CEO Robert I. Toll said the worst markets -- the F-minus-minuses -- were Las Vegas and Tampa. But he awarded an F-minus grade to Maryland's Eastern Shore and a D to Washington and its Maryland suburbs.

And speaking of blame -- he says he fears the market "will not get better until the newspapers stop saying how bad it is," the Times reports, paraphrasing Toll. 

He said a survey of Toll customers who canceled contracts showed that only 11 percent reported trouble getting mortgages. More either had personal financial problems or were unable to sell the homes they already owned. “People who just wanted to walk” accounted for 17 percent of the cancellations, he said.

“Translation, they’ve read one too many Times articles, and decided now is not the time to buy a home,” he said.

EDIT: Hat tip to editor Bernie Kohn for pointing out an amusing irony: Toll Bros. co-founder Bruce Toll is one of the owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer.