I hear ya about the real estate bubble. Thing is...here at least....prices rise astronomically...then when they do fall...it isn't back to base level....then the roller coaster starts again and the curve on the graph is at a higher plane. There's another factor at play as well...that happens ONLY in the resort towns/real estate markets.....and that is...even with the crash of 2008-9....folks STILL VACATION...even if they are BROKE! Fuckers never learn..LOL. That's why a buncha folks don't have any real cash and 60% or some shit of them can't even cough up 10K from savings...for "retirement" (10K?) or for anything else. When folks are poor they still go and have fun/hit the movies/concerts/sporting events....BEFORE they save..IF they save at all. As a result...my properties here did take a hit in '09....but they were still at levels I'd never imagined in the 90's when I set it all in motion. Most folks who LIVE here will hang and ride it out...cus a roller coaster market is what we've ALWAYS had here. Only the speculators and folks who couldn't afford what they did..end up selloing and losing their investment. Then the locals scarf more property up like you are speaking about... LOL.
An idea is to find the place you think you want...hit the county records for an address...contact the owners...and see what they say/if they may wanna sell. I did this with the 3 acres next to me 2 years ago. Letters every 6 months showing interest finally led to a call 3 years later.....and I bought it without it ever hitting the market/etc. for cash.....for just over 1/2 of what he first started talking about as the price. They hadn't been down here in 18 years...and really hadn't used the property (vacant land) for 30 years /since the 80's when they bought it. I can build 2 houses there if I want to kill my privacy....LOL. Basically it's just a buffer from my (only!) right wing, non-pot smoking neighbor (sorry about that political tag....it's just the truth) and an investment.
I'm about 20 miles from Poncha.....and a world away. The growth is all over there....my town is a ghost town and has the rep for being where the hippies/outlaws/problem children settle....LOL... My realtor said "you sure you really wanna buy out there?" LOL. Sounded tailor made...and we jumped the fuck right on it.
I think I read somewhere where Colorado was one of the hardest hit states in 08-09 when you looked at real estate values. Fast forward and I think it said CO made one of the biggest turnarounds from the crash. I believe it.
One of my uncles moved to San Jose area back in the late 60's when he took a job with Lockheed. Built a house in a neighborhood and live there the whole time he was in cali. He sold that sucker in 2016 for 120 times what he built it for. Remodeled it prior to selling to get top dollar. Nice return on his investment ha.
Mailers work, when I was looking at buying a small commercial property I just sent letters to the owners. Turns out one had just passed away and his kids wanted to unload his strip mall. Couldn't sign fast enough.