The Palm Beach Post reports from Florida. "The same issue that forced sellers to pull their properties off the for-sale market now dogs them in the rental market: inventory. There are nearly 35,000 residential properties for sale in Palm Beach County alone, according to Illustrated Properties Real Estate. That's a staggering four-year supply at the current pace of sales."

"But even homes renting for $3,500 a month, as in ritzy developments like Wellington's Versailles or West Palm Beach's Terracina, might not pay enough to cover the owner's monthly costs. 'In many cases, owners are renting for half their monthly costs,' said Jack McCabe, president of McCabe Research and Consulting in Deerfield Beach."

"In Palm Beach County, more than 3,500 units have been pulled out of the for-sale condo market and put back into the rental pool, McCabe says, including Mizner Court at Broken Sound in Boca Raton (450 units), Aventine at Boynton Beach (216 units) and San Merano at Mirasol (476 units) in Palm Beach Gardens."

"Of course, not all renters are frustrated wannabe homeowners priced out of the market. Many can afford to buy a home - 20 percent have incomes above $60,000."

"They choose to rent to avoid financial risk in an uncertain housing market, says the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Renting also gives them an urban lifestyle at a lower price - certainly lower than home prices in Palm Beach County."

The Tallahassee Democrat. "Some lenders and mortgage professionals see a tightening of mortgage rules in response to the millions of risky loans made the last few years and the rising tide of mortgage defaults and foreclosures."

"'There is certainly a major effort to tighten restrictions on granting credit in the mortgage industry,' says Ritch Workman, president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers."

"The proverbial pendulum, he adds, had swung too far toward easy access to home loans. At the height of the credit craze, there were plenty of cases where people were denied credit cards but then could turn around and with the same credit profile qualify for a mortgage."

From Hernando Today. "Drive down any subdivision and the sea of 'for sale' signs swim across your vision like a row of landlocked vessels. If you're one of those homeowners trying to haul anchor and set sail, you might be wondering what you have to do to get that home out of dry dock."'

"Builders and Realtors say it's still possible to sell homes in a tough market – as long as sellers are willing to make concessions and get out of the 'make a killing' mind-set. It boils down to two things: curb appeal and lower prices."

"Maybe two years ago, you could inflate the asking price for the house, Not anymore. If you're willing to take less, you should be able to sell. In real estate terms, it's called 'realistic pricing.'"

"'There's no reason why a nicely prepared home is not going to sell,' said Harry Willett, president of the Hernando County Association of Realtors. 'We have a better market than, let's say Tampa, (because) those homes are really overpriced.'"

"And what the price was even six months ago may not be where that price needs to be today, said local Realtor Mary Ann DeWitt. 'We're considerably busier right now than we were 60 days ago,' DeWitt said. 'I have a very optimistic outlook for the next year. Every month that passes, we're another month away from the bottom.'"

"Local Realtor and developer Gary Schraut agrees that while the housing numbers are not good, 'they're not as bad as people would want you to believe.'"

"People are comparing the current market to that of 2003-05, when the investor-fueled real estate boom was at full steam, he said. Home prices were artificially driven up by the wild speculation, and it is unfair to use those years as a yardstick and say that the home market is a complete disaster, he said."

"Hernando County is now reaching the point where it was before the boom hit. 'We've done the (market) correction, and we're waiting for it to level off,' Schraut said."

"'I think all the speculators are gone. The homes we're selling now are people looking to put a roof over their family's head. Some investors are trying to pick up foreclosures, but there aren't that many of them because they have no one to flip it too fast,' he said, referring to quick resales."

"'It's not that they can't sell them, it's just taking longer and it takes more marketing and more realistic pricing,' he said. 'You can't put a real estate sign out front and say, 'Buy me,' at any price. That is over now and we're back to a real market where it takes real negotiating skills.'"

"Dudley Hampton, president of the Hernando Builders Association, agreed that people cannot judge the housing market by 2005's standards because 'that was an anomaly year.'"

"Despite the gloom and doom, Hernando County still boasts some of the lowest prices in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, he said. 'People who can afford to buy a home can buy one and get it for an excellent price and get good value for their dollar,' he said."

"To get people to buy, some are offering to pay closing costs or even the first year's mortgage payments, he said."

"Hampton believes much of the negativity comes from so-called analysts who continue to preach grim housing news. 'A lot of that has to with the pundits on TV who I personally feel don't know the difference between a hammer and a hat rack,' he said. 'Right now the sexy thing to do is preach doom and gloom about the housing market.'"

The St Petersburg Times. "Big private money from places like New York and Los Angeles has decided our carcass of a Florida housing market is ripe for some plucking."

"If you're a home builder, they'll pay about 70 cents on the dollar to take that excess inventory off your hands. If you've lost your house to bank foreclosure, they'll snag your humble abode for as little as 40 cents on the dollar."

"One local builder, Dave Seidenberg of Bayfair Properties, said one fund totaling $750-million approached him as it scavenged for quality homes up and down the Gulf Coast of Florida."

"Seidenberg said the deal is attractive only if he's closing out a community. Otherwise he risks ticking off regular home buyers who pay more or less full price."

The Post & Courier. "The overbuilt Florida condominium market got the best of a local development company."

"James Doran Co., based on Daniel Island, conveyed about 45 acres of land in Orlando back to an investor after officials couldn't get additional equity funding."

"The lender, a pension benefit fund for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union, accepted the property's deed as part of the sale agreement that the two groups worked out before the transaction took place."

"'As we all know, Florida is going through a housing downturn,' said CEO Bob Doran."

The News Press. "Land preservationists throughout Southwest Florida are suddenly able to go after major properties they couldn’t have touched two years ago when prices were high."

"Big property owners are coming hat in hand to offer their land to the property tax-funded Lee County Conservation 20/20 Land Program — spurred by the disappearance of speculators and builders who had been buying at a fevered pace."

"When the home-building industry collapsed, prices plummeted for undeveloped land because builders had no need to start new projects. But the economic slump brings with it a sliver of good news."

"The lower prices paid off when the county was able to buy the 105-acre Orchid Isles parcel adjacent to the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers for $16.1 million three months ago. The owners had originally asked for $30.4 million."

"'We have a plethora of options' for future purchases, said county Commissioner Ray Judah."

"The falling value of the county’s real estate has devastated Lee’s residential construction industry, with only 85 building permits issued countywide in November compared to 402 a year earlier."

"The median price of an existing single-family home has fallen 26 percent from $322,300 in December 2005 to $239,300 in October, the last month available, according to the Florida Association of Realtors."

"This year, Conservation 20/20 has been swamped with applications, said Lynda Thompson, program coordinator: There’s now a backlog of 49 properties under consideration, of which 11 are in negotiations."

"'I’ve never seen this many nominations come through,' Thompson said." "One of the most valuable parcels acquired this year was a 400-acre property off Corkscrew Road near State Road 82, purchased for $5.85 million in May,"

"Fort Myers-based real estate broker Ed Bonkowski, who negotiated the sale, said the 20/20 program had been interested in the land for years but hadn’t been able to close the deal until now."

"The property went for about $15,000 an acre, compared to the $40,000 or $50,000 similar property was going for two years ago when major builders like Beazer and Pulte were going after them. At those prices, 'and 20/20 probably wouldn’t have gone into that bidding war,' Bonkowski said."

"In Collier County, which also has a land-buying program, owners of the 2,500-acre Pepper Ranch bordering Lake Trafford had planned to build houses on the property but recently approached the county about selling it for preservation, said Jennifer Hecker, national resources policy manager for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, which advises the county on purchases."

"No purchase price has been reached, but the property is 'loosely estimated to be worth $40 million,' Hecker said — much less than it would have gone for during the boom."