The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "If you need evidence of how the slumping housing market is impacting the local economy, look no further than Port Manatee. Shipments of lumber, plywood and fencing materials that exploded during the housing boom have dropped off significantly during the bust."

"'The market crashed and no one needed plywood,' said Capt. Rasmus Okland, terminal manager for Port Manatee's largest forestry product importer. 'Prices have come down and stayed down, and consumption remains low.'"

"Sarasota County's impact fees could become the second most expensive in the state by the end of the summer. The county recently approved two rounds of impact fee hikes that will raise the fees. Builders say the impact fee hikes come at a dangerous time for the construction and real estate industries."

"'We have a housing market in Sarasota that has fallen off the table. And to make such severe impact fee adjustments right now is certainly not helping stimulate the recovery,' said Wayne Farrell, President of Southwest Florida Homes, Inc."

"A Boston-based company working to transform a 200-acre tract in Charlotte County into a massive mixed-use development has revamped its plans in response to market conditions."

"The Wilder Cos. has reduced to 500 the number of new residences that would become part of its massive project. When Wilder's plans were announced last May, plans called for 800 homes."

"Wilder said the drop in planned homes stemmed not from the softened residential real estate market, but rather from an enthusiastic response from merchants to the planned retail. 'We found there was a little more demand for the retail we've planned,' Wilder said."

The Bradenton Herald. "Jim Hicks and other members of District 5 in Lakewood Ranch, a district comprised of the northern part of Lakewood Ranch Country Club, have the tough job of putting together a 2008 budget. Some Lakewood Ranch officials worry about foreclosures as a budget breaker."

"On Tuesday, 15 homes were in foreclosure in Lakewood Ranch, according to Cynthia Wills, community association manager."

"It doesn't seem like a huge number when compared to the 6,000 total homes in the planned community, but the temporary loss of taxes and dues from foreclosures has been a steady stream in 2007 and will affect the 2008 budgets, which are being put together this week."

"'When there is a foreclosure, their assessment doesn't get paid,' said Wills. 'Taxes don't get paid. Quite often before a home goes into foreclosure, they haven't paid their dues for a year. Then, of course, the property tends to go downhill, which impacts the rest of the neighborhood.'"

"'I wouldn't call it shocking, but it is disturbing,' she said. 'There might be 6,000 homes, but that doesn't matter to you if you are living next door to one that is foreclosing.'"

"Nationwide, foreclosure has become an issue. 'I don't have any hard, cold facts, but a lot of people bought properties as investments and apparently are having difficulties,' Wills said. 'A lot of homes they purchased they couldn't sell and now they are for rent.'"

From Money Magazine. "Steve and Carol Daimler retired to Florida from Virginia two years ago. The Daimlers spend most of their time consumed with selling two investment properties they bought shortly after the move, holding open houses, distributing fliers, cold-calling realtors and catering to prospective buyers."

"The properties remain unsold, draining nearly $6,000 a month from the Daimlers' dwindling retirement kitty. The couple had thought the properties would help finance the lovely new life they planned to lead in Florida."

"To supplement their retirement savings of $260,000, they figured they'd buy fixer-upper homes to renovate, then sell at a profit in the state's hot housing market. 'We thought we'd make $100,000 without batting an eye,' says Carol."

"But when the housing bubble burst, so did their dreams of a real-estate funded retirement. The properties have been on the market for nine months without a serious offer, and the carrying costs are killer: The Daimlers pay more than $65,000 a year on their mortgages (including loans for their primary residence and a vacation house in North Carolina), plus tens of thousands more for property taxes, insurance and maintenance."

"The couple are pulling out $15,000 a month from savings to cover their expenses, and they've already run through more than half of their nest egg."

"Exactly how fast the local real estate market was deteriorating wasn't clear in August when the Daimlers bought two three-bedroom, two-bath houses: one in a Daytona gated community for $235,000; the other in Palm Coast for $120,000."

"To finance the purchases, they took out a $400,000 mortgage on their home. They spent $31,000 on renovations and listed the houses in September. But since then the market has been flooded with homes for sale, and the Daimlers have been caught in the changing current."

"With just $120,000 left in his 401(k), Steve decided in March to go back to work. One thing hasn't changed: The Daimlers remain staunch believers in real estate. 'If the financial pressure was off, we'd still look for opportunities to invest,' says Steve. 'For now, though, we just don't have the means to hang on.'"

From Florida Today. "The housing market in Brevard County is doing better than some markets in Florida, and doing worse than others, said Franck Kaiser, chief executive officer of the Home Builders & Contractors Association of Brevard."

"Because of the housing slowdown, small homebuilders like in Brevard County like Bruce Pearcehave been forced to focus on home repair and remodeling jobs."

"Pearce, owner of Talbott Construction Design Inc. in West Melbourne, said he may get out of homebuilding if business does not pick up because it is hard to compete with large corporate builders in a slow market."

"Kaiser said homebuilders generally have dropped prices for new homes, including taking losses on some homes to clear out their inventory."