According to data released by the National Association of Realtors on this week, single family home prices in what were just a few years ago the hottest real estate markets—Nevada, Florida, and California—have dropped as much as 30 percent over the last year.

While this is no doubt bad news for the nation’s homeowners, for those who have been waiting to buy a vacation home, the country’s housing slump could mean that the right time has arrived.

Some of the areas hit hardest by the housing bubble burst have been those very areas traditionally favored as second home locations. The Phoenix/Scottsdale area has seen a 15.4 percent depreciation in the last year. Price in the Miami/South Florida area are down 17.2 percent. Home price tags in San Diego has dropped as much as 22.9 percent. For second home buyers, whose home purchase is not necessarily contingent on the sale of their own property, drops like these might amount to a real estate fire sale.

For a long time, even as sales dwindled, owners had held steadfastly to high prices for their homes. What the decrease in prices does show is a willingness on the part of sellers to back off of their asking prices. While, it’s difficult to say whether the market has reached its nadir, value hunting buyers are no doubt in an even stronger position than ever to pursue may real estate opportunities in the current market. The question remains, is this the bottom? The ironic answer is, of course that the bottom only becomes evident after the market has begun to turn around.

Readers, weigh in. Do you think prices in popular resort areas like San Diego, Scottsdale and Las Vegas have hit bottom or is there more free falling ahead?