The Palm Beach Post reports from Florida. "So many had something to gain from the mortgage bubble, says Bill Davis, past president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers' Palm Beach County region, and many of those people went about their business winking and nodding. 'It's everybody,' he says. 'The Federal Reserve participated, the big lenders played a part, the credit ratings agencies had a part, so did hedge funds and borrowers, appraisers.'"

"The local results: In the six months ending July 1 of this year alone, more than $1 billion in mortgages defaulted in Palm Beach County and along the Treasure Coast."

"'I had a guy who called me who owns 70 homes,' says Stuart broker Michael Morgan. 'I know a lady who owns 16. It's the room of 1,000 doughnuts. How many can you eat? Two? Three? Well, how many houses can you live in?'"

"If everybody gets to be guilty of something, though, ex-Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan gets to be a little guiltier than most. Critics draw a straight line from the number-crunching wizard to front-yard foreclosure signs."

"Mr. Greenspan slashed interest rates deeply and often: 11 times in 2001 alone. Says mortgage broker Davis: 'It was effectively free money.' Mr. Greenspan said in a recent 60 Minutes interview that he 'didn't really get' how subprime loans could wreak havoc on the economy until last year."

The Tampa Tribune from Florida. "Vacant homes with 'For Sale' signs on lawns and 'For Rent' signs taped to windows line the block. Neighbors have vanished, some loading moving vans in the middle of the night. New neighborhoods such as Carriage Pointe, where speculators bought homes several at a clip and homeowners stretched their budgets with creative financing, are particularly hard-hit."

"'No one has ever lived in those two homes across the street. This is not where I wanted to live,' said Greg Gibbons, who has a view of several empty houses."

"As many as 69 percent of the 381 homes in Carriage Pointe are owned by people who don't live there, county officials estimate. This year, 31 of the homes have slipped into foreclosure, and many other homes are heading that way. Some investors drastically cut rents."

"The builder seems to realize the home-buying boom is over. The phone number at the sales office is disconnected."

"Of the 21 homes sold through Greg Armstrong's Coldwell Banker office last month, 12 had been foreclosed on by lenders. 'I've been in this business for 17 years, and I've never seen the bank be the No. 1 seller,' said Armstrong, president-elect of the West Pasco Board of Realtors."

"Homeowners who want to move or those seeking to avoid foreclosure by selling can't compete, he said. And every time a lender cuts prices dramatically to move a home, values in the neighborhood go down, he said. 'Lenders can afford to go much lower in price than homeowners can,' Armstrong said. 'The banks don't want all these homes, so they'll sell them for whatever they need to.'"

"That's part of the reason Brianne and Robert Thompson have decided to file for bankruptcy and walk away from their first home, a three-bedroom in New Port Richey. 'We hate to just let this house go,' Brianne Thompson said. 'We love it, but we can't do this anymore.'"

The News Journal from Florida. "One Internet site reported there were 100 foreclosed or bank-owned properties in Daytona Beach and 135 in Palm Coast as of Oct. 12. Several area brokers contacted said they have departments devoted solely to selling such properties."

"Ray Rivela, of Century 21 A.H. Stone here, said the foreclosure department in his office is working seven days a week just to keep up with the growing number of foreclosed homes."

"Member Sharon Barbaro said the agency listed a REO property in Palm Coast that had originally sold for about $300,000. 'I sold it for $200,000,' she said, which was very close to what the bank wanted for the never-occupied house."

The Orlando Sentinel from Florida. "An entire downtown redevelopment project in Eustis has come to a halt. Condos are on hold at Park Towers in Uptown Altamonte. In Winter Springs, where buyers have defaulted on contracts for town homes, nearly all development in the town center 'is on hold until the market returns,' City Manager Ron McLemore said. 'It is not a pretty picture.'"

"Michael Allen bought a three-bedroom town home in the $300,000s last year. Despite the 'available' signs outside many neighboring units at Jesup's Reserve, Allen still thinks he and his wife made a smart investment."

"'I think this community is going to take off,' he said."

From Jacksonville.com. "The owner of Paradise Key needs a clever way to sell the 62 homes on South Beach Parkway and Jacksonville Drive. By the time Bestcon Homes President Paul Nichols acquired the land and got the zoning and building permits, the housing market had tanked."

"'We're hunkering down,' Nichols said. 'We're trying to get through this.'"

"Under the new taxing formula, 'it's essentially letting growth pay for itself,' said City Planning Director Steve Lindorff , referring to police and fire services that will be available to new homes or businesses. But with the decline in the housing market, 'We won't see those numbers going forward,' he said."

The St Petersburg Times from Florida. "Depressed sales of construction materials, home improvements and furnishings triggered by Florida's burst housing bubble have started spreading to a drop in other types of consumer spending."

"In fact, unless the state's economy perks up in the next few months, Florida will report its first decrease in annual sales tax collections since the 1992 recession."

"'We have not reported decreased sales tax collections since post-9/11, but that was not as deep or lasted as long as this time,' said Frank Williams, an economist at the state Office of Economic and Demographic Research."

"'How long it lasts depends on how much of a hangover Florida has to overcome (in overpriced real estate) from the housing market and subprime lending problems,' said Sean Snaith, an economist with the University of Central Florida. 'We've got the dry mouth and headache, but it's clear they will last well into 2008.'"

The News Press from Florida. "Lee County’s unemployment rate climbed to 5.2 percent in September as a stalled real estate market continues to cost jobs in construction and related businesses."

"Unincorporated Lee County, which includes Bonita Springs and Fort Myers Beach, issued 76 construction permits for single-family homes in September, compared to 458 a year ago. Cape Coral recorded a record low of 29, compared to 176 permits last year."

"Joa Wright moved to Fort Myers from Fort Lauderdale about six weeks ago. She said she had been working as a receptionist at a law firm and hoped to find similar work here. 'I can’t find anything because so many people who had been in real estate are taking other jobs,' Wright said. 'At this point, I will do anything. I’ll scrub floors if I have to.'"

"Craig Feinberg, a career development supervisor, said he is seeing stacks of applications from out of work real estate agents, mortgage brokers and real estate attorneys. 'They are saying they don’t ever want to be in this position again,' Feinberg said. 'They want a career in something they can have some control over.'"

"Jay Cremins, an out-of-work mortgage broker, said he watched his earnings dry up as the market slowed, but he waited too long to make a change. 'I’m stubborn, so I didn’t give up,' Cremins said. 'I should have because now I’m in trouble.'"

"About 80 real estate brokers from Bonita Springs and Estero jammed a conference room at Keller Williams Elite Realty Monday night to hear attack plans from the area's top producers and mega agents."

"'We had to close it off. We couldn't take any more people,' said Sue Ellen Mathers, a licensed real estate professional. 'I think what we're seeing now are people who loved a house that wasn't in their price range, buying that house and then taking a small loss on their current home. What they'll do is make it up later when they sell their new one. It's a great time to buy.'"

The Naples News from Florida. "A campaign being rolled out by area builders and developers encourages potential buyers to reinterpret the negative news they’ve been hearing about the local housing market."

"Sliding prices? Affordability. Record inventories? Broad selection."

"The 'Buy Now!' campaign also offers reminders of Southwest Florida’s steady growth, its enviable climate and its many beaches. Low mortgage rates and the area’s increasingly diverse economy are features mentioned in the campaign as well."

"Donations from local companies tied to the building trade bumped the budget up to $150,000, said JoAnn Orr, VP of the Lee Building Industry Association. Additional buy-in from the media in the way of reduced advertising costs and in-kind donations of services by a handful of local public relations firms makes 'Buy Now!' the equivalent of a $500,000 campaign, she said."

''We all understand that reporters have to report the news, but bad press has shaken the confidence of people to go out and spend their money,' Orr said."

The News & Observer from North Carolina. "Construction crews, plumbers, furniture and appliance salesman, and even real estate schools in the Triangle are starting to feel the pinch from the housing market slowdown."

"Gary Celey, owner of Celey's Quality Plumbing in Benson, has laid off 10 employees and cut prices 5 percent. 'Material costs are up, labor costs are up, but [national builders] ... don't want to pay it,' said Celey."

"Last year, the company installed plumbing in 4,000 homes from Chapel Hill to Holly Springs, mostly for large national builders. This year, Celey expects he will work in 500 fewer homes. 'It's the worst it's ever been; margins are smaller,' he said. 'I've got to re-evaluate how I do business.'"

The Memphis Daily News from Tennessee. "Matthews Brothers Homebuilders is facing more trouble with nine new foreclosures filed against the company by InSouth Bank. The properties are scheduled to be sold Nov. 9 at the Shelby County Courthouse."

"An additional 29 foreclosures, published in today's issue of The Daily News, have been filed by First Tennessee Bank. Don Glays, executive director of the Memphis Area Home Builders Association, said he believes the housing slump is driven by attitudes."

"'What is the single most significant factor that's affecting the downturn in today's market?' and I think it's consumer confidence,' he said. 'Our builders and the real estate agents that are talking to consumers are finding out that consumers really don't know the truth about buying a new home,. They are coming in with a jaded opinion of the new home industry, because of the national media.'"

"'Now, are some builders struggling? You bet they are. There are some builders who ... didn't heed the warnings about a downturn in the economy and housing industry, because, to be honest, in 2004 and 2005, there was some overbuilding going on to meet demands,' Glays said."

"In 2006, Shelby County saw 4,312 home starts and 3,992 new home sales, according to Chandler Reports. That's a difference of 320. However, in previous years, far more home starts were recorded than new home sales. In 2005, the difference was 754; in 2004 it was 1,627."

The Tennessean. "Some of Middle Tennessee's largest banks are seeing their loans sour as the mortgage industry has crumbled across the country, which could continue to make it harder for homebuyers and builders to get loans."

"On Thursday, First Tennessee's parent company said it lost $14.2 million in the most recent quarter, in part because so many mortgages and home construction loans are going bad."

"First Horizon's mortgage losses nearly tripled in the third quarter to $45.8 million. CEO Jerry Baker said a lot of the bank's mortgage-related losses were in Florida, California, Arizona and Nevada, states where home prices had soared and then crashed."

"Investors are worried about the potential impact of the problems on the economy as a whole, that an increase in the number of bad loans is a sign of greater problems down the road."

"'There's a cockroach theory,' said Jeff Davis, an analyst at FTN Midwest Securities, which is owned by First Horizon. 'If I see one or two cockroaches, how many more cockroaches are there? Investors are wondering if they're only seeing the tip of the iceberg.'"