The Pensacola News Journal reports from Florida. "Greg Chapman put his East Hill home on the market in November 2005 at a time when residential prices were approaching post-Hurricane Ivan highs. But it also was a time when the inventory of unsold homes was starting to climb rapidly. Over the next three months Chapman got only three half-hearted inquiries about his three-bedroom brick home, listed originally at $193,600."

"He pulled his home off the market, deciding to bide his time and wait for the market to strengthen. But this past spring Chapman had a change of heart after Realtor-associate Keith Harrod convinced (him) to price the house at what he considered a fair market rate for that section of East Hill. The result: the house sold the first day on the market at a price, $165,000, Chapman said made him 'extremely happy.'"

"Chapman's quick success offers a broader lesson for the overall Pensacola housing market: Price the property right and it will sell. 'I've had a number of clients who have priced their homes too high and have been sliding down with the market,' said Harrod. 'And, in the end, they've probably lost money.'"

"But flying in the face of that simple strategy is the growing glut of overpriced, unsold homes, which hit a record high in May of more than 7,100. And that number doesn't include homes for sale by owner, and the many hundreds of new spec homes offered by builders."

"'Right now I can't even give away a condo on Perdido Key,' said agent Glenda Jones. 'There are 438 units on the market on Perdido Key, and I can't get any buyers. Association fees and taxes are making a lot of buyers hold back.'"

"Jones says part of the problem with the condo market is 'people want to make too much money' selling their units. Realtor Bill Chavis' take on the condo market is even more grim. 'It's brutal times in the condo market,' he said."

"Robert Hogan, of Innerarity Realty, says prices are coming down on the Key, and that's a good sign. 'Prices have come way down,' said Hogan. 'But we're in a kind of Catch-22: People know we're getting down to the bottom, but it's hurricane season, and that, and taxes and insurance, are keeping buyers away.'"

"On Pensacola Beach, the condo picture is far from robust, but is holding its own, largely because prices have dropped by up to 25 percent, said veteran Realtor John Pinzino."

"'Seems to me the market has gone back to the way it was in 2004,' he noted. 'I've been in the real estate business for 40 years and from what I can tell I really think we've hit bottom.'"

"To the east, the housing/condo market in the Navarre area is more mixed, says Carol Brown with Prudential Holley Properties. There are some 950 homes and condos on the market, Brown said. And sales are slowing considerably from May 2006 levels when 112 single family homes sold, compared to 77 last month."

"'I think prices are coming down...and buyers do move to properly priced homes,' Brown said. 'But there is an abundance of property in market and buyers are not making a move until they see a property priced correctly, and unless it is absolutely showcased it won't sell.'"

The Miami Herald. "Within an hour after the Florida Legislature passed its tax bill Thursday evening, Mark Zilbert went to work. The South Beach real estate broker sent an e-mail blast to 50,000 potential buyers with the tax changes, and condominiums for sale."

"Like most in the housing industry, Zilbert had been eagerly waiting for something, anything, to inject new life into a frozen real estate market."

"But even if voters say yes in January, it's unclear how far the changes to the market will go. Peter Zalewski, a real estate advisor in Bal Harbour, said the super-sized exemption may bring a burst of activity, but not for long."

"'Ultimately, there are too many units and not enough buyers, and not even a tax break will change that,' he said."

"The broader market still faces a host of problems. There's an affordability gap. Banks are tightening lending standards after giving out mortgages too freely. Insurance rates remain high for many homeowners."

"And there is still a mountain of homes on the market looking for a buyer. In the past year, the number of homes listed for sale in Miami-Dade and Broward counties increased from 50,000 to more than 75,000."

"Meanwhile, the vacation- and second-home sector, a big part of South Florida's housing market, were largely left out of the tax breaks passed by the Legislature. Florida is the largest vacation home market in the country, according to the U.S. Census."

"Some say the reform package, even if the January vote passes, doesn't go far enough. 'It's not enough to impact our housing market,' said Silvio Cardoso, president of the Builders Association of South Florida, who favored a rollback in property taxes to 2001 levels. 'I think the market will continue to be very dead for a while.'"

The Bradenton Herald. "Maris Bluestein, who lives in an ocean-front Pompano Beach apartment with her husband, said she'll likely vote for the amendment to cut their $8,800 homestead tax bill. But Bluestein said she's disappointed with the plan. It doesn't do enough, she said."

"The super-exemptions don't apply to non-homesteaded properties, so the Bluesteins will get no relief from the $8,000 they pay in taxes for another condo they own."

The Sun Sentinel. "A day after Florida lawmakers hailed their landmark property-tax cut, analysts and real estate agents sounded off, insisting the savings won't be enough to stimulate the hamstrung housing market."

"Legislators say the average homeowner's tax bill is expected to drop by $174 this year. While that's something, it's not the panacea people were hoping for."

"'I think we're going to be addressing this tax issue again down the road,' said Richard Barkett, CEO of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale. 'The idea was to loosen up the buyers,' added Jeff Levine of Illustrated Properties in Wellington. 'But I'm not sure this does that. We need a longer-term solution.'"

"'Most of the buyers I'm working with were hoping for some type of portability,' said Debbie Anderson, an agent in northwest Broward County. "This is definitely a huge disappointment for Realtors and buyers who were waiting to make their move.'"

"The housing downturn is hurting other businesses such as home furnishings, which depend on robust home sales. 'We've never seen a downturn like this since our history in Florida,' said Ira Baer, chief financial officer for Baer's Furniture, a Pompano Beach-based chain with 16 stores statewide."

"Tax cuts alone won't give the South Florida housing market a major boost, Baer said. 'You still have to tackle some of the other issues,' he said, noting that homeowners need more relief from rising insurance rates."

The Orlando Sentinel. "People whose incomes depend on the housing market are trying to keep up with the changes to the property-insurance market, and hoping for improvements."

"'It's already slowed things down,' said Steve Schneider, past president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers. 'I'm aware of people that are moving out of the state because they say they don't see' enough relief on the horizon."

"'I've had several instances in the last year where the deal fell though because the buyer couldn't get insurance on the home, or the insurance was too expensive,' said Rob Owen of Rob Owen Insurance in Winter Park."

From NBC 2. "With a slow housing market, more property owners have to rent out homes rather than sell them and that's leading to an increasing number of squatters which is costing property owners hundreds of dollars and dozens of headaches."

"Empty boxes of food, dishes, toys and trash was left all over the front yard for the homeowner, Erich Brady to clean up. 'This was, this was just a nightmare,' said Brady."

"Other Cape Coral residents say they're also seeing more and more of this, all because of the housing market. Homeowners are starting to rent their places to just about anyone and sometimes, they turn out to be squatters."

"Other homeowners are also being affected by the trashy messes left by squatters. People that live near some of the messy homes say that trying to sell their home has become even harder."

The News Press. "SunTrust Banks Inc., the seventh-biggest U.S. bank, plans to sell about 473 buildings and eliminate 300 jobs as part of a plan announced in January to lower costs. The company will put 48 office buildings and about 425 retail branches on the market and then lease the space and continuing using it, Atlanta-based SunTrust said in a statement."

"SunTrust is the third largest bank in Lee County, according to the 2006 market share report by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp."

"'While maybe not earthmoving, these are sensible things that can save the company money,' said analyst Kevin Fitzsimmons. 'It leaves you with the impression that Jim Wells is looking under every rock.'"

"Selling in a buyer's market isn't for sissies. And if all you are doing is trying to sell, then, unless you are into pain, you should wait for a friendlier market."

"The difference between a committed seller and one who is just trying to sell is in how they answer one simple question: 'Are you willing to do what it takes to sell?' If your answer is no, then do everyone a favor and wait."

"Pricing is the single most important issue a seller must face. Are you willing to sell at today's market value, regardless of what that is? Forget about what you paid, what you need, or what the ugly home across the street is on the market for. It may not matter what your recent appraisal or Zillow.com says. It's a safe bet that today's market value is well below what you think it is."

"If you want to keep your sanity throughout the listing and selling process, then set proper expectations. The Field of Dreams method of selling, which is 'list it and they will come,' does not apply in this market."

"If your property is not clearly one of the best values on the market today, it will not be shown. If you expect otherwise, you will be disappointed. Six times more homes were listed last week than were sold, so the odds of your property selling are not in your favor."