The Palm Beach Post reports from Florida. "In Palm Beach County's new-home developments there were 755 single-family move-ins during the third quarter of this year, the fewest in more than a decade, according to MetroStudy. That's also 52 percent fewer than the same quarter last year. There were 486 single-family home starts in Palm Beach County developments in the third quarter of this year, MetroStudy said, a 52 percent drop from the third quarter of 2006."

"Brad Hunter, an analyst at MetroStudy, said that total new-home inventory in Palm Beach County dropped to 2,989 units in the third quarter from 3,258 units in the second quarter. The number of units under construction fell to 1,464 units in the third quarter from 1,776 in the second quarter."

"'I believe we've got the lowest prices in town,' said Robert Smithwick, Mercedes Homes' Treasure Coast Division president."

"Many other local builders are offering incentives to attract buyers in what has become the worst housing slump in 16 years. Some of them are impressive indeed. Truth be told, we don't have room to list them all in this column."

"We see news releases from Centex Homes and DiVosta Homes on our desk, for instance. It's a trend we expect to continue well into next year as builders seek to work off their bulging inventories homes and condos."

The New York Times. "Based on the number of sales, the Florida real estate market as a whole has taken a huge hit this year. September sales of existing homes in Polk are down 44 percent from a year ago; building permits for new home construction are down about 36 percent."

"'There is more inventory in all price ranges,' said Deborah Boza Valledor, the chief operating officer of the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches."

"More than 78,000 homes were for sale in the Miami area in August, up from 51,000 a year before, according to ZipRealty. The overhang of unsold homes helps explain why reported selling prices do not tell the whole story."

"Sellers 'are making concessions,' Boza Valledor said. 'They will offer a year's worth of paid maintenance fees to the buyer, or they will pay for the parking space or they will throw in country club fees that might be part of the expense of buying a home in a gated community.'"

The Orlando Sentinel. "True to the ambiguity of humdrum reality, there is no black hat in this story, just a man, Neal Winnie, who may have to pass the hat if his fortunes don't improve."

"One day the lenders stopped giving loans to his clients. Winnie blames the media, especially TV, for hyping the bursting of the housing bubble and panicking investors."

"The depressed housing market in Central Florida finally forced him to shut down his company, Sunquest Mortgage. How bad is the market in Central Florida? So bad that things are better in Detroit, where Winnie has another mortgage business."

"'I'm working in Michigan now, because I can't get anything done here. And it's not as if I weren't trying,' he said, describing a mass-marketing effort here that produced zero customers."

"He hasn't forgotten Rose Harkey, (who) owns a small construction company and does remodeling. 'I'm gonna pay these guys,' he said. 'They're super people. I would recommend them to anyone. They did their job, now I need to do mine.'"

"Winnie said he hopes to be back on his feet by the New Year, and plans to pay JA-RO the balance of $4,000, with interest."

"Meanwhile, JA-RO is hanging on, getting by on remodeling jobs. 'We can't afford to go ahead and build spec houses now,' Harkey said. 'But we're small enough that we'll find something. We live pretty frugally. We'll just have to slim down, that's all.'"

The Tampa Tribune. "Once, they were dream homes, with views of the golf course, a marble-floored music room, servants' quarters and a taste of the good life behind the gates of some of Tampa's most posh communities."

"Now, they sit abandoned, with overgrown lawns, leaky roofs and deep-green, algae-filled pools. They are empty and overpriced. All are in foreclosure. All were bought sight unseen by a South Florida investor who is suing his former business partners and lawyer for fraud and identity theft."

"The five transactions took place between February and June 2006. All involved the same team of real estate agents and a broker from Florida Executive Realty. In each case, the homes were purchased by Atlantic Coast Investments, which is partially owned by Boca Raton businessman Alan Nathan, and deeded the same day to Nathan's partners at inflated prices."

"'That's what we call a standard land flip,' said Doug Pollock, president of Information Data Services. 'You have simultaneous closings, but the only funding is on the second transaction.'"

"Collectively, the mortgages for the five Hillsborough houses totaled $900,000 more than the sale prices for the properties."

"Code Enforcement Director Curtis Lane lives two doors down from the Edinburgh house, which has broken windows, a neglected pool and an overgrown lawn. His department has cited the owner and is on the verge of levying hefty fines."

"'That's right by my house,' Lane said. 'I knew there was something fishy about it. I look at that mess every day.'"

From WFTV.com "Car arson is on the rise and the motivation behind it may be changing. Investigators say arsons are typically used to torch evidence of another crime. But there is a surprising new reason Central Florida vehicles are going up in smoke."

"'There's a lot of foreclosures going on right now. People can't afford the cars they once used to be able to afford. So in order to get out of the payment they'll burn the car,' said Bill Newman of the Bureau of Fire and Arson."

"'When the local economy hits the skids, it's not unusual to see a spark in auto arsons,' said a spokesman. By the end of September, investigators reported 310 car arsons. That's compared 390 for all of last year."

The St Petersburg Times. "Why, amid a historic housing slump, is citrus grower like Joe Davis planning to develop his plump groves to make way for homes, which are withering on the vine? 'I don't want voters determining how I can use my land,' said Davis of Highlands County. 'So I've speeded up my plans.'"

"Call it the Florida Hometown Democracy Effect. Supporters of this so-named measure limiting growth still don't know if they'll collect enough signatures to get it on the November 2008 ballot. But landowners like Davis, who owns about 10,000 acres in Central Florida, aren't taking chances."

"They're flooding state and local agencies with plans that would, if approved before Election Day next year, guarantee them the right to develop their land, even if the ballot measure is passed by voters."

"In 10 counties in central and southwestern Florida, the state is reviewing major development plans that cover a total area of at least 1,000 square miles - or two-thirds the size of Rhode Island - that would skirt restrictions imposed by Hometown Democracy."

"Most of these counties are rural and sparsely populated, where market demand for housing is entirely absent. 'There hasn't been a house selling in this county for a year and a half,' said Don Hanna, a Highlands County planner."

The Ledger. "Silver Companies is putting the brakes on its proposed 550-acre development in northwest Bartow, at least for now. And the delay will impact an elementary school the Polk County School District plans to build on the north end of the unnamed development."

"'We have just tabled it for now because of the market conditions,' said Richard Tremblay, executive VP of development for Silver."

"'We are still committed to the project and feel very strongly about Bartow, but the market is so down,' he said. 'We're going to wait for the dust to settle enough for builders to have a stronger interest in the project.'"

"Silver had planned to break ground this year on the initial 500 lots in the development. At build out, the development is projected to have 1,353 houses, 324 apartments and a commercial complex."

"At this point, Silver is reviewing the market monthly, hoping for an upturn. 'It's the same all over Florida,' he said. 'It's not just Bartow. We're disappointed with the delay, but the last thing we want to do is start this project in a down market.'"