Southwest Florida Blog

The January thru September Estero real estate market statistics for both home and condominium sales are listed below. Estero is ideally located between Ft. Myers and Bonita Springs and is currently in the process of building and developing wherever you travel in the area. Developers are offering every type of community you can imagine, from large gated and planned communities, to smaller town centre type projects where the amenities are built around a self-contained lifestyle.

Estero Real Estate Sales Data

Estero Home Sales January-September 2008*:

• 374 Closed Sales
• Average Sales Price - $374,174
• Median Sales Price - $297,225
• Average Days on Market - 151
• Price/Square Foot - $160.91

Estero Condominium Sales January-September 2008*:

• 284 Closed Sales

Tags: real estate, sales, SW Florida

For those of you who work and inhabit the real estate web space, this is one situation that should be of special interest to you. Please take the time out of your busy schedules to read and become aware of the facts regarding this case. I believe once you do, you’ll see how important it may be to all of us in the real estate industry. Most times injustice speaks for itself. This is definitely one of those times.

Here is a list of blog posts on this issue from some friends and colleagues of mine who have done a great job of discussing the entire situation: Sarasota MLS Begs for Negative Publicity. And, for those of you who believe strongly that NAR’s policy on the use of the term MLS is misguided and has had some terrible unintended consequences, please sign the petition at FreeTheMLS.com.

Tags: internet

The January thru September Vineyards real estate market statistics for both home and condominium sales are listed below. The Vineyards is an upscale gated golf community and is considered one of Naples premier developments.

The community has numerous amenities and features the Vineyards Country Club, which gives residents a selection of two 18-hole PGA championship golf courses. In addition, The Vineyards also includes a 32 acre community park with miles of walking and biking paths that wind throughout the areas majestic oaks, cypress stands and nature preserves. The development offers a variety of single family homes, villas and condominiums from which to choose and it epitomizes the Southwest Florida living experience.

The Vineyards Sales Data

The Vineyards Home Sales January-September 2008*:

• 34 Closed Sales

Tags: real estate, sales, SW Florida

Imagine the surprise of over a million Florida residents who received their proposed 2008 real estate tax assessments expecting to see a tax decrease (based on the passage of the Amendment I) and finding out their taxable value has actually may have gone up by 3 percent. How is this possible you say, especially considering almost everyone’s market value has dropped in the last two years? Welcome to the world of the state’s “down-means-up recapture rule”.

The rule was adopted way back in 1995 by the state’s Department of Revenue with the full backing of then Governor Lawton Chiles. In fact, they even went to court when a group of county property appraisers challenged the rule prior to its being passed by the Florida Cabinet. Unfortunately, the administrative law judge hearing the case approved the rule calling it “an appropriate way to apply the Save our Homes Amendment when property values go down (try and figure this one out).

Tags: Florida, real estate, taxes

According to Money Magazine, Collier County in Southwest Florida ranks fourth on its list as one of the best places to live for having a long life. The magazine surveys various regions and identifies areas where residents have some of the longest life expectancies in the country.

Home to the City of Naples, Collier is the largest county (land wise) in the state. Fortunately for its residents, roughly 80% of it is devoted to nature preserves, state parks and recreation areas. In its survey results, Money stated “Collier County is the picture of Florida Leisure” and “almost any kind of water-related activity or exercise is readily available.”

Tags: Florida, living

The mid year 2008 Lely Resort real estate market statistics for both homes and condominium sales are listed below. Lely Resort is an upscale gated golf community with excellent amenities and is considered one of Naples premier communities.

Encompassing 3,000 acres of lakes and preserves, Lely Resort is a sophisticated and luxurious style of living conveniently located near Naples’ beaches and 5th Avenue shopping. In addition, the community has 54 holes of truly championship golf designed by Robert Trent Jones, Lee Trevino and Gary Player and features the completely renovated Players Club & Spa. The development offers a variety of single family homes, villas and condominiums from which to choose and its ambiance epitomizes the Southwest Florida living experience.

Tags: real estate, sales, SW Florida

Since the government announced it would be taking custody of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, there has been a substantial drop in mortgage interest rates which has raised the hopes that more buyers will pull the home buying trigger and help hasten the housing market recovery.

We could not agree more with that possibility. The rate on a Conventional 30 year fixed rate loan fell to 5.75% with zero points on Tuesday, and most other mortgage loan programs followed suit. Of significant note in this change is the fact that the announcement also had a major impact on jumbo loan rates. For months, they have remained stubbornly high, as the secondary markets turned their back on the programs. That, too, appears to be changing with this announcement. For example, a true 30 year Jumbo loan is currently down to 6.875% and zero points and a 30 year Conforming Jumbo loan is at 6% and zero points. Granted, they are still higher than normal, but they are much better than the rate levels they were at just a week ago.

Tags: Interest Rates, mortgages