traderx has a very good point, anyone ventured over to the long term rentals forum lately? Rental property prices (long term) are dropping pretty good. When we first moved here we looked and looked for something in our price range and wound up in a 2/2 dump in Topsail Village. According to the long term rentals we can now rent canal frontage and almost twice the square footage for the same price.
Despite people stating that apartments wouldn't work here, there are many factors to consider. If you enjoy living here full time and want to rent, but not be surrounded by vacationers in the summer. I know that in our previous place if someone in any of the 3 buildings around us was having a party we could hear it. During the summer this was a real pain if you had to work the next day.
There is a whole new wave of foreclosures coming (ARM's) and those people are going to still need housing. There is a very savy business man in the adjacent county who has made billions over the years. One of his primary investments is building apartment complexes. Apparently he is currently in a building boom as his existing properties all have waiting lists.
I will admit that the owner did screw up a little. If they had done this just 6 months ago they could have worked in the buzz words "affordable" "economical" "workforce housing" and any number of candidates would have happily helped to get the votes.
[Insert smiling candidate on poster touting "affordable and economical workforce housing" champion of the people]