It's been a rough go for Realtors nationwide since the economy took a dive, but those along the Gulf Coast say business dried up within weeks of the Deepwater Horizon Oil.

Starting earlier this year, in January, February and March, the market actually began to tick up just a little bit," says Realtor, Gordan Adkins.

That small glimmer of hope was crushed when the Deepwater Horizon oil spill made headlines.

And the ripple effect it's had is hitting the realty business, as they watch the number of customers plummet and their phones simply stop ringing.

Paul Hawker has been on both sides of the housing industry fence.

He's a Realtor by trade for the past 41 years and then he decided to years ago to put his waterfront property on the market.

Since then, he's had only two people come out to even look at his home

"That just tells you that people are not spending their money. They're scared to make a move and the oil spill didn't do anything but expand those fears," says Hawker.

Like many along the Gulf, Hawker's home in Carrabelle has dropped in value by nearly half in just 2 years.

We looked at a different property on the Plantation in St. George Island that was appraised at $950,000 dollars in 2005.

Now, it's marked for $299,000.

Perhaps partly due to the recession and partly to the Gulf oil spill, but either way it's having the same result.

"The business was slow ever since Hurricane Dennis in 2005, but then it basically since April it has come to almost a screeching halt," says Hawker.

A claims process is being offered to Realtors in Florida who have had a loss in profits due to the oil spill.

The Realtors we spoke to at Anchor Realty in Franklin County say they won't even bother with the process, because the $12,000 in compensation won't even begin to help.