The St Petersburg Times reports from Florida. "The sales tactics were like nothing Tampa had ever seen. 'A lot of food, a lot of dessert, a lot of liquor,' said Fred Caldwell, who attended a party at Saddlebrook Resort. 'They had a band. They had dancing.' Four years later, the scenario sounds insane. But it marked an era when Florida's housing industry wound itself into a speculative feeding frenzy, then deflated. Live Oak, cursed by timing, could be the poster child. Transeastern was destined for infamy."

"Few would dispute that low mortgage-interest rates were the roots of the housing boom. Then came 2002."

"'All of a sudden, you almost have to fight off the lenders,' said Wayne Archer, director of the University of Florida's Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies. 'It was a plausible market until the lenders went berserk.'"

"People were buying houses as investments, not dwellings, said analyst Marvin Rose, who has tracked home building since 1979. 'We should have leveled off in '02, and we would have been okay,' Rose said."

"But as Transeastern flamboyantly showed, buying was not leveling off. It was speeding up."

"Joe Berry moved from California to northwest Hillsborough County in 2004 for a job. Berry wanted to buy investment houses. A Realtor steered him to Live Oak, and Berry focused on a model home. He could buy it, full of upgrades and furniture, and immediately get a tenant, Transeastern. In summer 2004, Berry bought four models."

"His first lenders balked because the prices were higher than Live Oak's other houses. Transeastern suggested new lenders and new appraisers. Their numbers matched the deals perfectly."

"'That should have been a big red flag,' Berry said."

"Overstretched builders "were hiring people off the street," said David Seidenberg, owner of Bayfair Properties, which did not build in Live Oak 'You didn't have your most qualified people doing the work.'"

"Skilled roofers, plumbers and dry-wallers traded their tools for cell phones, supervising inexperienced crews."

"In 2004, four hurricanes tore through Florida. New money lured workers and materials from the home-building industry to the renovation industry. Prices spiked for steel, fill dirt and PVC. Suppliers rationed lime rock. So home prices surged again. Houses took longer to build. Investors could sign a contract to buy a new house and sell it at a fat profit when it was finished."

"On Aug. 1, 2005, a joint venture controlled by TOUSA Inc. of Hollywood, Fla., bought Transeastern in a debt-heavy deal valued at $857-million. Almost simultaneously, the housing bubble sprang a leak."

"Soon after the TOUSA sale, a Realtors' report showed the supply of existing homes for sale in the Tampa area was increasing for the first time in years. The market slowdown left Live Oak, like many new developments, with investor-owned homes begging for buyers or renters."

"Weeds are rampant at Joe Berry's model homes, which he abandoned. Torn swimming pool screens flap in the breeze. Lenders are foreclosing. Of 10 former models, eight are empty and six are in default, said Realtor Karyn Glubis, who sold dozens of houses in Live Oak."

"'I see a lot of people hurt here,' she said. 'I see a lot of loss.'"

The Associated Press on Florida. "Jim Clark and Tom Jermoluk cut a swath through Silicon Valley in the 1990s with companies like Silicon Graphics, Netscape and WebMD. Five years after they decided to put their entrepreneurial talents and technology fortunes to work building Miami condominiums, the first two projects by their company, Hyperion Development, are plagued with delays and unhappy buyers."

"Some residents at the first tower, named Blue, are threatening to sue the company for not delivering on amenities, while other owners at the 330-unit complex are trying to sell their condos for less than they paid."

"Consultants say some buyers who put down deposits at the company’s second tower, the 516-unit Marina Blue, may decide not to close. Other Marina Blue buyers have sued to get their deposits back."

"Mr. Clark and Mr. Jermoluk are not the only successful entrepreneurs who are struggling in Miami real estate. Another developer, Joe Cayre, who amassed a fortune distributing videotapes to Wal-Mart, faces lawsuits and delays on his 54-acre midtown Miami project."

"Even Jorge M. Pérez, head of the Related Group, who is on the Forbes list of billionaires with Mr. Clark, has retreated in the face of lawsuits and losses."

"'It doesn’t matter who the developer is, where the project is located, what price range the units are,' said Jack McCabe, a real estate consultant in Deerfield Beach, Fla. 'Every project is going to take hits, some more than others. None are insulated, and it doesn’t matter whose name is associated with it.'"

"The slowdown, Mr. McCabe said, has developers in Miami trying to sell 52 multifamily sites that they once marketed as condos. Three other sites, he said, have fallen into foreclosure."

"Mitesh Gandhi, an information technology consultant in North Brunswick, N.J., remembers spotting Mr. Clark’s photograph and mention of his link to Netscape when he walked into the Blue sales office in early 2005. He and his wife paid a deposit for a $555,000 condo."

"But they were disappointed when the apartment was finished — they did not like the lobby and did not feel safe in the neighborhood. They also said they thought the building needed more amenities."

"'When we closed on the unit and walked through the lobby, we were like 'O.K., this looks kind of bland,' he said. 'There’s nothing for me to do but try and sell it.'"

"The couple has priced the condo at $56,000 less than they paid. They have competition. Their broker, Samir Patel, said 88 condos are for sale in the 330-unit building at prices ranging from $300,000 to $1.25 million."

"Bernd Schmitt, director of the center for global brand leadership at Columbia University Business School, said Mr. Clark’s problems in real estate should not be surprising."

"'You could ask the question whether it was a wise thing for him to use his name, which is very much associated with Netscape and the tech industry, to a real estate venture,' Mr. Schmitt said. 'That was stretching the brand quite far.'"

"Other wealthy entrepreneurs seem to have found themselves in unfamiliar territory as well. In 2002, Mr. Cayre, the videotape distributor, and fellow investors bought the 56-acre former Buena Vista Rail Yard to build offices, shops, a hotel and condos."

"Today, his company faces roughly three dozen state and federal lawsuits over the project. Mr. Cayre told a reporter for a regional business magazine, that he did not expect to make money on his first condo tower, Midtown Two."

"Stuart Weiss, a consultant representing private equity firms buying troubled projects, said that Mr. Cayre was at risk of losing even more money because of the neighborhood. 'This is a real secondary location any way you cut it,' he said."

"The market changes have forced a third developer, Mr. Pérez, who has built 50,000 condos in Miami over the last decade with Related Group, into a defensive position. Now he is battling a lawsuit from buyers of 38 apartments at Harbour House and 26 condos at Biscayne Bay."

"His company is operating in emergency mode. He has set up a team to raise capital to buy back apartments that he expects buyers will not close on. There are some things, he said, that even billionaires cannot control."

"'We are just in the down part of the cycle,' Mr. Pérez said. 'You can’t exclude yourself from the market.'"

The Montgomery Advertiser from Alabama. "Many cities and communities yearningly talk about it, but it appears the Huntsville area is doing it -- attracting highly sought, younger professionals, and they're coming in style. They're blipping red hot on the local housing market radar."

"In the past, said Betty Hughes, outgoing president of the Huntsville Area Association of Realtors, said younger buyers were typically in their late 20s and shopping for smaller houses, but that is changing."

"'Now, it appears from my experience, they are buying a larger home anticipating personal growth,' said Hughes."

"There is a growing number of younger home buyers and the trend has been emerging for the last 10 years, said Cindy Allen, broker in Huntsville. Another interesting factor about these young buyers, Hughes said, is they're not just buying to reside but also to invest."

"More women are buying houses instead of renting, and even buying 'fixer-uppers' for investment, Hughes said. Overall, Hughes said, these are pretty savvy buyers who are looking for properties as long-term investments, including to aid their retirement."

"'Most make really good salaries, but have not saved a lot of money,' Allen said. 'They can make a substantial monthly payment because they don't have a lot of debt at such a young age. Most of their debt is student loans, if any.'"

"Another appealing facet of the area is its abundant housing. 'There is enough housing inventory to assist their needs in any direction of price range and more on the horizon,' Hughes said."

"Young professional couples who are typically in their 30s are buying higher-end houses in subdivisions. 'A few years ago, younger first-time buyers were buying $85,000 to $125,000,' Hughes said. 'Now, it really has increased.'"

"'They are much more aware of the importance to own versus rent,' Allen said. 'A monthly payment to own a home is right in proportion with renting, so why not buy? Home ownership is still the 'American Dream,' and still one of the greatest ways to feel a sense of accomplishment. It is also one of the best tax deductions, and for someone with a high-paying new job, the ability to claim interest on a mortgage will come in handy at the end of the year.'"

The Winston Salem Journal from North Carolina. "A glut of condominium projects in downtown Winston-Salem and the slowing national economy are causing some developers to change, withdraw or re-examine their projects."

"Landex Development LLC, the company that is redeveloping the Brown & Williamson building into the Gallery Lofts condominiums, announced that it might change its focus from condominiums to apartment rentals."

"'Winston-Salem is a solid, good market, said Judy Siegel, the chairwoman of Landex. 'It’s just that it’s shallow. With a project this big, that makes the difference.'"

"Half of the planned 77 condominiums had sold in the past two years, Siegel said. The company was close to its goal of selling the 60 percent of the condominiums required for financing on the project, but sales were taking too long."

"The project had attracted a mix of 30- to 60-year-old empty nesters, professionals and downtown business people, Siegel said. Letters were sent to the Gallery’s buyers about the possible change, and about 10 people so far have asked for their deposits back."

"Elsewhere around downtown, other developers are looking at delays and changes to their projects." "Catherine Mitchell, the VP of the Charlotte company that is developing West End Village at the corner of Fourth and Broad streets, said that a planned third building, Fourth and Green, is on hold."

"Agent Tammy Watson said that her company is selling the land where Pisco Holdings in Las Vegas had announced plans for 36 condominiums at 575 Liberty St. She said that the developer has decided not to do the project here."

"Some downtown observers also have questioned the fate of the District, a group of three to five condominium buildings proposed for Trade Street, Martin Luther King Drive and Liberty Street. The project was announced earlier this year."

"Jason Thiel, the president of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership, said that changes to development projects are not unusual, particularly in downtown development. Many of the 500 or so housing units that were built in the past five years sold fast because they were based on pent-up demand, he said."

"Joyce Snelgrove, a listing agent with Prudential Carolinas Realty, which has two of its six live/work condominiums at Holly Village for sale, said that selling homes has been a problem for some of the buyers she has worked with."

"Some of the sales have been to executives from out of state, she said. One of her prospects right now is waiting to sell a home out of state."

"Thiel said that with all of the activity downtown, he expects more retail development to occur, and that will add another layer of diversification to the market. 'I think we’ve established that housing works,' he said, 'and I think it’s a matter of absorption.'"