The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "With the housing market stuck in slow motion, more and more condos nearing completion, and many jittery preconstruction buyers wanting out as closing day approaches, Magdiel Guillemi's betting he'll be able to buy at steep discounts. Then he hopes to sell for a profit. The Florida Legislature starts a special session this week to consider lowering property taxes, a move he thinks could spur renewed buying activity and endanger the low-cost deals he's scouting."

"'If they cut taxes that will motivate individual buyers,' said Guillemi. 'And I want to get in before they do. I don't want to be left with the crumbs.'"

"Guillemi is focusing on a unit at the Brickell on the River condo in Miami. He said the owner bought it for $341,000 and is trying to sell for $280,000."

"'The seller has two other properties under foreclosure and is having trouble making mortgage payments,' said Guillemi. 'I'm trying to pick it up for $260,000.'"

"But not everyone is convinced a property tax cut in Tallahassee will cure the housing markets ills. Among the other issues the market must work through are: A giant oversupply of homes: more than 76,000 were listed for sale in April in Broward and Miami-Dade counties compared to some 50,000 a year ago."

"Over the next 18 months about 20,000 new condo units are expected to come onto the market in Miami-Dade County alone, possibly spiking unsold inventory as those units are put back on the market for resale."

"Analyst Jack McCabe, who is advising large vulture investors on bulk deals, said the market is too sick to recover from a tax reduction alone. A big property tax cut may reignite buying now, he said, but would effectively create a false bottom."

"'Meaningful reduction will slow down the correction cycle but the correction is still inevitable,' said the Deerfield Beach analyst, who has warned for some time about too much construction going up too fast. 'The market is so sick it will take a while to cure this,' he said. 'This is not a head cold, it is more like pneumonia.'"

The Herald Tribune. "There are about 500 unsold luxury units in downtown Sarasota, or about an 18-month supply at current absorption rates. From May 2006 to May 2007, only 324 downtown condominium units sold."

"That somewhat bleak appraisal of the city's condo scene was the subject of a standing-room-only meeting of about 75 local real estate agents. Perhaps the most telling moment came when Louise Guido, who served as moderator, asked for a show of hands from those who thought the condo market had bottomed. No hands went up."

"Al Horrigan, chief executive and broker of Bradenton's RSVP Associates was in the room and thought 'it was a dose of reality.' 'No one argued that things were well in the condo marketplace,' he said."

"Guido suggested that, given the high inventory levels, many condos would not be selling anytime soon and that agents should counsel their sellers to lease them out until the market improves."

"Guido gave examples of new two-bedroom and two-bath condos fetching $1,600 to $2,000 per month on annual leases."

"'Investors have dried up. Some investors have multiple properties, mortgage rates have risen and the absorption rate will get worse,' said Guido, who also observed that prices have fallen to the 'pre-construction prices of 2004.'"

"'When you consider that a mortgage on that kind of property carries a monthly payment of $3,000 to $5,000 a month plus property taxes and condo fees, there is still some serious hemorrhaging occurring,' Horrigan said."

"'One shared opinion is that the investor market has substantially dwindled, creating a bloated inventory,' said Cheryl Loeffler of Sky Sotheby's. 'In the face of weak demand and affordability issues, it is going to take aggressive pricing and uniqueness, such as location and amenities, to move sales forward.'"

"'People are looking to figure out how to get out and get their money back,' Horrigan said. The deposit 'is out of your wallet and has been for a couple of years. While it would be painful to walk away, because the money is already gone, it won't change your lifestyle. Close on it and start running negative at $3,000 to $5,000 a month, and it becomes lifestyle-altering.'"

"Horrigan's 'tea leaves' tell him 'things will be selling below purchase price as people try to recoup.'"

The Daily News. "In another sign of the Emerald Coast's cooling housing market, the number of foreclosures is up significantly across Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties."

"According to Metro Market Trends Inc, foreclosures are more than five times higher in Okaloosa County so far this year than in all of 2006. Foreclosures have more than doubled in Walton County and jumped by more than 60 percent in Santa Rosa County."

"'A lot of folks got these interest-only loans as a chance to enter into a home,' said Realtor Lilly Vining. 'And then, whammo, their payment rises, and they can't make that payment.'"

"'I really believe that a lot of foreclosures are the result of purchasing in an inflated market … and the entirely wrong mortgaging programs,' she said. 'People are not researching the loans. Just because you qualify now doesn't mean you'll be able to pay it in the future.'"

"'I think we're going to see more foreclosures,' said Realtor Ray DiTirro. 'I think it'll continue for the rest of the summer.'"

"DiTirro said the rise in foreclosures is due to buyers jumping into interest-only loans, 100 percent loans and adjustable-rate mortgages. 'These are the people who bought high and had little or no equity in the house,' he said. 'I think people got caught in the euphoria.'"

"Vining said she works hard to educate buyers about the ups and downs of the market. 'Sellers really need to understand we're not in an inflated market and haven't been,' she said. 'You've got to counsel your buyer. You've got to find out everything, not just what you can afford now.'"