The Orlando Sentinel reports from Florida. "The last bit of good news vanished from Orlando's gloomy home market last month, when the median price of the houses and condos sold by local Realtors fell from a year earlier for the first time in more than five years. Meanwhile, existing-home sales by Orlando Regional Realtor Association members were down more than 40 percent from a year ago, the inventory of homes listed hit a new high of 24,435."

"'It's probably the slowest I've ever seen,' said Earl Roberts, an agent in Longwood, who has been selling part time in Central Florida since 1970. 'Everybody is having trouble.'"

"Caron Loveless and her husband are caught in that 'buyer's market'as they try to sell their MetroWest home, listed now for 11 months and counting. The couple bought a house in the Dr. Phillips area after finding a buyer for their MetroWest place, but the sale fell through when the buyer backed out."

"'Our heads are spinning,' Caron Loveless said. 'It's a mystery to be in this situation. We're carrying two mortgages, two pools, two pool cleaners, two exterminators and two of everything you need to keep a house going and looking good.'"

"Their agent, Ellie Musgrave, said the couple have done everything they can to sell the home, including cutting the asking price a number of times, from $489,000 to $415,000."

"'Buyers, unless they are relocating, are just not very motivated. You see that a lot,'Musgrave said. But homeowners are finally lowering their asking prices and their expectations, she added."

"Craig Russo, director of strategic marketing for Pulte in Orlando, said that about 31 percent of all Realtor listings in the Orlando area involve sellers who are 'not motivated,' a figure that inflates the inventory total and has a dampening effect psychologically on prospective buyers."

"Roberts, a retired teacher and longtime sales agent in Seminole County, said he's getting ready to put his own Tuscawilla home on the market. 'It's time for me to get out of the state,' he said."

"Orlando, Tampa and Florida's west coast have received an 'F' from the nation's largest luxury-home builder as sales continue to slump."

"Robert Toll, CEO of Toll Brothers Inc., said Wednesday during a conference call that the increased number of 'F' grades he gave to the company's markets implied that business was slipping."

From Florida Today. "Last year was no picnic for many builders, who saw profits shrink, as many housing markets slumped. Even Lennar relied on aggressive discounting and other incentives to boost its numbers, Professional Builder Senior Business Editor Bill Lurz said."

"'They took it to greater extremes than anyone else,' Lurz said about Lennar."

"'It's still going to be a pretty tough year,' said Keith Buescher, president of Suntree-based Mercedes Homes. 'We haven't seen a lot of improvement.'"

"Builders have been adjusting to the new realities of the real estate market. Lennar, for instance, is focusing on building more homes with smaller floor plans and less square-footage to bring prices down to a level that more people can afford, or are willing to pay, in certain markets like Brevard County, said Laureen Ramsey, president of Lennar's Space Coast Division."

"'What made sense yesterday doesn't make sense today,' Ramsey said."

The Sun Sentinel. "Two South Florida builders underscored the severity of the housing woes Thursday, releasing first-quarter earnings that give little hope for a rebound in 2007."

"Both TOUSA Inc. of Hollywood and Levitt Corp. of Fort Lauderdale offered gloomy short-term forecasts and wouldn't predict when conditions might improve."

"'The wilder the party, the longer the hangover,' said Per Gunnar Berglund, senior economist for Moody's Economy.com."

"TOUSA said it's concerned that housing inventory appears to be rising in most of its markets. Sales in March and April were disappointing and conditions could linger for the foreseeable future. The company builds in Florida and nine other 10 states."

"'The spring selling season is now two-thirds complete and to date it has been uninspiring,' CEO Antonio Mon said on a conference call Thursday. 'Florida was probably the last market in the country to be hit by the housing downturn, so it could very well be one of the last ones to emerge from the downturn.'"

The Wall Street Journal. "In the latest fallout from the housing market's decline, disputes are breaking out between builders and buyers who signed contracts for new homes and condos when the market was hot, and now want to get out of them."

"Florida, a magnet for housing speculators in the boom, is ground zero for such disputes. The state long has been a boon to housing attorneys, some of whom are now filing lawsuits against developers."

"One lawyer recently took out an ad in a Palm Beach newspaper reading: 'Do you want your money back? Your contract for purchase of a new house or condominium may be illegal...To see if you are entitled to a refund, call us for a free consultation.'"

"Dennis Freeman, an attorney in Aventura, Fla., recently settled (a) case in which the developer agreed to return a $266,000 deposit to a condo buyer who claimed that the size of the pool deck and gym were smaller than the developer promised. Mr. Freeman said he was surprised by the settlement. 'To me, it's a reach,' he said."

The Tampa Tribune. "A residential real estate lender is laying off 177 local employees as it prepares for corporate extinction."

"Subprime lender New Century Financial Corp. is closing nearly all its remaining operations and laying off 'most remaining personnel,' including workers in Tampa, as it prepares to sell its assets and go out of business, spokeswoman Laura Oberhelman said Thursday afternoon."

"Employees in New Century's Tampa office mostly were involved in selling loans to borrowers."