Key West: Storms cause trouble in paradise

From the September issue:
Dangling at the very edge of the United States, the Florida Keys are
supposed to be a place where the heavy problems of the rest of the
country vanish. But the real estate in that small subtropical market
indicates the same financial problems impacting cities across the
country also weigh heavily on this sliver of paradise. At the same
time, a modest surge in sales in the last quarter has brokers
cautiously optimistic about a rebound. That’s because a recent report
by Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Estate indicates a slight jump in sales
activity since the first quarter of 2008.