The Tampa Tribune reports from Florida. "Hundreds of peculiar home sales and foreclosures clustered in low-income neighborhoods in south St. Petersburg have attracted the attention of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The deals involved unusual mortgages uncovered last summer in a Tampa Tribune investigative report. The sales are tied to a real estate investment program run by a local businessman. Several buyers complained to police that they bought the properties at inflated values."

"Buyers said they looked past unusually structured settlement documents that allowed third parties to collect thousands at their closings in order to make money in Florida's real estate boom."

"Some said they signed stacks of mortgage documents in parking lots and restaurants, such as Dunkin Donuts. Some of the buyers said their documents were blank when they signed."

"Jay Pasqualichio said he now thinks he paid too much for his 12 properties. Since the real estate market has tanked, he also owes much more on the homes than their current value."

"'I'm not trying to put all the blame on other people,' Pasqualichio said. 'I know I signed the documents. But I hope people who see these ads and hear these types of pitches, will really do their homework. ... I now see I was clueless.'"

"A handful of buyers interviewed for July's story said at the time they were reasonably happy with their investments, but that has changed. Three of those buyers are now in foreclosure on a combined 18 properties."

"One of the buyers, Marisol Napoleon, said renovations did not meet her expectations, and one of her houses ended up 'falling apart.' She couldn't keep the homes rented, she said, because they needed more improvements than she could afford to complete. She said she now thinks she paid too much for the properties."

The St Petersburg Times. "One in 20 homes in the Tampa Bay area is vacant, ranking the region second-worst in the nation. Orlando, with a 7.4 percent vacancy rate, trumped the bay area as the worst market for vacant homes among the 75 biggest metro areas in the United States."

"The recent U.S. Census Bureau report was disheartening to St. Petersburg Realtor James Tuten, but not shocking. Whether it's his four investment homes sitting empty for lack of buyers or customers who were forced out of houses by unaffordable mortgages, Tuten has seen ample evidence of the ranking."

"'You've had all those boom developments over the years. Now you've got all this housing and there's nobody to take it,' he said."

"The foreclosure epidemic is only partly reflected in the vacancy survey. That's because many homes in default remain occupied until the bank repossesses them. And for the government to count a home as vacant, it has to be for sale."

The Naples News. "Lee County had the most foreclosures in its history last month. In February 2,461 foreclosures were filed, up from 2,297 in January."

"'It’s the highest it’s ever been,' said Charlie Green, Lee County Clerk of Courts. 'The bottom line is, the court system is slammed.'"

"'They were burned,' said Keith Gensor, a mortgage broker with Florida Sunshine Mortgage, of the sub-prime lenders. 'They were burned big time. Now, it’s almost nearly impossible to get a sub-prime loan. If you have bad credit, good luck to you. I don’t think it’s going to come back any time soon.'"

"Those who make their payments on time and increase their credit-worthiness may want to look to the future. 'The flip side of the coin, they’re going to be golden,' he said. 'When it turns around in the next few months or next few years, they’re going to be the cream of the crop.'"

"The flood of foreclosed — or even short-sale — homes on the market affects everyone’s market value by lowering it. 'On the micro-level, it hurts. It absolutely hurts,' Gensor said. 'I have approximately 10 houses on my street sitting here (empty).'"

The Miami Herald. "From atop any gleaming, half-sold condo project, South Florida's housing market looks bleak. Viewed from abroad, it looks brighter. International shoppers from Europe and Latin America to Canada and South Africa are again scoping out bargains, agents say."

"Some are looking for a vacation home; others see an investment opportunity."

"'All of them are looking for bargains,' says Michael Schnabel, a Miami-based Realtor...who has seen low-ball offers of 65 percent to 70 percent of list prices. 'They're all aware of what's going on: a lot of construction, a lot of supply.'"

"Despite the foreigners' strong appetite for a place in the sun, Realtors see many hurdles to closing deals."

"Sophie Mavroleon, a Realtor in Bal Harbour, markets $500,000 to $1.5 million properties to Europeans, especially the French. She says she has watched many potential sales evaporate over taxes and maintenance, which have spiraled upward because of insurance costs."

"'Foreign buyers will buy beautiful views on the ocean; it's an easy sale -- until people realize how much taxes and maintenance costs are,' Mavroleon says."

"Though foreigners are more likely than Americans to pay cash for U.S. homes, an estimated 69 percent rely on mortgages, the NAR says. Banks 'are making it more complicated and more difficult for foreign nationals to obtain loans,' says Tony Acquaviva (who) owns U.S. Mortgage of Florida in Boca Raton."

"'Banks are saying they're not sure what values are anymore, and instead of a loan-to-value of 80 percent, they'll do maybe 60 percent or 65 percent,' says says Philip Spiegelman, a principal in International Sales Group. 'Offshore buyers felt 20 percent upfront should be sufficient, and now this is causing a whole new level of difficulty.'"

The Broward Palm Beach News. "Jack McCabe, one of the first real estate pros to predict a catastrophic ending to South Florida's housing boom, is now working full-time advising hedge funds and other vulture outfits that await some bottom-feeding deals."

"McCabe says he's seen only two such deals so far, both involving townhouses on the west coast of Florida. Given that, he doesn't believe we're halfway down the dangerous slope yet."

"He told a group of Fort Lauderdale real estate agents last week that, contrary to what they may be hearing, 2008 will be much worse than last year, the year of 'the great meltdown.'"

"McCabe backs his prediction with numbers that are almost impossible to refute. Like 38,582 and 1,063."

"Those are the number of homes that were for sale in Broward County in December versus how many were actually sold (the figures in Miami-Dade are even worse, while those in Palm Beach are slightly better but still dire). The massive inventory, more than three years' worth, is only growing, according to recently released government statistics."

"'The year 2008 is going to be the worst,' McCabe says. 'People's credit cards are maxed, and they aren't buying anything. People have stopped spending money. They don't have houses to use as piggy banks. The piggy bank is closed.'"

"If you really want to gauge the South Florida real estate industry, just talk to a real estate agent. 'It's not a good time,' says Kimberly Spitnale, who specializes in beachfront properties. 'Nothing's selling. There's not a lot of buyers out there right now. The most inquiries come from Canada and people overseas.'"

"Ah, foreign buyers — another sign of how bad things are."

"'There's not going to be any turn in this market in the immediate future,' says Marvin Kessler, an agent in Coral Springs. 'There are too many foreclosures each and every day and not enough buyers.'"

From TC Palm. "Thomasville Furniture of Jensen Beach is the latest casualty of the Treasure Coast's slumping housing market."

"Kathy Devereux, VP of marketing, said 'challenges' in home sales impacted furniture sales at the store and the company has shuttered the upscale furniture retailer's only Treasure Coast location."

"This isn't the first major furniture retailer that has departed from the Treasure Coast. Palm Beach County-based Skeffington's Furniture closed its Stuart location. In April, Modernage Furniture mailed letters to households along the Treasure Coast stating that, after 67 years, the Stuart and Vero Beach locations were closing."

"The Springmaid-Wamsutta store at The Outlets at Vero Beach also shut its doors last month."

"Brad Hunter, director of Metrostudy's South Florida division, which follows housing trends on the Treasure Coast and in South Florida, called the trend alarming."

"'The bad part of this is that it puts people out of work, which further depresses the market,' Hunter said. 'In a way, it's a vicious cycle. When people lose jobs, that lessens the number of people that can afford homes, which further reduces home prices, which then reduces the demand for furniture and other retail services.'"

"The civil division of the St. Lucie County Circuit Court is adding a night shift to handle a huge backlog of home foreclosure filings."

"Starting Monday, from four to six clerks from various divisions of the circuit court will work from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday to file new cases, said Clerk of Courts Edwin M. Fry Jr."

"'The case load has become just horrendous,' Fry said, 'and we're trying to find a solution. Going back to 2005, we typically would have 40 to 45 foreclosures filed in a month. This January, we had 715 foreclosure cases filed. It's just killing us.'"

"Fry said he doesn't know how long the night shift will last. 'The number of foreclosures doesn't look like it's going to slow down this year,' he said, 'so we might be doing this for a long time.'"

"It's assumed that housing construction is in a slump, but that's not the case for Holiday Homes. The builder has projects in St. Lucie and Indian River counties, and sees this time as a good opportunity. Genelle Cooper, VP of operations in Florida, talked about the company's plans and market conditions."

"Q. Why is Holiday putting up homes at a time when many builders have stopped projects and others have gone bankrupt? A...We've been able to work with our trade partners, and lower our home prices. Land prices have come, dropped down drastically. As a matter of fact, we are taking advantage of subdivision opportunities every day.'"

"'We are able to negotiate the contract terms and the flexibility of those terms, especially when it comes down to the lot takedowns. The interest rates are down. We're trying to take advantage of all of those options, and provide the customer with a good value home, and for the lowest possible price.'"

"Q. How much have prices come down? A. 'In Port St. Lucie, we have a home that's 1,200 square feet that's starting at $104,990. That's the base price of that home. It does not include the land. That home, similarly two years ago, was much higher.'"

"Q. As a percentage, was it at least 20 percent higher? A. 'Even more than that. It was probably, that same home, maybe in the $150,000s.'"

"Q. That's a huge change. As to the land, it looks as if those prices have come down from 40 percent to 60 percent. A. 'Yes. We were purchasing lots in Port St. Lucie from $70,000 to $80,000 each, and now we're able to purchase them for $20,000.'"

"Q. Along with land prices, have material costs dropped?"

"A. 'Labor costs, material costs, everything has dropped. We've been able to partner with our suppliers and subcontractors, and bring the cost of building our homes down. A lot of these subcontractors have worked with us for a long time, so we're trying to keep it going for a lot of people. We pass those savings to the consumer.'"