The News Journal reports from Florida. "The wave of home foreclosures washing across the nation is making itself painfully apparent in the Volusia-Flagler area, with huge increases in the number of cases filed this year in the circuit courts of both counties. 'Half the people coming to see me are just walking away from their houses,' said the lawyer, Walter J. Snell of Daytona Beach."

"Stretched homeowners did file Chapter 13 bankruptcy to get a breather on their debts, said Snell. Now, their finances are too far gone to try."

"In the first six months of this year, 1,669 foreclosure suits were filed in Volusia County, more than twice the 774 filed in the first half of 2005, about the time the real-estate boom crested. The total cases filed in the first half of last year was 893."

"Flagler County appears to be even harder-hit. There were 569 foreclosures filed there as of Friday compared with 450 in all of last year and 216 the year before."

"'We see more short sales and rushes to sell in Palm Coast...because it was built up faster,' said John J. Adams of the area's biggest real-estate agency."

"Snell, the bankruptcy lawyer, said: 'A lot of it, I'm seeing in Palm Coast. People are telling me, 'I can't sell it for what I paid.'"

The St Petersburg Times. "As investors struggle in a cooling real estate market, Riverview has become one of the nation's top areas for foreclosure filings."

"Lenders are dealing with increasing numbers of people who can't pay their mortgages. The problem: a combination of 100 percent mortgages and falling home values."

"'It's unfortunate that people bought their houses at inflated prices,' said Valerie Siger, a mortgage broker in Riverview. 'Right now, they're in trouble.'"

"Already this year, lenders have filed 3,573 foreclosure actions in Hillsborough County, according to the clerk of the Circuit Court. That's more than twice the number of foreclosure suits that had been filed during the same period in 2006."

"For some, refinancing is an option, she said. Others are being forced to sell. 'It doesn't surprise me,' said Doug Skeggs, a mortgage broker in Riverview. 'People bought their homes without putting anything down.'"

"Now, some homeowners are stuck with rapidly increasing adjustable-rate mortgages that they can't afford, he said."

"'It's the same thing that's happening all over,' said Horace Morgan, who owns a realty and mortgage business in Brandon and offers credit counseling. 'In the Riverview area, there are lots of new developments. There were lots of builders there. They were giving new incentives to Realtors and to buyers, including discounts for using their lenders.'"

"The major problems, Morgan said, stem from the 'creative loans' buyers secured during the boom, which required less documentation and fewer qualifications. 'They got their loans in the first place through creativity,' he said. 'Now they're back to reality.'"

The Herald Tribune. "The number of homes being foreclosed on in Southwest Florida keeps growing. The three-county region logged 848 foreclosure actions in June, reports RealtyTrac, more than three times as many as the 202 in June 2006."

"Charlotte County had 153 foreclosure actions in June, up from 29 a year ago. Manatee had 256 in June, up from 120 a year ago, while Sarasota had 439, up from 53 in June 2006, RealtyTrac said."

"In Florida, there were 21,035 foreclosure actions in June, up 144 percent from last year."

The Palm Beach Post. "Because of the severe housing market decline, St. Lucie County is in recession, a leading economist told Florida home building industry leaders Wednesday. 'Housing-related jobs are a major source of employment in Port St. Lucie,' said Mark Zandi, senior economist for Moody's economy.com."

"Zandi told the group that, as home sales went into a nosedive in Port St. Lucie, one of the nation's hottest home-building markets during the 2001-05 boom, so did housing-related employment. 'I'm talking about Realtors, finance people, sales people,' he said, 'not just construction workers.'"

"'This is not a happy talk,' he said. 'Housing starts peaked in 2005. In Florida, the downdraft has been more severe. Home sales in Florida will be lucky to get 10,000 this year.'"

"Florida has two big problems, Zandi said: too much inventory and low affordability. 'It's impossible to argue that the bottom is at hand,' he said. 'It's at least a year away.'"

From TC Palm. "It's a buyer's market these days when it comes to boats. First-quarter numbers indicate boat sales could be down as much as 38 percent when projected out over the year in St. Lucie County alone."

"'Business has been terrible,' said George Field, president of the Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast."

"The result has created a stockpile for area boat dealers, and that has had an effect on manufacturers, too, according to Field. 'Dealers have backed off on new orders substantially,' Field said. 'It's created a cascading effect on the entire industry.'"

"Field said problems in the real estate market are having a ripple effect on boat sales. Bob Adkins, a Sea Swirl factory representative for Genmar Corp., agrees."

"'Those guys who lay block, do drywall, plumbing and electric work are the same guys who buy a lot of boats all across the Treasure Coast and don't mind spending $300 for gas to go fishing on the weekend,' said Adkins. 'Those guys now aren't working because of the housing slowdown. That is the problem in a nutshell.'"

"Brandon Brescia, a Boynton Beach firefighter, said the buzz about the River Place development spread around the firehouse in 2005. More than half a dozen other firefighters invested in up-and-coming St. Lucie County. Brescia joined them, putting nearly $50,000 down for two townhomes in the River Place subdivision called Hawk's Ridge."

"During those real estate boom times, more than 200 other deposits poured into Sullivan Homes from both in and out of state, either 5 percent or 10 percent down on homes that sold for an average of $216,000 each."

"Today, in a bearish housing market with experts declaring St. Lucie County in a real estate recession, Kevin Sullivan has not constructed a single townhouse in three of the five River Place subdivisions where he planned to build."

"As litigation continues, Sullivan said he cannot, at this time, refund the deposit money, which has been 'exhausted' in building capital and efforts to save a deal from turning sour."

"'It's extremely regrettable that all these things happened simultaneously with the real estate industry taking the biggest downturn it's taken in 15 to 20 years,' Sullivan said."

"He said '50 or 60 percent' of his buyers still want to go forward. 'It's a great value. It's a great neighborhood,' he said. 'It's still a really good investment.'"

From ABC News. "Not long ago the only thing going up faster than buildings in Miami was the prices, and Lucy Blanco wanted in."

"'It was going up so rapidly that I was fearful that if it went any higher I could not afford it anymore,' she said. 'So I needed to get it while it was still at a price I could afford…before it went out of my range.'"

"'If we don't hurry up and buy something now,' she said, 'we're never going to be able to buy anything.'"

"In February 2006, Blanco bought a preconstruction one-bedroom unit in a condo community called Quantum on the Bay. She paid $465,000. Today, however, Blanco estimates the property is worth $100,000 less than what she agreed to pay."

"The condo has lost more than the value of Blanco's $93,000 deposit. And so, just as fast as Blanco wanted in, she now wants out."

"Michael Schlesinger is at the forefront of a new subspecialty in Miami real estate law, that might be called condo extractors. He said he gets 20 or more calls a week from people like Blanco. 'They're all asking the same questions,' he said. 'Can I get out? Do I have a chance to get my deposit back? If not, what are my options?'"

"Schlesinger said he looks for a flaw in the condo contract, a blocked view, a change of design, delayed construction, anything about the new building that allows him to argue the developer isn't delivering on what was promised."

"He only takes on a few new cases a week, the ones he thinks he can win. 'Most of the time, unfortunately, I have [to] say that the contracts are too tight,' he said. 'There's not much I can do, and the options are either you close or you leave your deposit on the table.'"

"Schlesinger said greed played a huge role in Miami's current situation.'I think two years ago people were making hundreds of thousands of dollars doing exactly what they're asking me to get them out of today,' he said."

"Blanco is convinced she's not getting the square footage she paid for. She's enlisted an architect to measure her floor plans. 'It's wrong,' she said. 'It's not what I purchased. I paid a lot of money for that. I want every square foot of it, because I paid for it. I'm entitled to it.'"

"'I can't think of any other area of investing,' said Steven Landy, a lawyer who represents other developers, 'where if it doesn't go your way… you say, oops, it didn't work out, now I want my money back.'"

"Blanco said she has learned 'lots of lessons. Never put so much money in a preconstruction. I would never do that again,' she said."

"Retired businessman Tom Leon bought two condo units two years ago for $500,000 each, hoping to flip them for quick profit. Today, as the buildings near completion, Leon is certain he couldn't he even get $400,000 for each of the units, so he's decided to cut his losses and walk away from $200,000 in deposits rather than pay the $800,000 balance he now thinks is a bad investment."

"'Nobody wants to lose a hundred grand,' he said. 'Once in a while you've got to be smart enough...to leave when the time is right and I think now is the time.'"