murray, chairman of the economic development council of the East Naples Civic Association. With home prices dropping, families now are able to buy homes that couldn’t afford a home here before, Murray said."

"'I’ve watched people drop $50,000 off the price of homes they are selling,' he said."

"With so many homes up for sale, Collier could remain in a real estate slump longer than a lot of other communities. 'I have 18 units up for sale,' Murray said. 'They’ve been up for sale for six to eight months. People aren’t buying because the cost is too high.'"

"According to a census report released today, about 18,000 more people left Broward than moved in from other states. 'Housing costs are out of whack, and there isn't an acceptable balance between cost of living and incomes here right now,' said Bill Leonard, senior planner for Broward County."

The Orlando Sentinel. "The torrid pace of growth in Central Florida has slowed. The net increase in residents in the region fell by more than 20,000 last summer, a Census Bureau report out today shows."

"'One complaint I have heard is that companies are having a difficult time recruiting people to work because they can't find a place to live in Seminole County,' said Bill McDermott, economic-development director. 'When I hear that, that's not good news. That's really not good news.'"

The Sun Sentinel. "Business leaders and demographers worry that soaring living costs have placed Palm Beach County and South Florida beyond the grasp of average families."

"'We have major problems with people being able to afford homes in Palm Beach County, but it's not because of the housing market. The crisis is in our taxes and insurance,' William Cozart, CEO of the Realtors Association of Palm Beach County. 'Buyers actually have wonderful choices, but they soon realize their mortgage payments are not as high as their property taxes and insurance. It's devastating and worsens the economy. It makes it difficult for businesses to recruit people to live here.'"

The Palm Beach Post. "Here's an early look at local existing home sales for February, which come out Friday from the Florida Association of Realtors. The inventory of unsold homes rose to a near-record high of 23,713, nearly on par with September's peak of 23,886. Inventory stood at 17,842 in February 2006, making last month's tally of unsold homes a 33 percent increase year-over- year."

"February sales declined 44 percent, year over year, to 623 from 1,106 in February 2006. At the current sales pace, the inventory represents a 38-month supply of homes."

"'Given the very large supply glut evident in these figures, I suspect we'll end up with a lot of disappointed sellers this spring,' said analyst Mike Larson."

The Herald Tribune. "Florida and federal regulatory agencies, including the FBI, are digging into the real estate-related mess that started with the collapse of St. Petersburg-based Construction Compliance Inc."

"Tampa investor Zanuel Johnson said he found himself in the midst of six federal and state investigators asking questions about the particulars of his home investment. Steve Hatch, a Pennsylvania investor who bought a home from Construction Compliance and financed it through Coast Bank of Bradenton, said he has received a similar request by mail recently from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation in Tampa."

"Johnson, a Tampa-based account executive with troubled national sub-prime lender New Century Mortgage Corp., signed a contract to buy a home in Cape Coral built by Enchanted Homes and financed through Coast with American Mortgage Link as the loan's originator."

"The loan was made by Coast subject to documents that Johnson says were falsified by someone to show that he made a $43,000 escrow deposit."

"'We're talking to folks to find out what they were told and what information they were given,' said C. Benton Eisenbach Jr., area financial manager for the Office of Financial Regulation in Tampa. 'We can see the documents from the record, but that doesn't tell me what these people believed.'"

The Gulf News Breeze. "As the destructive hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 become more of a memory, real estate professionals are predicting 2007 will be the year the deflated housing market rebounds to a state of normalcy."

"'With the spring, which is always the case, things are heating up,' said broker Mark Lee. Lee should know a little something about market trends, as he has 25 years of experience in real estate."

"'It's still kind of a standoff between sellers and buyers,' Lee said. 'The sellers aren't willing to lower their prices and the buyers are not willing to pay the price the sellers have. When sellers do lower their prices, there's definitely going to be a market out there.'"