They were over optimistic on the numbers that a boom period would last forever.

We are pre-boom and it is more valuable to have the property than be too concerned with Cash Flow.

Leverage accelerates losses and then you're stuck with a property and tenants until the next boom.

Many of the coastal markets (California, New York, New Jersey, parts of Florida, etc.) are Cyclical Markets that tend to have larger price fluctuations, periods of boom and bust.

Boom!

It doesn't help that the National Floodplain maps are outdated and universally acknowledged to be "politically influenced" (as certain neighborhoods in Houston demonstrated).Maybe it's a bit short-sighted but with plenty of solid places to invest (major cities with booming job markets), it makes pulling the trigger on Florida an unenthusiastic choice.

@Jaison Emmanuel,  I agree it may not feel as "booming" as it did at the end of this past year, but I think it's still moving right along. 

Since then it hit it's boom, hedge funds bought everything up and are now selling them back (which makes for a wonky dynamic for buying properties there....financially) and it's in general just post-boom.

Then, BOOM the market exploded.

Boom problem solved!