Market Report

Mediterra Naples – Community of the Month

This month we turn our attention to Mediterra as our community of the month. Mediterra stands tall among the most elite communities in Naples. The lush, manicured landscape and more than one thousand acres dedicated to golf and preserve make it a truly special place. Bonita Bay Group, with their reputation for first class developments, pulled out all the stops when they established this amazing place.

At the center of any world class community is the golf course and Mediterra boasts not one but two 18 hole Tom Fazio designed courses. Not only are these courses challenging to the golfer, but they are trophies to the environmental community as well. The Club at Mediterra has been certified as the world’s first 36 hole Audubon International Silver Signature Sanctuary.

Not to be outdone, the tennis crowd has their own facilities to boast about. Six and soon to be eight Har-Tru courts and a top rated tennis program round out the mix. In addition there is a state of the art fitness center featuring every type of equipment you need to get into shape. In the event you overdo it, a trip to the spa and their professional therapists will soothe those overworked muscles. Rounding out the fitness center are the outdoor heated pool, the sauna, and the Enrichment center offering classes in health and nutrition.

Last and certainly not least is the Beach Club. Located just 20 minutes away on the glistening Gulf of Mexico, it is a first class escape from the day to day stresses we all run into. This private beach club features valet parking, a restaurant, bar, locker rooms, a swimming pool, and private cabanas for your beachside relaxation.

Join our growing list of clients who have come to find out that Mediterra is not only beautiful but relaxed and friendly as well. Call us today for a personal tour of this unique and wonderful community.  Homes in Mediterra fall into three classifications, coach homes, detached villas, and single family homes. Coach homes currently start at $439k+, villas at $700k+ and single family homes at $750k+. Call us today at 239-963-4811 for a personal tour of this unique and wonderful community.

OR, you can visit the community website at http://LiveInMediterra.com.

 

Southwest Florida is the #1 Place in the World…

Southwest Florida is the #1 place in the world!?!? 

Well, to be exact, Arthur Frommer, the man behind the travel website & books “Frommers” thinks so.  He rated Sanibel Island as his #1 favorite place in the world to visit.  

Locally, this is a big deal, as he ranks the Islands of Bali and Paris as #2 and #3 respectively and Kenya rounding out the list at #10.  This is not just any man’s opinion, Arthur Frommer is famous for traveling the world and for his published traveling guides.

Here is an excerpt from his post:
To Do Some Long-Range Vacation Planning, I’ve Compiled a List of My 10 Favorite Travel Destinations
Posted by Arthur Frommer at 12/28/2011 10:02 AM EST

To me, the leisure enjoyed during the holiday season is a perfect time in which to plan future vacations. And so I’ve compiled a list of my own favorite destinations, of which there are 10:

1) Sanibel Island, Florida: Off the west coast of the Sunshine State, a few miles from Ft. Myers, is this idyllic haven of white-sand beaches, condos whose seafront apartments are available for weekly rentals, excellent restaurants, good shopping–and most important, the Ding Darling Nature Preserve, visited by thousands of birds of every species, who bask in the sun after diving for fish, and are one of the great natural sights of wildlife in America.

There was a News Press article about his blog post which can be found here.  If you would like to see Frommer’s original blog post, you can do so here.

The islands are a very special part of Southwest Florida.  Between the white sand beaches and the plethora of wildlife sanctuaries, Sanibel & Captiva bring many tourists to Southwest Florida.  There is just something special about being on the islands.  Personally, every time I head over the bridge to Sanibel, it feels as though I am on vacation.

This news of Frommer’s ranking comes just days after local real estate industry experts gathered to discuss and predict what was to come in 2012.  The overall attitude is very optimistic for the local real estate market and local economy.  Jobs will continue to be a main concern, but local real estate values are predicted to continue rising.  Contributing to this fact is the slow down in foreclosure activity.  People are finally getting back on their feet.

Judging by the number of people on the road, at stores & at local restaurants, we have a lot of confidence this will be a very good season!

Looking Ahead to 2012

Now is the time that we all look back on the year that has passed and forward to the year ahead.  The perspective is different for each of us but one thing is for sure, we all hope to make the upcoming year better than the last.  I am always entertained and refreshed by the optimism professional sports teams have at the beginning of each season.  Why is it, on the other hand, that every news source is obsessed with negativity?  They tell us it is what sells and I suppose that is true. I for one, in my final newsletter of the year, intend to note the negative but dwell on the positive in looking ahead.

The past 7 or 8 years have been marked by extremism in the real estate world.  First, we had the extreme optimism that homes had turned into money machines.  Banks and buyers alike had the attitude that it did not matter who bought or how much they paid.  Everything was predicated on the assumption that values would rise and rise at a rate that would turn even the worst deals into viable transactions.

Along came the bursting of the bubble and we entered the phase of extreme pessimism.  Real estate transactions came to a screeching halt as everyone stepped back and waited for the world to come to an end.  Unfortunately, it did just that for many.  Prices were unrealistically depressed to a point that they were a mere 40% of replacement value and even so, nobody was buying.  Ever so slowly people re-entered the market and homes began to sell, albeit at ridiculously low prices.

I am calling for 2012 to be the year of “Regained Sanity”.    Of course, the news continues to tell us that there is a recovery but that it is lame at best.  We are inundated with news that new housing starts are up but that they are still only a fraction of what they were in 2005.  We are told that housing prices are recovering but ever so slowly.  We will never see the end of negativity but if you take a closer look some of this news is actually encouraging.  I, for one am happy to see a measured recovery as opposed to a dramatic uptick.

Here in Florida, I will tell you as one of the troops on the ground that sanity is returning. According to the December issue of Money Magazine, Fort Myers has seen the highest increase in home values in the country in 2011 at 5.1%.  Fort Myers Florida Weekly recently published an article revealing that the median price for homes sold this year has risen a whopping 28.27%.  This indicates that the bottom feeding has subsided and a normalcy has returned.  The homes that were built for investors who were over extended and went into default were sucked up by new investors positioned to cash in on the opportunity.  Now that this activity has subsided we see more traditional transactions taking place in the vacation and retirement home category. Finally, it is important to note the distinction from the 2 different numbers provided by Money Magazine & Fort Myers Florida Weekly.  One is reporting home values & the other is reporting MEDIAN sales price.

Indeed November numbers appear to indicate that this trend will accelerate now that we are in season.  All of this having been said, values are still extraordinary.  This area was hit hard and fast in the beginning and struggled for a long time but it appears that the low point was about this time one year ago.  I for one am happy to see slow and measured increases in values.  I believe that it is a sign that people have learned a hard lesson and are now being careful in their decision making.  I look forward to this election year when we as Americans have the opportunity to give direction to our country and send signals to Washington about where we want to go.

Brad and I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have enriched our lives.  We truly value the relationships we have established in the course of our business and look forward to the New Year with eager anticipation and hope that you do as well.  Above all else we hope that it brings peace, joy, and happiness to you and your family.

Happy New Year,

Dick Dohack

2011 – By the Numbers

We could spend a lot of time going over all of the big events of 2011.  It was, after all, a year of major current events, however, our main focus is the economy, specifically relating to how the economy has affected the Southwest Florida real estate market.  I will be the first to admit that I was WRONG about the market in 2011.  I thought we would continue the trend towards stabilization in the market and have minor appreciation of values.  Well, I was accurate about the stabilization part, but appreciation overall has been higher than I would have expected.  Here are the numbers.

Lee County:

In a superb article from Fort Myers Florida Weekly (seen below), the numbers speak for themselves.  Since January 2011, the median sales price of homes in the Greater Fort Myers area have risen 28.27%.  The overall number of transactions has inched down by 5.5% when compared to this time in 2010.  They go on to explain the increase in median sales price to be a product of an increased number of traditional (non-distressed) sales.  The number of traditional sales has increased from 33.5% in January 2011 to 52.2%.  Certainly this is an indication that sellers are FINALLY seeing a better opportunity to sell…and for good reason. Even more interesting is the fact that the overall amount of inventory is down 30% from just a year ago.  We only have 3 months worth of inventory at current demand level.  Very impressive.

Collier County:

Collier County has seen its share of good news in the marketplace as well, but not nearly to the extend of Lee.  The graph below shows you the average sales price of single family homes in Collier County.  The trend line has remained somewhat flat for the year, but I would expect that December & January numbers would help increase it.  Obviously the average price is much higher than Lee overall, but that is to be expected.

2012 Prediction: While I certainly do not have the super powers of predicting the future (my crystal ball speech), I believe 2012 will be another positive year for real estate in Southwest Florida.  We are not through the woods yet when it comes to foreclosures & short sales, as I think it will be several years before we see that pipeline dry up.  However, we will see less short sales & foreclosures coming on the market which inevitably means continued appreciation.  Demand will remain high even though prices are heading northward.  Consumer confidence is likely to keep rising, especially with the upcoming elections.  Mortgage rates are at record lows now, but it will remain difficult to obtain financing.  We have been seeing the majority of our clients purchasing with cash, and I would expect that to remain the same.

Conclusion: We are still in a buyers market, but the tide is slowly changing in favor of sellers.  There is still time to buy at great prices.  If you’ve been holding off selling hoping the market would bounce back, you may want to have us look at the numbers and give you an analysis…you just might be surprised.

 

Below is the Florida Weekly article mentioned above.

Foreclosures on the Rise in Southwest Florida

For all of you who think that there is going to be another wave of Foreclosures last month’s news should have been well received.  Lee County, Charlotte County, and Collier County all saw foreclosure activity jump in October.  While all three had less activity than the same month of the previous year the increases month over month were notable.

Lee County, for instance, saw the number of Foreclosure filings jump by 39.5 % to 1,922 units according to “RealtyTrac.  That number, however, was down by nearly 50% from October a year ago.  Similarly, Charlotte County saw their filings rise 43.8% to 542 units.  Collier County was up 17% from September but down 52.5% from last year.

Media does their best to make everything dramatic.  Clearly a rise in foreclosures month over month is notable, but the bigger number is year over year.  By all accounts, the number of foreclosure filings have fallen by 50% in Southwest Florida year over year.  You can bet that fact along with steady demand has helped prices inch up ever so slightly.

All of these statistics could mean that the smoke has cleared with the “robo-signing” problems and that banks are back on track and processing delinquent homes.  The big question is how will they release them to the market and when.  My theory has been that they will release this inventory in a more measured way and work to protect the remaining property values but that remains to be seen.  In the mean time, we wait and watch but we have only been seeing foreclosure inventory remain sparse and overall prices have been moving up.

If you have your eyes on a specific community I suggest that you communicate that to us and act quickly if we send something your way that you like.  The market is turning over quickly and it is harder and harder to find deals.  We recently were able to put an offer on a property within hours of it being listed.  We ultimately beat every other agent to the punch and got a fantastic deal negotiated for the buyer.  This would not have happened if we did not know exactly what they were looking for.

Bella Terra Estero – Community of the Month

Bella Terra Estero

Each month we highlight a community in Southwest Florida. This month we have chosen Bella Terra. We have chosen it because there is currently a unique sale opportunity, but I will get to that in a minute.

Bella Terra is centrally located just 3 miles east of I-75 on Corkscrew Road in Estero, FL. Situated right in between Naples and Fort Myers, you have everything at your finger tips. Certainly shopping is a breeze. Miromar Outlets, Gulf Coast Town Center, and Coconut Point are all in close proximity and offer a full array of shopping, dining, and entertainment experiences.

As you enter the gates you immediately notice the fabulous Central fountain and clock tower and to the right the amazing amenity center. In the amenity center you will find nearly any activity you could want. A club house with a full time activity director, a huge resort style pool, fitness center, tennis courts, basketball courts, Bocce ball, Volleyball, soccer, a baseball diamond, and an in-line skating rink are some of the amenities that await you. With more than 2350 homes this community is a beehive of activity.

In the past resale homes were the way to go. Due to the timing of the community there were a number of distressed homes and the prices of new homes just did not make much sense when compared to re-sales. The gap between the two has been narrowing and right at this very time you can actually purchase a brand new Lannar home for less than the price of a re-sale. Are you ready to make a move? Here is your opportunity.

Modena Manor Single Family Home. 1,861 square feet under air, 3 Bedroom, 2 bath. THREE car garage. Granite, 18″ tile, crown molding, SS appliances, many upgraded finishes. Nice site with preserve views.
Was= $289,500 OCT CLOSE= $232,900 Total monthly fees of $192.

Why settle for a home that someone else has lived in when you can purchase brand new at a price like this?  This offer is good until the home is sold or until the end of the month so if it sounds like it might be right for you do not hesitate. Pick up the phone and give us a call. Purchase this month and spend Christmas with your family in your new home.

If you are more interested in resale possibilities, let us know and we will be happy to send you available listings.

Southwest Florida Listing Prices Sky Rocket

One thing about being in Real Estate, there is no shortage of information.  We are constantly barraged with information on properties, mortgages, trends, and much more.  On occasion, we run across information that requires second take and then a thorough analysis.  It’s one of those days.

We are constantly in the MLS searching for properties that will meet the criteria of our clients.  We represent buyers from all walks so we are quite familiar with everything from investment condos to large estate homes.  Having said this, the article to which I am referring was done by Realtor Magazine Daily News and referred to average list prices.  They were comparing the average list prices in 146 markets with a database of 2.2 million properties.  You have to admit, that is a substantial survey.  The purpose of the survey was to determine where average list prices had increased by the largest percentage in the country.

The reason I did a second take was that average list price is not a stat that I am accustomed to studying.  This created a need to analyze the term average list price.  My first reaction to seeing an average list price for Fort Myers – Cape Coral was that the figure was much higher than I would have expected at $405,809; however, after careful consideration, I came to realize that large estate homes skew this number a great deal.  One $8,000,000.00 property on the market offsets a whole lot of $150,000.00 properties.

So why is this significant?  Of the Top 10 cities in the country with the largest increases in listing price from August 2010 to August 2010, Florida cities accounted for 9 of the top 10.  Fort Myers – Cape Coral ranked #2 with a 26.27% increase in 1 year, second only to Miami.  There can be forces at work here besides increasing prices.  Owners of larger homes may have been waiting out the uncertainty and have finally decided it is time to list.  Large homes statistically take longer to sell, thus inventory of these larger homes is swelling while the less expensive homes are selling quickly, etc.

What it positively means is that the market is heating up.  The average list price is up 26.27%.  That is remarkable.  Does this mean that all prices have increased by that amount?  Absolutely not but I can assure you that some have and I see that trend continuing.  Many communities that were devastated with distressed properties have worked through their problem inventory and are now strong again.  Once these properties are dealt with these unrealistic comps go away and the unrealistic deals cease to exist.

While there is much speculation that the “Shadow Inventory” of foreclosures looms in the wings and that we are going to see another big surge of this activity, I have my doubts.  The banks have stabilized themselves (most are announcing huge profits now) and have made room on their balance sheets to carry this inventory.  They also seem to be catching on that they need to protect the values of surrounding homes which happen to belong to other clients.  It is a lesson that was learned the hard way, but I believe that it has been learned and that the release of this inventory will take place in a more measured manner.

The moral of the story; we are past the bottom and a degree of realism is beginning to return to the Florida market.  The deals are still amazing but no longer ridiculous. There are still great deals so take action.  We all have our “I remember when I could have … “ story.  I believe you still have the opportunity to say, “I took advantage of the once in a lifetime real estate opportunity in Florida, and I’m glad I did.”

Real Estate Technology – Get Rid of Real Estate Agents for Good?

Reflecting on how far real estate has come in recent years, I want to share with you some insights to the past and some opinions (yes, personal opinions) about where we are going. 

 In a recent seminar, the presenter spoke about a presentation he hosted in Italy.  He talked about how antiquated their MLS system (or lack there of) is.  They are still on a paper system, yes, as in chop down trees / paper system.  There is no such thing as an MLS or a Realtor.com, Trulia or Zillow.  How many of you remember those days?  I certainly do not.  With the technology available today it seems an incredible injustice to both buyers and sellers to limit the speed at which information can be accessed.

 Let's face it, we live in a fast-paced world.  Last week, we took on 2 new listings and within 2 days on the market, both were under contract.  This is a scenario which is great for both the buyers and the sellers (ok, we didn't complain either).  Would this have ever happened in the old paper system?  Absolutely not.  Actually, no one would have even know the homes were on the market in the first place. 

 Lucky for us, we're not Italy.  Clearly technology has played a huge role in streamlining transactions.  According to the National Association of Realtors, 74% of people use the Internet to search for a home.  I actually think that number seems a bit low.   Consumers are on third-party sites in droves looking for homes.  The number of sites available to the public is substantial.  The business of getting people to websites and the selling of lead information is cut-throat.  Some have been successful, most have not. All smart phones and tablets have apps to facilitate the process as well.  Some will even notify you of a nearby open house.  Very slick!

 The major issue with any third party site is their ability to get the most up-to-date data from the MLS.  I cannot tell you how many phone calls I have received from excited potential buyers about this "hot" property with a great price that is showing up as active on the third party sites.  My end of conversation usually goes something like this.  "Wow, that is a fantastic deal.  Unfortunately, it seems as though someone already has that home under contract.  Where did you see the home for sale?  Oh, Trulia (or any other website), ok.  Unfortunately their data is not always up-to-date, but I can put you on my personal notification list, so you can literally be notified as a similar home comes on the market." 

It's never fun bursting anyone's bubble, but the reality of today's technology forces me to.  Great deals do not just sit on the market for a long time.  They happen quickly.  Given today's technology, people still need a cutting edge Realtor to find the best deals for them. 

So, back to the big question.  Do I think real estate agents will go away forever?  No.  As time goes on, the third party sites will need to figure out a way to get better data.  I know this will happen eventually, but finding the right home for a potential buyer is only a small part of a Realtor's job.  The video below says it all.  

 

 

Real Estate technology is a constantly and rapidly evolving business.   We now have the ability to run a completely paperless real estate business. whether it is searching the MLS online, third-party websites, or even getting electronic signatures, technology has certainly made our lives easier, but it will never replace the professional, not in my lifetime anyway. 

 

Market Snapshot – The Good, the Bad & the Depressing

As you may have realized in the past few months, the service for our extremely well-received Market Snapshot has been interrupted. We understand that many of you have found the service very valuable in keeping you informed with the local real estate market. As our promise to always give you superb service, we thought you should know what has happened behind the scenes. Unfortunately, the Board of Realtors made a new motion to no longer provide any pending or sold data to third party vendors. Without this data, the Market Snapshot product is rendered completely useless. Because we know how important this tool us for you, we went to battle to bring the service back to life. This past week, I presented my argument to the MLS Committee of the Board of Realtors.

To our disappointment, the Board maintained their position, so it appears our ability to provide you with Market Snapshots is a thing of the past. This being said, we will be providing you with this monthly newsletter with updates to the market in Southwest Florida.  Also, if you would like to receive market updates, we can provide you a monthly comparative analysis around your current residence in Southwest Florida or the specific area or community within which you are looking to purchase.  You can simply reply to this email with the community, home type, number of bedrooms and price range for us to do so. We appreciate your understanding through this process.

Holy Cow! You’ve Seen the DOW.

This column is dedicated to real estate in Southwest Florida so why, you ask, does this title refer to the DOW Jones Industrial Average? Well, unfortunately it is impossible to separate home sales in Southwest Florida from the overall economy. Here we have a significant number of  “Snow Birds” to drive the market and Snow Birds like everyone else are unsure what is going to happen in this unstable climate.   The common response is to run for cover.

I found it most interesting that as the US lost its AAA rating everyone fled from stocks and bought Treasury notes. We all saw in the news that Apple Computers has more liquidity than the federal government. Why then did investors flee from investments in companies with sound financial positions and move to Treasury notes which had just been downgraded?

What followed were wild vacillations in the stock market. The buy and hold investor was eaten alive. The insiders however use this movement to make huge money. It is very hard to profit in a steady market but when there is movement there is opportunity. Some of these investors have deep enough pockets to move the market single-handedly then capitalize on the movement they create. My point is that unless you are very astute and lucky to boot you are a pawn in the big game. It is very difficult to have real control in such an environment.

Now, back to real estate. As you might imagine the real estate market has slowed as all of this has taken place. Sales numbers always post two months in arrears due to the fact that a transaction is not recorded until closing. This being said, I assure you sales have certainly slowed as of late. This is always a slow time of the year in Southwest Florida, but I have seen even the active buyers pull back while they re-evaluate this new environment. The macro-economic client is mostly to blame here.

On a local level, our recent trends have been very good overall. Forbes just posted an article today (thank you Tom) and mentioned Fort Myers as one of the cities where real estate is “resisting the recession.” Here is the excerpt:

“Take Fort Myers. The Sunshine State’s retirement haven, where home prices tumbled 58.6 percent from their 2006 peak, had a 2.9 percent appreciation rate in the first quarter and a 3.7 percent rate during the second. Those numbers have been steadily inching back up since November of 2010, following the home price dip felt throughout the U.S. (including in many of the cities that grace this list) after the first-time home buyer tax credits expired. In spite of that dip, homes in Fort Myers have appreciated 3.8 percent from June of 2010 to June of 2011.” Full Article

All of this leads me to my point. For those with liquidity and a desire to own a home in Florida for either retirement or vacation this is a stellar time to buy. The dismal macro-economic news has put fear into many would be buyers and opened opportunity for those who see the true value in today’s real estate market.

While there are steadily fewer and fewer foreclosures there are nonetheless enough of them to create a climate of value. The real advantage of a foreclosure is that they are actively priced to the market. A time like now creates opportunity for buyers. While there are carrying costs associated with holding real estate most properties here will cash flow if they are purchased and rented properly. For the person who is looking to retire in the next 5 to 10 years, this may indeed be a very good time to buy. Resale properties are currently selling for about 50% to 80% of replacement cost. While we all look at home ownership a little differently than we did 6 years ago we all have to agree that prices are indeed very low right now and there is intrinsic value in real estate. Regardless of what happens with our economy a home is going to retain value since we all need a place to live.

I hope that you agree and will give us an opportunity to discuss the market and the opportunities that are available. A strong argument can be made that Southwest Florida real estate has never been more affordable.

Naples Market Report Summer 2011

This report just came through in Gulf Shore Business:

“REPORT: NAPLES REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY IMPROVES

The real estate industry in Collier County has shown signs of stabilizing in the last year, according to a report released by the Naples Area Board of Realtors (NABOR), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County excluding Marco Island. The July report provides annual comparisons of single-family home and condo sales (via the SunshineMLS), price ranges, geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. Overall pending sales for the 12 months ending July 2011 increased 3 percent with 10,030 contracts compared with 9,785 contracts for the 12 months ending July 2010. The median closed price for properties over $300,000 increased 2 percent to $550,000 for the 12 months ending July 2011 compared with $540,000 for the same period ending July 2010. According to Brenda Fioretti, NABOR president and managing broker of Prudential Florida Realty, “Inventory continues to drop at a rate of 19 percent for this period and we currently have less than nine months of inventory, which is the lowest we have seen since tracking the available inventory in April 2007.”

Paseo Fort Myers Villas

Paseo Fort Myers Villas

For those interested in the Villas at Paseo Fort Myers, here is a quick update. Stock Development should be starting construction on the first sets of villas and single family homes in Esperanza at Paseo towards the end of August 2011, finishing their first set of villas in the fist part of January 2012.

For not having an available model on site, Stock has done an absolutely terrific job of selling the new villa homes. With available 2 bedroom and a den model or a 3 bedroom and a den model, many people are attracted to the villa because the entire home is a single story AND the attached 2 car garage is extremely desirable. Prior to the villa models, it was impossible to find these 2 criteria in Paseo, unless you purchased a single family home.

The Paseo Fort Myers villas start in the lower $200’s. You can tell how impressive their pricing is by the pure number of sales pre-construction. During the summer months, Stock Development is also offering a $10,000 incentive towards options. My personal opinion is that these prices and incentives will not last, however.

An additional incentive to take into consideration is the “Fly & Buy” program. If you would like to see if Paseo fits your needs, you can contact me directly to arrange a 2 night stay for FREE in one of the furnished town homes. You will also be reimbursed at closing for your flight up to $1,000 domestic and $1,500 international. This gives you the opportunity to experience Paseo Fort Myers first hand. How can you possibly pass up that offer?

For additional information on the Paseo Fort Myers villas, you can contact me directly at 239-244-1340 or visit LiveInPaseo.com.

Southwest Florida Market Buzz – Summer Report 2011

Where do you get your news? Might I suggest one source should be from the front lines. We live in an age where we are bombarded with news from all directions and while I do not believe in accepting any one source at face value I do believe that it is imperative to heavily consider local issues especially when it comes to Real Estate.

We currently see much information indicating that real estate prices continue to fall and that new construction is all but non-existent. While these facts are true on a national basis, anyone considering Real Estate in Southwest Florida needs to be aware that this area is truly separated from those trends. It was quoted in the Fort Myers News Press that in Lee County the median price in April Was $118,900.00 more than 17% higher than just three months earlier. As for new construction, we now see builders aggressively moving to build not only contracted homes but inventory homes as well. A few communities stand out are Paseo, The Plantation, and Heritage Bay who are all reporting sales at their highest level since 2006.

No Current market report would be complete without some discussion about Short Sales and Foreclosures. One of the terms bantered about in Real Estate circles is “Shadow Inventory”. This refers to homes that are in some stage of foreclosure but have not been brought to the market. While there is no way to dispute that this condition exists there are many theories about why and how it will be resolved. Some of the backlog is due to legal concerns causing banks to back track and review their processing of the documents. I believe that a larger issue is that they have finally come to realize that dumping properties in large blocks was not only hurting their bottom lines but destroying the financial well-being of countless home owners and, in turn, causing many to give up in despair when the value of their homes fell some 60%. We now see a much more orderly release of foreclosure inventory and as a result a firming in values.

As for short sales, they remain – as always – very unpredictable. No two cases are exactly the same due to all of the variables present. We did however receive encouraging news just yesterday that Bank of America will now allow a back-up contract to be substituted in the event that a primary buyer backs out for any reason. In the past this meant that the process had to start over from scratch, adding many months to an already arduous process. This is very encouraging to all of us who work so hard for our clients and get to the finish line just in time to watch everything fall apart. Let’s hope this leads the way for other banks to adopt the same practice.

In conclusion, Southwest Florida has indeed rebounded. I would encourage anyone with aspirations of purchasing in the near term to consider taking action this summer during the off season. It is my belief that this next season will again lead the way to increased activity and to higher prices. Now is a good time to make Southwest Florida your place in the sun.

Let us know your thoughts in the comment section BELOW.

Plantation Golf Course Fort Myers

The Plantation golf course, Fort Myers is located in Somerset and boasts 18 holes of beautiful and challenging golf.  The designer Hardzan-Fry has provided a challenging, thought provoking, and yet fun experience.  All golfers will appreciate the beauty of this amazing course and even a scratch golfer will have to respect the challenges that await.  At 7233 yards the challenges are many.  Deep bunkers in the “Pinehurst” tradition will provide you with that “Day at the Beach” experience and the many lakes seem to call my ball more than others.

While the Plantation golf course, Fort Myers is challenging do not let me give you the impression that the challenges overwhelm the fun.  As they say, if it was easy everyone would do it and I would add that it would not have allure to pull you back over and over again.

Of course I always look at a golf course from a real estate perspective.  What does the Plantation golf course, Fort Myers bring to the community.  Actually, a lot.  It is truly one of the premier golf courses in the Fort Myers area and yet membership is optional to residents.  Membership is very affordable and the facilities are hard to beat.  Residents will find that whether you choose to be a member of the Plantation Golf course, Fort Myers or not they will most certainly benefit from it’s existence.

A drive through the community reveals  the beauty of the course and its presence adds value to all of the homes there, not just those on the course.  If you are going to be visiting Fort Myers I ask you to call and allow me to introduce you to this fine community and it’s beautiful golf course.

Mediterra Naples New Website

Mediterra Naples announces their new website (and it’s great!)

Below is a snapshot preview of the website itself, but if you want to look for yourself, you can visit LiveInMediterra.com directly.  Personally speaking Mediterra is one of (if not, the) my favorite communities in Southwest Florida.  It incorporates all of the reasons why people move to Florida in the first place: 2 golf courses, tennis, fitness facilities, bocce, beach club, etc.

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