Us tourists really can offer little in the way of vocal concerns with local politics, developers and other corrupt groups but we do wonder just how a continuation of real dirt turning construction at South Beach is going to be financed in light of the worlds failure to provide credit even to buy a new ice box. IMHO;;; Ain't gonna happen soon.

Don, I think you are correct. Big new changes are cumming like a freight train. Things like they were ain't never cumming back.

Oh please - never is a long time.

Well,, Being 78,,at least NEVER in my lifetime.
AND; I'm going to just wait till SP condos are reduced in price 30% like in Miami. How long do you think it will take?

For the last two years there have been a lot of us shaking our heads about over building here. I have a feeling we are not going to have much of a season this year.

Here's part of the scam that often is overlooked, imo. The cost of these projects, big picture, is $ per sq. ft. I have no idea what that is, none. I do know at first you get a big bang for the buck and during the finish stages a lot of money is needed but often not there. The general contractor or project manager over bills for work completed per sq. ft. He pays the sub contractor little and has money left over to seed other projects. By the time it comes to the finish roads, landscaping, lighting and all the rest of detailing the money is gone.

I still don't understand why more and more projects like these or "pillows" get approved, with less and less "heads" to rest upon them. There are enough unfinished timeshares/condo developments that call themselves "hotels and resorts" here. The problem is that none of these have any sort of financial cushion to help them through the tougher rental periods. They simply turn into defunct eye-sores, barely finished, if finished at all. The very few hotels/resorts that are here are not exactly bursting at the seams 24-7, 365.

We used to hear quoted that we had a 40% vacancy rate. Now I am hearing 40% occupancy rate. Airlines are cutting back on the number of planes they are bringing in each week. I tried to book on American for December and the web site says only Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Harriette, it appears Reef Village may have an occupancy rate of maybe 10%......looks like a ghost town to me.....of course if you have a boat it's easier to get to!

Occupancy at RV doesn't matter to Jeff.

His interest is in what is sold.