The Tampa Tribune reports from Florida. "Median home prices in the Tampa metropolitan area which includes Clearwater and St. Petersburg, fell to $180,800. That is more than $40,000 less than the median price in the year-ago period, $222,700, the National Association of Realtors said. The Tampa Bay area wasn't the hardest-hit region in Florida. The median price dropped 19.3 percent in the Miami metropolitan area, and the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area saw a 33.1 percent median price decline in the quarter."

"As reported in the Tribune on Thursday, Florida now ranks third in the rate of foreclosures nationwide."

The News Press. "The median price of a Realtor-assisted existing home sale fell 28 percent in Lee County to $196,400 from $273,500 a year earlier, according to a separate report released by the Florida Association of Realtors."

"For condominiums, the price fell 10 percent from $246,900 to $222,600."

"Lee County led the nation in the rate of foreclosures in July, according to RealtyTrac. A record 2,467 foreclosures filed during July in the county, which is more than seven times the national average."

"Florida single-family homes were off 16 percent in price from $241,200 to $203,000 while sales were off 6 percent from 37,407 to 35,178. Condominiums were off 16 percent from $215,300 to $181,100 while sales fell 10 percent from 12,585 to 11,343, according to the state report."

"Raul Gramajo of Lehigh Acres, has been living in the United States for 14 years and in Lehigh Acres for the last three years. He has been unemployed for six months and it is beginning to affect his home payments."

"'We've called the bank, but they don't want to help us. I was a construction worker and the type of work I did is long gone,' said Gramajo."

"After 17 years working for the Lee County Sheriff's Office, Donna Tomassoni of Lehigh Acres, has worked about three jobs and began a professional organizing business, but has been unemployed since the beginning of the year."

"'I have sent about 250 resumes since January or February,' she said. 'It is very frustrating. It seems like there are a lot of jobs out there that I am qualified for, but I don't get any answers back.'"

"Tomassoni, who owns a home, said she has run out of savings money, retirement money, and has managed to pay her home, but is not on time on credit card bills, had to seek help to pay her electric bill, and is now getting food through the SHARE program, which gives food to low-income families."

"She is getting some unemployment money, and also just got on food stamps."

"'This is so hard. I have always been self supportive and I have never been in this kind of debt,' she said. 'What worries me is can I gain all that back and do I have enough years for that earning power? Will I be able to live to do the things I wanted to do?'"

"She is starting to look for jobs in other states, but worries about having to sell her home, which has been on the market for six months and no one has come to see it."

"'I'm not even looking here anymore,' she said. 'It is so frustrating to know that you are doing the right things and not getting any response.'"

The Herald Tribune. "Could the new $3.15 million special assessment at the Renaissance in downtown Sarasota be a case of 'no pain, no gain?' The special assessment approved by the Renaissance's condo board aims to fix once and for all the water intrusion problems at the building."

"About $2.7 million will go for the repair costs and the balance for legal and engineering fees associated with the continuing lawsuit against the developer, contractor and a host of subcontractors over who is to blame for the leaks."

"The average assessment, based on square footage, is nearly $13,000 -- payable in six monthly installments beginning July 15. 'We're not happy about spending the money, that's for sure,' said Terry Owen, who has owned a one-bedroom condo at the Renaissance since early 2002. 'But we're excited that we're going to finally get it done.'"

"Of course, for those who are indeed forced to sell, the assessment is not a welcome development. As of last week, there were about 40 units listed for sale in the Renaissance, according to the Sarasota MLS. They ranged in price from the $200,000s all the way up to the $900,000s."

"One center bayfront unit on the fourth floor had just been put on the market, listed for barely a week -- and already the asking price had dropped from $549,000 to $509,000."

"On the opposite end of the spectrum, one of the Renaissance's penthouse units has been sitting on the market for more than 560 days, according to the MLS. The asking price is currently $799,000, down about $200,000 from where it started."

"The residents really in a pickle are those who cannot afford to pay the special assessment charges to begin with. 'When you're talking $13,000, or even nine or ten thousand dollars, that's a lot of money to come up with, especially if you're younger and don't have a large bank account,' said Matt Orr, an agent who specializes in downtown Sarasota."

"'If they are already underwater, or struggling to pay the mortgage, this might be something that puts them over the edge,' Orr said."

"He said one resident had already called him after receiving her assessment letter. She wanted to put her condo on the market, looking to get out. 'She said she just couldn't afford that kind of assessment, that it didn't make sense financially for her to stay,' Orr said."

"A wave of residents putting their condos on the market -- likely at reduced prices to attract buyers quickly -- is the last thing the Renaissance condo association, or the owners intending to wait this out, want to see happen."

"'We're going to organize people and tell those looking to sell, don't just give it away,' Owen said."

"The number of foreclosure filings spiked in Manatee and Charlotte counties in July. Manatee filings rose 74 percent from June, while Charlotte County filings rose 59 percent. Sarasota County had almost no increase -- just three more filings than in the month before."

"'Sarasota had been a foreclosure leader, mostly because of North Port,' said Dennis Black, a Port Charlotte real estate consultant. 'Those people were the first to walk away from their homes when the market blew up. Now the numbers seem to indicate that the wave is moving into secondary counties.'"

"'What we're seeing is the housing bubble moving through the court system,' said Sarasota banking consultant Tramm Hudson. 'It's a natural progression. When borrowers are not able to get current, banks have no choice but to foreclose. We may see a few more quarters of this before banks are able to work through it all.'"

The Palm Beach Post. "During the region's historic housing boom, home ownership was a can't-miss way to build wealth. How quickly things have changed. Most area homeowners who jumped on the housing bandwagon during 2005, 2006 and 2007 owe more than their homes are worth, according to Zillow."

"Fully 76.2 percent of homes bought in 2006 in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties are now worth less than the balance on the mortgages, the study says. In the Treasure Coast, a whopping 80.5 percent of borrowers who bought homes in 2006 are upside down."

"'It's pretty startling,' Zillow spokeswoman Amy Bohutinsky said. 'This is what leads to foreclosures.'"

"Selling now nearly guarantees a loss for those who bought during the boom. In South Florida, 29.2 percent of homes sold during the second quarter of this year fetched less than the seller had paid, Zillow found. In the Treasure Coast, 36.2 percent of homes sold in April, May and June created a loss for the seller."

"'I'm not surprised by that,' Neal Taslitz, a foreclosure attorney in West Palm Beach, said of Zillow's numbers. 'This is a tsunami, and it's getting worse.'"

"Even cautious borrowers are feeling the squeeze, said mortgage banker Bill Davis, head of Private Funding Specialists in Palm Beach Gardens. 'This has gone from subprime to prime,' Davis said. 'People with 700 credit scores are getting crushed. Those are the ones who break your heart, because they've done everything right.'"

"Davis offers this example: Say you paid $400,000 for a home in 2006 and made a down payment of 10 percent - a hefty sum in those days of loose lending standards. Today, though, the home might be worth only $325,000 - significantly less than your $360,000 mortgage."

"If you want to sell your home, you'll have to write a check to the lender. Many homeowners have little choice but to go into foreclosure, Davis said."

"Scott Agran, president of Lang Realty of Boca Raton, agreed that the market has been in a deep downturn, but he predicted that home values will come back strong."

"'We've been in free-fall since 2005,' Agran said. 'We're back to 2002 pricing. This is a tremendous buying opportunity.'"

"Unemployment stats released today by the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation show the jobless rate in Palm Beach County has doubled since the boom."

"'The nucleus of all this is housing,' said Sean Snaith, an economist at the University of Central Florida. 'It was the thing that was driving the economy to huge heights when the market was raging. Now, it's the flip side. The thing that was powering the economy is now pulling it down.'"

"Many workers who were making good money in real estate and lending have taken lower-paying jobs in other industries, said Tom Capolino of staffing firm Today's Office Professionals in West Palm Beach."

"Real estate agents and loan officers who were making $80,000 to $90,000 during the boom now are accepting office jobs for $45,000 to $50,000."

"'They're settling for administrative assistant positions and clerical positions,' Capolino said. 'They understand that they have to accept less.'"

From TC Palm. "Foreclosure rates continued to escalate across the Treasure Coast in July, according to a RealtyTrac report. 'I think more properties will be hitting the market at discounted prices because there's a lot more (foreclosures) in the pipeline at the banks,' said Brad Hunter, director of West Palm Beach-based Metrostudy. 'The trend still seems to be going upward, there's little evidence that one can point to that this is a high point.'"

The News Journal. "Court filings related to foreclosures totaled 1,524 in Volusia and Flagler counties in July, more than double filings in July 2007."

"'Wow,' said Nancy Dance, president of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors. 'A high number of foreclosures bring down home prices. When there are many bank-owned homes in an area, that usually brings down the value of all the homes and lowers what buyers are willing to pay.'"

The Daily Breeze. "The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area had a higher foreclosure rate than any other U.S. metro area during the month of July, according to Realty Trac."

"'I think it's a dire result of the speculators market we went through in '03 and '04 and the refinancing that a lot of people did in '05,' Gloria Tate of Raso Realty said."

'Tate, a former Cape Coral city council member, said many speculators in the local real estate market were caught by a rapid decline in property values. 'There were a lot of investors that bought lots to build a spec house and thought it would be sold before it was finished,' she said."

"Gary Tasman, executive director of the real estate company Cushman & Wakefield's Southwest Florida office, blamed the high foreclosure rate on loose credit in the subprime mortgage market in addition to speculators."

"'We knew there were excesses in the market over the last couple of years. This is the end product of lending money to people who weren't properly qualified,' Tasman said."

"Speculators and other homebuyers now find themselves 'upside-down' in their homes, thanks to the fall out from the subprime mortgage crisis and sluggish economy. Many of those people are walking away from the house rather than sticking with it through what Tate calls a 'market correction.'"

"Despite the foreclosure rate, Cape Coral homes are still selling, but at much lower prices than during the housing boom in the middle of the decade, Tate said."

"'They are selling, but for much less. The $100,000 home was selling at $200,000 to $250,000 before. But that's OK, it's a market correction,' Tate said."