The News-Press reports that a developer is targeting a 57-acre parcel at the Forum in Fort Myers for a $1B gaming resort.  The project would include 1,500 hotel rooms, 300,000 SF of convention space and 400,000 SF of retail stores and restaurants.

A casino in Lee County would require a both the approval of the general public via a ballot question as well as from the state legislature.  An Atlanta-based consultant is in the process of collecting the approximately 24,000 signatures required to put this project on the November ballot.  It is estimated that 10,000 – 15,000 construction jobs would be created for the project.  The developer is proposing that a one percent tax be assessed on gaming revenue that would go to the general revenue fund of Lee County.

The Forum is a mixed-use development with retail office space and residential housing located at the intersection of I-75 and Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.  The project draws its name from the Los Angeles Lakers basketball stadium as then head coach Pat Riley was involved as an investor in the project.

While the issue of a gambling facility in Lee County is controversial, there is no doubt that this development wold be major game changer for the region.  Tabled infrastructure like the Colonial Boulevard elevated highway would probably get fast-tracked to provide access to the Forum for Cape Coral’s 150,000 residents.  The western end of Lehigh Acres would likely prove attractive for the gaming resort’s workforce.  Developments in close proximity to the Forum area like Colonial Country Club, Pelican Preserve and the entire Treeline Corridor would become a must-have location.

Today, the residential component of the Forum development includes the gated townhouse community of the Colonnade at the Forum and the single-family community of the Promenade at the Forum.

The Fort Myers area is prominently covered by author Paul Reyes including a look at a mostly abandoned, upscale gated community.  A book about the housing bust would not be complete without an examination of Lehigh Acres, where the authors parents purchased a vacant lot in 1969 on the $10/month plan while honeymooning in Miami.

An insiders view of trash-outs, the process of cleaning out a foreclosed property, is covered in great detail.  Underwater mortgagees including one owing $220,000 on an $80,000 home discuss their plight in this book.

For those of us operating the in the Southwest Florida real estate market on a daily basis, foreclosures and short sales have become the norm.  Missing appliances, overgrown lawns and green pools are just part of every day life.  For someone just dipping their toe into the foreclosure market for the first time, these conditions can be quite an eye-opener.

Exile in Eden is a must read for anyone contemplating the purchase of a Fort Myers foreclosure.  The book will help provide some perspective on the perfect storm of conditions that fueled the boom and subsequent housing bust.

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.

Hey Mr. President
You’re coming to Lehigh Acres
To tour the despair
With our movers and shakers

Hey Mr. President
Please buy my Lehigh lot
I acquired it in ’05
Now it’s worth squat

Hey Mr. President
Samir embarrassed our county
He flipped without disclosure
And charged investors a bounty

Hey Mr. President
Bring jobs to Palm City
The economy has gone bust
And career options aren’t pretty

Hey Mr. President
We need a stimulus rocket
Pull some federal dollars
Out of your deep pocket

Hey Mr. President
We are swimming in red ink
Stimulate Southwest Florida
Or into the Gulf we may sink

Hey Mr. President
We thank you for coming
Please help our economy
So we can all start humming

PS. If you, Michelle and the girls want a cozy hide-away out on Sanibel, please give us a jingle.

The article details the boom years and what has occurred since the real estate market busted. This article is a must read for anyone that has an interest in the Southwest Florida real estate market.

It is outstanding news that President Obama is visiting Lehigh Acres next week. This area is in dire need of economic diversity, maybe the federal government can play a role in bring new high-paying jobs to the region. Without attracting new jobs and industries, communities like Lehigh and Cape Coral will continue to boom and bust based on the health of the real estate industry.

The properties being auctioned off are primarily single-family homes located in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres, with a few in Fort Myers and Alva. Bidding starts at $55,000 and 10 are absolute auction. In a quick read of the prospectus, it doesn’t appear that the absolute properties are clearly identified.

Much of this growth has occurred in Cape Coral and Lehigh as families have been attracted to these communities in large numbers. Since 2000, Lee County has added over 100,000 residents. It is estimated that nearly half have settled in Cape Coral, whose population now exceeds 156,000 residents.

Between 2000-2005, the average age has dropped in Lee County from 45 to 43. The number of residents over the age of 65 has also dropped from 29 percent to 26 percent. These age shifts are quite significant in such a short period of time.

While relatively affordable housing has fueled much of this growth, the jury is still out on whether or not Lee County can attract companies to provide growth in quality jobs. Diversifying our economy beyond construction, real estate, and tourism will be key for maintaining a good quality of life in the area.

We’re getting younger as population grows [News-Press]

Mayday…..mayday…..

Here is a quick May Day look at a key real estate metric, pending to active(p:a) ratio, for the greater Fort Myers real estate market. I like this metric as it provides a macro view of the current market conditions.

Fort Myers residential p:a ratio = 8.2% (pending=533 active=6481)
Fort Myers vacant land p:a ratio = 5.9% (pending=63 active=1052)

Cape Coral residential p:a ratio = 7.3% (pending=418 active=5720
Cape Coral vacant land p:a ratio = 3.5% (pending=378 active=10703)

Lehigh Acres residential p:a ratio = 16.9% (pending=351 active=2075)
Lehigh Acres vacant land p:a ratio = 3.1% (pending=308 active=9869)

I bet you wouldn’t have guessed that the residential market in Lehigh is the strongest performing sector in the region right now. The Lehigh residential sector is primarily driven by price conscious buyers looking for a primary residence. The Fort Myers and Cape Coral residential sectors are significantly more dependent on second home buyers and current performance reflects a significant dropoff in activity from this demographic.

For comparison sake, during the first quarter of 2005, the majority of these active:pending ratios exceeded 30%. Although not scientific, it is not difficult to extrapolate the length of time that it will take to sell a property from these figures. I am only seeing activity on property at the very lowest price in a given sector.

The News-Press coverage of the rapidly increasing level of development activity in Alva caused me to pause and think about the future of Lehigh Acres. Each additional step towards the development of the Babcock Ranch also causes me to ponder the future of Lehigh.

I recently took the nature tour at the Babcock Ranch and it is amazing how much of the ranch resembles Lehigh Acres, particularly the section of North Lehigh north of West 8th Street bounded by Sunshine Boulevard and Joel Boulevard. The stands of native pine and fields of palmetto are common to both of these areas.

The development along Colonial Boulevard east of I-75 and in the Gateway area, coupled with the plans in Alva have literally created a development ring around a sizable portion of Lehigh.

It is truly challenging to visualize several hundred thousand homes being constructed on the quarter and half acre lots that have been carved into the Lehigh landscape. The investor driven speculation throughout Lehigh has raised individual lot pricing to levels that limit the economic viability of an developer parcel assemblage strategy.

While I don’t have an answer to the dilemma that is Lehigh, it certainly seems tragic that beautiful pristine places like the Babcock Ranch and the orchards of Alva are going to be developed before the Lehigh.

Citrus groves in Alva vanishing [News-Press]

The large number of investor owned duplex units in the Westminster area has brought a set new of problems to the area. Many of these duplex units have been constructed without paved driveways and lack any exterior landscaping.

Often, the landscaping gets set aside at the end of the project to either cover project cost overruns or is rebated by the builder back to the owner to do themselves. In this second scenario, the work just never gets done and the duplex investor pockets the rebate

Area residents complained about these problems to the Lee County Commissioners, who have directed staff to develop a stricter set of codes surrounding duplex construction. Look for this increased zoning to slow duplex construction activity, as ROIs are already pretty skinny for this type of product right now in Lehigh.

Duplexes to face stricter codes [News-Press]

Pop quiz: What do taxes, traffic, 200+ days of sunshine and duplex rental income have in common?

Answer: Sure things in SW Florida.

A duplex is a two unit home that can be used in a split manner with one of the units serving as the primary residence and other as a rental property or as an investment property with two rental units.

While the CAP rates may not be reach lofty levels that we experienced prior to the last couple of years of land pricing increases, duplex properties are still paying off for many investors. Resale activity is stronger in this sector than single family construction with a pending to active ratio just under 20 percent.

The typical configuration here in SW Florida is a single-story side-by-side layout with each unit containing two or three bedrooms, two baths and approximately 1200 sq. ft. of living space. These structures are constructed on over-sized lots usually 100 ft by 125 ft and zoned RM-2. Currently gross monthly rents for duplex buildings are ranging from $1600 to $2000.

There are many lot options available today for a perspective investor. Three Lehigh Acres duplex lot options options currently on the market are: 920/22 Homestead Rd S for $53,000; 4633/35 24th St SW for $57,000 and 4728/30 27th St SW for $57,000. Please contact me if you are interested in exploring duplex options in SW Florida.

Lehigh Acres is now attracting developers interested in building gated communities. MW Johnson Construction of Lakeville, Minnesota is developing Shadow Lakes, a gated and deed-restricted community, in Lehigh Acres. The project will include of 112 estate homes and 138 executive homes with two lakes and will be surrounded by a canal.

Lehigh Acres is on an explosive growth path now surpassing 72,000 residents and has home ownership levels approaching 90 percent. Lehigh appears to be following a similar path to Cape Coral in attracting developers that carving out gated projects that are surrounded by plated development.

Growth brings new housing development [News-Press]

The western-most neighborhood in Lehigh, bounded by Lee Boulevard, Alvin Avenue and Buckingham Road is a hot sector of the SW Florida real estate market.

Location is everything and this neighborhood is less than four miles to I-75 exit 136 via Colonial Boulevard. Shopping is very convenient from West Lehigh, particularly with the new Crossroads Shopping Center Publix located at the intersection of Colonial Boulevard and Immokalee Road.

A high percentage of the homes in West Lehigh are newer with many more currently under construction. A real sense of community exists with many blocks built out to capacity. This is a feeling that is still missing in other parts of Lehigh that are less developed.

Homes for sale in West Lehigh are currently listed in the $250,000 – $300,000 range. Vacant lots in West Lehigh start are currently listed in the $58,000 – $70,000 range including 5212 Billings Ave at $59,000, 1026 Acroft Ave at $59,500 and 1002 Adeline Ave at $65,000.

Lehigh Acres is one of a kind, 90,000 vacant residential lots and nowhere to build new schools. With 50,000 current residents and capacity for around 300,000 residents when fully built out, Lehigh is expected to need around 25 new schools over the next 20 years.

The plan was for the County to acquire delinquent lots from owners that owed back taxes and then trade them with other lot owners to assemble parcels to build schools. With the rapid value increases in Lehigh lots, owners are more diligently paying back taxes and Lee County has not been able to acquire delinquent parcels.

If anyone at the Lee County Lands Office reads Gulf Returns, I have some awesome lots that are available, just give me a call.

Lehigh lots slip away [News-Press]

New homes have been rising at a breakneck pace in Lehigh Acres for months, but commercial growth along Lee Boulevard, the area’s main corridor, has been slow to catch up.

But with the construction of the Shoppes of Lehigh, a new 25,000-square-foot shopping center at the busy corner of Lee Boulevard and Gunnery Road, some are hoping a new trend of more rapid commercial growth will begin.

Lehigh growing fast [News-Press]

Juicee News Daily reports on haunted locations across Florida including an abandoned warehouse in Lehigh

Lehigh acres – An old ware house – it now you hear doors slam in the opposite
room cables slam up and down really fast. and in the shed a couple of black men
where tortured and killed in there and hung on the roof you can still hear
slamming on the roof from there bodies. Its located at the end of 10th street by
7/11 when you get to the end of the street you will see an old twisted fence
just take that dirt rode and there u are. It is abandoned – May 2004 correction:
the directions were wrong. It is at the end of SW 10th Street, not W 10th
Street.

Haunted Places in Florida [Juicee News Daily]

America’s favorite bad girl, Martha Stewart, is partnering with KB Homes and will decorating model homes in SW Florida for Halloween.

The KB featured models are located in Deep Creek at 24500 Sandhill Blvd; in Lehigh Acres in the Town Lakes community at 18351 Pine Nut Court and in Cape Coral at 971 Chiquita Blvd.

Martha Stewart coming to Charlotte … in a way [Herald-Tribune]

George Ross, who recently wrote a great book, Trump Strategies for Real Estate: Billionaire Lessons for the Small Investor, hosted an on-line chat on Boston.com. Here is bearish feedback from George to a question about the Cape Coral & Lehigh real estate market:

jc: Q: The Florida market, Cape Coral & Lehigh Acres, have been booming these past few years. Do you still see these regions steadily rising in the future?
George_Ross: No

You have to admire George’s ability to answer in a succinct manner.

I wonder how George feels about Apprentice 3 winner Kendra Todd running around scoffing at the very thought of a real estate bubble in SW Florida. In a recent presentation to the Naples Area Board of Realtors Todd said,

“Folks, bubbles are for bathtubs, not real estate,”

My money is on George remaining in the gainful employment of The Donald longer than Kendra.

The Big Move: George Ross, Executive Vice President and Senior Counsel for the Trump Organization [Boston.com]

Apprentice scoffs at a Southwest Florida real estate bubble [Naples Daily News]

John Bickel has an alternative approach for buyers and sellers of Lehigh land. Every other month he holds a real estate auction featuring Lehigh Acres vacant land.

The upcoming auction this Saturday features 70 quarter and half acre parcels. Recent auctions held by other groups have seen property actually selling for prices higher than generally available through traditional MLS approach.

Auction ‘fun way’ to buy lots in Lehigh [News-Press]

Every parcel of property in Lee County has been assigned a unique identifier called a “STRAP” number. A strap number is a 17 digit identifier in the form of Section – Township – Range – Area – Block – Lot.

We use the strap number property identification system as a result of the government survey method (rectangular survey system) that was originally used to survey Florida and the plat method that was used to subdivide Lehigh Acres. The plat method divides property into lots and blocks.

A township is 36 miles and is divided into 36 square areas called sections. Each section contains 640 acres. The popular maps that are available from the Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce have the township and range identified in the blue border at the edge of the map. Lehigh is organized into four township – range quadrants:

1. northwest 44-26
2. northeast 44-27
3. southwest 45-26
4. southeast 45-27

19-44-26-03-00017.0040 is a strap number of a property that I own in Lehigh Acres. From the strap we know that the property is located in the northwest sector of Lehigh.

Here is a breakdown of strap number 19-44-26-03-0017.0040:

• 19 = section
• 44 = township
• 26 = range
• 03 = area(unit)
• 17 = block
• 04 =lot

It is important to note that the last zero on the lot number is dropped to arrive at the proper lot number.

128 Lehigh Acres lots were auctioned off on Friday at Germain Arena in Estero. The auction company reports the lots sold 10 to 15 percent above market price, on average going for about $50,000 each.

Tough to understand why someone would pay over market for a vacant lot in Lehigh. Maybe they haven’t found my little piece of the world wide web dedicated to finding vacant lots priced lower than market.

Lehigh lots burning up auction block [NBC 2]

Lehigh as a golf destination vacation location………if Greentree Investments has their way, it just might happen. This investor group has acquired the Admiral Lehigh Golf Resort and Mirror Lakes Golf Club.

The group plans to improve the courses and promote golf tourism. The Admiral course includes a 131-unit resort with motel accommodations. It is currently the only hotel in Lehigh.A partner in the investment group plans to break ground on a Microtel Discount Hotel near Homestead Road in February or March.

Wow, this acquisition is an exciting development for Lehigh, can the Starbucks that I am pining for in Cape Coral be far behind in Lehigh?

Golf courses partnering up [News-Press]

If you are investing in Lehigh, stay away from the 600 block of Michael Ave. This block of highly desirable half-acre parcels, located just east of Joel Blvd., is home to Frances Caronna. Mr. Caronna has so much junk in his yard that the Lee County Commissioners have sued him to clean up his yard.

Progress has been made as Mr. Caronna has mowed the grass and the old toilet seat that sat on the lawn is waiting to be hauled away. Caronna is facing $90,000 in unpaid fines and a court injunction to clean up.

County decides to sue over junk-filled yard [NBC2]

A sign that the Lee County real estate market remains healthy is the increase to 1025 single-family building permits in June, up 13 percent over May 2005 and a whopping 53 percent over June 2004.

These figures are for the unincorporated section of Lee County which includes Lehigh, Bonita Springs and Ft. Myers Beach. Lehigh represents 47% of the total. A significant percentage of the activity that I am seeing in Lehigh is from builders snapping up vacant lots throughout Lehigh.

The 711 new single-family permits in Cape Coral was slightly off the May 2005 figure of 724, But up 38 percent from June 2004′s 516 permits.

With nearly 1800 new permits issued in June for the combined unincorporated Lee County and Cape Coral, it is tough to be anything but optimistic about our current market conditions.

Building value in ’05 almost doubles [News-Press]

According to figures released by the Lee County Appraisers Office, residential real estate prices in Lehigh were up 99 percent over the last year. It should be noted that this increase figure is highly skewed by the significant number of vacant lots that turned hands in this period.

The market just continues to crank, over the past couple of weeks I have sold lots to builders that were acquiring over 20 lots at a time. The amazing thing about the Lehigh market is that new construction activity is occurring almost everywhere throughout the 102 square mile community. Lehigh is the antithesis of a planned community like Celebration, FL or Reston, VA where construction moves in an orderly fashion according to a master plan.

The current population of Lehigh is approximately 50,000 residents and it is estimated that there are between 85,000-90,000 lots vacant plated lots in the community.

Lehigh’s real estate turns red hot [News-Press]

Property values in Lehigh Acres were up 95 percent in 2004 based on figures released by Lee County.

“It’s the strangest, strongest year I’ve ever seen,” said Ken Wilkinson, the county property appraiser who released the numbers Tuesday.

“Five or six years ago, you couldn’t give those Lehigh lots away. Now you can’t touch them for less than $30,000 — and the values all over the county just keep going up.”

Other areas of Lee County showed sizable gains including 49.4 percent in Cape Coral and 28.8 percent in Ft. Myers.

Lehigh paces Lee’s land bonanza [News-Press]

A common practice among some many Lehigh realtors is to ask the buyer to pay for the title insurance policy and sometimes other closing costs as well. I am told this custom in Lehigh dates back to the days when lots sold for almost nothing and the title insurance and closing costs significantly eroded the sellers take. I get particularly annoyed when the seller wants the buyer to pay all closing costs and also wants to dictate what firm will handle the closing. Unless the property is seriously under-priced, I avoid buying property listed with these types of arrangements.

If there is anything that I learned in my nearly 20 years in the telecommunications industry, it is that customers want bundled pricing and a service provider (or seller in the case of real estate) that is easy to do business with. Having a listing chocked full of nit charges is not a way to entice me to take a close look at or buy the property.

I do not understand why listing realtors just don’t simply raise the price of the property by the amount of the closing costs and eliminate these customer negatives in their listings. To me this just seems like a basic marketing 101 practice that would only help to sell property more expeditiously. With most vacant parcels in Lehigh selling for over $40,000, it is time to get with the program and end this silly practice. As Bob Dylan so eloquently stated, “the times they are a-changin,” it’s time to turn the page.