The Memphis Business Journal reports from Tennessee. "Shelby County's second-largest homebuilder, Levitt & Sons of Tennessee LLC, is leaving the market after parent company Levitt Corp. made a decision to exit the state. 'Sales are not as prevalent as last year,' says Anthony Gunter, president of Levitt & Sons of Tennessee."

"Levitt's exit from Tennessee, though decided on prior to the current layoffs, is part of a company-wide downsizing. In a letter to employees, Levitt Corp. leaders recently explained that the layoff decision could not be avoided since home sales have slowed significantly."

"Efforts to increase home sales 'through incentives, dramatic price reductions and aggressive marketing have had limited success,' according to a recent Levitt Corp. filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 'We cannot assure you that no further downsizing of our homebuilding activities will be required.'"

"'If they dump everything they have, they will hurt the market,' says Tim Wilson, president of the residential division at Chamberlain & McCreery. 'It won't hurt if they sell off what they have. It's a responsible way to leave.'"

The Savannah Morning News from Georgia. "Eighteen months ago, upscale Whitemarsh Island apartment complexes Walden Park and the Merritt went condo, instantly adding more than 500 new homes to Savannah's islands area."

"Last month, online real estate auction marketing company Freedom Realty Exchange put 40 of the 70 remaining Mercer Point units up for bids in an online auction. Bids on 20 of those are set to close Thursday."

"Minimum bids start at $86,000 for most units, although several models have $1 minimum bids and are guaranteed to be sold, said Kelly Lovegrove, communications director for LFC Group."

"The minimum bids represent discounts of as much as $40,000 over the original prices, Lovegrove said."

"Down the road at Merritt on Whitemarsh Island, Cora Bett Thomas Realty is offering hefty price reductions on the development's last 30 units. 'Everything is under $200,000 now and we have a number of units under $150,000,' said sales agent Melanie Wright, who also sold the property for the developer when it first went condo."

"'That's a pretty substantial price drop for units that were selling in the mid-$200s originally, but it's also typical when a developer is closing out a property,' Wright said."

"Some original buyers have expressed concerns about the price cuts, Wright said. 'But once these last units are sold and there is no more availability, the values will come right back up.'"

From CBS 4 in Florida. "With the spike in South Florida foreclosures, construction workers are feeling the heat, and we're not talking about the South Florida sun."

"Residential construction has slowed to a crawl, resulting in the loss of about 1000 construction jobs. Some local tradesmen told CBS4's Al Sunshine they're starting to worry more and more about a possible bigger slow-down over the next few months."

"'Yeah we still have jobs but it's tight; it's kinda tight,' said welder Charles Eloisil. 'I'm worried about it a little bit. Well I'm not making enough money. I'm making minimum wage now.'"

"Sam Bolden isn't taking any chances. The Florida City native already has his own plan if the local construction industry doesn't need elevator contractors any more. 'If it does,I'll travel go to Vegas [and] work over there for a while,' said Bolden."

The Miami Herald. "In the first roundup of suspects under a new campaign to crack down on home loan fraud in Miami-Dade County, 11 people -- brokers, borrowers, sellers and title agents -- were arrested in three separate mortgage fraud schemes, police announced Friday."

"'In the coming months, you will see more fraudulent mortgage brokers, title agents, attorney's appraisers, and others bought to justice,' Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez said at a press conference announcing the arrests."

"The roundup comes a week after federal prosecutors charged 18 people with taking out fraudulent home loans worth more than $50 million to buy luxury condos on South Beach and homes in Broward County."

"In a third case, police said they were tipped off by a seller, who said he was approached by a buyer with an offer of approximately $100,000 more than the asking price for his condo. The buyer allegedly wanted the money to be returned to him as cash back at closing, purportedly to make renovations to the property."

The Tampa Tribune. "At the peak of the housing boom two years ago, apartment renters like Richard Daniel were at the mercy of landlords in the Tampa Bay area. Rents were skyrocketing, up to 13 percent a year in some areas, such as Pinellas County."

"These days, though, Daniel finds himself in the driver's seat."

"As he searches the Bay area for a new apartment, landlords have been showering him with promotional offers, such as a free month's rent here, or free use of a washer-dryer set there."

"'I've noticed some landlords, as I'm walking out the door, will say, 'Let us know, whatever it takes to get you in here, we'll work something out,' said Daniel."

"During the housing boom, Bay area developers snapped up apartment complexes, gussied them up with new landscaping and appliances, and turned them into condos. Between 2001 and today, about 31,000 apartment units were converted to condos in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties, the Cushman & Wakefield estimates."

"Michael Slater, who runs Triad Research & Consulting, said landlords have entered a concessionary mode where they're offering promotions to get people to rent empty units."

"Apartment broker John Stone said landlords spent millions upgrading their apartments to ready them for sale as condos. Many landlords must charge higher rents to pay off the cost of those renovations, he said."

"For example, an apartment that might have rented for $700 a month before its conversion into a condo might come back onto the apartment market with a rental rate of $850 a month, Stone said. That phenomenon is boosting the overall average rent in the Bay area, Stone said."

"William Sultenfuss, who owns two apartment complexes in Pinellas County and one in Hillsborough, never converted his apartments into condos. However, he says he's competing for tenants against many landlords who did just that."

"Sultenfuss said that he and other landlords can't continue to hold out much longer. Already, he is considering dropping rates at his complexes, he said. He likens the situation to the single-family-housing market, where homeowners have been reluctant to drop their prices, but will eventually be forced to do so to find buyers."