The News Press reports from Florida. "The median price of an existing home sold in Lee County edged up in April, but experts say that’s not the whole story in a market flooded with inexpensive houses. Real estate broker Denny Grimes said the higher median doesn’t translate into a recovering market. 'It only takes a couple of sales higher than the median to push it from $269,000 to $283,200,' he said. 'Prices in our market are still going down.'"

"One seller agreed that prices are far below what they were when the market reached its peak in December 2005 with a median price of $322,300."

"'It’s a horrible market,' said Keith Olson of Fort Myers Beach, an investor who lost $90,000 on one Cape Coral house he sold recently and expects to lose $70,000 when he closes on the sale of another one next month."

"There’s no indication that higher prices are in the offing anytime soon, he said. 'The next 90 days will be golden days for buyers.'"

"Fred Elliott of Coldwell Banker Preferred Properties in Lehigh Acres said...sales appear to be increasing, in part because 'We’re seeing more bank foreclosures than in the past and they’re getting more realistic with bank-owned properties and short sales.'"

"Peggy Hummel, CEO of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach, said the association’s statistics show that 'we’ve got about a 15-month supply of residential and 18 months of condominiums,' so the inventory of unsold homes should be gone by late 2008. 'The market should be back about 2009.'"

The Miami Herald. "Richard Coren thought his three-bedroom house in Pembroke Pines was worth about $420,000 when he put it up for sale in November. And he appeared to be the only one. After it sat for six months on the market, Cohen knocked about $40,000 off the asking price and found a buyer willing to pay $383,500."

"'I figured if the market was bad, I had to change with the times,' Coren said, recalling how his real estate agent urged him to ask for less money. 'We got instant activity as soon as I took her advice.'"

"Coren was one of the 580 people who sold a house in Broward County in April, 16 percent fewer than did so a year ago, the Florida Association of Realtors said Friday. Miami-Dade County's housing market took a much bigger dip: Single-family home sales plunged 37 percent to their lowest level for April in at least 10 years."

"Cyndy Wald listed Coren's Pembroke Pines house and was the one who told him that his original $420,000 asking price was 'yesterday's news.' 'We're still in this correction phase,' Wald said, using a term for a market with retreating prices. 'They have to price it very competitively.'"

"The buyer's market that took firm hold of South Florida's housing market last year extended its grip in April. Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell reported unsold inventory has grown 9 percent since January to 76,063 units in Broward and Miami-Dade counties."

"But the 12-month figure shows how much things have changed: unsold inventory grew 36 percent in Broward since April 2006 and a full 53 percent in Miami-Dade."

The Herald Tribune. "Although local housing inventory stubbornly hovered near record high levels, the Sarasota-Bradenton market was the only market in the state to show positive sales growth for April. The news was not as bright further south in Charlotte County-North Port, where April sales fell 15 percent from a year ago and median prices dropped 12 percent."

"'We were among the first markets in the state where a unified real estate community counseled sellers to price realistically and to not expect the windfall profits we saw during 2004-05,' said Michael Saunders, president of Sarasota's Michael Saunders & Co."

"'There was considerable resistance at first, but we have steadily chipped away at that resistance as sellers saw properly priced homes sell much faster. The numbers tell the tale,' she said."

"While some Sarasota sellers may be asking for the moon, the Port Charlotte-Punta Gorda market is yearning for the past. Waterfront specialist Florence Tanner in Punta Gorda, says she sees more activity in the starter home market than in waterfront, which is bringing down prices on the more expensive waterfront properties."

"'Someone who is looking for a waterfront property, you can find one for under $200,000 now in Charlotte County,' Tanner said. 'Here is one that is one bridge to open water, and it's only $179,000.'"

"The condo inventory was in the upper 4,000s until mid-April, when it broke above 5,000, and it has stayed there since. As of May 15 there are 5,207 condos for sale and only 383 deals pending."

"Broker Albert E. Horrigan, said: 'It's not the end of our current market downturn.'"

The News Journal. "Existing-home sales in Volusia and Flagler counties fell 25 percent in April compared to the same month a year earlier, but the median sales price dropped by only 7 percent over the period."

"'I think we're getting back to what the market was before it got crazy. We're seeing some good price reductions, and when prices come down, houses are selling,' Don Wood, president of the New Smyrna Beach Board of Realtors."

"Ray Arriana said he is offering $10,000 in incentives to be used however a buyer wants. His three-bedroom, two-bath house has been on the market about six weeks, but lenders have tightened their guidelines. 'I would have had a contract (a couple of times), but the credit keeps falling through,' Arriana said."

"'Lenders certainly are tightening up their guidelines. The days of buying a house with no money down and poor credit are pretty much over,' said Stephen Bradt, owner of M & R Mortgage Services in Orange City."

"While Southwest Florida's prime real estate season ended on a relatively high note, developers and Realtors are scratching their heads about what they can do to keep drawing buyers in a wobbly market."

"It is not easy to grab attention for a listing when there are more than 13,300 properties for sale on the Sarasota MLS alone."

"Premier Properties, a Sarasota player and part of the much larger Naples company of the same name, opted to sponsor an open house featuring Diane Ahlquist, a psychic and author."

"So, did Ahlquist encourage Realtors to bring their psychic powers to bear on selling? Sort of. 'We all have intuitive abilities, which are like muscles. The more you use them, the stronger they get,' she said, advising Realtors that when considering a possible listing, 'stop at the front door for a moment.'"

"'Ask yourself, 'Will this sell?' or 'Will it be nothing but a headache?' Ahlquist said. 'Use intuitive power to determine how to deal with buyers and sellers or even to determine if you should take a listing.'"

"Ahlquist capped off the evening with an announcement that she and her husband had put their home on the market. When asked, in that beautifully appointed room full of Realtors, whether her sponsor Premier was handling the sale, Ahlquist could have used the power of clear thinking, it seemed, before answering."

"'I am doing a FSBO.' For sale by owner? The party was over."