The Charleston Post and Courier looks at nearby bubble markets. "In Fort Myers, the raging real estate market came to a screeching halt late last year. The growing pains in Fort Myers bear striking similarities to those in the Lowcountry."

"'The brakes went on, boom!, it stopped,' said local builder Bart DeRosso. 'It's definitely, definitely dried up.'"

"DeRosso called Florida 'the next California,' a state grappling with high taxes, insurance rates and medical costs, immigration issues and natural disasters. He and other Realtors and investors said rising interest rates, higher construction costs and an excess of housing inventory burst the speculative bubble."

"In Fort Myers last month, nearly 12,000 condos and houses were on the market. Too many, DeRosso said. 'If you want to know where the market's going, you look at inventory,' said Denny Grimes, a Realtor in Fort Myers. 'We don't have a demand problem, we have a supply problem. We had a market binge and now we're going to suffer a little bit.'"

"In the Lowcountry, some say the housing market has started to soften. Homes that recently sold within weeks now might sit on the market for months, and prices are starting to come down, said (realtor) Sandy Stone. The long-term rental market in Charleston is showing some signs of a slowdown, Stone said."

"The Charleston Trident Association of Realtors reports that the average area home price has slipped from about $305,000 in October to about $296,000 in February. The number of homes sold also decreased, from 1,365 in October to 998 in February."