Lots of real estate opportunity out there :). Florida (Jacksonville specifically) is already 20% off the condominium bottom-prices it hit in early 2011 but people should check out Las Vegas if they want to see some insanity right now.
Only comment I have to make if you are pursuing real estate investments: Try to avoid becoming a Slumlord ;). You get more headaches than you'd expect and dealing with situations from long-distance is not easy... The nice thing about the current environment is that you can find premium properties for insanely low prices, so you get the great 15%-20%ish *unlevered* returns with good tenants. I passed up on a number of higher return properties because they were 'lower price points' in lower-income economic-areas -- I don't want a Jerry Springer moment as a landlord.
Another benefit of going for slightly lower return, higher priced and higher-rent properties is that the 'fixed costs' of maintaining your property eats less into your returns. Having to get a new carpet, paint the walls, etc weigh alot less if your renting for $1000 versus $700.
The few Jacksonville properties I managed to lever up on give 25%-30%+ returns on my money right now. So hard to get condo loans in Florida though, specially in the 50k (or lower) loan-size zone =(.
-Fernando
