The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "A flood of foreclosures has forced county offices in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to expand their services to handle the load. With more than 1,000 foreclosed homes ready to hit the auction block in February, the Miami-Dade County Clerk's office is increasing the number of days it hold auctions from two to three per week."

"'We've been running into some serious problems,' said Michael Henderson, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade clerk. 'We've needed an extra day for a couple of months now.'"

"The number of properties scheduled for auction nearly tripled from 2006 to 10,209 in 2007, plus another 1,467 in January, according to a Miami data services company. If recent foreclosure filings are any indication, the numbers will continue to swell. Lenders opened foreclosure cases on some 8,829 home loans in Miami-Dade County in the fourth quarter of 2007, and 10,207 in Broward. Another 3,247 cases were filed in Broward in January."

"'It's never been like this, not for as long as I can remember,' said Barbara Brown, court operations manager for the Broward Circuit, Civil and Family courts."

"She pointed out the Broward court has been auctioning about 240 properties per week since January, up from about 30 or 40 per week the same month last year. Investor Julian Dominguez Jr. added that more than 95 percent of the properties for sale were being bought back by lenders."

The Herald Tribune from Florida. "A new study shows that 'occupancy rates are falling and the rate of rental growth is slowing' throughout the state of Florida. The Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan statistical area ranked as one of the worst performers during the last year in terms of both rental growth and average occupancy."

"'There's a number of property managers and owners out there who perhaps haven't been in the market long enough to know what needs to be done to move these properties,' said Scott Corbridge, with Sarasota Management and Leasing. 'People might be thinking about what they were told they could get in terms of cash flow back when they bought a property, and they're not willing to budge just yet.'"

"There is a tremendous amount of competition in the rental market these days because many people who cannot sell their properties are turning to renting as a way to ride out the slow market, Corbridge said. 'We've got a lot of accidental landlords out there,' he said."

"Alvin Holmes, who owns a number of rental properties in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, said local landlords have been getting hit hard from numerous directions. 'The ones I work with say this is the worst they've ever seen it,' Holmes said."

"Holmes said the drying up of construction work resulted in many laborers, particularly immigrants, simply leaving town when the jobs disappeared. At the same time, the flow of people that has traditionally migrated to Florida from the northern states has slowed in recent years -- primarily, Holmes said, thanks to rising property taxes."

"'People just aren't coming here like they used to, and we need that influx of people,' he said. 'We depend on them.'"

"Carolyn Pearson is one such owner. Pearson and her husband have lived in the Sarsota area for decades, and say that ballooning property tax bills on their four rental properties combined with the soft market are pushing them to the breaking point."

"'We've lived and invested here for almost 50 years,' Pearson said. 'We weren't speculators, we've worked hard, we tried to do everything right ... and now this American dream has turned into a nightmare.'"

"It has gotten so bad, Pearson said, that she and her husband have started looking for jobs again just to make ends meet. They have not had much luck. 'There aren't a lot of employers that are falling over themselves to hire someone my age.'"

"If things do not turn around soon, they will likely have to move elsewhere, she said."

"Southwest Florida's four biggest and best-financed real estate brokers saw annual sales drop last year -- to the tune of $728 million -- but that was at half the pace of the drop of the prior year."

"That has some of the big brokers voicing optimism about 2008, with some calling a bottom to the regional market."

"Sales of single-family homes in the Sarasota-Bradenton market dropped 11 percent in 2007, one of the better performances statewide. Only Panama City, with 10 percent, saw a smaller decrease. Charlotte County-North Port slumped 25 percent, putting it in the middle of the pack for the 20 largest markets statewide."

"Sarasota-Bradenton is 'definitely at the bottom,' says Prudential Palms President Scott Sosso, whose firm saw a decline of about 17 percent last year. Sosso points to many houses that are now selling for 2003-04 prices. The 2007 median sales price was $285,700, while the December price of $246,900 was comparable to overall prices in 2004."

"Others are not so sure, noting that 2008 is likely to be another year marked by more mortgage problems. Southwest Florida is experiencing record foreclosures as a result of the speculative buying spree of 2004-2006, particularly in North Port, and that is adding to inventory of unsold homes."

"The parent of First State Bank saw its profits cut 54 percent in 2007 because of provisions that it made for loan losses resulting from a troubled real estate market."

"The Sarasota-based bank holding company revealed last month that it had boosted its total reserve for loan losses by 55 percent to a record $7.6 million. 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."

"'The continued decline in property values in our core lending markets have negatively impacted our profitability in 2007,' said John E Wilkinson, the company's CEO, in a statement."

The Bradenton Herald from FLorida. "Stuck in the rut of the real estate downturn and facing various liens and litigation, the developers of the Bel Mare at Riviera Dunes condominiums are resorting to desperate measures to sell their units."

"Tim Morris, CEO of Corvus International, the developer of the twin 15-story towers near the Manatee Convention Center, said the company is reducing prices on units by 25 percent or more and has instituted a unit buy-back program."

"The deal caps Corvus International's loss on each unit at $50,000 and requires buyers to pay brokerage fees and closing costs. There are other restrictions as well."

"'We just need to essentially get real buyers to become aware of what we've done and get them out there to take a look at the product,' Morris said. 'We're trying to firm up their position and limit their downside.'"

"It's been tough going for Bel Mare and other local condos that have faced dozens of lawsuits from investors seeking to have deposits returned because the projects weren't finished on time. Units that had been priced from $750,000 to $1.8 million, now range from the mid-$400,000s to $1.3 million, Morris said."

"Despite Bel Mare's struggles, Corvus is moving forward with development of Sanctuary Cove, 252 single-family homes east of Bel Mare on the Manatee River that will range from the low $400,000s to more than $4 million."

The St Petersburg Times from Florida. "A sweat stain has worked its way through a royal blue silk blouse and past the top polyester threads of 34-year-old Brandie McGowan-Fitzgerald's black business jacket. Fortunately, Wednesday morning's rush hour traffic buzzing past her left and right is moving too quickly to notice."

"When they line up for the light at Busch Boulevard and Interstate 275 she walks car to car, dressed in full business attire, and shows her sign: 'Single Mom Needs Work. Take a Resume.'"

"Last year, bad luck came in threes. She was laid off, had an adjustable rate mortgage push her monthly budget past her means and is separating from her husband."

"'Financially, right now the clock is running. I'm almost out of money. It takes a toll on you mentally. Especially as I watch my bank account slowly decrease. I have $1,000 in the bank right now until I get a job,' she says. 'What am I going to do?'"

The Orlando Sentinel from Florida. "Electricity to parts of the office-condo towers in The Plaza could be shut off for nonpayment at any time, and dozens of unsold residential units in the adjacent Solaire condominium will be auctioned off March 1 by that tower's developer-owner."

"Both actions are signs of the depth of the collapse of the downtown Orlando condominium market, which despite its troubles is considered stronger than those in other parts of the state."

"Minimum bids for 24 of the one- and two-bedroom units in Solaire will start at $170,000. Bids for the other 18 will start at $250,000."

"Bryan Disbrow, who lives in one of the penthouse residential units in Solaire and works across the street for SunTrust Banks in the mortgage division, said he has no doubt the tower and other downtown properties will weather the current slowdown."

"'I've been a suburban person, but now I love this,' said Disbrow. 'It's very urban, and I can just walk everywhere.'"

"He said he paid $795,000 in 2005 for his two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit, which has western views, including the nightly fireworks at Walt Disney World in the distance. A similar unit of the same size, with eastern views that include rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, recently sold for $945,000, Disbrow said."

"The building's ground-floor retail spaces remain vacant, though, and the multiplex theater next door is still unfinished, giving parts of the complex a vacant, depressed look."

From 11 Alive in Georgia. "The foreclosure tallies keep reaching all-time highs. On Tuesday alone, 7,000 homes were auctioned off on the steps of the Fulton County Courthouse."

"In a mere four hours, 2,000 homes will be auctioned off on the steps."

The Atlanta Journal Constitution from Georgia. "Atlanta homebuilder John Wieland said Wednesday he's more 'upbeat' about his business now than he was feeling as 2007 drew to a close amid a flood of troubling economic news."

"In November, his $350 million luxury condominium project across the street from the High Museum of Art suspended construction plans for at least 18 months. Just days later, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods confirmed that 59 company employees had been laid off in a streamlining move prompted by slow home sales."

"'The end of last year was the most miserable time of my life,' Wieland said."

"Wieland noted growing house inventories and rising foreclosures in remarks to EconSouth, the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank's quarterly publication, last summer. 'I am shocked, and I don't shock too easily,' he said. 'I don't know anybody out there that is 'doing well.' And the bankruptcies of the builders in Atlanta are starting.'"

"A new promotion offering price discounts up to $100,000 and a lifetime structural warranty on Wieland houses produced 89 sales for the company between Jan. 25 and Feb. 3, twice the number of homes the company sold in the same period last year, according to Wieland officials."

"That provided a welcome cash infusion of $50 million for the homebuilder, which is currently marketing 30 communities with more than 400 unsold homes around the metro area."

"The homebuilder is so pleased with the outcome of the initial promotion that it has extended the offer for an additional two weeks, Wieland said."

"He acknowledged the challenges Atlanta's overbuilt housing market is facing this year. With 11 months of unsold inventory , companies with swollen backlogs of unsold lots will feel the pinch of carrying charges and razor-thin margins."

"'Some air, shall we say, is coming out of the housing market in Atlanta,' Wieland said. 'But that's good for customers and it's good for the housing market.'"

"Home prices are likely to remain very flexible until recovery begins, Wieland said. 'Are people going to be able to negotiate? Sure they are,' he said."

"'We're just a little part of the Atlanta market. There are plenty of buyers out there to meet our needs,' Wieland said. 'Somebody's going to shrink and I'm not interested in doing it. We're going to make it exciting enough to buy from us that somebody else does the shrinking.'"

"The latest sign of hard times in the housing industry sits in the driveway of Lot 13 at Willow Wind Estates in east Cobb County. Well, the sign is in the yard, but the evidence is in the driveway."

"'This Car Comes With Home' screams a banner-size sign in front of a $550,000 home. A new Toyota Highlander, a roughly $30,000 tangible, visible incentive, is parked behind the sign."

"Builder-developer Nader Zarrabi knew that he'd have to offer something more than a fair market price for a new home. 'We're always trying to come up with incentives in this business, particularly now, which is the toughest time in my career. But everyone is giving some kind of incentive, so I figured I needed to do something big and something you could see physically.'"

"So how flexible is he on this Highlander and Lot 13? Flexible enough to move it to one of the other lots. Probably flexible enough to figure out a way to just reduce the price of the house."

"Zarrabi believes keeping homes close to their appraised value will help the buyer in the long run, as well as the neighborhood. 'These houses appraised at $600,000, but even when we were building them, we knew it was going to be a soft market, so we listed them in then mid-500s.'"

"'It wouldn't make sense to drop the price more because it drops the values of houses all around. This way, the price stays at mid-500s, and the incentives aren't recorded on sales records. In five years if you want to resell, it helps, he said."

"Oh yeah, the refrigerator, washer and dryer come with the home, too, the sign says in much smaller letters."