Ray, I'll probably delete this post in a couple of days.... just because....
I lived on Hilton Head Island for three years before coming here, and since the oil leak HHI has been a big beneficiary of the problem. I've spoken to friends there and they all say rentals are way up. The drive market from Atlanta have gone there in droves. But I think that's going to end -- IF BP and the USCG get this well head fixed soon. We still have a house there, which tried to sell but couldn't (so now it's rented out).
HHI is a wonderful place, but it doesn't hold a candle to the 30A corridor. I know what rentals go for there and what they went for here before the oil problem. Even then SoWal was a bargain. On HHI beach homes are often dilapidated messes, with rotted floors, mold, bug and rat problems. Here everything is relatively new. If it's not then it's been well taken care of. The worst thing about HHI is the truly wacked-out labor pool. The place is packed with truly hideous people; the difference between the people who do the hard work here and there could not be greater. Here everyone is almost all smiles and while on HHI they would just as soon see you drop dead before they lift a finger. Check out the crime stats for HHI and compare them to here and you'll see what I mean. There's no sense in comparing the beaches.... My point is, once folks get a dose of what they're missing, and once the media gets a grip and does their job vis a vis the local oil spill impact, the rental market will come back in a big way. Just my opinion....