But others are optimistic and see signs of life. 

"Contrary to popular opinion," builder-developer Pat Neal proclaimed in a recent phone call, "the market is not dead." He pointed to seven sales and three near-deals in a week earlier this month at various Neal developments in Manatee County.

Neal is maintaining prices with current inventory and opening new houses at lower prices. "We are working Realtors real hard," he said, with half of his buyers being brought to the table by general real estate agents.

Neal isn't the only builder sounding upbeat. I talked to several other builders or their sales directors in the past few days, most of them on cell phones in their cars, and none sounded as if they were looking for a bridge to drive off.

"Some buyers have gotten to the point where they feel comfortable going forward" because of incentives offered by builders, said Peter Mason of Bruce Williams Homes. "Just in the last two weeks, we have sold 10 deals. Where a while ago, 10 didn't sound like much, 10 lately sounds like a lot. These were lower-end homes for us ($200,000 to $350,000)."

"We have seen a change," said Rob Allegra of Lennar, noting that he hit his sales goals the past two months for the first time all year. "The buyers are realizing it's a great time to buy and they are getting great deals," and at lower price points.

Edwina Baniqued