The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "Investor Tony Barquin shifted amid the crowd in the stuffy auction room at the Miami-Dade County Clerk's office Thursday, pondering which among scores of homes in foreclosure he might bid to buy. As more and more homeowners can't pay their mortgages, the number of properties hitting the auction block has skyrocketed. So Barquin's business should be booming."

"But Barquin said fewer are worth buying. He left the auction empty-handed. 'Everything is upside down here,' he complained, describing homes worth less than the debt on them. 'In a month, there might be only a few really good deals.'"

"The amount of foreclosed real estate owned by Florida-based banks and thrifts has nearly tripled since the fall of last year, when foreclosure rates began their upward trek, to $94 million as of March 31, from $34 million Sept. 30, according to the most recent Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data. (These data do not include giants like Bank of America, which have large operations here but are based elsewhere.)"

"At Thursday's auction, of roughly 70 properties offered for sale, investors bought only two. A handful were scratched. The rest were bought back by lawyers for various lenders."

"Even seemingly great deals were snubbed. Example: a two-bedroom condo on Claughton Island Drive in Miami bought last June for $690,000. The outstanding balance on the loan was $588,062, but the lender was willing to let the property go for $373,900."

"'What is happening now is not the aberration,' said Stuart Gitlitz, a Miami lawyer who represents lenders in foreclosure proceedings. 'What happened in the last couple years was the aberration,' he said."

"'What is happening is that values are not there and investors are being more cautious,' he said."

"Foreclosure investors' business depends on their ability to rehab and sell homes quickly, so they can't hold out for a market rebound. That's perhaps why even some deeply discounted properties for sale Thursday did not garner bids."

"One Miami Beach condo was slashed by nearly $400,000. 'Even at that price nobody was interested,' said Barquin, 'because that's not what it's worth on the market.'"

The Times Picayune from Florida. "Ivan was Pensacola's epochal storm, that city's version of Katrina. For locals, the hangover has lasted longer. They continue to struggle with staggering insurance premiums, a depressed real estate market and a deep-seated anxiety about living in hurricane alley."

"Real estate prices rose in Pensacola immediately after Ivan, as buyers scrimmaged for the limited inventory of undamaged housing. Now the market is groaning under the weight of 7,000 houses for sale, about double what was available in June 2002."

"Doug Gooch, president of the Pensacola Association of Realtors, said 508 houses and condominiums moved last month, at an average price of $222,000. That compares with 724 houses sold in June 2004, three months before Ivan hit, at an average price of $193,000. Prices have fallen since their post-Ivan highs, when the average sale was $290,000."

The Palm Beach Post. "John Devaney, the deep-pocketed, high-flying trader who's lead financier for the $510 million purchase of Briny Breezes, is facing a financial squeeze after a series of bad bets on the subprime mortgage market. Some wonder whether Briny Breezes' buyers will have to look elsewhere for financing."

"Devaney's company, Key Biscayne-based United Capital Markets Holdings, acknowledged this week that it has suffered 'significant losses' on its risky subprime mortgage trades. The company has taken the unusual step of not allowing investors to cash out of four of its hedge funds."

"'There's gonna be a concern, especially because it implies liquidity problems,' said Ken Thomas, a Miami banking analyst."

"United Capital's losses follow the near-collapse of two Bear Stearns hedge funds that also trade arcane mortgage securities. 'Bear Stearns and others have deep-pocketed parents,' Thomas said. 'Who's going to bail out United Capital?'"

The News Press. "When all else fails, trust in St. Joseph. That’s the advice of Robin Milburn, a real estate agent who recently sold a house on Lemon Street on Pine Island for $390,000 after 688 days."

"'At one point I tried to give it away,' Milburn said with a chuckle, remembering the long, involved process that preceded the happy ending. She cut the price twice before selling the house. 'I even was desperate enough to bury a statue of St. Joseph in the yard,' she said."

"Lee County has seen the average numbers of days on market soar as the bottom fell out of the real estate market. In May 2006 the average number of days on market for homes listed by real estate agents was 75, that number had risen to 121 by May 2007."

"Days on market is a good indication of how a market’s doing, said Michael Timmerman, the Naples-based managing director for Florida at Hanley Wood. But he cautioned you have to be careful in interpreting the data."

"'Statistically,' he said, 'it could go down because a lot of people take their place off the market, and then it goes back up again.'"

"It’s still not always easy to move even an attractive dwelling, said Art Boesch, (an) agent trying to sell a house in The Vines in Estero for $439,000. It’s been on the market for more than 800 days."

"'Well, the news has not been very kind to us and a lot of people are just waiting for things to go lower,' he said. 'It’s priced right, a nice house, it just doesn’t have the right view. Snowbirds come down and they want a beach view or a golf course view.'"

"Boesch is optimistic long term, however, noting most sellers in The Vines aren’t succumbing to low-ball offers. 'They’re offering 30-40 percent off and they’re saying, 'Absolutely not. I won’t sell at that price.'"

"Besides, he said, construction prices are far higher than they were a few years ago and as inventory of homes is sold off, prices have nowhere to go but up."

"Sometimes, however, a house’s price is simply too high for the market. Hector Saitta of Century 21 Novelli has the listing for a three-bedroom, two-bath house in Cape Coral with an asking price of $480,000. It’s been on the market 812 days, at least in part, he said, because the price is a little high."

"'I’ve spoken many times to the owner to reduce the price. I don’t show it too many times: a few times, a few calls,' Saitta said."