The News Press reports from Florida. "Up and down this two-mile palm-lined piece of paradise - also known as Bonita Beach -nearly 100 homes and condos are for sale at pocketbook-pleasing prices. 21 percent of the single-family beachfront homes in this southernmost corner of Lee County are for sale. And most are priced significantly lower than what owners were asking a year ago."

"'That's a lot ... the prices have definitely softened,' said broker Susan Bellina. 'The condos sold in 2007 sold for less than they did in 2005.'"

"In 2005, one two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in Casa Bonita facing the Gulf sold for $840,000. Last year, a similar unit sold for $450,000, Bellina said."

"'In 2005, we were all crazy. There was a waiting list to buy. People were outbidding each other, and almost as soon as you'd put out a sign, the property was sold,' she said. Then the bottom fell out."

"'When the market fell, the sellers were in shock. They couldn't accept the fact that the market changed,' Bellina said. 'I don't think that after 15 years of property values going up and up, they could accept the fact that the economy was affecting our piece of paradise.'"

"Realtor Loretta Young said sellers finally got the hint last year. 'There were several sellers who dropped their asking price by $300,000 to $700,000,' she said. 'But those were the big beachfront homes and the people who dropped their prices like that could afford to do so. They are the ones who bought property there in the 1970s.'"

"'There is a buyer for every home,' she said. 'I don't think it's going to go any lower, and I think a lot of the buyers are insulting the sellers when they make some of these offers. You're not going to get a beachfront home for $300,000 unless you want to go to Costa Rica.'"

"Lee County had the worst rental occupancy rate in the state and the steepest decline in the fourth quarter, according to a report released Thursday. In complexes of 100 units or more, the occupancy rate was 80.4 percent."

"'It's not surprising,' said Fort Myers-based commercial real estate broker Ed Bonkowski. 'There are too many vacant homes and speculation homes that people closed on. They're doing anything they can to rent these properties.'"

"As a result, he said, 'The tenants are in charge now. If you think you're going to get first month, last month and deposit, you'll be sitting vacant for a year.'"

The Tampa Tribune. "In the face of rising inventories of vacant homes and declining orders for new ones, Tampa Bay homebuilders slashed construction 59 percent in 2007, according to Metrostudy."

"Metrostudy said there are 3,551 completed, vacant homes in the five-county Tampa Bay area. That's 235 fewer homes than counted in the third quarter. These are homes that no one has lived in and are either owned by builders or investors. Such inventory peaked at just more than 4,700 units in the first quarter of 2007."

"Joseph Narkiewicz, executive VP of the Tampa Bay Builders Association, said the majority of the inventory is made up of homes bought by investors, not homes that builders have been unable to sell."

"'And we're not talking about New York investors,' Narkiewicz said. 'Look around at the next barbeque and ask your neighbors how many homes they bought. That's a big part of the problem.'"

The Herald Tribune. "Managers at Allstate Builders of SW Florida Inc. -- hit by a flurry of commercial liens in recent weeks -- say they are not exiting the business of building homes."

"The company, first established in North Port in 1982, is 'phasing out of the business' for the time being because of competition from foreclosed homes that is overwhelming its position, said Gary Grennell, Allstate Builders' sales manager."

"'There is no sense in our trying to build homes only to have a house across the street sell in a bank foreclosure for $20,000 to $30,000 less,' he said."

"Its houses, mostly in North Port, sell for $130,000 to $210,000. 'We have five or six finished, and if we lose $30,000 on each that's $180,000 in losses,' Grennell said, referring the undercutting by foreclosures. 'Where's the profit? Out the window.'"

"On top of the 'nearly 5,000 unsold houses' listed in local MLS, there also are competitive pressures from houses owned by contractors and banks, Grennell said. 'We can't compete with that.'"

"First State Bank's parent has boosted its total reserve for loan losses by 55 percent to a record $7.6 million. The holding company said that the bank has nearly $19 million in impaired loans, both residential and commercial."

"'We have experienced a significant decline in property values within our core lending markets,' said Jed Wilkinson, First State's CEO."

"Of its residential portfolio, $5.6 million in loans -- or 10.4 percent -- are impaired, the bank said. Impaired commercial loans rose to $13.1 million, or about 8.54 percent of total commercial loans. First State, which operates three branches in Sarasota County and four in Pinellas, said that its third-quarter earnings fell 30 percent because of a decline in mortgage fees."

"The housing boom fueled a jump in the number of people wanting to sell real estate in Tampa Bay. Carol Austin, CEO of the Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, said 2008 numbers are getting closer to those of 2004, when the housing boom was red-hot."

"Last year was a tough one for the real estate market. Homes are now sitting on the market for months. Some are not selling at all. Sellers are lowering prices and some are selling for less than what they owe on their mortgage."

"Tony Rojas, a broker in Tampa, said he suspected that only about half of the agents who renewed were actually selling real estate for a living. In the coming year, he said, many more agents are likely to get new jobs."

"'A lot of people are on the edge, with little or no income coming in,' he said. 'They're wondering how long they can do this.'"

"The median sales price for the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area dropped below $200,000 in November for the first time since April 2005, according to data from the Florida Association of Realtors."

"November's sales price of $189,100 was 21 percent lower than in June 2006, when prices peaked locally at $239,600."

"Inventory has swelled, too. There were 19,354 homes listed for sale in December, five times as many as were listed in the same month in 2004, the Tampa Realtors group said."

"It would take 17.6 months at the current selling pace to sell all those homes, according to the group. 'We're at a point now where being a part-time agent isn't going to work,' Rojas said. 'In my 20 years as an agent, this is the toughest market I've seen.'"

"The roads might be clogged with the normal influx of winter residents, but many vacationers appear to be counting pennies at home rather than shells on Florida beaches."

"Just-released November occupancy rates were down in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties an average of 10.3 percent -- a trend that was mirrored in other parts of the nation."

"Middle-class vacationers, especially those who use credit cards to pay for all or part of their holiday, who have been recently spooked by the poor economy and declining home values."

"Florida is being hit harder than other places in the nation, but tourist destinations everywhere are suffering, said Duane Vinson, a spokesman for Smith Travel Research. Companies are cutting three-day conventions to two, while some leisure travelers are staying home altogether. The occupancy figures across the nation are as worrisome as those in Southwest Florida, Smith said. 'You're looking at double digits.'"

"Though some pundits have argued in recent months that tourism is recession-proof, the downturn comes as the housing market struggles at its lowest point in decades, as retail sales are down and while the federal government considers a broad stimulus package to bail the nation out of a downward economic course."

The Sun Sentinel. "President Bush's $145 billion tax relief package is emerging at a tough time for South Florida, but economic analysts doubt it will help much as joblessness rises sharply and wages fail to keep pace with inflation in the region."

"In 2007, the ranks of Florida's unemployed shot up by 49 percent. There were 441,000 people without jobs last December, compared with 297,000 in December 2006, according to figures from the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation."

"'What a difference from a year ago,' said economist Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida. 'The housing market has gone from red hot to deep-space cold. That means less employees in that sector.'"

The Miami Herald. "Florida's unemployment rate hit its highest level in more than three years, according to employment data released Friday. The state's white-hot employment growth of the past few years was fueled in large part by the housing boom. Since that started cooling off last year, the jobs picture has become more lackluster."

"Construction jobs overall in Florida were down 3.3 percent in December, a loss of 20,900 jobs over the year. The state noted Friday that it was the first time since 1992 Florida has experienced 10 straight months of consecutive job declines in that industry."

"Employers here, like in the rest of the state, are being cautious, said Miami recruiter Jorge Roca. Roca, who works for the staffing company Spherion, said the overabundance of qualified applicants willing to take lower-paying jobs means companies focus less on retention."

"'The candidates have become expendable,' he said. Now, employers are taking a 'wait-and-see' attitude and are more tentative about bringing on new people, given all the negative economic news."

The News Journal. "With construction and mortgage jobs evaporating, unemployment soared in Volusia and Flagler counties last month, leaving the counties with their highest jobless rates in more than three years, state labor officials said Friday."

"'We're going to have a rough go of it for the next few months before there's any stabilization,' said Sean Snaith, director of UCF's Institute of Economic Competitiveness."

"For the two counties combined, the rate averaged 5 percent, compared with 3.2 percent at the end of 2006. That meant more than 14,000 people were trying to find jobs. A few dozen of them paid a visit Friday to the One Stop Career Center near Volusia Mall, hoping to pick up hiring leads from the center's database of job openings."

"Among them was Keith Moore, 47, of Daytona Beach Shores. He said his remodeling business had been doing well the past couple of years, but in recent weeks, orders fell to almost nothing."

"Moore said he's trying to keep the business running, but in the meantime he's looking for fill-in work as a machinist or even in food service. 'I'll go out to the track and wait tables if I have to,' Moore said. 'You have to do something to keep going.'"

From NBC 2 News. "Fifteen months and a drop in price of well over $100,000 later, a 'For Sale' sign still sits in homeowner Mark Sievert's front yard. 'As the sheet shows, it's down to $388,000 and I'm just looking for an offer to be honest with you,' said Sievert."

"There is a glimmer of hope for Southwest Florida's slumping real estate market. Despite slow sales in recent months, the newest numbers are showing the housing industry may recover faster than anticipated."

"Even as we were there talking to Sievert, someone called to ask about his house - but still no luck. 'Oh there is plenty of interest. I see plenty of people coming around taking fliers. I put those fliers out and I probably get rid of 15 to 20 of them a week,' said Sievert."

"Now, there may be hope for people like Sievert. The Naples Area Board of Realtors reports sales of homes valued at $300,000 or less were up 33-percent in 2007."

"'The good news is there are signs of recovery all over the marketplace, said Joe Ballarino of the Naples Area Board of Realtors. A recent report in the Wall Street Journal ranked Naples and Punta Gorda as two markets where home prices will fall more than any other place in the country by 2009."

"Ballarino says that's just dead wrong. 'We have great beaches and great amenities. Our market is always going to come back before the rest of the housing market comes back,' said Ballarino."