The Sun Sentinel reports from Florida. "Twenty-six of the county's 31 municipalities lost population and three of them - Hollywood, Coral Springs and Pembroke Pines - made the Top 10 list of fastest-shrinking large cities from 2006 to 2007, according to U.S. census estimates released today. The percentage losses - the worst of any Florida county - are an amazing turnaround from the 1990s, when Coral Springs and Pembroke Pines regularly ranked near the top of the country's fastest-growing hot spots."

"'We're seeing a lot of places in Florida that are going down as a result of the bursting of the housing bubble and the substantial slowdown in the economy and job creation,' said Stan Smith at the University of Florida."

"Jaime Shulman, owner of Hollywood-based 1st American Movers, said he's busy moving Hollywood residents who lost their homes to foreclosure."

"'It's very simple,' he said. 'People can't afford living here. Everything is expensive and Hollywood has a lot people who are not wealthy.'"

The Orlando Sentinel. "Winter Park, a once-coveted address near Orlando's urban center, ranks near the top of the big-loser list. It's second only to Altamonte Springs, which took the biggest hit in population from July 1, 2006, to July 1, 2007. Cities that were once housing hot spots saw population losses in the year ending July 1, 2007. Altamonte Springs lost 553 residents, and Winter Park shrank by by 340."

"The price of housing was the major factor driving the 2007 numbers, said Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida."

"'While the region is growing as a whole, places that used to have a desirable ZIP code are losing residents,' he said. 'Housing prices are squeezing them out.'"

The Bradenton Herald. "Manatee County's population boom is over. The county's population grew anemically from 2006 to 2007, with modest gains in unincorporated Manatee and Palmetto offset by continuing losses in other cities."

"Demographers and local officials blamed the slowdown on several factors stemming from the housing slump, from would-be retirees unable to sell their Northern homes to fewer construction jobs available locally."

"'You're more likely to lose (people) when things are tough,' said Scott Cody, a University of Florida demographer. 'I would not be surprised if growth slows down even more this year.'"

"Growth could last only as long as the housing industry remained healthy, a Manatee County commissioner said. Now, fewer new homes means fewer new people, Commissioner Joe McClash said."

"'Much of that (earlier) growth was artificial because it was an artificial (housing) market that couldn't sustain itself,' he said."

"Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and the Manatee portion of Longboat Key lost a total of 58 residents during the year. It was the third straight year each city's population has fallen. Anna Maria Mayor Fran Barford said she couldn't immediately explain why her city's population is shrinking but suspected the economy is a culprit."

"'I'm sure it's all of those economic factors,' she said. 'We all are living in a time of trial.'"

From USA Today. "Shelby Morrow is a typical 16-year-old. She likes hanging out with her friends, dreams of getting her own car and enjoys writing short stories in the bedroom of her wood-frame house in Palm Harbor, Fla."

"But in the past few months, she's been grappling with a financial reality that most teens don't face. The home she shares with her mother, Melody, and younger sister, Lindsey, is falling into foreclosure."

"Melody Morrow never thought foreclosure would strike her middle-class family. But as her employer struggled financially, Morrow, a divorced mother of three, says she had to absorb repeated pay cuts. Eventually, she couldn't pay her homeowners insurance. Then she put her home up for sale. She hasn't found a buyer, and now it's entering foreclosure."

"'I'm trying so hard right now not to cry,' says Morrow. 'My daughters are going through a lot. They're feeling the stress of everything. They ask questions out of frustration, like, 'Mom, why did you get us into this situation?' I just say, 'God, what lesson do you want me to learn from this?'"

The Herald Tribune. "The number of foreclosures filed in Southwest Florida rose again last month. All told, foreclosure filings in the three-county area hit 2,240 in June, a 3.7 percent increase from the 2,161 the previous month and up 164 percent from the 848 filed in June 2007, data provided by RealtyTrac shows."

"Toni Trafford, who moved to North Port two years ago from Pennsylvania, said she has been trying to refinance her adjustable-rate mortgage for more than a year, but cannot reach her lender on the phone.

Trafford paid $210,000 for her house, contributing $40,000 of her own money and getting a $170,000 loan from Option One Mortgage. Trafford had to pay a relatively high rate because she and her husband did not have jobs at the time, but she was assured that she would be able to refinance once she found work."

"Trafford has a job now. But Option One, which was sold to American Home Mortgage in June, was not willing to make her a new loan. When she finally got through, Trafford was told that Option One was not doing any more refinancings."

"'I was trying to work with these people, but I can never get anyone on the phone,' Trafford said. 'Now I'm behind on my loan.'"

"Ken Stevens borrowed $484,000 against his Sarasota home during the recent housing boom and used the money to open a second men's clothing and tailor shop in Tampa. When the downturn hit, his income dropped by 80 percent and Stevens was unable to make loan payments."

"Stevens' house on Osprey Avenue is now on the market for $299,000 and he is hoping to work out a short sale with his bank that will let him out of his mortgage without blemishing his credit."

"'If I can find someone willing to pay at or close to my price, the bank may forgive the balance,' Stevens said. 'It's embarrassing to have a house up for short sale, but a lot of people are in this situation.'"

From Wink News. "Real Estate agents in Lee County say home sales in the area have been going up over the past 6 months. Experts say the sudden surge in sales is fueled by home prices dropping."

"'It may not be what sellers want to hear. We've gotten starry-eyed with all these prices, which are market couldn't bear for a long term,' said Suzanne Sherer, President-Elect of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Myers."

"Last month, the average price of a Lee County home was $158,000. In June 2007, it was more than $239,000."

"'If you go back to the normal appreciation of our market, we're right back in line with where we should have been all along,' Sherer said."

"Though homeowners may owe more than what they're selling it for, it boils down to simple supply and demand. Real Estate Agent Brett Ellis says it's a necessary evil for everyone to eventually come out on top.'

"'I think the market has to come down in price so we can even out and I think that's what's happening. That's what's healthy for the market and ultimately that's what's going to heal this market,' Ellis said."

The Miami Herald. "Although it was the first open house she had hosted at the West Kendall home, real estate agent Ana Escoto sensed her chances of snaring a buyer were more than a little slim."

"The price was still too high, Escoto said of the three-bedroom house -- especially in a neighborhood that has lost appeal. 'People aren't looking here -- the gas, the traffic,' Escoto said."

"Only three homes sold in West Kendall in May, according to the MLS. May numbers showed the median priced existing home in Miami-Dade and Broward counties dropped roughly 20 percent compared to a year ago. In Weston, prices fell 30 percent."

"Rapidly sinking property values in those areas offer a silver lining: Hundreds of homes are being recycled to buyers who were sidelined by soaring prices during the boom."

"In Broward, about 651 houses and condos listed for less than $199,000 exchanged hands in May, more than in any other price range."

"In Miami-Dade, sales are registering in well-established areas such as Coral Gables and Pinecrest, according to Butler, though price declines have been steep. In Coral Gables, for instance, the median in May was down 35 percent to $655,000."

"Investors will have less to do with stabilizing the market region-wide than they did in fueling South Florida's boom, according to Jack Winston, a real estate analyst."

"'Investors are looking for isolated bargains, and there is not enough of that going on to really influence the dynamics,' Winston said. 'The dynamic of the market now is for primary housing, for people who have jobs who can qualify for mortgages.'"

"Several Key Biscayne-based hedge funds hit by the subprime mortgage bond crisis last year have been wiped out, leaving investors with nothing."

"Funds run by flamboyant trader John Devaney that were worth more than half a billion dollars last year have been wiped out."

"'Most of the investors were institutions. Some are friends and family who were not solicited to invest,' Devaney said in an interview Wednesday. 'There were a few high-net-worth individuals who had losses. I was the second biggest investor in the fund.'"

"Devaney, 38, a prominent bon vivant, put his personal losses at more than $100 million. Before his funds began to sour, he owned multiple homes, yachts, a $35 million Gulfstream jet and a collection of Impressionist art."

"Troubles first surfaced last July when Devaney took the extraordinary step of halting withdrawals, citing a rush to the exits by investors amid subprime mortgage woes. At that time, Devaney told investors he wanted to avoid selling off the investments at fire-sale prices in hopes they would rebound as the bond market normalized. But the bond market hasn't come back."

"After freezing the funds last July, Devaney began selling off personal assets, including a 142-foot yacht called the Positive Carry, and the jet. He also put up for sale a 16-bedroom Aspen, Colo., vacation property and listed for sale a number of waterfront residential properties on the key."

"'We put a lot of properties on the market -- my father-in-law's, my mother-in-law's, my sister-in-law's, my mother's,' Devaney said. 'My home is not for sale.'"