I've been a bit critical of these University of Florida real estate surveys that tended to reflect the wishful thinking of appraisers and brokers. But that hiss you hear is the sound of of air escaping from their inflated expectations:

An accelerating avalanche of bad economic news has swept over Florida real estate to sink confidence in the industry to its lowest level since a statewide survey of economic experts began three years ago, a new University of Florida report finds.

Name the segment of real estate — retail, offices, housing, condos and the consumer’s frame of mind — and the survey finds that with few exceptions belief in the market has sagged to lows seldom seen in the state, said Wayne Archer, executive director of UF’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies.

“The big news is that the recession and the latest shocks in the financial markets and automobile industry have finally taken their toll,” he said. “People not only foresee tough times in the short-term, but they’re also revising downward their longer-term future outlook.”

The most recent quarterly survey of Florida real estate trends completed in December suggests the investment outlook for various types of properties has sunk to depths not seen for three decades, Archer said.

The mood seemed to turn sour when the office market started suffering along with the home and condo markets. The credit crunch is spreading misery as well. UF said the survey included the responses of 381 real estate professionals.