The Montgomery Advertiser reports from Alabama. "There may be more houses on the Montgomery market than at any time in its history, and this glut of homes has led to the average price of existing homes in the area dropping about $20,000 in the past two months. The 3,629 homes on the Montgomery market was by far the highest number since the University of Alabama began its tracking of them in 2000."

"Despite the large number of homes on the market, just 369 of them sold. The number of homes on the market is about twice what it was 18 months ago, and the monthly sales total from last month was the area's lowest since January 2005."

"That soft market pushed the average price of an existing home in Montgomery down to $156,418. It was $176,368 in August and $163,661 in September 2006."

"Real estate veterans, they said, will recognize the current trend as part of a long-term cycle. Taylor Jernigan, president of the Montgomery Area Association of Realtors, said it was just the nature of the market. 'I think all of it is cyclical,' he said. 'We have had five record years in a row, so certainly there is going to be a correction in the market.'"

From Online Athens in Georgia. "Owners of some units in the Georgia Traditions, a high-rise luxury condominium complex on the east end of downtown Athens, began using their condos recently, and the nine-story residential building should be completely ready for occupancy by the middle of November, the developer said."

"Three more condominiums at 412 Thomas must be sold before financing will become available for construction, said Judy McDonald, a real estate agent."

"The luxury condos, priced between $250,000 for the smaller units to $850,000 for the largest, were marketed to wealthy people with ties to the University of Georgia and the UGA Athletic Association, said Mark Jennings, the developer."

"So far residential sales have not been robust, but once the buildings start rising, more interest should come, said Mike Travis with the Atlanta company developing the project.. 'Most people are kind of waiting until we get out of the ground,' Travis said."

"Regarding the high prices on these downtown condominiums, the location dictates the market, said Barbara Dooley, the real estate agent overseeing sales of the Georgia Traditions condominiums. 'They're only pricey because of the location and convenience and everything else we're offering,' Dooley said. 'A place like this in Atlanta you couldn't touch for what we're selling them for.'"

"For a project tied with UGA sports, winning seasons also help, Dooley added. 'This market depends on Georgia football,' Dooley said. 'They need to keep winning so we can sell these.'"

The Herald Tribune from Florida. "As condo owners across the state bemoan a downward slide in values, an unusual situation is taking place at the Bermuda on Osprey condominium complex near downtown Sarasota."

"A group of Californians -- two of whom were arrested in March on charges of running a brothel in the Anaheim area -- have been snapping up units at prices that are hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than those paid during the boom."

"The buyers say they will convert the 46-unit complex into a senior-living center complete with a luxurious clubhouse, communal dining room and limo service. They believe the high prices they are paying are justified by all the improvements they plan for the flesh-colored, two-story walk-up built in 1969."

"Since November, group members have paid an average of $566,667 each, for 15 of the units, and they have received an average of $480,000 per unit, in loans from a variety of lenders, Sarasota County Clerk of Court records show."

"But the owners of the complex say they have received only about $300,000 for each unit, explaining that the remaining $250,000 or so from each sale has been placed in an 'amenity fund' controlled by the buyers to be used for future improvements."

"Local appraisers, real estate experts and community leaders say they have never seen deals in which banks are willing to lend more than 50 percent of a condo's purchase price on the promise that the extra cash will be placed in an amenity fund."

"'These are the kinds of deals that ruined the market in the first place,' said Kerry Kirschner, executive director of a business-centered public watchdog group. 'They are phony transactions that artificially inflate the value of property and lead to the fact that people are having to pay higher taxes.'"

"Dennis Black, a Port Charlotte appraiser instructor, agreed: 'No one in this market is doing deals in which 50 percent of the purchase price is given back to buyers and placed in some sort of amenity fund. Speaking as a person with 25 years' experience, this stinks like a five-day-old fish.'"

"Neither the buyers nor the sellers seem to know where that amenity fund is. Bryan Bond, whose Newport Beach, Calif., mortgage company made seven loans totaling $2.7 million, was so concerned about the amenity fund that he promptly canceled an eighth loan his firm had been processing."

"After reviewing the HUD statements, Bond acknowledged that they contained a line item about amenity fund payments, but he said he did not know what an amenity fund was. 'I've never heard of one.'"

"Appraiser...Terrie Moore in Brandon, said she was initially squeamish about appraising the Bermuda units when she saw that other appraisers were coming in with values of $700,000 to $900,000 per unit."

"'Other appraisers were trying to appraise the units as if some sort of exclusive club existed,' Moore said. Moore said she insisted on appraising the units on an 'as is' basis, and ultimately presented a value of $525,000 for one. Critics say that number is still way too high."

"'When they told me about the prices being paid there, I was taken aback,' said Richard Dear, a Siesta Key hotelier and real estate developer familiar with the Bermuda on Osprey project. 'I don't think the units are worth more than $400,000.'"

"Buyers who purchased units before the Californians got involved at Bermuda agree. 'The market dropped after we purchased,' said Dona Norton, who paid $359,857 for a unit in May 2006. 'We took a loss on our investment. Everyone did.'"

"'If Coldwell Banker sells one unit for $300,000, we're dead,' said Christopher Woods, brother-in-law of the leader of the California buyers group. 'All our units would lose value.'"

The Tampa Bay Business Journal from Florida. "Prices of existing family homes continue to slide nationally and especially in the Tampa area where prices are down 10.1 percent over the previous year, according to a new report from Standard & Poor's S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices."

"Prices of existing family homes continue to slide nationally and especially in the Tampa area where prices are down 10.1 percent over the previous year, according to a new report from Standard & Poor's S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices."

The Tampa Tribune. "A federal judge has granted Tampa-based SimDag LLC up to 65 more days to respond to a lawsuit Donald Trump filed in May seeking to terminate his licensing agreement with the developer. The agreement allows the developer to market the building as a Trump property."

"That comes a week after SimDag representatives told a group of 80 buyers it hopes to secure financing from an unidentified New York hedge fund by early January. The order is the latest twist for a developer that refuses to give up on its dream to build the 52-story waterfront tower in downtown Tampa despite financing problems, construction liens and lawsuits from buyers wanting their money back."

"Florida's housing funk already has battered the state's single-family home and condo markets. Now, signs are appearing that the once-hot 'rackaminium' industry - basically condominiums for boats - is beginning to feel the heat."

"Sales at Tampa Harbour Yacht Club in South Tampa, which might be the area's highest-profile rackaminium project, are 50 percent behind schedule, said project developer Steeven Knight."

"Meanwhile, Kirby Cay Scheimann, a managing director of Marinas International, which owns and manages marinas nationwide, said some of the momentum in the entire rackaminium industry has been lost, as banks tighten their lending practices and some investors put their money elsewhere."

"'There are some site-specific locations where rackaminiums work, but it's no where near the broad-based appeal people thought it would be,' said Scheimann, whose company owns Harborage Marina in downtown St. Petersburg."

"In recent years, dozens of marinas across the state have stopped renting boat slips to boaters and began selling slips instead. Knight said the sluggish real estate market is creating challenges for rackaminium and dockominium projects. The slips don't come cheap, running from $125,000 to $600,000."

"But Knight is marketing the yacht club as part of a prestigious boating lifestyle, instead of just a place to store boats."

"So far, he has sold 114 dry rackaminiums and one wet dockominium, which is about half of what he had expected to sell by this time, Knight said. To save on expenses, he has cut some of his in-house sales staff and outsourced sales to a local real estate firm."

"For now, the slumping real estate market is giving potential rackaminium buyers the jitters and causing them to hold off on purchases, Knight said."

"Overall, the industry faces new challenges, such as tighter lending standards by banks. Also, the industry had been counting on purchases by investors, who were betting the slips would continue to rise in value."

"However, 'the investors aren't there like they were before,' Scheimann said."