'A Lot Of Disappointment' In Florida

People in Florida woke up to the housing bubble this morning. "A national cooldown in the housing market made itself felt in Southwest Florida..the weakness was even more pronounced during December, with sales dropping 42 percent in the Sarasota-Bradenton market and 25 percent in Charlotte County-North Port. Meanwhile, listings in the region have been skyrocketing. In the most up-to-date snapshot for Sarasota, for example, there were 5,369 homes on the market. That compares with 3,525 at the end of November." "Industry insiders blame the shift in the local market in part on the flight of speculators and investors, estimated to have been as much as one-third of real estate players in recent years. Thomas Heimann for one, has got 'lots of new listings.' 'The competition's fierce, and there's a lot of disappointment out there,' Heimann said. 'The investors have completely gone away.'" "'I see people reducing prices, but typically the prices that were reduced were probably a little high to begin with,' said Carla Stiver in Englewood. 'Last year, sellers could ask any price they wanted, stick a sign up and it'd be sold in days. The builders were only paying Realtors 2 percent commissions for buyers and sticking too many clauses against investors. Now they're paying 4 percent and offering us bonuses.'" "The median price of existing homes declined to $377,700 in Miami-Dade County in December, down from $381,600 in November. In Broward County, the median price dipped to $369,000, from $391,100. The number of homes sold in December also plunged compared to the year before. Sales were down 41 percent in Broward and 39 percent in Miami-Dade." "Tom Flood of HomeBanc also noted the market's wobbly performance. 'The market is like a drunk boxer,' he said. 'Prices can't continue to go up or who is going to be able to afford to live here?'" "The once-blistering Palm Beach County housing market cooled off in December. The number of existing-home sales dipped, and the county's median home price fell to $408,200, from $421,500 in November. The number of homes for sale in Palm Beach County has nearly tripled in the past two years. The Regional MLS now shows 20,399 homes for sale in the county, up from 7,799 two years ago." "West Palm Beach broker Steve Hollander said the increase in homes for sale has forced him to order more yard signs. 'I'm running out of signs,' Hollander said. 'I've got more listings than I've ever had.'" "Palm Beach County's public school enrollment dipped to 477 students for the 2005-06 school year, and Hunter thinks escalating home prices are partly to blame. 'I have to infer that's the explanation for the sudden drop,' Brad Hunter said." "Homeowners are discovering the Space Coast no longer is so much of a sellers' market. 'It seems pretty tough right now,' said Neilyne Laasko, who put her house in Satellite Beach up for sale last week for $399,900. 'It seems like there are a lot of homes on the market, and I don't think that helps.' Housing expert Ingo Winzer said the outlook might not be good for Brevard. After a housing market is about 40 percent overpriced, the risk is fairly high for a market correction, said Winzer." "Existing home sales in the Naples metropolitan area dropped to 266 in December 2005 from 388 homes in December 2004. 'It was a combination of the continuing bubble press , the whole Chicken Little mentality and the holiday season,' said Bill Barnes, broker in Estero and Fort Myers." "Fred Stokes just listed his three-bedroom lakefront home in Boca Raton for $439,900, and interest from buyers has been slow so far. He realizes the real estate market has changed. 'The way I look at it is, I live in paradise,' said Stokes, 60, a grandfather of eight who has no immediate plans to cut his asking price. 'If I have patience, I'll eventually make money on the house.'"