The following is a review of the 2005-09 Census Bureau 5-year American Community Survey estimates for the southwest Florida counties of Charlotte, Collier, Lee and Sarasota.

The survey data showed all four counties remain older than the state and the nation, and that Collier as a whole is richer than the other three counties, the state, and the nation based on median income. On the lower end of the economic scale, the poverty margin was less in these Southwest Florida counties versus the rest of the state and the nation.

The four Southwest Florida counties in this review include the city’s of Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Estero, Naples, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Sarasota. We hope you find the review of the data as interesting as we did.

Continue Reading Southwest Florida County by County Data Review

Tags: living, markets, SW Florida

According to the newly released 2010 report compiled by IHS Global Insight and PNC Financial Services, here are the top ten most undervalued cities for home prices within the state of Florida.

The rankings were derived from comparisons of median home prices, population densities and income, and historical premiums or discounts that the areas have exhibited in the past. In their January 2006 report, Naples was deemed most overvalued, with 84% of homes valued over the fair market price. Today, Naples real estate sells at a 29% discount and the median home price is just $165,500, down from more than $390,000 four years ago.

Florida’s Most Undervalued Cities

Continue Reading Top 10 Most Undervalued Cities in Florida

Tags: buyers, Florida, markets, real estate

Since almost everyone is feeling the pinch under the current economic climate, here are a few tips for buyers of Florida real estate to save on their homeowner’s insurance premium costs.

By taking these few simple steps, you might just wind up saving yourself more premium dollars than you might think.

• Shop around and get a few quotes. On any given day, some insurers are aggressively pursuing new customers while others are not. By shopping around, you can sometimes find a much better deal on your premium costs.
• For older homes (pre-2006), get a Wind Mitigation Inspection report done. Depending upon what measures are in place in the home, you can typically lower your wind insurance costs substantially.

Continue Reading Some Tips for Keeping Homeowners Insurance Costs Down

Tags: buyers, Florida, homeowner insurance, real estate