The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "'Like the proverbial butterfly that flaps its wings and sets off a tidal wave on the other side of the world, Sarasota, Florida is the centre of the U.S. housing bust that sent shockwaves through global markets,' said the London-based Financial Times. The Times was wrong to single out Sarasota as the epicenter of the global financial crisis, but focusing on the Sunshine States makes a lot of sense, said real estate analyst Jack McCabe."

"'Naples, Fort Myers, the Cape Coral market has experienced the largest price drop in the U.S.,' McCabe said. 'So they botched that one.'"

"'Florida is where the boom started and ended, and where the bust started,' McCabe said. 'Previous boom-and-bust cycles have started in California. This time, Florida is the state that experienced the height of speculative activity that drove the boom."

"Locals who read the story, titled 'Canary in the cage' tells of housing woes,' agreed that it was not too far off the mark."

"'We were in the lead when everything was going up and everything was wonderful,' said Joe Hembree, president of the Sarasota Realtors Association. 'Now prices have to go back down. But it's a relative thing. Prices have not been going down as fast as they went up.'"

The St Petersburg Times from Florida. "It's been the glut that wouldn't give, gumming up any chance of a housing recovery in the Tampa Bay area. We're talking listings of houses and condominiums for sale, a figure that in April topped 50,000 in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties."

"Only now the glut appears to be in retreat. Home listings are at their lowest in more than year. In July the market counted just under 42,000 homes for sale."

"Though encouraging news on its face, real estate boosters shouldn't cheer just yet. Sales have continued their postboom sluggishness, running about 40 percent under last year's numbers. And a significant part of the story is sellers who have grown sick of trying to move their properties and turned to renting."

"At this rate it's still about a year before the region could eat through the inventory. Prices have suffered as supply outpaces demand."

"Ann Guiberson, head of the Pinellas Realtors Organization, notes another trend: Agents refusing to take on listings when they think owners are overpricing properties."

"Clearwater Realtor Tony Marottoli spurns even million-dollar listings if he believes owners are unrealistic. Here's an example from Belleair Beach: The owner bought a house for $400,000 three years ago and wanted Marottoli to list it for $1.4-million. He wasn't interested."

"'Not gonna happen,' Marottoli said. 'It's old. It's dated. It's a '60s house. If the market weren't dead, it could be a different story.'"

The Sun Sentinel from Florida. "Stung by the downturn in the U.S. housing market, Fort Lauderdale-based builder Levitt Corp. on Friday announced a $58.1 million loss for the quarter ended June 30."

"The loss included a pretax charge of about $63 million to revalue its home-building inventory. The company said the 'large' impairment charge reflects the 'continued deterioration' of its home-building markets, especially Florida, the need for 'aggressive pricing and discounting strategies' to increase sales, and 'the prolonged duration of the weakness in the market.'"

"The outlook appeared dim for future sales. Roughly 39 percent of total orders for new homes were canceled during the quarter, up from 21 percent canceled in the same period a year earlier, the company said."

"Demand was especially weak for Levitt's active adult and family communities in Florida, which made up 58 percent of unsold lot inventory. Average selling prices for orders in the quarter fell to $256,000 from $283,000 in the same period a year earlier."

"'We intend to continue to employ aggressive discounting strategies in an attempt to reduce this inventory going forward,' the company said."

"If you're hunting for a home loan and have lousy credit, plan to keep looking. Even if your credit is stellar, prepare to pony up a sizable down payment and prove every penny of income to the lender."

"'Banks, especially those in South Florida, are becoming increasingly tight-fisted,' said Ken Thomas, a Miami-based industry analyst."

"'Lenders created riskier and riskier instruments to get more and more homeowners,' said Jeff Kaufman, a senior VP for SunTrust Bank in South Florida. 'Now we're paying the price for all those aggressive loans.'"

"Indeed, foreclosure filings are skyrocketing across Palm Beach and Broward counties because homeowners no longer can make their monthly payments as adjustable-rate mortgages rise."

"Robert Toll, chairman of luxury builder Toll Brothers, this week described the southeast Florida housing market as a 'flunk minus.'"

"'This is definitely going to put a speed bump in the home-purchase business in South Florida,' said Louis Spagnuolo, VP of mortgage banking for WCS Lending in Boca Raton."

The Charlotte Observer from North Carolina. "Troubled homebuilder Beazer Homes USA may have understated expenses in past filings with securities regulators, the company said Friday. The Atlanta homebuilder blamed its former chief accounting officer, saying he may have 'caused' the wrong numbers to be reported."

"The disclosure may deepen concern about Beazer's financial health. The company already faces a federal criminal investigation of its mortgage practices."

"The Observer has reported, in articles since March, that Beazer's operations in the Charlotte area sometimes violated federal laws and regulations. The Observer found the company's aggressive sales practices contributed to a high rate of foreclosures in many of its local developments."

"In a four-part series, the Observer found Beazer Homes USA sometimes crossed the line between selling to people who could barely afford homes and selling to people who couldn't. Ten Beazer developments in Mecklenburg have foreclosure rates of 20 percent or higher."

The Post & Courier from South Carolina. "Home sales in the Charleston area fell last month, dragging down the median sale price as the Charleston real estate market continued to cool. The number of homes sold in the Charleston area in July was down 12.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors' MLS."

"For the year to date, sales totaled 7,912 houses, down 1,850, or nearly 19 percent, from the 9,762 sold in the same period last year."

"Broker Rob Woodul said the falling prices could be a reflection of sellers who are listing their homes at more reasonable rates. 'I think that sellers are being more realistic about what they can get for their homes,' Woodul said."

"Experts blame the housing slowdown on tighter lending standards, the loss of investor dollars and a glut of homes on the market."

"As of Friday, there were 10,779 homes for sale in the tri-county area, up 3 percent from last month. With all those listings, sellers have to be 'extremely careful' in pricing their homes, said agent Liz Dettrey."

"The drop in median home prices last month could mean that sellers are doing just that, and the figure leaves buyers who are waiting for 'the bottom' wondering: Is this it?"

"Earlier this summer, the National Association of Realtors said it would likely take until the second quarter of 2008 for the market to turn, several months later than they first thought."

"'I think it might last even longer,' said agent Lou Russo, who's bracing for an overall market rebound in 2009."

"Builders are discounting their new homes and throwing in upgrades. Homeowners are competing by covering closing costs and offering to take on small home improvement projects."

"Russo compared the situation to a consumer who wants to buy a computer but keeps waiting for the most advanced model to come out, they'll never commit to a sale, he said."

"'There will always be a better deal down the road,' he said."