The evaporating pool of buyers has left many with financial obligations and a glut of homes they can't sell-either already built or in the midst of development. As a result, developers, builders, and even the lenders left holding the bag have been exploring alternate avenues to keep their financial footing.

Veteran industry watcher Ross McIntosh notes that this isn't the first time the Southwest Florida real estate market has slumped, but it could be the longest slump in recent memory.

"There have been times when projects were abandoned, and times when some big names in the business disappeared," he states. "Right now we're seeing some builders who've suspended work at subdivisions that are not performing up to expectations, or are selling them. Earlier in the decline, there were those who tried to reduce their exposure by encouraging other builders to take over some of their lots."

Ernest Sittenfeld, broker at iXora Realty, Naples, observes that developers are not only offering homes at bargain prices, but some are hawking chunks of their territory as well.

"Since commercial property is in a better state than some residential real estate, there are developers selling the sectors of their projects that front the residential areas for commercial development," he says. "Others are seeking buyers for pieces of their residential parcels."

Back in the mid-1980s, the contractor now known as Boran Craig Barber Engel was completing a 162-unit condominium project.

But sales were slow and the company wasn't getting paid, so a joint venture was forged between his company and the lender, Don Barber, now a principal at the firm.

It wasn't a role the company relished. "We never did it before," Barber says, "and we never did it again."

Some two decades later, Coral Cove, a 288-unit built in 2001 in Cape Coral, has made similar moves. The 12-building community of Coral Cove was a rental property when Bay Communities purchased the complex in the boom year of 2005, with the intention of converting the units to condominiums.

"They did some upgrading to the property and offered the units first to the renters, but that resulted in only about five percent sales, which is typical," says Bill Harkins, asset manager for four Florida projects for Mountain Funding LLC, a Charlotte, N.C.-based lender. "Unfortunately, the market softened and Bay Communities bowed out."

That left the lender holding the project. Mountain Funding further upgraded the property, hired new management and tried to market the units, but couldn't boost sales. Mountain Funding has reverted to renting the Coral Cove units for the short-term, with the hope that condominium sales will revive when the market improves or a buyer arrives on the scene.

Harkins says his company is no stranger to taking on the developer role in Florida real estate projects. "We have two in Tampa and one in Fort Lauderdale that are doing pretty well."

Ginn Resorts, which develops resort communities in the United States and the Caribbean, and acquired Quail West in 2004, is looking across the Atlantic for prospective buyers. Ginn Europe became fully operational in March. Located in Bristol, England, the offshore company plans to market its stateside properties to all of Europe.

Ginn Europe's Bernie Giblin observes in the company's formal announcement, "There is a distinct buzz when you speak of owning a piece of real estate in foreign climes." It's also helpful that the pound and the euro go further than the dollar.

While Ginn looks overseas, some local builders are exploring other parts of the United States for development opportunities. Michael Peel, co-owner of Gulfstream Homes in Naples, says he and his brother, Stephen, have been checking out areas near Charlotte, N.C.

"We've got the right personnel to get something started up there, so we're shopping for builder-friendly financing," he says.

Although Gulfstream has downsized, its projects in Fort Myers-Veridian and a neighborhood in Bonita Bay Group's Verandah-are still active, and the on-your-lot division is holding its own, Peel reports. In addition, he's pleased with a recent policy change at Black Bear Ridge, a 100-lot Collier County project the company is building in. The developers now allow buyers to purchase lots alone, rather than home-lot packages, he explains. "That gives buyers who can't swing the whole thing right now an opportunity to get a foothold," he explains. The additional flexibility could help boost sales in a slow market. "It enlarges the pool of potential buyers," Peel notes, "and increases the potential for getting them committed."