PalmBeach I agree with you wholeheartedly. I have said before and will say again that on our first trip to SoWal in 2003, I was astounded by the prices in SoWal compared to the other Florida markets. I agree that a large portion of the rapid appreciation was abolutely justified because the area was being "discovered." Once the prices began to approach those of the other more popular and (also) beautiful Florida resort areas, I became alarmed because truth be told, we don't have the the year-round amenities or airport yet.
Once the airport is in and development stablizes and services improve (which might be the biggest challenge), watch out. :shock: An accessible SoWal is going to be in demand by many visitors who would never have come before, and prices will rise accordingly.
The only caveat to recovery, other than the large amount of inventory, is whether the
entire Florida coastal real estate market is overvalued by a large margin. If so it will be a long ride down for everybody. I'm not sure that's going to happen now ... the Legislature is obviously willing to make HUGE changes to the taxes and insurance laws to keep the state from an economic meltdown. Positive changes will only help SoWal.