April 2007

Of Mangos...Mice and Men

Monday, April 30th, 2007 at 8:06pm. 81 Views, 0 Comments.

I know that the following has absolutely nothing to do with real estate or the like, but I was out in my yard taking pictures today and got an inspiration.

One of the nifty things about living in Southwest Florida is the great variety of fruit trees that are all over the area, and having grown up in a family with property in Jamaica, I’m especially fond of mangos. I fondly remember the Jamaican women walking along with breadfruit and mangos nearly overflowing the baskets so well balanced on their heads.

I vowed that when I first purchased a property here in Naples, I would for sure have a mango tree. As it so happened, I actually had to purchase that mango tree at a local nursery, since the property that has now become our primary home had grapefruit and…

The State Of The Greater Naples Market....

Sunday, April 29th, 2007 at 5:00pm. 92 Views, 0 Comments.

The general state of the greater Naples Real Estate Market remains segmented, with the very high end single family homes and up-scale condominiums doing quite well. The lower end of the market is stagnant, and has been for quite a while.

Most of the sales in the lower end of the spectrum have taken place because they have been perceived as outright bargains. There are a lot of bottom feeders currently in the marketplace, trying their level best to scope out the distressed sales, and with the increased amount of preliminary foreclosures in Collier County and more expected, the ones who stick it out will have a field day. It is now quite common to see offers in the lower quadrant, (less than $500,000,) made for $100,000 to $150,000 off the asking price. In…

The Secret???...Just Walk The Beach And Visualize!!!

Saturday, April 28th, 2007 at 2:54pm. 90 Views, 0 Comments.

One of the fun things to do in Naples, Florida is walk the miles and miles of public beaches. In Olde Naples, every avenue ends at the beach and once there, you can turn either north or south depending on what your motivation is. Not only will you get a tremendous amount of exercise walking in the white sugar sand, but you will get a good indication of just how the other half lives.

If you turn north, you will, (assuming that you start from somewhere in Olde Naples,) walk toward the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club, an unmistakable old landmark. Along the way and further to the North as you head toward the Moorings, you will see some magnificent examples of architecture in many of the mega-homes that line the beach.

But probably the most impressive array of…

Is All The New Technology Bugging You?

Friday, April 27th, 2007 at 12:56pm. 100 Views, 0 Comments.

Sometimes I feel as if I just can’t keep up with all the new technology that is coming on scene, and yet, I have to tell you that I’m excited! I often say to people that I wish that I were going to live another hundred years, so that I could experience all that will be coming out. As much as I read and as much as I experiment with different things for my website, blog and newsletter, I feel overwhelmed. There is so much out there, so much in beta and so much that is down the road being talked about that it excites, but confuses the mind. I often wonder whether we, as real estate professionals sometimes loose sight of the fact when it is all said and done, our responsibility is to establish a relationship with our prospects and clients and sell…

This Dollar Can Stretch Forever!

Thursday, April 26th, 2007 at 2:53pm. 88 Views, 0 Comments.

One of the many things that Naples is best known for is its world-class shopping. Having said that, it never ceases to amaze me that, in this relatively slow residential market, the new commercial retail building as well as commercial retail re-doing continues with at a staggaring pace. There seems to be no end in sight to the amount of retail space that is being filled. The  recently completed completed overhaul of The Waterside Shops at Pelican Bay, as well the many other projects that have been completed this year, serves notice that Naples is a highly desired place to be for the up scale major retailers. Waterside now houses all the famous names, such as Louie Vitton, Gucci, Saks Fifth Avenue, Hermes, Burberry, Christofle, Brooks Brothers,…

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Tuesday, April 24th, 2007 at 9:22am. 82 Views, 0 Comments.

5th Avenue South...The Place To Be And Be Seen

Sunday, April 15th, 2007 at 1:58pm. 96 Views, 0 Comments.

5th Avenue South is a mixed-use street that offers a variety of businesses that range from coffee shops, (and there are many) to gourmet restaurants, ice cream shops, delicatessen, antique shops, art galleries, jewelers, gift stores, banks, real estate brokerages, stock trading offices, travel agencies, professional offices and condominiums upstairs. The list is endless and 5th Avenue literally is the main street in downtown Olde Naples and especially in ‘high season’, the place to be and be seen.

5th Avenue wasn’t always that way. It took long range planning, the hiring of Andres Duany, the famous architect, city planner and theorist along with a significant amount of money and effort to turn the street around. It was fast becoming deserted, with…

We Were Ohhhhhh So Close!

Thursday, April 12th, 2007 at 4:57pm. 90 Views, 0 Comments.

One thing that absolutely drives me crazy, and it’s no different here in Naples, is small town politics. You vote for politicians, because you feel that it is your civic duty, and expect that they will listen to the will of the people. Boy how wrong we are in our thinking! Directly behind our lovely home, resides a beautiful Spanish style small shopping plaza (The Oaks Plaza) with a good array of businesses, including one of our favorite restaurants, Meson Ole, a wonderful Spanish eatery. Not only is the food good, but it has been a favorite of ours because we can walk there in three minutes or so, making it extremely convenient. Well, that is all about to change. With the rapid rise in commercial real estate, small parcels like this plaza have become…

Easy Come...Easy Go

Monday, April 9th, 2007 at 5:35pm. 95 Views, 0 Comments.

5th Avenue South in Naples has always housed some of the finest restaurants in the area. One of the jokes, although it is not really a joke at all but a factoid, is that every year some 15 new ones come in and some 15 go out.

Sadly, the latest victim is Zen, a great place to just wander in when you felt like it, sit at the sushi bar, have a few drinks and wolf down some of the best sushi to be found anywhere in the land. Interestingly, the restaurant has come and gone twice in the past three years, but this time its demise is for good. For sure Zen wasn’t cheap, but it was always well worth it. Upon gorging on a Volcano to cap off an evening, often I would be presented with a bill well in excess of $100 and that was just for myself. As a matter of fact,…