South Floridians selling at a loss

The first half of 2008 saw home sellers bow to harsh realities — 23 percent of Broward County sales prices were below what the sellers had originally paid for the properties. Palm Beach County was even worse — 27 percent of properties sold at a loss. In 2006, only 2 percent of sellers in each county took losses. Brad Hunter, a housing analyst in West Palm Beach, says some sellers are desperate, and others are trying to rid themselves of buyer’s remorse and high mortgage payments. Most people dumping properties this year bought during the peak of the housing boom in 2004 and 2005.