In 2011, 18,634 residential properties sold in Lee County for a total of $2.8B in sales.  The average listing price was $163,541 and the average selling price was $153,021.  This represents an average selling price to listing price ratio of 94%.  This average selling to listing ratio of 94% remains unchanged from 2010 and 2009 in Lee County and is an excellent barometer for buyers to keep in mind when making an offer.

Anyone who tells you that banks are accepting offers at 50% of asking price is just not dealing in reality.  If you are interested in finding a discounted home in Southwest Florida, here is a resource to search for Southwest Florida Foreclosures.

Morgan Stanley analyst Oliver Chang recently declared that 2012 will be “The Year of the Landlord.”  Chang further elaborated that “Rents are rising, vacancies are falling, household formations are growing and rental supply is limited,” the Morgan Stanley report stated. “We believe the demand for rental properties will continue to grow.”

One of the most interesting markets for owning income property in Southwest Florida is Cape Coral.  This city of 155,000 is located just across the Caloosahatchee River from Fort Myers.  Cape Coral is widely recognized for having affordable property and more importantly from an investor perspective, ones that can generate positive cash flow.

One of the more popular income property options in Cape Coral is a duplex configured with either two or three bedrooms and 2 baths per side.  Some investors elect to live in one side and rent out the other, while others rent out bout sides of the property.  Configurations with three (triplex) four (quadplex) and more units are also currently available in Cape Coral.  Here is a resource to view active Cape Coral income property listings.

There are many homes and condos on the market in the Fort Myers area that were originally constructed with Chinese drywall, but are now being marketed as “fully remediated.”  Many buyers are intrigued, but struggling to move forward with these properties.  Buyers looking at these homes are asking:

What should I be concerned about in buying a home that was originally constructed with Chinese drywall?

There are two main factors to evaluate when considering the purchase of a home that was originally constructed with Chinese drywall, but has been repaired:

1. Is it safe?
2. Will future value be impacted?

With proper testing, the safety of the home can be validated, so data is available to get comfortable with this issue.

It is harder to understand what the future economic impact will be on a home that previously had Chinese drywall. In 10 years, will buyers look for a discount on these homes the way they do for a home on a busy street or next to a business? Most experts believe that you make your money in real estate at the time of purchase, so the discount due to previously having Chinese drywall would need to be enough to outweigh any future discounts that would need to be given when it comes time to sell the home.

UPI reports that seven of the top ten markets with real estate price increases this year are in Florida.  Median prices in the Fort Myers market for August where up a whopping 33% over August 2010.

A key driver leading to median price increases is the dramatic reduction in the inventory of homes listed for sale in the Fort Myers market.  Inventory levels are down 41% over the past year, mainly attributed to the decrease in bank-owned foreclosures coming on the market.

If you are considering a second home in the Fort Myers area, there still are opportunities to participate while prices are near the bottom.  Here is a resource which offers all the inventory of active Southwest Florida foreclosures categorized by both geography as well as lifestyle options.

Average annual temperatures in the mid 80s, hundreds of miles of canals and rock-bottom real estate prices have propelled Cape Coral to the top of CNN Money’s top retirement destinations.  The real estate downturn significantly impacted Cape Coral and now median home prices are under $100,000.  Today’s prices are more than 60% below peak 2006 pre-bubble home prices.

Cape Coral is home to over 150,000 residents who enjoy the casual laid-back life-style in this Southwest Florida Gulf Coast community.  Boaters are attracted to Cape Coral’s 400 miles of man-made canals, many of which provide access to the Gulf of Mexico.  Cape Coral has easy access to the RSW International Airport, located across the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers.

Both second-home owners and investors are drawn to the value-priced real estate currently available in Cape Coral.  The large majority of our housing stock is not in gated communities and free from monthly HOA fees.  Many buyers are finding great deals on Cape Coral foreclosure and Cape Coral short sale homes that are currently available in the market.

Here is a resource to learn more about the Cape Coral real estate market and expedite your search for the perfect home in Cape Coral.

One of the most common questions our team is asked these days is what is the justification for paying x more for this house than the last buyer paid a few months ago.  While there can be multiple ways of answering the question, most buyers won’t like any of the answers.  The bottom line is that home prices, particularly at the lower-end of the market have been creeping upwards in 2011 (yes I just typed that!!).

For investors curious about the Fort Myers area market, some of the best opportunities for either a flip or long-term hold are in Cape Coral.  This community of over 150,000 residents is located just northwest of Fort Myers and is dominated by affordable single-family homes.  Here are resources to view Cape Coral foreclosures and also Cape Coral short sales.   Our team is experienced at assisting investors with hot opportunities that come on the market and would welcome the opportunity to be your “go to” resource in Southwest Florida.

Over the past few years, Cape Coral has been one of the areas in the nation with high rates of foreclosures.  This foreclosure phenomena can be attributed to significant speculative investing during the real estate boom years.  Investors with no intention of living in their home built in Cape Coral with hopes of flipping for a quick profit.  This quick flip strategy worked handsomely for investors in the early days of the boom, but ultimately proved to be a house of cards when the market turned.

Much of the Cape Coral foreclosure inventory consists of single-family homes which are located on quarter-acre lots throughout the community.  These single-family homes, most of which are not in gated communities with high HOA fees, are attractive to both second homeowners as well as investors looking for an ROI positive asset.

To assist in your search for a great deal on a Cape Coral foreclosure, here is a free resource to view Cape Coral foreclosure listings.  Only active available property is displayed and our database is updated on a daily basis.

With its quirky and historic downtown and status as the county seat, Fort Myers serves as  a major commercial hub for Southwest Florida.  Businesses are attracted to the area to serve an ever growing population in this fast growing part of Florida.  Currently available Fort Myers commercial property listings currently run the gamete from retail to office space and industrial.  With the wide range of options currently on the market, it is a great time to start of relocate a business in Fort Myers.

Just to the northwest of Fort Myers sits Cape Coral, the most populous city in Southwest Florida.  With demographics trending towards families and a younger crowd, Cape Coral is another interesting market for new businesses.  Available Cape Coral commercial property listings include retail, industrial, office and hospitality.

The barrier island of Sanibel beckons many visitors who elect to stay for a lifetime.  Entrepreneurship runs strong throughout the Sanibel community is the lifeline of the Sanibel economy.  Currently available Sanibel commercial property is dominated by retail offerings with hospitality and office options also available.

Investopedia reports on 10 reasons real estate could rebound in 2011.  While the article generalizes about real estate trends on a national basis, several of these points are very relevant to the market in Southwest Florida.

One of the biggest factors currently drawing in new buyers is the new construction currently underway here in the Fort Myers area.  Many buyers, particularly busy pre-retirement snowbirds are cautious about jumping into the distressed short sale or foreclosure market.  These buyers want a problem-free experience associated with new construction.  At present over 15 communities in the greater Fort Myers area have new construction underway.

Another key factor drawing buyers to Fort Myers real estate is the low prices of our existing inventory.  Prices have dropped by as much as 50% or more in some sectors and buyers, particularly second-home buyers, are now able to pay cash for a home in Southwest Florida.  The decision for many comes down to a decision of asset allocation, would I rather keep my money in the stock market or move some of my portfolio to a beaten down real estate asset in Southwest Florida?

If you are like the majority of our clients, it is cold outside, you are already sick of winter and would welcome a warm place to hang your hat every winter.  If that is the case, here is a resource to begin your search for Fort Myers real estate.

Portfolio.com rated each area in the six categories below. The highest scores in each category went to the markets described in parentheses.

1. Seniors as share of total population—Percentage of all residents who are 65 or older. (Highest scores: largest percentages.)
2. Median age—The market’s midpoint age, with half of all residents being older and half being younger. (Highest scores: oldest medians.)
3. Seniors born out of state—Percentage of all seniors who were born in a different state from their current state of residence. (Highest scores: largest percentages.)
4. Incoming seniors—Percentage of all seniors who moved to their current county of residence from another county (or nation) during the previous 12 months. (Highest scores: largest percentages.)
5. Difference in out-of-state births—Comparison of the percentages of seniors and younger residents (64 or younger) who were born out of state. (Highest scores: largest advantages for seniors.)
6. Difference in incoming rates—Comparison of the percentages of seniors and younger residents who moved to their current county from another county (or nation) during the previous 12 months. (Highest scores: largest advantages for seniors.)

Here in the trenches of Southwest Florida, we are seeing a steady flow of pre-retirement baby boomers from Northern cold-weather climates looking to jump on a retirement home while our prices are really low.   A large percentage of these clients are paying cash and viewing the purchase as an asset relocation from a stock portfolio to value-priced Southwest Florida real estate.  On average over the past year, our clients are spending just under $200K on their Fort Myers area properties.  The housing style is fairly evenly divided between town homes, condos and single-family homes with a significant majority located in gated communities.

If you are considering an investment in a retirement home in Southwest Florida, here is a comprehensive Fort Myers area real estate resource to begin your search from the comfort of your home.  Hopefully, this resource will help you evaluate different housing options from afar so that your trip down to view properties is most productive.

The general consensus in the real estate industry is that listings have the most activity in the first seven days, have the best chance of selling in the first 30 days and become stale in the 90 day time frame.  It is hard to imagine any buyer giving a second thought to a listing that has been on the market over 1700 days like these 2005 listings.

Currently, there are four active listings in our MLS dating back to dating back to 2005.  Three are in Cape Coral and the fourth on Sanibel Island.  There are no short sales or foreclosures in this group, heck most of us didn’t even know what a short sale was in 2005!

The prize for the oldest, stalest  listing goes to a Cape Coral home located at 615 SW 52nd Street that has been on the market for a whopping 2010 days.  This 1,344 SF home is listed for $495,000 / $368 SF.  No million dollar intersecting canal view hidden behind some overgrown brush, in fact this is an off-water home.  Over the past 90 days, 17 similar off-water homes in this part of Cape Coral have sold.  The average selling price of these homes was $58 / SF.  Based on actual comps, the value of this property is in the $78K range or about $417K below asking price!

If you are looking for a good deal on a new home in the Fort Myers area, here is a resource to learn about and view the hottest, newest Southwest Florida real estate deals.

What should investors be targeting for the best returns?

Over the past year many investors have entered or are re-entering the Southwest Florida real estate market.  Home prices beaten down by the extensive inventory of distressed property in our area has allowed investors to see positive ROI in some sectors.

The almost daily question that I get asked from out-of-region investors is what Southwest Florida real estate investment will provide the best return?  While this is one of those questions that will often get a wide range of answers, there is no need to rub the crystal ball right now as one sector of our market really stands out for offering the best returns.  The answer to the million dollar question is……Cape Coral single-family homes.

With the job losses and foreclosure crisis that has devastated our region, there is a whole segment of the population that cannot for the foreseeable future qualify for a mortgage.  Most of these residents will be long-term renters until they can clean up their credit challenges and they are driving the rental market in Cape Coral.

Cape Coral is divided into quarters segmented north-south by Hancock Bridge Parkway/Embers Parkway and east-west by Santa Barbara Boulevard.  Currently, the areas of the Cape offering the best returns are in the NW and NE quarters.  Home prices tend to be lower in the NW & NE, so the initial capital required for the investment will be lower in this section of the Cape.  Also, much of the housing stock in the NW & NE is newer, which should offer lower maintenance and insurance costs.

Another investor benefit is that there are no HOA fees in the plated sections of Cape Coral which tend to gobble up investor ROI in so much of the Florida market. Most of the NW & NE sections of Cape Coral do not have city utilities and are on well and septic, this offers your tenants significant savings on municipal water and sewer expenses.

At present, bank-owned foreclosures in Cape Coral are generally priced below market to quickly attract a buyer.  Investors paying cash have a significant advantage in getting an offer accepted by the bank vs. a traditional buyer with a mortgage contingency.  If you are considering an investment in Southwest Florida, here is a resource that is updated daily with the latest Cape Coral single-family foreclosure listings.

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.

The latest report on the Lee County rental market released by RealFacts of Novato, CA detailed shifts in our rental market for 2Q10.  Lee County apartment occupancy rates in 2Q10 climbed 4% to 90.8%, the fourth highest in the 12 major Florida markets.  Lee County rents for the same period dropped 9.1% to an average of $762/month.  This decline in rental rates was the highest in Florida during 2Q10.  The Fort Myers-Cape Coral market now ranks 9/12 in average rental rates in the 12 major Florida metro markets.

The biggest challenge for landlords in this market is the quality of tenants.  Many who have lost jobs and homes are seeking rental arrangements.  Also with our rock-bottom prices, the best qualified renters are purchasing in this environment, further skewing tenant quality.  We are seeing a significant demand for lease-to-own arrangements in this market for those who have wrecked their credit via short sale or foreclosure.  These types of arrangements may prove very attractive for investors with skinny or negative cash flow assets.

Here is a resource to view investment properties in the Fort Myers-Cape Coral market

The development of the Forum has truly changed the face of Fort Myers near the interchange of  I-75 and Colonial Boulevard.  Big box stores including Home Depot, Target Staples, Petco and Bed & Bath have filled a major shopping void in this part of the city.  Restaurants including Five Guys, Subway and Bajio Mexican Grill round out the Forum at Fort Myers experience.

The residential component of the Forum at Fort Myers includes two discrete neighborhoods, the Colonnade at the Forum featuring town homes currently available starting under $100,000 and The Promenade at the Forum featuring single-family homes currently available starting at $165,000.

One of the questions that many snowbirds ponder is whether or not to establish residency in Florida.  Boca Raton Attorney Allan Lipman offers a free online audio domicile guide that covers the benefits of establishing residency in Florida.  Lipman is licensed in both Florida and New York and his 10 part free audio guide provides numerous comparisons of the tax handling for both states.  A good listen for anyone pondering an investment in Florida real estate.

Subject
I BUY AND SELL SHORT SALES…

Comments
Hello Mr Mark, I’m an investor and I’m looking for a couple of self motivated and out- going agent(s) that wants increase their commissions by helping us find and buy high end properties in short sale. I have aligned myself with group of short sale negotiators in Fort Myers with years of experience in the short sale field, that will do the negotiation(s) with the lien holder(s) on your client/seller behalf at no cost to you or the seller(s). Once I acquire the property we will put property back on market (with you) giving you the chance to earn a double commission and becoming your seller(s) hero and by that the chances of more referrals and more daels. Please contact me ASAP to set up a meeting and discuss our working along side strategy on helping your clients as soon as possible. Sincerely:(redacted)

It is troubling to me that others have crafted business strategies to profit by taking advantage of others misfortune.  I bet they never mention to the troubled homeowner that a deficiency judgment may very well be hanging over their head for the next 20 years.

Lee County apartment occupancy rates in 4Q09 climbed 7.2% to 91.1%, the highest gain in the State of Florida.  Lee County rents for the same period dropped 12.2% to an average of $776/month.  This decline in rental rates was second in the State of Florida, trailing only the Ocala market.

It would appear that many of our residents who have lost their homes to foreclosure are now renting.  With severely damaged credit associated with a foreclosure, many of these residents will be renting for quite some time.  As these leases start to expire, I expect that we will see a significant uptick in demand for lease-to-own arrangements.  These types of arrangements may prove very attractive for investors with skinny or negative cash flow assets.

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.   Particularly for foreclosures, much of the discount on these properties is reflected in the aggressive selling price.

The numbers speak for themselves regarding the ratio of selling price to listing price.  In 2009, 20,480 residential properties were sold in Lee County for a total of $2.7B.  The average listing price was $140,706 and the average selling price was $132,068.  This represents an average selling price to listing price ratio of 94%.  Anyone who tells you that banks are accepting offers at 50% of asking price is just not dealing with reality.

Complete inventories of Estero foreclosure listings, Fort Myers foreclosure listings and Cape Coral foreclosure listings are available on our site.

The Time article suggest that today’s investors are “good” flippers, as they are helping to clean up foreclosure messes and also are holding longer than bubble era flippers.  The article reports that during the bubble many “cocktail party” investors bought at any price irregardless of whether or not the deal made economic sense.

Despite the echos of “we’re back” from many of my peers……which ring hollow up and down the banks of the Caloosahatchee, there is still much heavy lifting to be done in Cape Coral.

We sure are selling lots of properties right now, mostly foreclosures to bottom-fishing, cash-laden investors as well as pre-retirement boomers.  This rush of recent investment is not going to solve the long-term problem here in Southwest Florida, that of economic diversity and the creation of quality new jobs.  I would much rather see some of the stimulus money coming to areas like Cape Coral to stimulate the creation of new companies and industries.  To me this would create sustainable recovery that cannot be realized with the highway projects that are being built all over the country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZOg1YPZSjk

Where do you stand on this debate?

The first wave of foreclosures to impact Lee County were dominated by investor-owned single-family homes in Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral.  Many of these were the speculative products constructed by the likes of First Homes and sold to under-qualified and inexperienced investors.  These investors were the first to fall and many just walked away from their under-water investment.  Many of these homes have now been resold to new investors at 25% – 50% of he original price tag.

As reported by the Tallahassee Democrat, the next category of foreclosures impacting our market are more upscale owner-occupied homes.  These are homes are owned by middle-class Southwest Floridians suffering from the economic downturn.  As reported by USA Today, many have lost their jobs and are not having much success finding a new one.

These economic challenges have created a buying opportunity for anyone considering an upscale retirement home in Southwest Florida.  We are currently seeing foreclosures in upscale communities come on the market at significantly reduced prices.  Upscale communities like Gulf Harbour, Miromar Lakes and West Bay Club have been impacted by recent foreclosures.  Banks do not want to carry these homes and are doing whatever is necessary to quickly sell these properties.

Bonita foreclosures,  Estero foreclosures and Fort Myers foreclosures in upscale communities are hitting the market daily.   If you have considered an investment in Southwest Florida, now is definitely a good time to take a look.

The trail of false promises, scammed investors and deceit just never seems to end when it comes to Russ Whitney. His latest venture, Millionaire University is the subject of a class action suit filed by a group of scammed students. Basically, Millionaire University ran late night infomercials designed to lure naive real estate investor wannabees to a free seminar.  At these seminars they convinced students to sign up for costly seminars and eventually over-pay for inferior new construction investments.

Its scam artists like Russ Whitney, Samir Cabrera and others that have made significant contributions to the Southwest Florida real estate foreclosure mess.  With the record sales that have been occurring over the past couple of quarters, we are digging our way out of this hole.  Investors are finding some interesting opportunities with Cape Coral foreclosure properties and Fort Myers foreclosure properties.

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.

Levy and other people with whom “Globes” has talked mention double-digit returns on investment. A comparison with the Israeli real estate market is necessary in view of the rise in housing prices in Israel in recent years, and Levy has no doubt which pays better.

“We cannot find such returns in Israel,” he says. “In Israel, the ratio between home prices and rental prices is disproportionate. An average three-room apartment in central Israel costs NIS 1 million and the average rent is about NIS 100,000 a year.

Southwest Florida leads the nation in foreclosures and homes are currently available at prices below replacement cost.  Fort Myers foreclosures and Estero foreclosures are popular with foreign nationals.  Many are investing now with plans to rent out the property until retirement.

We welcome foreign national investment to help fuel our market recovery. Distressed property is available throughout SW Florida, here is a resource to view Estero foreclosures and Bonita Springs foreclosures.  Cash offers are the key for foreign nationals to move quickly on a distressed deal.

At the present time, Cape Coral is one of the national leaders in term of the percentage of homeowners facing a foreclosure. Many of these distressed Cape Coral homes are located in a waterfront setting and are available at aggressive pricing.

Currently, prices start around $50K for an older Cape Coral gulf access foreclosure condo and $100K for a newer Cape Coral gulf access foreclosure condo. Older single-family gulf access foreclosure homes are available starting at $150K and newer gulf access foreclosure homes start in the mid-$200s.

Here is a free resource to assist in finding the perfect Cape Coral gulf access foreclosure home. Listings are updated on a daily basis to keep you at the pulse of this market opportunity.