A four-bedroom, 2,952-square-foot town home in the sought-after FishHawk Ranch neighborhood has been sitting empty for more than a year.

Its owner can't afford to keep it. The family bought at the height of the market in June 2006 and paid top dollar - $517,900. They stopped making mortgage payments and moved out a little more than a year later.

Since then, the owner has tried desperately to sell the home. The lender, Wells Fargo, agreed to consider a short sale - accept less than is owed on the mortgage and write off the rest. The foreclosure process stalled.

But that's when the lender stopped being agreeable.

Since then, there have been four offers to buy this home. The lender, holding out for more money, has turned down every one.

The bank's stubbornness backfired. Home values plummeted during the past year, dropping about 19 percent since this time last year. The offers that did come in were lower and lower.

By the time the lender decides to cut its losses and make a deal, it will end up getting far less than the initial offer a year ago. This home is one of many in foreclosure that are stuck between falling prices and a lender's bottom line.

"The lender just doesn't get it," said Jason Medley, of Foreclosure Remedies, a Brandon company hired to negotiate with the lender.

Let's be clear: this isn't just about helping the troubled homeowner move on. This family's situation, like thousands of others in the Tampa Bay area, is sad. But the real losers in this case are the other homeowners in the neighborhood who are paying their mortgage each month and watching their home values drop.

This home could be occupied with owners willing to maintain it and contribute to the community. And when this home sells at the lower price, it will push down the sale prices for neighbors trying to sell their homes.

Properties that sit empty cost neighbors money, too. Houses next door to foreclosed homes on average drop $9,661 in Florida, the Center for Responsible Lending estimates.

Consider the history, according to the real estate professionals trying to sell the FishHawk home.

•The home went to auction in October 2007. The lender had an appraisal for $400,000 and wouldn't accept less than $340,000. The home didn't sell.

•A contract to purchase was presented to the lender in December 2007 for $350,000, more than it wanted in October. Wells Fargo countered at the appraised value of $400,000.

•The lender then asked for the property to be listed again at $385,000.

•In June, a buyer put in a contract to purchase for $350,000. The offer was again turned down.

•In September, another buyer offered $296,000. Wells Fargo balked but agreed to order a new appraisal, which came in at $313,000.

•Last month, the buyer agreed to go up to the $313,000 the lender requested.

But despite all this, Wells Fargo still hasn't signed off on the deal.

"The buyer feels like he's being held hostage at this point," said David Harbaugh, a Keller Williams real estate agent working on behalf of the seller.

The appraised value has dropped $87,000 since the first offer last year. Meanwhile, the Bay area's home values continue to fall. Moody's Economy .com estimates prices will drop another 29 percent by early 2010.

The homeowner, Harbaugh said, is now wondering whether it might be better to just walk away or file for bankruptcy.

For the sake of everyone involved with this home, it needs to sell, just like tens of thousands of others in the Bay area.

The sooner, the better.

Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804.