There haven’t been many blog posts from me or anyone else in the last couple of years about Cape Coral vacant lots.  If you bought land in Cape Coral during the boom years, you have watched its value shrivel by somewhere in the neighborhood of  75-90%.  If your lot is in the current path of Cape Coral utilities expansion, then every tax bill brings a painful reminder of the assessments that you also owe on this asset.

An article on Inman News titled, Residential Lots: The Next Big Boom caught my eye today.  The article begins:

Over the past two years, in a number of markets stretching across the West, from Phoenix through Las Vegas to Sacramento and Riverside, investor groups have been maneuvering to acquire finished residential lots that due to the recession ended up stranded without hope like lost pilgrims in a vast desert.

For all my glass-half-full readers, unfortunately there was no mention of Cape Coral or Florida vacant land in the article.

One of the questions that I frequently get asked is when will Cape lots start appreciating again? The simplistic answer is that we need to work through the backlog of existing REO inventory before it will be economically feasible to build again in Lee County.  With over 20,000 properties in the foreclosure pipeline, this process is sure to last at least a couple of more years.  The other key issue, particularly in Cape Coral, is whether or not the community leaders have the where-with-all to attract new businesses and jobs to the community.  It is truly a shame that very little activity and intellectual capitol is expended on job creation by our community leaders.

The News-Press reports that the Lee County Commissioners discussed the possibility of acquiring highly-discounted Lehigh Acres residential lots and bundling them together  for industrial and commercial development:

Lee County should stock up on cheap lots, a county commissioner suggested.

Frank Mann said Thursday the county ought to buy discounted lots in Lehigh Acres, bundle them and sell the land for industrial and commercial development.

“We’re the only ones that can do this,” Mann said Thursday during a discussion on the Lee County budget. “Lots are as cheap right now as they’ve been in 25 years. … It could be one of the greatest economic tools we have.”

Source: News-Press Brian Liberatore (09/04/2009)

It is good to see some forward looking leadership in Southwest Florida.  Our plated communities of Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral have a dearth of commercial tracts.  This shortage of commercial land has severely limited the diversification of our economy as it has just been easier for builders to focus on more residential housing.

I am hopeful Lee County will move forward with this idea and maybe someone in Cape Coral will take notice as well.

Bye Bye First Homes

An ugly era in the annuls of Southwest Florida real estate history came to an end yesterday when Hovnanian sold the last 1,409 lots it owns in Southwest Florida. Hovnanian sold these remaining lots to a Czech investment group for about $3,000 each, a far cry from the peak value about 15X greater during the boom.

You may recall that Hovnanian was the NJ based firm that acquired local power-house builder First Homes back at the height of the market boom in 2005.  Many attribute much of the blame of the current SW Florida market woes to First Homes and others who built sub-par starter homes in remote sections of Lehigh and Cape Coral and agressively marketed them to unqualified investors. The acquisition proved to be a disaster for Hovnanian, as they missed their earnings projection the first quarter after the deal closed and have had financial difficulties since the acquistion.

Superstar Southwest Florida broker Frank D’Alessandro and his connected sidekick Samir Cabrera were shilling for First Homes with a very shady lease-to-own deal.  With superstar broker Frank D’Alessandro dead, his sidekick Samir Cabera heading to jail, Samir’s wife and TV Anchor Jessica Stillwell disgraced and off the air and Samir’s father-in-law former Lee County Manager Don Stillwell booted from office things have not gone well for this crew of First Homes pitchmen.

See you later First Homes, while you certainly were interesting to blog about, your legacy in Southwest Florida is not a good one.

Our Lot: How Real Estate Came To Own Us, a new book by Alyssa Katz, prominently features the Lee County real estate bubble.

The Lee County chapter focuses on the flipping that occurred in Lehigh Acres during the height of the market run-up. Anyone who participated in the Lehigh flipping frenzy will certainly want to read Katz’s take on this crazy period.

If there is a silver lining in the SW Florida real estate bust, it is that I no longer get stacks of low-ball mail solicitations for vacant lots that I own in Cape Coral.

Today, a different sort of Cape Coral vacant lot solicitation was sitting in my mailbox. It was an offer from the Cape Coral Lot Owners Association to become a member. According to the letter, up-to-date lot sales information is the major value proposition of membership.

The irony of this value proposition for me is that this information is available for free from multiple different sources. Most Realtors will provide sales comp information at no charge. The Listingbook Service offered for free by Realtors will even allow you to get real-time notification of new listings or sales and not have to wait for a report. Also, the Lee County Property Appraisers site, www.leepa.org has a free report generator that can provde on-demand reports of vacant land sales by municipality or zip code.

With plethora of information currently available on the Internet for free, I am not going to part with $45 to join this association. I think that the model of charging for information that is readily available for free on the web has passed.

With the housing downturn in full force, developer Syd Kitson has announced plans to turn his Babcock Ranch project into the nation’s first solar-powered city. While I applaud Mr. Kitson for his creative thinking and interest in conservation and the green movement, the absolute last thing that we need right now in Southwest Florida is a new city or more houses.

Babcock Ranch plans include a 19,500 home city and six million square feet of retail, commercial, office, civic and light industrial space. It will also be home to the world’s largest photovoltaic power plant, which will be operated by Florida Power & Light (FPL). FPL will seek approval to add 31 cents to every one of its existing customers electric bill to pay for this plant.

Yes, Mr. Kitson is correct, we absolutely need new jobs in the area. It is time for our political leadership to step up and focus on attracting the types of clean industries that Kitson is promising to already established commercial zones like around RSW. If there are federal funds coming to Southwest Florida for the green movement, lets fill in what has already been developed before we pave the eastern end of Lee and Charlotte Counties.

A new luxury community is emerging in South Fort Myers……introducing Hidden Harbor Preserve. Hidden Harbor features saltwater access boating to Estero Bay from a prime location in the heart of South Fort Myers.

Hidden Harbor offers an exclusive intimate setting with just 72 homesites in this 54-acre development. The natural beauty of Southwest Florida is evident throughout the project with views of preserves, water and of course beautiful Southwest Florida sunsets.

Lot sizes at Hidden Harbor are generous and will accommodate an estate home. Fifty-nine of the homes within Hidden Harbor will be waterfront with their own private docks.

Hidden Harbor is located off US-41 in South Fort Myers between Emerson Square and Harborage. This location is very convenient to the emerging Fort Myers-Estero corridor including Florida Gulf Coast University, Southwest Florida International Airport and regional malls like Coconut Point, Gulf Coast Town Center and the Miromar Outlets.

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 Terra on Corkscrew Road.

Cameratta has re-named the project The Preserve at Corkscrew and has re-zoned to eliminate the golf course and lower the density from 770 to 520 homes. The Cameratta marketing plan for this exclusive gated community is to sell vacant lots in a bring your own builder approach. The Preserve at Estero lot prices range from $300,000 to $500,000.

Brookwood Financial Partners of Salem, MA acquired 279 vacant lots in the planned Northeast Cape Coral gated community of Bella Vida. The sale included 116 town-home lots and 163 single-family lots. With a total acquisition price of $4,890,250, the per lot average price is $17,527.

Bella Vida was developed by D.R Horton. Other D.R. Horton communities in the area include Catalina Isles in Fort Myers and Valencia Golf and Country Club in Naples. Brookwood has a track record of buying other unfinished subdivsion vacant lots from D.R Horton. Brookwood’s portfolio in Southwest Florida includes holdings in Lehigh Acres, Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda.

Commerical property purchases, leases [News-Press]

Interesting story about a house that was incorrectly built on the adjacent Cape Coral vacant lot. It befuddles me that a house could be on wrong lot for 11 years and even through a sale without the error being discovered until the current homeowner decided to install a pool.

This story has attracted a large number of comments with the majority suggesting that the lot owner should swap properties and accept the adjacent vacant lot. The Maryland-based lot owner comes across as a tad bit petty suggesting that he would not be satisfied with a simple swap of properties.

Ultimately, It seems to me that Sunshine Title of SW Florida, the title company that handled the last transaction involving the sale of the house, would be responsible for making the homeowner whole.

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago in Cape Coral due to a surveyor mistake about a property line and a slab was built half-way on my lot. Fortunately, I was in the process of selling the lot and the error was discovered with just the slab in place. Once the error was identified, the builder expeditiously removed the slab and started over in the correct location. Although the vacant lot sale was delayed about a week, everything worked out just fine on that transaction.

House dreams turn to nightmare in Cape Coral [News-Press]

Over-sized lots offer flexibility

Approximately 10 percent of the residential lots for sale today in Cape Coral are over-sized “triple” lots. Triple lots are a better investment as there are fewer available throughout the city.

Triple lots measure 120 ft wide by 125 ft deep and are approximately one third of an acre. The standard “double” lot measures 80 ft wide by 125 ft deep and is approximately one quarter acre. The genesis of this double and triple lingo dates back to the early days of Cape Coral when Gulf American Corporation was originally marketing the project. Often the triple lots were an upsell by Gulf American to willing customers.

The extra width provided by a triple lots allow for a bigger home or a larger three car garage. Homes with extra square footage and bigger garages are certainly sought after in Cape Coral. If you are considering acquiring a triple lot, well priced options include:

• 1900 Chiquita Blvd. N – off-water lot in Unit 53 for $64,900
• 1803 29th Ter. – gulf-access canal front in Unit 71 for $249,850

Many affordable waterfront lot options in Cape Coral

Thinking of someday retiring in beautiful sunny SW Florida?

With the recent market slowdown, waterfront vacant lots are now within reach of many more buyers. In Cape Coral, many excellent waterfront vacant land options are available in the $70,000 to $80,000 range. Buy it now to lock in a great price and build down the road when you are ready.

We can guide you to the best lot to meet your short-term budgeting and long-term retirement needs. Please don’t hesitate to drop us a note and we can help you locate the ideal lot.

Affordability and growing inventory key factors

New housing permits dropped radically in Cape Coral last month. The 323 permits issued during May were off 26 percent from the 439 issued in April and less than half of the 724 permits issued in May 2005.

The run-up in Cape Coral lot prices over the past three years has pushed affordability beyond the reach of many first home buyers. These buyers are increasingly turning to Lehigh, where land costs are about 50 percent less than Cape Coral.

Many investors that built spec homes particularly in northeast Cape Coral are facing a challenging scenario as their outlay for land and construction is exceeding the current market value of the completed property. This issue appears particularly acute for those who started homes in the late spring and early summer and acquired the lot at the market peak.

Cape home permits plunge [News-Press]

Speculators are making bets

With prices jumping from $2,000-$3,000 an acre in 2004 to over $20,000 an acre today, DeSoto County has experienced significant speculator investment. Over the past 11 months 26,000 acres have been changed hands with a total value exceeding $363 million.

DeSoto County lies north of Charlotte County and east of Sarasota and Manatee Counties and is expected to be developed as bedroom communities for the Sarasota-Bradenton and Port Charlotte metro areas. Most of the bets in DeSoto County are long term as not much development has occurred to date. The big push will be for utilities, water is available today and sewer treatment facilities are planned for completion in 2008.

Land rush turns to DeSoto County [Herald Tribune]

New Highway to Lee County?

A conceptual plan has been unveiled for a new parkway which runs through the middle of the state of Florida. This roadway would connect to SR 80 in eastern Lee County near the Hendry County line.

The north-south portion of the roadway would provide connectivity between eastern Lee County and I-4 about 20 miles south of Orlando. The east-west portion connects Bradenton to Port St. Lucie.

If built, this roadway will have a revolutionary impact on the value of interior vacant land throughout Florida. The relief that this roadway would bring to I-75 would be welcomed by the entire region.

Parkway may bring I-75 relief [News-Press]

Gulf access options in Fort Myers limited

One category of Southwest Florida real estate in short supply is gulf access lots in south Fort Myers. These parcels, which allow homeowners to keep a boat behind their house, offer boating access to the Caloosahatchee River and the Gulf of Mexico.

Most of the available lots are located along canals in neighborhoods between McGregor Boulevard and the river. This south Fort Myers area is highly sought after and contains some of the finest communities in the area. Fort Myers gulf access lot prices start at over $300,000 and range upward to over $5M.

At the lower end of the price range, 14570 Laguna Drive in Peppertree Point is listed at $333,333. This lot is .175 acres and has boating access to the river via a boat lift which can accommodate boats to 23 feet.

15346 Myrtle Street in Tahitian Shores is listed at $595,000. This .451 acre parcel includes a new dock and direct boating access.

997 Bal Isle Drive in Town & River Estates is listed for $847,000. This .293 acre parcel offers deep water direct boating gulf access.

Please explore other Fort Myers gulf access lots.

Affordable housing….at what cost?

The News-Press ran an article on the plans of Jack Solloway, owner of Secure Holdings in Fort Myers, to give back to the community. He plans to build 200 affordable homes, priced at under $200,000, for working-class professionals like teachers.

What the article failed to mention was the army of telemarketers equipped with the latest tax records that are calling existing lot owners around the country and making ridiculous below market offers. The fact of the matter is that Jack Solloway’s supposed good deed is being funded on the backs of property owners selling him their land significantly below market value.

Land dealer’s mission: Sell Lee homes for $199,000 [News-Press]

Deals available in buyers market

If you are considering building a home in Florida on the water, now is a great time to secure a great deal on a piece of property. The lot inventory has grown considerably and buyers have the leverage right now to negotiate a favorable purchase.

With several hundred miles of gulf access canals, Cape Coral is on of the most affordable waterfront communities in Southwest Florida. Most gulf access lots in Cape Coral are .25 acres and are located on canals that are a minimum of 80 feet wide. Lots that are larger or located at intersecting canals or basins generally sell for a premium.

One of the best deals on a gulf access lot in Cape Coral is 1504 NW 33rd Place, listed at $224,900. This parcel is located in Unit 60 in northwest Cape Coral and is .25 acres.

Another gulf access lot deal is 415 SE 29th Terrace, listed at $269,900. This lot is located in Unit 26 in Southeast Cape Coral and is .248 acres.

Here is a resource to view available Cape Coral gulf access lots.

Battle brewing over Buckingham development

A heated battle is underway over a proposed 631 unit town house project proposed for 59 acres near the Buckingham Airpark.

This area still has the look and feel of “old Florida” with one of a kind establishments like the The World Famous Buckingham Blues Bar and its beer drinking mule Bucky.

The developer is seeking a zoning variance to increase the per acre density of the project and for this privilege would be kicking in nearly $3M into the housing trust fund to develop affordable housing.

The existing residents are worried about traffic woes on the existing roadways, which are already very congested and overdue for widening. The catch-22 in this scenario is that a less dense multi-family project could still be built on the site without any contribution to the affordable housing fund.

This outcome of this project has ramifications for the entire Buckingham area as development moves east from I-75. Many larger parcels in the area have been acquired by developers and could change the face of the area. One project, Horse Creek, is an upscale 113 single family gated project being developed by Daniel Wayne Homes.

Lee density deal might not fly [News-Press]