Real Estate News

Lee Properties Sold For 94% Of Asking in 2009

One of the buyer misconceptions about our current Fort Myers area real estate market is that banks will approve ultra-aggressive, low-ball offers on short sales and foreclosures. Approving low-ball offers in Lee County has absolutely not been the operating model for lending institutions during 2009.

Fort Myers foreclosure Auction Sells 75 Homes

Wink News reports that the foreclosure auction held last night at the Harborside Event Center netted sales of 75 homes.  Our market is still heavily weighted towards foreclosures with approximately two-thirds off all homes being sold falling into the distressed category.

We continue to see significant activity mostly from second-home buyers looking to take advantage of [...]

West Bay Club’s Clean-up Man

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune has an interesting article about Norman Radow, who has been hired to liquidate the real estate portfolio of bankrupt Leman Brothers.  West Bay Club in Estero is one of the assets that Radow is currently focused on.  A big challenge at West Bay Club is that only 617 of the originally planned [...]

Estero Palms Selling Well

Estero Palms, a gated community of 32 single-family homes in Estero, has sold 22 of its 32 home sites.  On a positive note, 14 of these sales have occurred since May 2009.  Estero Palms features estate homes which start in the $220,000s.  Estero Palms was developed by Taylor Morrison.

Estero Palms is located in Estero on [...]

Foreclosures Dominating Fort Myers Market

The real estate market in the greater Fort Myers area has been dominated by foreclosure and short sale activity.  This REO activity has driven significant price declines in Southwest Florida real estate.

In the third quarter of 2009, home prices in the Fort Myers-Cape Coral area dropped on average 40%.  This 40% decline led the nation [...]

Lee County 2nd Nationally for Foreclosures in ‘09

In figures recently released by RealtyTrac, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area was second in the nation in foreclosures during the first half of 2009.  One in every 14 homes in the region was in some stage of the foreclosure process during this timeframe.  Our region only railed the Las Vegas market, where one in every [...]

Foreigners Attracted to Southwest Florida Real Estate

NBC-2 reports that 25% of all homes sold in Collier County are to foreigners. Attracting new buyers with exchange-rate goosed dollars to the market is truly the best way for us to pull this housing market up and out of the downturn. Over the past year, the top foreign countries for visitors to [...]

Israelis Targeting Florida Real Estate Bargains

The Globes reports on Israeli nationals targeting bargains in the US Housing market.  With many priced out of the real estate market in the at home, the option to purchase in the US is very attractive:

Levy and other people with whom “Globes” has talked mention double-digit returns on investment. A comparison with the Israeli real [...]

Investor Visas Fueling Foreign Investment

The Miami Herald reports that foreign nationals are buying up distressed Florida real estate with the hopes of securing US citizenship via an investor visa.  An investor visa requires a significant investment in US property.  Locally, a Mexican national was granted an investor visa after investing $1M in a Bonita Springs restaurant.

We welcome foreign national [...]

Only 23% of Short Sales Ever Close

According to a recent USA Today article, only 23% of short sale deals actually ever close. This figure came from a February 2009 survey by Campbell Communications of 1,300 Realtors. More than 90% of the agents cited slow responses from the lender as the reason that short sales were lost.

These figures certainly jive [...]

Fort Myers 2nd in Foreclosures in ‘09

In figures recently released by RealtyTrac, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area was second in the nation in foreclosures during the first half of 2009.  One in every 14 homes in the region was in some stage of the foreclosure process during this timeframe.  Our region only railed the Las Vegas market, where one in every [...]

Foreclosure Shoppers : Property Tax Expectations

Time Magazine covers the topic of property tax expectations for those who have recently purchased foreclosed property in Florida.

In Florida, taxable valuation is based upon average values of homes in a given neighborhood, and not based on individual transaction values. What this means is that although you may have found a screaming [...]

Miromar Lakes Competes with Ocean Lifestyle

A recent article in the Naples Daily News compares the lifestyle of Miromar Lakes with that of a ocean-front neighborhood. The pristine sandy beaches of Miromar Lakes, free from crowds, parking challenges and the red tide front 700-acres of sparkling lakes.

After passing through the gates of Miromar Lakes, one enters a place like no [...]

Lee County – Selling Price vs. Listing Price

One of the greater Fort Myers area real estate statistics that I monitor is the ratio of selling price to listing price.

We are currently experiencing very high selling price to listing price ratios, currently at 96% over the last 30 days for residential sales in Lee County. This SP-LP ratio is up [...]

Lee BIA Parade of Homes

The Lee County Building industry Association Parade of Homes is ongoing through Feb 22. The parade showcases new homes from the finest builders in Southwest Florida.

Twenty-nine homes with asking prices ranging from the $200,000s to more than $6M are on display at this years event. For more information, visit the BIA [...]

The Preserve at Corkscrew

Good things tend to happen when Cameratta Properties gets involved with a real estate project in Southwest Florida. High Point Place is the shining star in their Southwest Florida portfolio.

Cameratta Properties purchased the 510-acre parcel from Lenar that was formerly known as Cypress Shadows. This parcel is located in Estero just west of Bella [...]

Estero Condo Bargin

Question: Where can you buy a condo in a gated community for $50,000 that is within walking distance of the Coconut Point Mall?

Answer: Fountain Lakes

Yes, right now there is a bank-owned 1BR condo at 3140 Seasons Way in Fountain Lakes available for $50K. This condo is 790 SF and was built in 1988. [...]

Red Sox Real Estate

As the Red Sox continue their spring training relocation dance with Sarasota, it appears that the most viable spots in Lee County for a new Red Sox complex are in Estero. A new spring training complex in Estero makes all the sense in the world.

First and foremost, Estero is close to the Coconut [...]

Foreclosure Listings

While the entire Southwest Florida real estate universe suffers from a nagging ailment known as “shortsaleitis,” I have been busy at the keyboard of my MacBookPro, with a robust supply of Red Bull and Oreos creating community specific foreclosure pages.

These pages display all the listings identified as foreclosures in the Greater Fort Myers and the [...]

SW Florida Short Sales

Here is an informative WINK 6 video on the challenges that buyers face when dealing with short sales here in SW Florida.

Make yourself a cup of coffee or a couple of margaritas and check out all the Fort Myers short sale, Estero short sale and Cape Coral short sale listings. We have agents very experienced [...]

Fort Myers 55+ Communities

The Southwest Florida region is home to some of the finest active adult communities in the country. These communities cater to 55+ active adults and are great alternative for those relocating to the area. One of the key issues for many is the ease at which they can make new friends with others [...]

Estero community planned

Residential market in Estero healthy

Newport Bay Corporation has proposed an 820 home golf course community in Estero called Monte Cristo. The 396-acre site is located on the south side of Corkscrew Road 2.5 mile east of 1-75. Previously Newport Bay developed Fairwinds, the upscale single-family community located within the Bonita Springs Golf & Country [...]

Real estate auction option

Auctions growing in popularity

The depression era stigma of a real estate auction has faded from the collective memory of our nation as more homeowners are utilizing them to sell property.

This Tuesday, a home in the upscale Estero neighborhood of Grandezza is being auctioned by Zionsville, Indiana-based Luxury Auction Group. The fax-based auction utilizes a bidding [...]

Corkscrew Road booming

Location and amenities abound

As Ft. Myers and Naples each stretch their respective boundaries to one-day become a single gulfcoast metropolis, Corkscrew Road is strategically positioned in the center of the action.

Investors who placed bets in this area are being rewarded handsomely particularly in the stretch from I-75 west to Three Oaks Parkway with five major [...]

Estero mucho dinero

Upscale communities transforming Estero

As each new upscale gated community opens in Estero, many more high net worth families are attracted to this area. These communities are highly-amenitzed and the many include private clubs and golf courses.

New Estero developments that have opened in the last five years include: West Bay Club; Pelican Sound; Miromar Lakes; Grandezza; [...]