The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "'For Rent' signs litter lawns in almost every Southwest Florida neighborhood. The apartment and home rental vacancy rate is at nearly 10 percent because of the mass exodus of construction and service sector workers from the area. Instead of lowering rents, some landlords are simply getting out of the business."

"One theory goes that Southwest Florida landlords cannot afford to lower their rents because of the spiraling cost of taxes and insurance. For instance, a two-bedroom house in Sarasota that sold for $250,000, with 20 percent down, paying 6 percent interest on a 30-year mortgage, would cost $1,199 per month, not including closing costs, property taxes and insurance, to own."

"The average price listed for two-bedroom house rentals in the classified section is $850 to $900 per month."

"'I had to sell one of my houses last year just to cover my taxes. My rent could not keep up,' said Mike Geenen, a Sarasota landlord for more than 27 years. 'I borrowed money and kept borrowing money, and I finally had to sell out, which got me out of debt.'"

"'If there's not a drastic resolution to this, I am going to liquidate and move to Tennessee,' said Geenen, who has sold three of his eight rental houses in recent years."

"The Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation says that, statewide, more than 3,000 construction jobs were lost just in the first three months of 2007. That likely understates the total because the majority of workers in the industry are subcontractors, who often are not counted."

"During the first quarter, for example, 217 housing units were built in Sarasota County, a 60 percent decline from the same time last year."

"Al Holmes, president of the Sarasota and Manatee landlord associations, who manages the 66-unit Baltic Apartments in Sarasota, has lost nearly a dozen renters in the past year because they could no longer afford to live in the region."

"'The construction side got sick and they all started moving out. Now, we're seeing a lot of vacancies. We're seeing vacancies like we've never seen before,' Holmes said."

"His taxes and property insurance have gone up 307 percent in the last few years, he said. To break even, Holmes would have to pass on to his tenants a rent increase of about $75 or $100 per month on an $850-per-month rental."

"Holmes knows his tenants would not like it, and would not have to accept it with so many other rentals on the market."

"'We're being hit with the double whammy. The building trade is slow. Taxes are high. Rent is low. And insurance is thrown on top of it,' he said." "Complicating that is the fact that Southwest Florida has so much investment property from the recent housing boom that likewise is being rented out, or whose owners are at least trying."

"'All these people who bought condominiums and houses in speculation are grateful right now just to have someone to help cover the mortgage,' said Jude Levy, an affordable housing advocate. 'But eventually, they are finally going to sell that house and that condo.'"

"Geenen considers himself fortunate because he owes very little on the majority of his properties. When the housing market rebounds, Geenen thinks he will be well positioned to cash out. He imagines many others who might not be so lucky."

"'Some of these people are mortgaged right to the hilt. They can't move,' he said."

"For SevenShores, one of the largest Manatee County developments ever, it is back to the drawing board, literally, after the owner, St. Joe Co., recently announced it was suspending sales at the site and offered to return deposits."

"The suspension announcement came after St. Joe, the state's largest landholder with 900,000 acres, said in August that it planned to exit Florida home building."

"That was a move that resulted in layoffs and a greater reliance on local, regional and national home builders."

"Condos at the development were expected to range from the high $600,000s to about $1 million. A new product mix will likely reduce those lofty price points. Many other developers in the region have taken that tack to stimulate sales."

The Palm Beach Post. "Despite a prolonged housing slump, 4,000 new homes will be going up west of Interstate 95. Centex Homes unveiled plans for Phase 1 of the 2,068-acre project at a planning and zoning board meeting Tuesday."

"A contract dispute waylaid plans for homes in 2003, just as nearby landowners like Core Communities, PGA and G.L. Homes were announcing dreams of building their own mega-communities on vast tracts of farmland west of I-95."

"With the court battle settled and Centex paying $110 million for the land last year, developers said they are eager to break ground next spring despite the slumping housing market."

"No price range has been set, but Kenneth DeLaTorre of Centex said value will be a key factor in attracting buyers in a lackluster market."

The News Journal. "The number of permits for new single-family homes in Volusia County during the first quarter of 2007 fell nearly 45 percent from the first quarter of 2006, according to a new report."

"The latest quarterly figures continue a decline that began in early 2006. Rick Michael, Volusia County's economic development director, said his agency tracks the housing permits issued by every city and the county every three months, and those figures show the number actually peaked in the last quarter of 2005."

"'You cannot measure against 2005 because it was an artificially robust year,' Michael said. 'The housing market has come down to what it was before it heated up (that year). We're back to normal.'"

"The downturn in housing starts also affects construction employment, Michael said, although the decline in jobs will lag behind the fall in permits issued."

From Hernando Today. "About 200 people packed a county commission budget workshop Tuesday pleading for tax reform. In the last five years, James Knotts of Spring Hill says his property taxes have risen 100 percent. During that same period, his house insurance soared 300 percent, he told county commissioners."

"Sen. Paula Dockery said legislators must walk a fine line between cutting taxes and jeopardizing public service."

"Ana Trinque said the county raked in big bucks during he housing explosion of 2006. 'What did the county do with all that money from the housing boom?' she asked."

"Realtor Vera DuGray said she can live with reduced services if it means cutting her taxes. 'We need tax relief and it has to come now,' she said."

"Linda Hayward, part of the Lower Hernando County Taxes group, said she couldn’t reconcile commissioners’ dire economic budgetary warnings when the county’s reserve budget grew 54 percent from 2005 to 2007. Owning property has now become a liability instead of an asset, she said."