The Destin Log reports from Florida. "A Destin doctor who has had his pulse on the Destin real estate scene for more than 30 years has slashed the asking price of his bayfront home by $1 million. Now, the home that Darlene and Dr. Mike Raim live in carries a listing price of $1.79 million. It was $2.79 million. 'We’re trying to get someone’s attention, shock value,' Raim said."

"When the Raims put the house on the market in August 2004, it was listed at $1.9 million. But with the Destin real estate market at the time red hot, with prices shooting up almost by day and some buyers snapping up homes before the for-sale signs even went up in the front yard, Raim figured the house and land would fetch more."

"In March 2005, he upped it to $2.2 million. In the summer of 2005, to $2.49 million. In the summer of 2006, he asked $2.79 million. It’s listed on the tax rolls today at $1.5 million, he said."

"Pat Fisher, an independent broker representing the Raims, said they had offers in 2004 and 2005, 'but they just didn’t work.'"

"Fisher said that at a meeting about commercial real estate a few weeks ago with three bank presidents, 'they wanted to let us know they are still lending money but that appraisals are on coming in lower than the contract price.'"

"She cited an example: 'I had a house listed on the bay, $1.75 million, an excellent house. I got a contract, waited two weeks for the appraisal, and it came in 30 percent low. It killed the deal. In my 10 years in real estate, I’ve never had that happen.'"

"Mary Anne Windes, a veteran broker in Destin, said in an e-mail interview, 'The trend is that prices are moving to the same level that they were in 2003. As you will recall, 2004 and 2005 saw tremendous and often unrealistic growth. The market has now corrected itself. Many properties doubled in value during that time, so a drop of half the value is not unrealistic right now if a seller needs to sell.'"

The Orlando Sentinel. "A prime site zoned for an office tower and a hotel with residential units in downtown Orlando is back on the market, though the developer says he's prepared to build the offices."

"The market for residential condos has...gone cold, and even demand for Orlando office space has cooled in recent months, according to downtown real-estate specialists."

"'It's an open-bid process,' with no set asking price, It's an open-bid process," with no set asking price, Toledano said."

"The market for office space in the core downtown area has softened, however, in just the past three months, according to specialists in the Orlando office of Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc. 'The faucets have turned off a bit,' said Rick Solik, senior director of office brokerage services."

"A survey recently completed by the company estimates that the central business district's Class A vacancy rate was 14.5 percent during the second quarter, with a 'negative absorption rate' during the quarter of 88,345 square feet, meaning that more people were moving out of offices than moving in."

The Miami Herald. "Flashy Key Biscayne trader John Devaney has temporarily stopped allowing customers to withdraw money from his four Horizon hedge funds, which invest in subprime mortgage securities, in a bid to avoid a fire sale at depressed prices."

"His firm, United Capital Asset Management, which has assets of about $570 million, took the extraordinary step of suspending redemptions after many Horizon investors in recent days ran for the exits as volatility in the structured debt market spiraled."

"A spokesman for United Capital said the temporary halt on fund withdrawals is aimed at protecting investors from losses. 'We didn't want to be in a situation of being forced sellers in a market that's very unfavorable,' the spokesman said. 'We thought if we dumped, that would be a disservice to everyone in the portfolio.'"

"In January, United Capital Markets was selected as the lead underwriter to develop the $4 billion oceanfront Briny Breezes community in Palm Beach County."

"Miami-Dade County's budget-builders will fashion a spending plan this summer that cuts a state-mandated $224 million, but a panel of private experts already has some ideas about where to begin."

"Among them: Slash the Miami-Dade County Commission's budget in half. Freeze all county salaries."

"Those suggestions, gathered from a panel convened by The Miami Herald, are likely to bump up against real-world concerns, like union contracts and politics. And to be sure, County Hall has squandered millions in botched housing deals and flawed contracts, money that could have come in handy during tight budget times."

"Since 2000, property taxes have risen 118 percent in the county, Former Miami-Dade Commissioner and Miami Mayor Maurice Ferré noted. 'Where has that money gone?' he asked."

From Hernando Today. "The county laid off five employees from its development department Monday and has lost another 40 or so in the past few months through attrition."

"County Administrator Gary Kuhl, in making the announcement at Tuesday’s county commission meeting, said he and staffers have been exploring ways to reduce costs and this was one result."

"The development department is an enterprise fund, which means its revenues are dependent on fees from permits and construction. With the downturn in the housing market, money became tighter and it became necessary to trim staff, Dupree said."

"'We cannot be in a position where our revenues are less than our expenses,' she said."

The Sun Sentinel. "Dozens of South Florida senior citizens have lost millions of dollars of their savings because their brokers bet wrong on risky mortgage-backed securities after promising them a stable investment."

"Coral Springs lawyer Darren Blum said Tuesday that his firm is representing about 25 investors who had invested $20 million with Brookstreet Securities, a California firm that has brokers in at least a half-dozen South Florida offices. Many investors are planning legal action to recover their losses, and for damages and attorney's fees."

"'We've had people in their 80s in here in tears,' Blum said. 'These people are devastated.'"

"The seniors invested in securities called collateralized mortgage obligations, or CMOs. Some independent brokers working in Brookstreet offices pitched the CMOs to wealthy seniors at dinner seminars and condominium meetings."

"'They presented these as very safe, like a bond, paying 7 to 8 percent,' Blum said. The CMOs the brokers invested in, however, were complex and highly speculative, he said."

"Brookstreet has said the money was lost in part because of too much securities trading on margin, or borrowed money. The value of the CMOs declined, Brookstreet said, as the so-called subprime mortgage market worsened."

"The margin losses mean that investors not only lost their funds, but could owe money that was borrowed to trade in their accounts. Blum said he talked with one client Tuesday who has about $12 million in margin losses."

From Money Central. "For the repo man, business is always good. But lately, it's been better than good."

"As the subprime-mortgage collapse blares in the background, 'recovery service agents' have been cleaning up the wreckage of another subprime-lending mess: that of the auto industry, which in its own competitive bid for buyers has been extending longer, costlier loans to people unable to keep up with their payments."

"A survey...said monthly repossessions by subprime lenders increased 15% last year."

"Repossession agents in areas hit by foreclosures say they've been picking up vehicles both from people struggling to keep their homes and from those now left without work: construction workers, pavers, landscapers and real-estate agents."

"'It is actually stunning the number of cars we're taking from people who are supporting the local real-estate market,' said J. Patrick Altes, the president of a recovery agency with offices throughout Florida. 'It's almost the type of thing where we see it and you wonder if anyone else sees it. It's like they turned off the spigot.'"