The Sun Sentinel reports from Florida. "Many were left out of the market during the housing boom of 2000 to 2005 because homes were too expensive. But now, even with sellers desperate and prices plummeting across South Florida, first-time buyers still can't realize the American Dream with property taxes remaining too big a burden and lenders tightening credit standards. Having moved six times in seven years, renter Stacy Bailen of Palm Beach Gardens would like to buy a little starter house and start building equity."

"But the 31-year-old administrative assistant worries about obtaining a mortgage and the still-hefty home ownership costs, particularly property taxes. In the end, Bailen decided to postpone buying."

"'When I hear that I should look to buy something, I say, 'With what?' she said."

"Real estate agent Douglas Rill said he has a three-bedroom listing in West Palm Beach that was just reduced to $149,900 from $179,000. It does need work, but the house has a new roof and would be ideal for a first-time buyer, he said."

"'I don't have a lot of action on it,' Rill said. 'I thought people would be breaking the door down.'"

The News Press. "In 2005, two Naples companies joined forces to purchase four lots in Lehigh Acres, and built houses on them. But by late 2006, when the homes hit the market, the housing bubble had burst, leaving W.M. Development and Wilson & Wilson General Contractors searching for buyers."

"'It's a little gut-wrenching,' said Wilson & Wilson VP Greg Soriano. 'You spend all that money on that property and pretty much have to wait it out.'" "The partners' plight is not an uncommon one in the section of southwest Lehigh designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as tract 403.04."

"Porter Davis is the listing agent for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home on Lowry Avenue, built in 1972, that has a short-sale asking price of $145,900. He said the home was purchased for $96,900 in 2002 and refinanced for $217,500 in 2005, and was assessed at $192,870, last October."

The Tampa Tribune. "At Lago del Rey, the grass is green and columns of water spout from the lion-headed fountain just outside the gates. But something's missing from the 39-lot subdivision on Hale Road - residents. Save for a single house under construction, Lago del Rey is empty."

"With Pasco County's housing market in a shambles, residential developers have hunkered down to await the economic turnaround they hope is coming soon. In the meantime, dozens of projects scattered all across the county - from small ones like Lago del Rey to giants like Wiregrass Ranch - are largely idle."

"'It's as bad as I've seen it,' said Clearwater lawyer Joel Tew. 'It's really frightening.'"

"Wiregrass Ranch still has more than 12,000 residential units approved for the future. Had things gone as planned at Lago del Rey, the community would be filled with family-friendly houses by now."

"Lago del Rey developer John Nugent Jr. of Hudson, and business partner Gary Blackwell of New Port Richey broke ground on Lago del Rey in 2005 just as the housing market was reaching its peak. Interest in the community was strong at the time, Nugent said. 'Given the market we were in, it should have sold out in about 12 months,' Nugent said."

"Three years on, the developers have sold about a fifth of the lots in Lago del Rey, county property records show. 'We've had quite a few cancellations - people who couldn't go through with it,' Nugent said."

My Fox Tampa Bay. "The call of the auctioneer filled the air at the Tampa Convention Center on Saturday. About 150 homes went up for auction on Saturday, but over an eight day period, another 1,000 homes in Florida will go; and all of them are foreclosures."

"For some, the bidding started as low as $1,000. Others, like a condo on Harbour Island, went for a little more. Bids on that one in particular started at $139,900—about a quarter of its original price."

"Like many others, Goddy Daudu wasn't burned in the real estate crash. Saturday was his first auction, and he came to play. 'I'm here to buy as many as I can buy,' Daudu said."

"And that he did. Daudu saved more than 50 percent on an East Tampa home, paying $63,000 for it. Then, he hunted for more."

"Don Melitich had his eye on a few homes in the Bay Area. Specifically, he wanted something under six figures with about 1,000 square feet. Don spotted one in Holiday, but it went to another bidder. For him, though, it's all about cost."

"'There are others,' said Metlitch. 'There are plenty.'"

The St Petersburg Times. "It's a no-brainer among property owners confronting the relatively bleak home sales and prices in places like St. Pete Beach and Clearwater."

"Now the National Association of Realtors has confirmed what everyone knew in their gut. In a recently published survey, the association said sales of vacation homes have declined at triple the rate of first-home sales."

"Florida's complex property tax rules that punish second homes and out-of-state buyers aren't helping things, Realtors say. Add the cost of coastal hurricane insurance, mix in market turmoil from the higher-than-normal foreclosures, and you've created a lot of hesitant buyers."

"'They think they'll pick it up at rock bottom prices,' said Martha Thorn, a top Clearwater Realtor. 'These people can afford to wait.'"

"The sales slowdown is palpable at upscale Clearwater condo buildings popular with vacation home buyers. Think Mandalay Beach Club, Belle Harbor or Sandpearl Resort."

"Even if the developer did well initially selling the condos, the resale rate has been sluggish. The biggest problem: homeowners sticking to high asking prices the market no longer supports."

The Herald Tribune. "Orion Bank grew and prospered as one of Florida's most aggressive real estate lenders during the boom, so it comes as little surprise that the Naples-based financial institution is suffering from the bust."

"Orion reported $91.7 million in non-current loans in its December quarterly report, a 4,267 percent increase from the $2.1 million in problem loans it reported during the same quarter a year earlier."

"Orion, however, did not increase its loan loss reserves by a similar amount. In September, Orion's reserves of $12.77 million exceeded its $11.4 million in problem loans. But just three months later, its $12.39 million in reserves represented only 13.5 percent of its $91.68 million in problem loans."

"One explanation for the discrepancy, analysts say, is that Orion did not want to report a serious drop in profits by setting aside more money to service loan problems. 'Banks often like to have minimal reserves to show profits,' said Ken Thomas, a Miami-based economist who specializes in analyzing financial institutions, adding that bank regulators need to sign off on that strategy."

"'Loan loss reserves are meant for rainy days,' he said. 'And excuse me, it's raining now. When you have a bank with that much of an increase in non-current loans without a commensurate increase in loan-loss provisions, that raises questions.'"

"Court records show that Orion has started 51 foreclosure lawsuits against borrowers since the beginning of August in seven Florida counties. Only four of those foreclosures were filed in Collier County, which analysts say is not surprising given that the bank is based there."

"'When you leave a territory where you have operated for years and go into unfamiliar territory with unfamiliar borrowers, your risk increases,' said Benjamin Bishop, chairman of a Jacksonville-based investment bank that specializes in advising banks and financial institutions."

"Thomas echoed that sentiment: 'Out-of-town lenders are usually the last to know what is going on.'"

"Real estate is not selling the way it did just two years ago, but that does not mean there are not people making money off the bursting of the housing bubble. Sign companies that cater to Realtors and their customers' swollen inventories of houses, condominiums and businesses are having a field day as orders skyrocket."

"'We are off the chart. My inventory is totally shot,' said Pat Neligan of Sign Service Co. in Sarasota. 'I'm doing more in a week than I used to do in a month.'"

"The Sarasota Association of Realtors sells those little 'pool,' 'price reduced' or 'sale pending' signs that sit on top of the larger for-sale signs, as well as those that stick into the ground and direct buyers to an open house."

"Kathy Roberts, the association's executive director, said the organization buys the signs in bulk. Roberts said sales of the so-called 'rider' signs increased almost 95 percent in 2006 compared with 2005."

"The for-sale sign phenomenon is not limited to Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Bob Stephens owns Bargain Sign Inc. in Clearwater, and he said for-sale, for-lease and foreclosure sign orders have risen 30 percent."

"'We've done quite a few in the last year and a half in for-sale signs,' he said. 'The for-sale or for-lease market is great.'"

"There is one type of real estate-associated sign that has fallen off, he said: Those 'We Buy Your House In Any Condition' signs."

"'We probably had six or seven out of those guys who would come in and buy 1,000 of those signs and they've just disappeared,' Stephens said. 'They all used to drive Hummers and now they are working at Wal-Mart.'"