After a unbelievable first eight months of the year, real estate sales in Southwest Florida were again strong in September. In fact, home sales for the year are up 120% in the Cape Coral-Ft. Myers and up 30% for Bonita Springs-Naples. September marked the fifteenth month in a row sales have climbed in both Lee and Collier counties. The Cape Coral and Ft. Myers market area saw total sales rise over 57% on a year over year basis and the Bonita Springs and Naples market area was far behind, up 31%.

Cape Coral and Ft. Myers Real Estate

Cape Coral and Ft.Myers Highlights:

• Single-family home sales were up 64% and totaled 1,185 sales.
• Condos sales were up 57% and totaled 230 units.

Tags: real estate, sales, SW Florida

After months of wrangling by Congress and the White House, the $8,000.00 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit has finally been given the go ahead for extention. And just to make things interesting, our esteemed leaders in Washington added a twist; all homebuyers who have been in their homes for at least five years can now also get a $6,500.00 when they sell their homes too.

Under this extension, the program will have some new guidelines also. Here is a synopsis of the new changes and requirements.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

• The maximum tax credit remains $8,000 ($4,000 for married individuals filing separately), and anyone who has not owned a home within three years is considered a “First Time Home Buyer.”

Tags: legislature, mortgages, new laws, real estate

The Bonita Springs City Council has agreed to keep its tax rate the same as last year. The 2009 tax rate will be 82.73 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. That’s great news for Bonita Springs homeowners, who will likely see a 17% decrease in their property taxes.

When you add in the fact that the Lee County Property Tax Rates are also going to remain unchanged, 2009 is going to bring a welcome relief to area residents stung by recent years rising real estate taxes.

In addition, both the City Council and the County Commissioners reduced spending accordingly in order to make up for the short fall in tax revenues. Fortunately, both groups were able to focus their cuts on areas that will not decrease services or have a major impact on residents in general.

Tags: living, real estate, taxes

After a sizzling first seven months of the year, real estate sales in Southwest Florida remained strong in August. In fact, more homes were sold in the first 8 months of this year (by 13.6%) than in 2005, the biggest sales year ever in Southwest Florida. August marked the fourteenth month in a row sales have climbed in Lee and Collier counties. The Cape Coral and Ft. Myers market area saw total sales rise over 80% on a year over year basis and the Bonita Springs and Naples market area wasn’t too shabby either, up 38%.

Tags: real estate, sales, SW Florida

According to the Editors at Money magazine, the Florida city of Port Charlotte is the best place to retire to in the country.

The ranking is not surprising when you consider Port Charlotte’s central location here in Southwest Florida. It is just adjacent to Punta Gorda, 50 miles south of Sarasota and 40 miles north of the Ft. Myers and Naples areas. In addition, the city is nestled right on Charlotte harbor, which offers hundreds of miles of cruising waters and protected shorelines for both boating and fishing enthusiasts alike. Knowing the area well, we’re surprised it didn’t make their list for the Best Places for a Long Life.

Tags: living, markets, real estate

International clientele are once again making up a significant number of the buyers for the Southwest Florida real estate market. In fact, in Naples, 25% of the population (double the national average of 12%) are foreigners.

According to a recent survey conducted for the Florida Association of Realtors, a majority (54%) of Florida agents worked with an international client within the past 12 months and over 10% of them worked with 11 or more international clients in the same time period. The top international buyers for Southwest Florida real estate included Canadian, British and German foreign nationals who happen to have an advantage at the moment as their exchange rate favors their currency and provides them with increased purchasing power.

Tags: living, markets, real estate

For the first time in 2009, new foreclosure filings fell in August for Lee and Collier Counties in Southwest Florida. It is quite a change from the last year or so as far as filings are concerned. And, while one month’s data does not make a trend, it is hopefully a good sign of things to come.

For Lee County, there were 1,625 new filings last month, down from 1,903 in July, a 15% drop. It was the lowest number of actions seen this year. In addition, there were also 1,848 foreclosure cases resolved by the Lee County courts, down from 2,133 handled in July. In Collier County, there were 811 new filings last month, down from 1,103 in July, a 27% drop. There were 374 foreclosure cases resolved by the Collier County courts.

Tags: foreclosures, markets, real estate