Naples Bonita Springs Estero Florida

What's a razzleberry? That's exactly what I asked the waitress at the Trail Cafe in North Naples on Tamiami Trail. Well, "razzleberry" is a mixture of whatever berries are in season. Today, trying to make somewhat of a day off from work, my wife and I ventured out for breakfast. Berries of the day were very tart blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. The razzleberries are baked into the pancakes with an extra dollop on top. Sprinkled with a very light dusting of powdered sugar...mmmm.

The swimming pool is at 84 degress and climbing...I think there will be a few extra laps this afternoon.

The Trail Cafe open for breakfast and lunch. It is located conveniently to everyone in North Naples and Bonita Springs. It's on U.S. 41, just south of Wiggins Pass.

Enjoy when you're in the area.

Bonita Springs - Estero Market Watch
August 2009
(Based on data from the local board of Realtors® multiple listing service.)

The August 2009 Bonita-Estero single-family homes sales volume increased nearly 17 percent over the same period in 2008.   Some 79 single-family, detached villas, and attached villa homes were sold in August 2009. The average number of sales per month over the last 24 months is 68 homes. The 24-month average number of sales per month also increased 4 plus percent from last month.

Go to the complete Market Watch Report with downloadable trend charts.

Naples Real Estate Market Watch
August 2009
(Based on data from the local board of Realtors® multiple listing service.)

The August 2009 Naples single-family homes sales volume increased 41 percent over the same period in 2008.   Some 340 single-family, detached villas, and attached villa homes were sold in August 2009. The average number of sales per month over the last 24 months is 256 homes. The 24-month average number of sales per month also increased 4 percent from last month.

Read the complete Market Watch Report and dounwload all the treand charts.

Go to the Market Watch Reports

This is not exactly a blog post about real estate or the real estate market, but it is one for homeowners with an inground swimming pools.

For the first time I'm living in a home with an inground pool. We've been in this home for more than three years now and I always maintained the pool myself. How hard can it be? Well, it's really not very hard but it is time consuming with weekly attention absolutely required for that crystal clear, water glistening, totally refreshing, jump-into-me, inviting look!

I've watched and observed automatic pool cleaners at many, many homes and I was always skeptical, and there are so many. Which one to choose?

The hands-down recommendation from two different pool product suppliers is the Great White from Pentair pool products. It is also the choice of some of my neighbors. So, I "took the plunge" and bought one.

When I first put it in the pool, my skepticism remained. It just didn't seem like it would meet my satisfaction but the engineer in me was determined. Over the next several weeks of tweaking the length of the tubing and the suction pressure...bingo! This is the best thing since sliced bread. The adjustments will be different for every pool/filter/pump combination so, just stick with it. After successful adjustment the Great White will cover 90%+ of the pool including the walls. It routinely climbs up the wall to the water line. At the water line, the buoyancy bar exits the water, loses its effect, and it eventually turns and heads back down or across the wall. It really is amazing. However, too much suction will have it climbing above the water line and drawing in air. I have had this unit in operation for some six to eight months so I feel quite comfortable with my conclusions.

My weekly maintenance chore is now reduced to 1) dumping in a small bag of shock and 2) cleaning the filter element. Yes, clean the filter weekly! The Great White is so efficient at vacuuming that silt and other material will significantly reduce the water flow through the system. Reduced water flow slows down the Great White and also reduces the number of times the water in the pool cycles through the filter.

I should also mention that the pool is very typical for Florida and is within a screened lanai so there are no leaves or other larger items to pick up. However, the Great White has an "auto-lift" that periodically raise the unit about 3/4 of an inch to allow leaves to easily be vacuumed up.

Go get one!

This seasonally adjusted data is provided by the Census Bureau and this graph was published today in the Naples Daily News. It very likely has been reproduced in newspapers all across the country.

Why? It's good news!

While the economy is still hurting in many respects, it is also starting to show signs of improvement. Just look at 1) the Dow Jones since February of this year and 2) the ever increasing levels of existing-home sales fueled by the lower prices.

These events and generally positive outlook makes people feel good and that drives the buying process. Particularly when making a major purchase like a primary home or a second/seasonal home.

In a couple of days I will review the August 2009 home re-sale data for the local southwest Florida market.

One of largest nationwide home builders working in southwest Florida just raised the base price for new homes to be built.

Today it is reported in the Naples Daily News that London Bay Homes has reached an agreement to purchase 50 single-family and villa homes sites from the financially troubled Bonita Bay Group. London Bay Homes has been a long time builder of homes in Mediterra and sees this move as a long term commitment to the upscale high-end Mediterra development and to the current residents.

Bonita Bay has been actively marketing its amentity and recreation clubs for sale to raise capital. So far, they have reached an agreement with Shadow Wood at the Brooks to sell to the members the golf club and the Commons club. It was also reported today that the members of Mediterra are close to finalizing a deal of their own to purchase the golf club.

www.BobPisa.com

We all knew that sooner or later this would happen. Centex (now Pulte the nation's #1 home builder) has managed the inventory well through the downturn. New product was only built to order whether single-family or carriage/coach home. This has resulted, finally, in a reduction of inventory. This coupled with the lower prices fueling demand is now leading to a situation that will support a price increase.

The Granada series home in Bridgetown, at the Plantation, are increased by $17,000.

Incentives are still being offered as follows:

$15,000 design center for single-family homes

$10,000 design center for carriage and twin villa homes

$10,000 Pulte mortgage credit

View more about The Plantation on my website.

Previously reported in the Bonita Daily News, the Bonita Bay Group will close all the clubs it operates, if they are not sold, after September 30 as a result of financial difficulties with running the clubs and the huge liability on the books for members' deposits. Bonita Bay Group suspended its policy of refunding member deposits upon request some time ago due to the large cash drain for resigning members. Bonita Bay Group operates clubs in Verandah, Bonita Bay, Mediterra, Shadow Wood, and Twin Eagles.

Reported in today's Bonita Daily News is that the Boards of Shadow Wood Country Club and the Commons Club at the Brooks agreed to buy both from Bonita Bay Group for $8.3 million dollars and waive the company's responsibility to refund members' deposits.

...and not just Naples but all of southwest Florida. South Florida was one of, if not, the first areas to burst the housing bubble. It only stands to reason that it will be the first to recover. We're already seeing it.

'Buy when everyone is selling and sell when everyone is buying', how often have we heard that? Well, the real estate investors are eating there way through what the housing bubble has left behind. And I'm not talking about $50,000 specials, or $150,000 fixer-uppers either. How about one investor who went through Port Royal, Naples most affluent areas, and purchased three properties for nearly $14 million! These properties all closed on the same day in May 2009. Do you think someone spending that kind of money is looking into the future? In addition to the high acquisition cost, there will be high carrying costs to hold the property until pay day.

Another major factor that's predicted to drive the southwest Florida recovery are the baby boomers. They have started to retire and the droves are yet to come and they are planning/buying right now.

We all don't have $14 million dollars to spend on speculative investments, but many of us have saved/planned for the future and investing in that is worthwhile. It makes sense to get on with it and get on with it now.

There's one more quote I like a lot, I believe its origin is Warren Buffet..."By time you see the bandwagon, it's too late..."

www.BobPisa.com

[Update: I missed one! Same investor, two months earlier made the first Port Royal purchase of 2009 for $4,75MM...]

[Update, update: A different investor must have been Christmas shopping in Port Royal, two properties closed at the end of January for $15MM...]

The West Bay Club has just announced close-out pricing for remaining new units in the Jasmine Bay North Tower. There are twelve select residences from the second floor up to the 19th floor. All model units (01/06, 02/05, and 03/04) are available. Some units are "desginer ready" and some units are fully built out.

Check out West Bay Club on my website and contact me for more details.