The Gainesville Times reports from Georgia. "A Gainesville real estate executive said mortgage originators who work 'out of the back seat of their car' will be a thing of the past as mortgage companies struggle with fallout from the collapse of the subprime mortgage business. Frank Norton Jr....who monitors business and economic development trends, said money for mortgages for people who are not creditworthy has dried up. 'HomeBanc was relying on a warehouse full of money,' Norton said. 'It's now empty, and they have to close.'"

"Rich White, chairman of United Community Bank in Hall County, said it is hard to see the direction of the current upheaval in the banking industry. 'We don't know where rates are going,' White said. 'We don't know what this is going to do to the mortgage industry.'"

The Charlotte Observer from North Carolina. "The nation's mortgage crisis and housing slowdown are hitting Charlotte, driving new home permits to the lowest level in at least 10 years."

"Pat Riley, president of Allen Tate, said challenges facing the company this summer include potential buyers who can't sell their homes in other markets. But he said 'We are still in the real estate mecca.'"

"At Beazer's Ardrey Woods, also in south Charlotte, agents declined to discuss sales Thursday, as landscapers spruced up gardens and a family toured the model homes. A sign out front encouraged buyers: 'Save Thousands Now!'"

"At Cunnane's Ardrey, Sandy Gay was choosing colors for her new home on Thursday. She and husband Mike expect to move from Florida in March. 'We don't expect to have any problem selling our house,' she said."

The Palm Beach Post from Florida. "Out of 20 single-family housing markets in Florida, 18 posted declining existing-home sales in the April-to-June period, according to a Florida Association of Realtors report released Wednesday."

"Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast were among those markets. Miami saw the biggest decline, followed by the Treasure Coast, which tied Orlando for No. 2 with a 40 percent year-over-year sales slump."

"'There's plenty of inventory, and sellers will bend over backwards for you,' said Douglas Rill, president of Century 21 America's Choice."

"'Plenty of inventory' could actually be an understatement. There are nearly 25,000 homes for sale in Palm Beach County, according to Illustrated Properties Real Estate. At this time last year, there were 22,000 homes on the market, according to Illustrated's Web site. That's a 12 percent increase."

The Sun Sentinel from Florida. "The Grove, a proposed development in the county's extreme northeast corner, could encompass the city of Okeechobee. Twice."

"Barron Collier plans to raze the grove and replace it with nearly 14,000 homes. Although the housing market has slumped in recent years, Ryan Noah, assistant project manager with Barron Collier, said the developer wants to get The Grove approved and started soon in preparation for a market rebound."

"'We don't want to waste time building when we could be selling,' Noah said. 'Building in Florida is not going to go away. (Evans Properties) is out quite a bit of money if they don't develop the property.'"

The Tampa Tribune from Florida. "The highest priced homes in select Tampa Bay area neighborhoods, exclusive properties and waterfront communities, are still selling, but the bulk of homes on the market are sitting longer."

"Increased competition from national home builders willing to take a loss just to clear their books may be part of the reason, a Florida real estate expert said Wednesday."

"Those deals could lower prices in the rest of the neighborhood, said Michael J. Timmerman, Florida managing director of Hanley Wood Market Intelligence."

"'They're reducing homes to less than it costs to build them,' Timmerman told dozens of real estate professionals. 'That sets a dangerous precedent when you're trying to get appraisals' on other nearby homes.'"

"Sales prices have fallen in recent months, but sellers need to lower their asking prices even more, Timmerman said. At the current sales pace, he said, it could take 25 to 30 months to sell all of the homes on the market in the Bay area."

"'People still don't want to give up the amount of money they thought they had made in their homes,' Timmerman said. 'In order to stimulate sales, prices need to come down.'"

The Bradenton Herald from Florida. "Everybody knows about the decline of the subprime market, but now the mortgage industry problems seem to be more far-reaching with mortgage brokers going out of business every day."

"'Sellers cannot overprice their homes or hold out in hopes of unrealistic offers as the market continues to be very price sensitive,' said Shane Masterman, co-founder of Concierge Lending in Sarasota. 'Buyers who are on the fence waiting for prices to drop another couple percent need to get off the fence and buy now while multiple mortgage options still exist. The number of mortgage options is reducing every day.'"

The Herald Tribune from Florida. "The Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice market sits in the top third of the 100 communities with the nation's highest foreclosure rates."

"'Everyone knows Florida was hot during the boom, and so was Las Vegas,' said Nancy Detert, a former mortgage broker. 'And the hotter the market, the more likelihood for foreclosures.'"

"The main culprits were bankers who offered complicated loans and 100 percent financing to people who could not afford it, Detert said. 'The loan products banks were offering was almost like putting cheese in a rat trap,' she said. 'The loans caused people to bite. But when the market turned, it snapped their necks off.'"

"'These loan programs are fine for getting people into home ownership,' Detert said. 'But when they're used to help people buy two or three houses, that's not good. No one is going to feel sympathy for the bank or the borrower in that situation.'"

"'It's just a crazy market,' Detert said. 'Banks should have known better.'"

"'What few buyers you have are now drying up because there's no mortgage money out there,' said George Huhn, a Venice real estate agent and foreclosure specialist. 'I'm hearing stories all day long about people who meet with mortgage brokers and are told there will be no problem. But when they get to the closing they get turned down. It's really getting ugly out there.'"

USA Today reports on Florida. "The problems in the mortgage industry, which began late last year and have rapidly deteriorated since June, are having a domino effect in the real estate market."

"Homeowners are also having more trouble refinancing their escalating adjustable-rate loans, and that is increasing the number of foreclosures and the supply of homes on the market. As a result, sellers are having to wait longer and cut their prices more deeply."

"When Christine and Michael Canavan moved from Fort Lauderdale to Melbourne, Fla., two years ago, they bought a $250,000 home with a subprime-borrowers ARM that allowed them to pay only the interest on the loan each month."

"After two years of making their payments on time, their credit score had improved to prime level, but the value of their home sank suddenly this summer."

"'I had to go to (the mortgage broker) three times because our appraisal kept depreciating,' said Christine."

"'At first he said, 'Great news, your home appraisal would be $275,000.' Within a week, the home had gone down to $240,000. When I went in to do the paperwork, I was in tears. It had dropped to $230,000 in two weeks,' she said."

The Orlando Sentinel from Florida. "The building frenzy that has created too many downtown condominiums has also spawned something few people think about: too many downtown penthouses."

"All told, there are more than three dozen of these exclusive units in various stages of construction floating over Orlando like an Isleworth in the sky."

"The Florida condo market in general is headed for some rough times. WCI Communities, for example, said just last week that 17 percent of its condominium buyers who signed contracts on units nationwide walked away from the closing table this year."

"Here in Central Florida, there is evidence to show that the condo inventory is also outnumbering buyers or that buyers have simply changed their minds."

"Condo sales in the Orlando area declined 64 percent in July from the same month last year, according to a Realtor report released this week."

"At The Vue at Lake Eola, three of six penthouses are under contract. The units will be move-in ready at the end of the year. They come standard with Subzero refrigerators, a wet bar, rare blue and green granite countertops and remote-controlled Kohler Infinity bathtubs (in case you can't be bothered to enter the bathroom to run your bath)."

"The Vue penthouses cost $2.2 million to $3 million, not to mention the 29 cents charged per square foot as condo-association fees. For a 2,700-square-foot place, that's an additional $783 each month."

"At The Sanctuary, which at about 20 months is one of the oldest towers, there are two of 12 penthouses for sale. They are listed at $2.8 million and $1.8 million. The Sanctuary has a total of 173 units and 11 are empty."

"It's doubtful the newer buildings will be so lucky. So far, 55 West at the Esplanade has received contracts on three of eight penthouses (all upward of $4 million) scheduled to be completed next summer."

"An ad on Craigslist offers another penthouse for rent at the 'very low' price of $3,800 a month with an option to buy."

"Listing agent Jane Scrima of Stirling Sotheby's International Realty said the level of intrigue is increasing, with two showings just this week. 'People are looking at them; they're just not committing on paper,' she said."

"There's no getting around the softness in the market. It may take years to cycle out of the overstacked inventory. But are there enough high rollers, especially as home and condo sales in Central Florida plummet, to fill the ritzy digs? After all, that remote-controlled bathtub doesn't come cheap."