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Within the last 2 years, even with the COVID19 worldwide pandemic taking the country to its economic knees, the construction of new homes in Southwest Florida has seen an impressive surge in activity. You can hardly drive down any residential street or within any gated community without seeing multiple job sites teaming with activity. While the sale of existing real estate inventory has been reported as extremely active with homes selling in just days in some instances, those looking for a brand new home to be built for them need to follow a different path. Selecting the homebuilder for you, whether within a private development offering inventory models by the builder who is developing it, or for a homesite you may already own, takes a little research and getting answers to a lot of questions. A Look at the Numbers In Southwest Florida, new-home, gated residential communities are developing [...]

It's no secret that the real estate market, specifically in Florida, is still experiencing a strong seller’s market, with some residential properties often selling for above the asking price and in just a few days. If you are thinking of cashing out, you may ask yourself how much should you spend in repairs when selling your home. Some real estate authorities point out that there are currently more homes coming onto the market than in the last two years, and that may begin to reduce the average price point. Still others feel that more inventory will not necessarily cause prices to fall. In either case, if you’re making the decision to sell your home in today’s market, there are things you’ll need to consider before signing a listing agreement with a REALTOR®. Some of the most critical questions you’ll need to answer relate to how much “home improvement” you [...]

How Fort Myers’ Historic River District Experienced a New Dawn If you’ve never experienced the Downtown Fort Myers Historic River District or haven’t been there since the early 2000’s, you owe it to yourself to revisit this charming and rejuvenated destination. Many people know the downtown area of Fort Myers solely for the location of the famed Thomas Edison Winter Home and Museum, located on palm-lined McGregor Boulevard less then a mile from downtown. But venturing east a few more blocks along McGregor will unveil countless new entertainment, cultural, historic, and culinary destinations that have brought new life to this now-thriving part of town. If you’ve been a Lee County resident since the 1980’s and 1990’s, you may recall that the downtown area was nothing at all compared to what has been created since then, with many thinking the area was doomed for bulldozing and could never amount to [...]

When you buy or build a home located on a golf course, you would expect to be able to enjoy the proximity to playing the game you love for the rest of your time there, or simply enjoy the expansive views of the course instead of looking out your window at other homes. But through a little-known legal maneuver, the owner of the land may be able to request a zoning change from the county officials who regulate land zoning to allow more homes and condominiums on what once was a golf course. That’s exactly what may happen at Riviera Golf Estates in the popular town of Naples, Florida. Developed by the Winfield Companies beginning in 1967 and reaching build-out around 2003, Riviera Golf Estates is home to about 700 single-family homes and condos on 94 acres of land off Rattlesnake Hammock Road. The company that now owns the [...]

When it comes to residential and commercial construction in Lee County, it's hard to imagine a more substantial growth pattern than that being undertaken along the Corkscrew Road development in southern Lee County. Long-time Southwest Floridians remember when Corkscrew Road was an east-west corridor with little or no development back in the 1980’s, with few rooftops along the eastern sector east of Interstate 75. That changed quickly, and as the result of explosive growth and a land zoning change passed by the Lee County Commission in 2015, Corkscrew Road is now a hotbed of development activity. There were over 80,000 acres of land that for 25 years was zoned to only allow 1 home per 10 acres of land. But in 2015, the Commission voted to increase that density to allow 1 house per acre, sparking a building boom unlike any ever experienced in Lee County. The caveat was [...]

Naples Real Estate Market Update March 2022 Market Insights This market is booming! We have no surprises there.  Some great takeaways for March are that we hit a new inventory high that we haven't seen since a year ago. We have been plateauing at around 1,000 new homes a month, and in March, we shot up to nearly 1,700 new homes hitting the market. That's exactly what our market needs, more inventory. This is a 28% increase from the month before. Alongside the 28% increase in inventory from February to March, came a drastically larger increase in sold homes. We had over 1,300 sold homes in March, which is 58% more than in February (885) Also, fun fact: A 2 bedroom home in Naples just hit an average price of $450,000 in collier county. That's an absurd increase from 1 year ago at $285,000. These numbers are mind-blowing and record-setting. How long will [...]

If you’re planning an upcoming move of your family and your household, you’ve most likely felt the stress and uncertainty that comes with that major endeavor. Packing up your whole life – often in a home you’ve lived in for a long time – can bring all types of questions, concerns and insecurity, and, choosing the right Florida moving company is a common question. Making a plan for choosing the right moving company here in SW Florida that will meet your specific needs can help you rest easier. Be Careful Who You Hire Unfortunately, there are many disreputable “companies” out there who make big promises but seldom deliver – literally and figuratively. You may know someone who has shared a horror story about how disastrous their move was. Many people find items missing or damaged when their household is delivered, and it is not uncommon for a company to [...]

Learn more about whether a home warranty is a smart buy for you... There are many companies that will provide a home warranty when you buy a home, and there are just as many questions about whether it makes financial sense to buy one. Many believe that a home warranty acts as a type of insurance policy for items not covered by your typical homeowner’s insurance policy, like foundation or structural damages. But in reality, a home warranty is a service contract between you and the provider that is designed to cover repair or replacement costs for other items in the home, like appliances, HVAC systems, pool equipment and other items. While it may appear that buying some peace of mind to protect you against the risk of paying to replace something that stops working makes perfect sense, there are many aspects of buying a home warranty you need [...]

With a well-known status as one of the richest cities in the country, Naples, Florida has numerous residential communities where multi-million dollar homes are commonplace. But for a real sense of the wealth here and the caliber of upscale, one-of-a-kind real estate, there are really 5 areas of the city that are the hub of high-end living. We will take a close look at 5 of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Naples. Naples is ranked second for the number of millionaires who live there, and sixth on the overall wealthiest cities list in the United States, based on per capita income. Countless celebrities, business tycoons and others have chosen to call Naples home, including Judge Judy Scheindlin, Richard Schulze, founder of Best Buy, Shahid Khan, owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, and countless more. Discerning real estate buyers and investors have helped propel a few Naples areas to the [...]

Over the last 24 months, the real estate market across the country has experienced explosive growth, and most industry experts don’t see a slowdown in 2022. Because of this we are seeing more and more real estate bidding wars in SW Florida. Although interest rates are rising slightly, current conditions are clearly in favor of the seller. Homes in all categories, from modest condos and modular homes to palatial mansions, are being marketed for considerably more than the same home would have brought just 2 years ago. The competition is so robust that homes are often being sold for much more than the original list price, in some cases up to tens of thousands of dollars more. Another phenomenon that the real estate market is experiencing for the first time in decades is buyer bidding wars, where 2 or several more potential buyers are feverishly trying to buy the [...]