December 29, 2009

• Is South West Florida Turning into a Competitive Real Estate Market?

  New housing numbers received by South West Florida housing market news reveal SWFL Home Sales/Prices are on the upswing.
  Over the past several months, the housing market in southwest Florida has shown signs of a slow recovery. Home inventory has been diminishing at ever-increasing rates and in November, home sale prices actually began to rise as [...]

August 6, 2009

• US Real Estate Shows Signs of Stability

  Residential property prices are soaring beyond expectations in many markets in the US with analysts and market observers starting to talk about a recovery and growing confidence in the real estate sector…
  Many are eagerly talking about a slowing of declines in home sales and median sales prices across the US. Phrases being used include ‘housing [...]

July 3, 2009

• Best Countries For Property Investment in 2009.

  Australia, China and Japan have topped the list of the best countries for property investment in an annual survey of the investment intentions of the world’s largest global real estate investors.
  Falling property prices and the lower Australian dollar has pushed the country to the top yet it wasn’t even mentioned in the Investment Intentions Asia [...]

July 1, 2009

• Smaller Homes Gain Popularity

  Property buyers in the US are looking at smaller places and are increasingly seeking out smaller homes that are cheaper to furnish and heat.
  As a result developers are looking to build smaller properties and make a point of offering well insulated homes and those with eco friendly features. They are also cheaper to build.
  Cheaper property [...]

June 15, 2009

• Home Sales Up In Collier County

  Report Shows 10 Percent Inventory Reduction
  NAPLES, Fla.-June 12, 2009- May home sales in all Naples geographic areas showed a substantial increase over 2008, according to a report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS
  ® (NABOR). The report, tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island).
  Overall pending home sales in the greater [...]

May 31, 2009

• Single Family Home Industry Shows Improvement

  Total new housing starts have dropped significantly. April figures show that the number of starts is down 54.2 percent from April, 2008. There were only 458,000 homes started in the month. The Commerce Department reports that new housing starts are dropped at levels not seen since 1959. New building permits, another indicator of the health [...]

May 4, 2009

• Breaking News on the Latest Florida Real Estate Legislation!

  The House and Senate have completed their 60th day of the 2009 legislative session. This is the day the Legislature should be adjourning “Sine Die.”  However, as you have likely heard, the 2009 regular session of the Florida Legislature has been extended for a full week to finalize the budget.  While the session was extended [...]

• 30 Days to Hurricane Season. Think of Flood Insurance

  The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1 – 30 days from now. Since flood insurance takes 30 days to become effective after a homeowner applies, today marks Floridians last chance to get flood insurance by the June 1 debut.
  “Past hurricane seasons have shown that storms can form as early as the beginning of June, so [...]

April 29, 2009

• Naples Realtor Earns Most Prestigious of all Industry Achievements

  Norwalk, CT- Reaching the pinnacle of her profession nationally, Jo Ellen Nash of Nash & Company was accepted as a Charter Member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, the most prestigious of all industry achievements.
  More than just a sales-driven recognition, the Top 5 in Real Estate Network® meets a need that heretofore has [...]

April 20, 2009

• Federal Support To Homeowners Affected By Foreclosures

  The Federal Reserve has finally issued a plan that is not just targeted at saving the banks but pushing the support down to the homeowners affected by the foreclosure crisis.
  Under the plan, 9.9 billion will be issued to 6 banks for loan modifications. The banks will then use this money to help borrowers get their [...]

April 3, 2009

• Foreclosures Getting Snatched Up

  It is not just the savvy investors who are realizing that now is the time to buy….during the perfect storm, where the combination of incredibly low interest rates (4.3%-5%), a nice selection of homes and low prices with negotiable Sellers, make for a buyer’s dream come true. Foreclosures are rapidly being bought up and not [...]

• New Rental Property Scam Alert!

  Here is a consumer alert notice that I received from WASHINGTON, DC,  on Mar 27, 2009 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) —-The National Association of Realtors(R)’ name is being used as part of a property rental scam in which rental property is offered to consumers, who are led to believe that NAR is functioning as an [...]

• Naples Real Estate Trends

  We’re all looking for tidbits of positive news, but there really is light at the end of the tunnel. Unemployment has been increasing in most U.S. states, and is especially tough in Florida in the hard hit construction market and related fields. It takes time for a market to unwind, and the circumstances that brought [...]

March 4, 2009

• IRS Makes up it's mind on Vacation Home 1031 Exchanges

  The IRS just released a ruling setting forth the guidelines for doing a 1031 exchange on a vacation home. The ruling is a Revenue Procedure (2008-16), which is what I call a ‘cookbook ruling,’ which essentially means that if you do certain things, you get a guaranteed result. In this case they will NOT challenge [...]

• Breaking Palmira Golf and Country Club News!

  There will be an announcement that the members have purchased Palmira Golf and Country Club from RONTO.  As you may know, RONTO ceased operations at Palmira on September 30th 2008.  Since that time the members have worked diligently with RONTO, attorneys and the homeowners to accomplish this task.
   
  The membership is now $ 30,000  non-refundable (instead [...]

March 1, 2009

• Naples Residential Sales up 41%!!

  It looks like the worst is over for the Naples real estate market. Based on the following numbers, our market has significantly improved, which is positive news for buyers who may be sitting on the fence, waiting for the market to bottom out.
   
  The following represents the number of closings reported in MLS as of 2/28/2009:
  Residential: [...]

February 26, 2009

• POSTIVE NEWS FOR THE FLORIDA HOUSING MARKET!

  Florida’s existing home sales rose in January, making it the fifth month in a row that sales activity showed increases in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). Existing home sales rose 24 percent last month with a total of 8,450 homes sold statewide compared [...]

February 19, 2009

• First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

  If you are a first time home buyer or have not owned a home in the last 3 years and you purchase a home this year of 2009… then it will be very likely that you will qualify for the $8,000 Tax Incentive which is almost FREE money that you won’t have to repay unless [...]

• Stimulus Package Signed Into Law

  As expected, President Obama today signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (aka “the stimulus”) into law.  Here’s a recap of how the stimulus bill became a law, and what the final plan means for home buyers.
  First, the Senate and the House passed their own ideal economic recovery bills.  The approved Senate bill included [...]

• Largest Land Owners

  Land is considered one of the best investments you can own. The saying goes “underneath it all is the land”. These people below would agree.
  The amount of land they hold is amazing. To put these numbers in perspective, the state of Rhode Island has only 776,957 acres.
   
  Top 10 Largest Landowners in United States
   
  1.  Ted Turner [...]