The Orlando Sentinel reports from Florida. "She misses her grandchildren, who live in Winter Park, but Ann Ortstadt had to move away. She couldn't afford Central Florida. The grandmother of two now lives in Atlanta, which ranked second in population growth last year, according to today's U.S. census report. 'Although prices in Central Florida have come down a lot, it is still very expensive compared to the rest of the country, especially when you add in taxes and the cost of insurance,' said Dan O'Hara, a Maitland real-estate agent and mortgage broker with 24 years of experience."

"O'Hara said many residents moving out of Florida are finding it hard to sell their homes, which have depreciated greatly. Often, these residents are forced to rent in the city they move to, putting them in limbo, he said."

"Ortstadt decided to move to Orlando in 2004 when her first grandchild was born in Winter Park. She sold her Atlanta home and bought a house with a pool in Winter Springs. 'I enjoyed Florida living,' she said."

"But her annual taxes and insurance totaled more than $6,000 a year, she said. 'Finally I said, 'Oh, this is not going to work,' Ortstadt said. 'I had to choose between being close to them or not worrying about how I'm going to pay my bills. It was really tough. I'm the kind of grandmother who likes to put my arms around my grandkids.'"

From NBC 6.net. "The South Florida area leads the nation in the drop of home sale prices. A home with professional appliances and a slate floor that was designed by the owner, who is in restaurant management, barely attracts one buyer visit on a weekly basis. There are 350 other homes for sale in the Grove."

"'Maybe two years ago it would've been around $660,000, $620,000, $650,000,' Realtor Michael Mahar said. 'Now I've dropped the price to $499,000.'"

"'It's an excellent deal and in Coconut Grove for under $500,000,' Mahar said. 'This is as good as it gets.'"

"Mahar said it's been a tough two years. 'Just watching it drop and drop,' he said. 'And now I have to sell it.'"

From Local 10.com. "The Standard & Poor's/Case-Schiller index for January 2008 showed sharp drops with prices down 11.4 percent nationwide. Miami and Las Vegas tied as the worst performing cities in the nation with prices falling 19.3 percent."

"In Miami, homeowner Zoe Lemus recently dropped his asking price by $100,000 in the hopes of attracting a buyer. 'People like it, they want to buy it, they just don't have the money,' said Lemus."

"'We've got another 20 to 25 percent to go,' Deerfield Beach Jack McCabe real estate analyst told Local 10's Mark Joyella. McCabe said South Florida's home prices rose so dramatically at the height of the housing bubble that it will take longer for prices to stabilize."

"'You've got a situation where prices have to come down so people can afford homes, and that's where we're at. We're going through this correction cycle. It's a very healthy thing,' said McCabe."

From Bloomberg. "Miami-area homeowner Richard Welch is spending $70 less on groceries a week after his house lost $145,000 in value. Rita Roland cut off 11 inches of hair to save on salon trips, and Victor Parris stopped drinking his favorite brands of dark ale."

"The residents of Melrose Cove, a Miramar, Florida, subdivision 23 miles north of Miami, are cutting back after regional house prices tied with Las Vegas in dropping more than any other U.S. metropolitan area in January."

"'Absolutely, I feel less wealthy than I did in 2006,' said Welch. He said he and his wife, Barbara, are slashing spending by 30 percent, including canceling their cable television."

"Welch said he bought his house for $201,000 in 2001, and watched its value climb to $595,000 by early 2007, then drop to $450,000. He took out a home equity line of credit in 2006 to refinance a second mortgage with a variable rate."

"Eight of Melrose Cove's 153 single-family homes are in foreclosure, Welch said. Fifteen percent of the other households are delinquent on quarterly homeowners' dues, he added."

"Roland left Los Angeles and moved to Melrose Cove in 2004, lured by the lower costs and slower way of life. She bought a three-bedroom house, her first, for about $350,000 and intended to sell for a higher price after five years, she said. Her house hasn't appreciated since January 2007, when it was worth about $425,000."

"'I looked at my house as a bank account that was going to accrue interest on a daily, monthly, annual basis,' she said. 'I'm looking at not gaining money on this stock that I call a house, and may actually lose money.'"

"Martha Rodriguez said her husband's sister bought the house next door for $330,000 with no down payment in 2006. Her sister-in-law, a manicurist from New York, moved out of Melrose Cove in August after her monthly house payments jumped to $3,000 from $1,900 and the property fell into foreclosure, Rodriguez said."

"Next door to Parris is a home that's been in foreclosure since last year. Parris stopped buying Guinness and Royal Extra beers for himself or a round for friends, which used to cost $50 to $60 every Friday night. He's also giving up weekly dinners to save more of his $69,000 salary, Parris said."

"Annette Aquino put her three-bedroom home up for sale after a divorce in October 2007. She's dropped the price from $400,000 to $370,000, and is dismayed to be getting offers between $250,000 and $300,000."

"In 2006, Aquino and her then-husband spent $2,500 for a vacation to Puerto Rico. Last month, she bought two tickets to New York City on Spirit Airlines for $77. Total cost of the five-day trip that included a stay at a friend's place: $200."

"'I'm not in the same situation as those people in foreclosure,' Aquino said, knocking on her wooden kitchen table. 'But the way it's going, I could be.'"

The St Petersburg Times. "Felix Amon dreamed of building taller than Trump, but now finds himself hammered by the slump. Poor sales and tighter credit have forced Amon, based in Daytona Beach, to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for his Tampa Tower 2 project."

"Amon's is the third Tampa condo project to declare bankruptcy this year. Even the best-known local condo project, Trump Tower Tampa, has threatened bankruptcy should its financing efforts fail. The 52-story building, licensing its name from New York tycoon Donald Trump, has yet to get off the ground."

"'Just remember what's happened to Trump Tower, and all the other projects,' Amon said. 'All the buyers ran for the hills.'"

"Amon said the bankruptcy filing doesn't apply to another of his local condo buildings, Clearwater's Station Square. The downtown redevelopment project on Cleveland Street offers 126 units and a rooftop pool. 'Station Square is just about finished,' he said. 'Luckily that was sold before the crisis started.'"

The Tallahassee Democrat. "When Florida’s Realtors hosted lunch in the Capitol courtyard Wednesday, they were hoping for good news to go with their Chinese chicken salad. Elected officials gave them a feast."

"Gov. Charlie Crist reported Floridians experienced a 16-percent reduction in home insurance 'in the last year.' He also cited a 'fantastic' lowering of property taxes, anticipating 'a $25 billion reduction over the next five years.'" "'It’s not enough, but it’s a heck of a start,' he said."

"'We’ve reached the turning point (in home sales),' said Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink."

"U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez gave a national perspective. 'We have a real crisis on our hands,' he told the Realtors about the residential real estate market. 'We need to do something to draw down the inventory of unsold homes.'"

"Realtors travel to Tallahassee each March for the FAR's Legislative Days. About 800 members attended committee meetings and conferred with their legislators during the two-day gathering."

"Realtors noted other signs that real estate sales' downward trend is reversing. Summer Greene from Broward County said her area has seen a 16 percent increase in pending transactions."

"'It's like everybody woke up Feb. 1 and said, 'Enough of this,' she said."