Three Grand Strand real estate agents made the trek to Columbia on Tuesday to tell their stories of buyers backing out of deals because of insurance costs.

The three spoke to a House subcommittee that's considering expanding the wind pool - the state's insurer of last resort - to a larger territory along the coast.

They told subcommittee members to find a way to stabilize the insurance market and find an intelligent solution to skyrocketing rates for the future - so they can better answer client questions about future insurance costs.

"If [rates have] increased this much, buyers are saying 'What will it increase this year?'" said Randy Titus, agent with Century 21 Coastal Lifestyles in Pawleys Island.

The agents say first-time buyers can afford today's softening home prices but can't buy because the insurance cost puts homes out of their reach.

Investors might be able to afford the property but can't make money with the insurance increase, so they're not buying either, the agents said.

Condo owners who want out can't sell. Even sellers offering free homeowners association dues for a year can't sell because there are other condos for sale priced $20,000 below the market price, said Steve Tansey, agent with Surf Realty in Myrtle Beach.

Even investors buying with instant equity are leaving.

"I've gotten some investors some really incredible deals with $30,000 in equity and had them walk away from those deals because they can't make the numbers work," Tansey said.

Dale Johnson, broker for Palmetto Real Estate Partners in Myrtle Beach, said he got an e-mail from a client last night who decided against buying in Sweetwater, a condominium complex, because of insurance costs and plans to look for a single-family home.

Titus said he's been advising clients that they can buy a more expensive single-family home for the same price of a less expensive condo with the higher insurance costs.

"It makes single-family slightly more affordable than condos in the same price range," Titus said.

But that could all change with a wind pool expansion, agents say. Wind pool expansion may give condo owners relief if standard carriers start writing policies, now that they can exclude wind coverage. But the agents worry it could hurt single-family owners who already have policies and might be dropped by a company that no longer wants to cover wind damage.

With 12,000 coastal residents being dropped by Allstate, and other large carriers following suit, many homeowners are getting dropped anyway - and frantically looking for insurance in a tightening market, said Tim Baxley, president of Statewide Insurance Group Inc. in Myrtle Beach.

Baxley and some condo owners say the insurance market seems to be getting a little better, but rates haven't dropped significantly. Some condo complexes have been able to find new insurance policies for slightly lower prices than the previous 700 percent increases they were hit with, but nothing near 2005 levels.

The agents said they want legislators to research the effects of wind pool expansion, and enact the best solutions to stabilize rates.

"Sellers are willing to give it away, and they can't sell it. You know you have a problem when you can't give it away," Titus said.