The Ledger reports from Florida. "For the first time since the housing boom began in 2005, Polk's median home prices decreased 5 percent from March 2007 to March 2006: $178,300 to $168,300. Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Panama City and Punta Gorda all posted double-digit declines in median prices, which is happening to coastal communities where prices were heavily inflated by investors during the peak of the building boom."

"Home sales around the county dropped nearly 42 percent from 592 in March 2006 to 345 last month. 'Right now, it's hard to sell and slow to close,' said Brooks Chandler, a Realtor in Lakeland. 'You have the hills and valleys and that's how it is."

The Herald Tribune. "In the Charlotte County-North Port market, sales of single-family homes fell 25 percent from March 2006 last month. Prices in that market also took a beating, dropping 14 percent to $193,000 and well below the $200,000 price point on which the area had been teetering. Sarasota-Bradenton posted a pricing decline; 9 percent."

"'Buyers are looking for bargains, there's no question about it,' said David Lipstein, founder of Manasota Key Realty. 'They are making offers that are much lower than list prices. In the past, sellers would have been insulted by such low offers and would not have responded, but now most of them want to be insulted. At least that gives them a starting point for negotiations.'"

"There were 8,376 single-family homes listed for sale in Sarasota as of April 15, according to Team DuToit at Keller-Williams Realty. The result is that Sarasota's MLS has been left with a 110-week supply of homes at the current sales rate."

"That makes for odd requests: 'I'd like to make an appeal to everybody who does not need to sell to take your home off the market,' said (realtor) Marianne Zoll."

The Miami Herald. "In March sales of existing single-family homes were down 33 percent in Miami-Dade County and 25 percent in Broward compared to a year ago. For condominiums, sales plummeted 45 percent in Miami-Dade and 32 percent in Broward."

"Nearly 75,000 houses and condos were listed for sale in March, a 4 percent increase over February and a 58 increase over a year ago. 'Sales are soft. I think the next thing will be a softening in home prices. That would be a very good sign, part of the healing process in our real estate market,' said Richard Barkett, CEO of Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale."

"Four months ago Marty Blondwine put her 2-bedroom condo in Fort Lauderdale up for sale. Since then she has dropped her price from $269,000 to $239,000. 'No buyers yet, no showings,' said Blondwine, an accountant pondering a move out of the state because of the high cost of living. 'I can't lower the price anymore. If I do, I will lose money.'"

The News Journal. "Sales of existing homes plunged in March, with the median price for a home in the Volusia-Flagler market dipping below $200,000, the Florida Association of Realtors reported Tuesday."

"'Home buyers are now able to negotiate with sellers since there are so many homes on the market,' said Jalene Stockhausen, president of the West Volusia Association of Realtors. 'I think the mentality is that homes need to sell quickly, so sellers are more willing to bargain.'"

"The number of existing single-family homes sold in Volusia and Flagler counties was down 24 percent in March to 681 from 897 in March 2006, according to the state association. The median sales price was $199,600 in March, down 12 percent from $225,700 a year ago."

"'Buyers are in the driver's seat,' said Maggi Hall, a DeLand Realtor. 'A lot of sellers are lowering prices to get their homes to sell,' Hall said. 'It's good to see a lot of people adjusting their prices to reflect the market, and being much more realistic.'"

The Palm Beach Post. "The Treasure Coast suffered the biggest drop in single-family home sales in the state last month, the clearest evidence yet that the housing boom has gone bust."

"'There was a tremendous amount of speculative investment in the home-buying market in 2004 through 2006,' said analyst Stan Gerberer. 'Some reports, and some anecdotal evidence, show as much as 50 percent were speculative sales. Everybody who plays the investment game hopes the buck stops with the next guy rather than him.'"

"'We seem to be selling less and less, and listing more and more,' said Sheri Wetzel, president of the Realtors Association of St. Lucie County. Bob Lowe, a Treasure Coast broker and a Florida Association of Realtors officer, agreed. 'The market has totally done a 180-degree turn and has become a buyers' market,' said Lowe."

"A recent report revealed a 21-month supply of existing single-family homes and a 27-month supply of condos in Palm Beach County. 'The speculative days are over, but there are some very tempting deals from builders,' said economist Bradley Hunter."

The Sun Sentinel. "The South Florida home and condo market could get worse before it gets better. Nearly 37,000 homes and condominiums were on the market last month in Broward. At the current pace, it would take several years to sell those properties."

"Analyst Brad Hunter of West Palm Beach said buyers might seriously consider new single-family homes because builders are slashing prices and offering 'mind-boggling deals.'"

"Properties that are selling have two things in common: they're renovated and priced slightly below market value."

"'I think that over the next two months most of the buying will be done,' said David Dweck, an agent in Broward and Palm Beach counties. 'Come summertime, with hurricane season, I don't think we'll see a lot of buying and we'll see a lot of motivated and desperate sellers.'"

"Frank Pagliughi's looking for a two-bedroom condo in Broward, and prices for similar-sized units vary wildly. Two nearly identical condos in Sunrise, for example, were priced $60,000 apart, he said. The price gap, along with the uncertainty surrounding property taxes and insurance, makes Pagliughi wonder why he's going through the hassle."

"'I ask myself, 'Do I really want to buy right now?' he said. 'It's just off the wall what people think they can get for their homes.'"

The Tampa Tribune. "Sales of single-family homes in the Tampa Bay area continued to plummet in March, and the median sale price of homes fell by $9,000 from the same time a year ago, according to new housing data."

"Carrollwood resident Elaine Fernandez decided to sell her three-bedroom house and buy a town home about a year ago. But the selling part wasn't as easy as it sounded. 'Now I'm the proud owner of two houses,' she joked."

"The number of existing single-family homes sold in March in the Bay area fell to 2,502 from 4,006 in March 2006. That's a drop of 38 percent. The condominium market was even softer in March, with 500 condos sold in the Bay area, compared with 968 condos sold in March 2006, a 48 percent drop."

"Overbuilding is partly behind a huge inventory of homes on the market. According to the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, for example, Tampa had 19,814 homes on the market in March, which is up from 12,230 homes a year ago. At the current pace of sales, it would take 14.6 months to sell that housing stock, according to GTAR numbers."

"Aside from cutting prices, many sellers understand it's more challenging to sell a home today than it was at the height of the real estate boom, said real estate agent Bill Knecht. 'They have a certain level of resolve,' he said. 'They are certainly willing to try things that maybe weren't on the table before.'"

The News Press. "In Lee County, there were 636 single- family homes sold with the assistance of Realtors in March. That's...below the 955 sold in March 2006. 'Some of the sellers have adjusted to the new reality. Some say we need more price reductions from the sellers. It's the sellers who are overpriced at 2004, 2005 prices who need to come down if they're stuck in la-la land,' said (realtor) Brett Ellis in Fort Myers."

The Naples News. "In March, the median price of a single-family home sold with the help of a Realtor in Lee County was $268,000, 5 percent below the 2006 March median of $281,300."

"Condominium sales continued to plummet also, down 19 percent in one year. The median price of condo in Lee County dropped drastically from $318,900 in March 2006 to $250,000 last month. 'The developers are killing the condo market,' said Wes Brodersen with Exit Gulder Real Estate in Bonita Springs."

"He said that with the condo inventory high, developers are offering up to 10 percent finders fees to agents to bring them clients. Brodersen said that in the past it was hard to even get 3 percent from builders. 'The developers are making deals on top of deals just to sell condos,' Brodersen said."

"Fort Myers agent Bob Oxnard also blames developers for creating a saturated market. He said developers held their product out of the market last year in fear of speculators making more money than them. Now developers are paying the consequences, Oxnard said. 'Now they will sell you anything at anytime for almost any reasonable offer,' he said."