May 2010

The 2010 hurricane season is set to begin this week and it is important for Southwest Florida residents to pay attention and be prepared. With three years of relatively quiet storm seasons, it's easy to become complacent. However, ignoring the possibility of a major storm coming our way can be a major mistake. All you have to do is remember two very important points:

• All it takes is one big storm to hit the area to cause major destruction.
• Not taking the necessary steps to be prepared hurts everyone in terms of the storms aftermath and rising insurance costs.

So, every Florida homeowner should prepare for the worst and…

I wrote a post prior to season this year in Southwest Florida about how the Luxury Florida real estate market appeared to finally be ready to burst its bubble too. Well, it seems like many high end sellers also came to the realization they would have to give in on price in order to sell their properties.

Let's take a look at how things have shaken out.

All Property Sales $1 Million - $2 Million

Luxury Home and Condominium Sales:

• 198 Closed Sales (133 in 2009)
• Average Sales Price - $1,389,617
• Median Sales Price - $1,350,000
• Average Days on Market - 231
• Average Sales Price/Square Foot - $448.81
• Average List to…

Normally we do not blog each month about foreclosure filings in Southwest Florida. If you think about it, the story has been the same month after month. The numbers were usually up for all areas. Well, that trend appears to be changing rather quickly. What appeared to be an aberration in the 1st quarter of 2010 may actually be the start of the light at the end of the tunnel.

Here's a look at the latest numbers for April.

Lee County recorded a total of 3,479 foreclosures during April, a 12.2% decrease compared with March and a 44.5% drop compared to April 2009. Collier tallied 1,129 foreclosures in April, an 18.8% decrease from…

Members of the military, foreign service and intelligence communities will have an additional year to buy a home and claim the home buyer tax credit that expired on April 30. To qualify for the extended tax credit deadline, qulaified service members must have served on official extended duty outside of the United States for 90 days or more at any time between January, 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010. If so, they have until April 30, 2011, to sign a sales contract, and until June 30, 2011, to settle and close on the home. The rule includes both the $8,000 first-time and $6,500 repeat homebuyer tax credit.

In addition, the rule that…

While the national foreclosure rate rose by 16% year over year, 13 of the 25 markets that have traditionally seen the most foreclosures actually saw filings drop during the first quarter of this year.

The usual suspects still lead the nation with California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona continuing to account for nearly all of the top 25 foreclosure rates in the first quarter. California claimed 10 of the top spots, and Florida had nine. The Sarasota real estate market, which came in 21st on the list, saw filings rise nearly 30% during the first three months of the year. That's a rate of one foreclosure for every 61 housing units in…