July 2007

THE FORECLOSURE MARKET...THE NEW PERFECT STORM

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007 at 4:24pm. 74 Views, 0 Comments.

Foreclosures are in the forefront of the news and are taking their toll on the regular homeowner market as well as affecting complete neighborhoods. Properties that are not short-selling and go out to foreclosure will most certainly affect property values in the neighborhood where that foreclosure took place. Naturally the more foreclosed properties in a particular neighborhood, the more pressure on the downward pricing.

With the banks and lending institutions not wanting to be in the real estate business, they will dispose of the foreclosed properties by selling them for substantial losses, which will help to further depress an already depressed market. Those selling prices will now become the new benchmarks for appraisals, dragging the market prices down…

THINGS YOU CAN DO IN PANAMA IN 24 HOURS

Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 at 4:21pm. 72 Views, 0 Comments.

I have talked often about the virtues of investing in Panama Real Estate with vigor and enthusiasm, because after just one visit, you’re hooked for life. There are just so many things that attract people from the world over to this small but diverse country. There is so much to do and see, that it can boggle the mind. You can visit lush rain forests, see desert areas of the country, explore wonderful national parks, climb mountains, go rafting on raging rivers, trek to the black sand beaches of the Pacific, the menu is virtually endless.

Just a short drive from the capital, Panama City, you can find vast jungles with no roads, where Jaguars and Pumas roam free, see 940 documented bird species, and 105 species that are endangered, such as the Central…

GOLDEN GATE PARKWAY FLYOVER OPENED TODAY

Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 5:00pm. 61 Views, 0 Comments.

Well its here! The long-awaited and project delayed $38 million over-pass at the intersection of Airport-Pulling Road and Golden gate Parkway opened at 6am this morning much to the delight of project managers and county officials. The over-pass was vehemently opposed by not only residents of the Grey Oaks and Bear’s Paw communities, but many Naples City residents as well.

The residents of the Grey Oaks and Bear’s Paw communities feared traffic noise, coupled with what they perceived as an unsightly eyesore monstrosity running in between the two developments on Golden Gate Parkway. The finished product certainly isn’t unsightly at all. As a matter of fact, the county seems to have taken great pains to make it as esthetically pleasing as possible, including…

AND HE CAME OH SO CLOSE?!?!

Saturday, July 21st, 2007 at 6:35pm. 88 Views, 0 Comments.

I’ve always had this great fantasy of going to Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker, and not only playing but winning the grand prize of $8.25 million. Yeah…right fat chance! (And people think that we realtors are over paid!) But when you think about it, this year’s winner, Jerry Yang, (the same name and nearly the same age as the founder of Yahoo,) has only been playing poker for about two years. So maybe there is a chance…anyway it’s a great fantasy.

Can you imagine do this for a living, actually making money like some people, traveling the world and playing poker. What a great deal!

Yet when I really give it a lot of thought, I wonder if the stress is more or less that of a real estate agent, especially in today’s market. I have to confess, I’m…

SPEND A LITTLE TIME EDUCATING YOUR FOREIGN BUYER

Saturday, July 21st, 2007 at 7:16am. 72 Views, 0 Comments.

Sometimes we, as realtors, tend to forget about the cultural differences between us and the Europeans. For that matter we can forget the differences between us and the rest of the world many times as well. From a financial standpoint, it can cost us dearly if we don’t pay attention.

Case in point…I recently worked some potential buyers from Sweden who now feel ready to buy, after renting from us for several years. My assumption was that because we had somewhat of a relationship (actually I thought that it was a good one,) because of the rental aspect over the years, that they would be loyal to me. (Potentially a huge mistake!) The second big mistake was that they understood that I am a full-service realtor.

You see in Sweden the only function of the…

NAPLES MARKET SNAPSHOT

Friday, July 20th, 2007 at 4:49pm. 77 Views, 0 Comments.

The Naples, Florida market remains firmly in the hands of the grasp of the ‘summer doldrums’, with sales taking place, but mostly in the upper end ($3,000,000 +) of single family homes and condos. Inventory levels remain extremely high, and that inventory needs to be re significantly reduced so that we can get toward a more balanced market.

One of the keys to reducing inventory is to get the massive amount of over-priced homes off the market. Unfortunately, there is an abundance of over-zealous realtors who have the sellers convinced that the market lives in 2004 – 2005. Coupled with that, there are also a myriad of home sellers who are also living in that bygone era. These two factors help to make up a lot of the inventory, and again, it needs to go away,…

FLORIDA EVERBLADES BERG RETIRES

Thursday, July 19th, 2007 at 5:47pm. 70 Views, 0 Comments.

If you have ever spent any time around the Southwest Florida area and have been to a hockey game at Germain Arena to watch the Florida Everblades, you know the name Reggie Berg. Reggie Berg hung up his skates today, announcing his retirement.

As an off-ice official for the ECHL, the premier AA professional hockey league, I had the pleasure of watching Reggie play over a seven year span. The Everblades all-time leading scorer and captain was one of the most unselfish hockey players that I have ever seen play the game. Often playing hurt, he still managed to be a factor on the ice, scoring critical goals when the team needed them the most. As irony would have it, his last career game was in this year’s first round playoffs away from home in Texas against…

THE MARKET...SHORT SALES NOW IN VOGUE

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007 at 5:29pm. 73 Views, 0 Comments.

How quickly the market can turn! Several years ago here in Naples, Florida, when the norm was over bidding on properties, (and even then you weren’t assured of getting them,) to now when builders and homeowners alike are doing anything to get their properties sold. How many BMWs can they give away and how much bonus money can be attached to successful contracts has now become the new norm.

Along with all the hoopla is the sheer fact that there are now more foreclosures than ever, primarily because of all the greed from the good old days and the properties that both large and small investors are stuck with that didn’t turn. Most of those investments were done with negative amortization mortgages, and now it is time to pay the piper and there is no income to…

THURSDAY...REVIEW OF THE BUILDING MORATORIUM

Tuesday, July 17th, 2007 at 4:34pm. 92 Views, 0 Comments.

Thursday, the Planning Commission of Collier County will review and discuss the newly proposed ordinance that will effect future growth in Collier County, especially to the east of Collier Boulevard. The ordinance was in response to the DCA (Florida Department of Community Affairs) stating that, in their opinion, the county’s capital improvements were not financially feasible. When plans for services are drawn up, the counties, as well as cities are required to update the DCA.

Following a vote by the Collier County Commissioners (3 to 2 vote) staff was instructed to draft a proposed ordinance. The proposal will effectively put the brakes on future development, and the key word is ‘future’, because development in process will be allowed to continue. The…

IF YOU'RE INTO NATURE... YOU'RE INTO PELICAN BAY!

Monday, July 16th, 2007 at 5:14pm. 81 Views, 0 Comments.

While viewing property in Pelican Bay the other afternoon, the clients expressed a wish to take the tram (originally coined by the Scots for coal truck) out to the beach. For those who don’t know, Pelican Bay is a private self-contained community that stretches for two and a half miles along some of the most beautiful beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. It is bordered in the northern side by The Inn at Pelican Bay, while on the southern end are The Waterside Shops, a world-class shopping facility. Within Pelican Bay there is a 570 acre conservation area, as well as over 40 acres of parks and trails.

It had been a while since I last took the tram out to the beach and as we rode out from the north tram stop, I was reminded of how truly wonderful it really is. The…