The Post & Courier reports from South Carolina. "Shandon Fowler is prepared to rent while itching to get into a house of his own. The New Jersey resident plans to move soon to Charleston with his wife. But even though the couple can afford to buy a house now, they plan to rent as they learn the layout of the Lowcountry and watch for the local real estate market's next move. 'Our hope is that the prices come down and we can get more for our money,' he said."

"For more than 18 months, the market has shown signs of weakness. And basic economics suggests that after a significant drop-off in sales, prices quickly would follow, especially in a market where more than 10,000 sellers are courting an increasingly limited pool of buyers."

"'It's certainly a buyer's market, but there is absolutely no urgency on them to buy a house,' said Tom Guidera, a Mount Pleasant-based broker. 'They see a soft market. They see sellers reducing their prices daily. They are not worried about interest rates, and they have time on their side. So why not wait? '"

"On the outskirts of Mount Pleasant, homes are selling at about the median price (of) $404,577. There, sellers of existing residences are competing with heavy incentives offered by builders in big developments such as Park West, agents believe."

"Industry experts and local real estate agents agree: For the Charleston market to get back on an upswing, the number of homes for sale has to return to a more normal level."

"Though sales began slowing in February 2006, buyers continued to list their homes, creating a massive buildup in available properties."

"Locally, that number has climbed to more than 10,000 homes, giving the region an 11.6-month supply of inventory based on the number of sales made last year through the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors' MLS."

"'A lot of buyers have got a house to sell, so they aren't taking advantage of the reduced prices,' said broker Ralph Wetherell."

"That's the case for Caroline Fernandez of Asheville, N.C. Her husband recently took a job at the Medical University of South Carolina, but the two won't be able to afford another mortgage until their North Carolina home sells."

"'We'd like to buy in Charleston, but we can't do much now,' she said."

The St Petersburg Times from Florida. "The Qandil family began a financial nosedive shortly after buying their $249,000 home last year. Today, they are one of about 5,000 families in the Tampa Bay area facing foreclosure. In September, Florida's foreclosure rate was the nation's second highest."

"The Qandils haven't made a house payment since April. They are $11,000 behind on a $189,000 mortgage. Deutsche Bank, their mortgage lender, is weeks, or maybe days, from taking their home."

"Last November...after selling a 900-square-foot Pinellas Park home for $205,000, they discovered a 1,400-square-foot home in Seminole. The Qandils agreed to buy the home when they heard the price had dropped to $249,000."

"Nader preferred to rent, but his wife, Evangeline, who had bought two previous homes, felt renting 'was just throwing your money away.'"

"'I should have listened to my husband,' she says now. 'I wanted a house, house, house.'"

The News Press from Florida. "If you owe $300,000 on a house that’s only worth $200,000, you may still be able to sell it — banks are increasingly willing to make up the difference."

"But first you’ll have to go into foreclosure or at least fall behind on payments, and you’ll have to convince a banker you’re broke and not just trying to pull a fast one by selling to your mother so she can sell it back to you later."

"As real estate prices have tumbled in Lee County, short sales have skyrocketed — accounting for almost one in five houses on the market right now from the occasional sale just a couple of years ago."

"At the low end of the price range, short sales loom much larger: 32.5 percent of homes listed for sale at $150,000-200,000 in the MLS of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach."

"In September, 1,220 foreclosures were filed in the county: more than five times as many as the 237 recorded a year earlier."

"Josie Burdier bought her Cape Coral house in 2006 with a mortgage of $186,600 but wasn’t able to afford payments or sell the house for what she owed. 'I tried to pay it off, paying the mortgage with my savings,' she said, 'but I’m five months in default.'"

"HSBC Bank filed a foreclosure action against her Oct. 4, but she still hopes to get a short sale approved by HSBC. 'Basically, they’re waiting as well as me' to see if a short sale is possible, Burdier said."

"As foreclosures continue to mount, banks are more willing to deal, said Jonas Elliott of Loss Mitigation Services of Southwest Florida, which also negotiates short sales. 'Lately it’s gotten a lot easier, especially a deal that makes sense,' he said. 'Banks are willing to take 50 cents on the dollar whereas before, they’d say 80, 90 percent.'"

The Herald Tribune from Florida. "For most developers, this is a time to hibernate, or at least scale back. Consider the forthcoming Marquee on the Bay, a water-view luxury condominium project at 1301 Main St. in Sarasota. The grand plans there have been adjusted to slash starting prices from $3.5 million to $1.6 million."

"'All the huge national builders had to start slashing prices. Then our top-end stuff was competing with their mid-range stuff -- that's what started putting a hurt on us,' said Brad Gaubatz, VP of community development for DeMorgan Communites, which formed in 2003 to provide workforce housing, has delayed two forthcoming "affordable" communities."

"Centex Homes has six communities open in the Sarasota/Manatee area...but doesn't foresee any forthcoming projects until 2008 or 2009, according to David Lepow, director of sales and marketing. It felt the first pinch last summer."

"'It was drastic. It was perceptible within a 30-day period,' said Lepow. 'For many, many months, many quarters, extending beyond even two years, there were more than 10 people there waiting to buy those home sites (in the first hours they were available). Then, within minutes or hours, those home sites had sold. In July (2006), we had maybe half the sites sold. That was the beginning of the end.'"

"For those speculators who got burned in real estate, the 'American Dream' turned into a matter of 'commoditization,' developers said."

"'What happened over the past 10 years was wrong -- it was wrong and it was bad,' said Lepow. 'When I was in school, you learned about commodities -- not to buy your primary residence and become rich. Not on your primary residence. Let the Donald Trumps of the world invest in real estate, (not) the people who borrowed against their retirement and got themselves into debt with these crazy loan programs.'"

The Palm Beach Post. "Even after the South Florida housing market peaked in 2005, Johnson Cuffy knew how to score big profits in real estate. First, the Broward County real estate investor found a Fort Lauderdale house for sale for $245,000. Then, inflated appraisal in hand, he convinced the lender that the home was worth $340,000."

"Cuffy landed a loan for $340,000, paid the seller $245,000 and pocketed the $95,000 difference, state investigators say. Profits secured, Cuffy let the home go into foreclosure. He was arrested in July after the seller alerted officials to the scheme."

"An isolated case? Not by a long shot. 'My phone has been ringing daily with people wanting to report suspicious real estate sales,' said Detective Ted Padich of the Florida Department of Financial Services in West Palm Beach. 'This is going on in every neighborhood in Palm Beach County.'"

The News Journal from Florida. "East Volusia's waterfront land commanded record-breaking prices during the condominium development rush of 2005 and 2006."

"Now, however, with new condo construction slowing, values have leveled off and, in a few cases, have started to fall, according to the latest tax assessments issued by the Volusia County property appraiser's office. The downward trend is expected to accelerate in 2008, county officials say."

"'We'll probably have some massive decreases next year,' predicted Morgan B. Gilreath Jr., the county's property appraiser. 'It's going to be a tremendous challenge to determine values.'"

"Gilreath said up-to-date values are getting tougher to calculate because there have been so few land sales this year."

The Miami Herald from Florida. "The deteriorating housing market took its toll on BankAtlantic Bancorp in the third quarter. The Fort Lauderdale-based banking company said Friday it lost nearly $30 million while experiencing a seven-fold increase in its problem loans in three months."

"The ratio of nonperforming loans to total loans rose from 0.47 percent at the end of the second quarter to 3.53 percent at the end of the third quarter. The bank also increased its reserves for bad loans from $42.5 million at the end of the third quarter of 2006 to $92.4 million in the quarter that just ended."

"'The impact of the decline in the Florida residential real estate market has been significant,' BankAtlantic Bancorp Chairman and CEO Alan Levan said in a statement."

"Trump Tower Palm Beach was supposed to be the toast of the town when it comes to luxury condos. Now it looks like Trump Tower could be toast."

"Real estate mogul Donald Trump confirmed he is close to shelving the 23-story condominium in West Palm Beach. 'We won't go forward unless we see a robust market,' Trump said in an interview."

"What happened to the Midas touch of Trump? It ran smack into the worst real estate market in more than a decade, that's what."

"Only nine months ago, Trump pooh-poohed concerns Palm Beach County's flailing home sales would affect this ultra-luxe venture."

"Looks like the hype didn't help, however. Not even The Donald could surmount the relentless downward slide in real estate. 'The market in West Palm Beach is not exactly great-looking,' Trump said."

"It's not great-looking in Fort Lauderdale, either. Earlier this month, Trump suspended a condo hotel known as Trump Las Olas Beach Resort, citing a weak condo market."

"In June, Related exec Barbara Salk said less than half the project's 150 units had sold (Prices range from $900,000 to $2.4 million for the over-amenitized condo.) Developers were shooting for at least 60 percent, or about 90 units, before starting construction."

"Trump wouldn't admit saggy sales are the culprit, of course. 'We've done very well with presales. We've had substantial sales,' he said. But he refused to provide details: 'There's no reason to be specific.'"