No buyer for the house, or for the sofa In boom or bust, furniture companies' fortunes reflect state of housing market.

Byline: TONI WHITT toni.whitt@heraldtribune.com

But after six months of selling sleigh beds and divans, Bacon noticed a distinct change. Sales were starting to slide. Early on, he blamed the back-to-back hyperactive hurricane seasons. But as real estate continued its long slide, Bacon found his sales following the same disturbing line.

After more than a year of this, Bacon decided it was time to liquidate the Drexel Heritage operation and transform it into an independent Bacon's Furniture. The move allows for both a wider range of goods and a wider range of prices.

After long-suffering Realtors -- the business people who are perhaps smarting most from plummeting home sales -- furniture stores might be the next best litmus test for the fortunes of the real estate market. Some, like Bacon, have the financial wherewithal to weather the downturn. Other smaller players -- a handful in Southwest Florida -- have already dumped their inventory and closed their doors.

After climbing steadily for more than three years, furniture sales in Florida have tumbled far off their housing-boom highs: sales statewide …