In one exception to the otherwise gloomy picture, transition land more than five miles away from urban centers in the southern half of the state showed an increase of 5%, most likely because its low price and relative location to large cities was seen as the best deal by those still looking to buy real estate, according to Clouser. Yet that increase is much smaller than the 17% boost for the same territory in 2007, he says.

Besides areas destined to become shopping centers and homes, farmland values are being affected by lagging development with drops as large as 26%. Such land is typically evaluated primarily by the profitability of crops produced, but urban expansion had been so rampant in recent years that it was being evaluated based on what it would bring if used for housing or other development, Clouser says.

Florida land prices are expected to continue dropping through 2009, though not as dramatically as last year, the survey states. Respondents involved in the state's real estate market predict prices will fall anywhere from 5% to 17% this year, with Clouser adding that a surplus of homes and other existing development would need to be sold before land prices will rebound.