Arnold suggests that developers get involved with their local legislatures and lobby for regulations on the high prices. "Every citizen and every person in the room here has to become engaged," he says.

If insurance costs don't decrease, there could be a "mass exodus" of the employment force to other states," says Jeremy Larkin, president of NAI Miami, a real estate services firm in that city.

One way that North Miami Beach, FL-based shopping-center owner Equity One tries to fight rising insurance and construction costs is to try to get municipalities to partially fund mixed-use and redeveloped projects, says Robert Malagon, executive vice president and asset manager of the firm. Other ways the firm tries to fight rising expenses is by working with architects early on a project and using "green" materials to defray energy costs. "We need to do everything in our power to fight rising costs," he says.

Meanwhile Robert Balcerak, an executive with Publix Supermarkets, says it can take about two years to build a new grocery store in the state. Quick-service Chinese-restaurant chain Panda Express takes about 10 to 12 months for a new store, says Paige Mamula, director of real estate at the chain. "We're finding they're getting more and more difficult," she says.