Another long time Bonita Springs Developer Bonita Bay Group was requested by its lenders to sell off its Golf Courses. Bonita Bay intends to sell 7 recreational clubs in Southwest Florida including Verandah, Twin Eagles, Bonita Bay in Bonita Springs, Shadow  and Mediterrra.

President Kitty Green has resigned and a consultant will be brought in to fend off posible Bankrupcy by Bonita Bay.

Buyers should be aware that this could affect the value of properties in these communities in the future.

For more information contact us at www.swfhomes.com

The community of Quail West off Bonita Beach Road has been know for it high end homes and estates.  Now the community has been sold for the value of one  of the estates.

In addition what was to be the community beach club in Bonita Springs was also auctioned off to private investors.

Ginn Corporation filled for bankruptcy in December of 2008 with this sale being one of the outcomes. Quail West was one of the five properties held by the Ginn Corp which included Floria, North Carolina and the Bahamas.

It is important for people looking at real estate in SW Florida have an experienced real estate company like ours.  Due to the hard economic times a number of communities and golf courses are in financial trouble.

If you are considering buying some sun shine then now may be the time.

The Median price of single-family homes in Lee County Florida in  January of 2008 was $234,000.  The January 2009 median price is now 59 percent lower at $94,900. In addition the number of homes sales increased from 338 in 1/2008 to 758 in 1/2009.

HOWEVER, statics are deceiving as the majority of sales has been for lower priced property with Lehigh Acres accounting for about  17 % and Cape Coral accounts for about 50% of the sales. Most of the sales in these areas are from bank owned forecloses.

The misconception that most buyers in the 300k range have is that they are going to get the same type of reductions on higher end homes and generally that is not the case. As you go up in price there are fewer foreclosures however there are some great buys.

You will see the biggest reductions in higher end properties in areas of communities that were built in the time frame of 2004-2007. Many of these individuals were investors or flippers and are loosing there properties to the bank. For example Miromar Lakes www.mlfla.com has some homes and condos that are selling for 50% what is owed on them.  You can purchase a 2100 sq foot condo for under 200k which the bank holds a 500k mortgage on.

For more information on great deals contact us today.

On February 10Th President Obama visited Fort Myers Florida to discuss among many subjects that in 2008 Fort Myers foreclosures lead the nation. With his visit it has put focus on SW Florida Real Estate. 

Getting the Ft Myers and Southwest real estate market moving is no small task with 10’s of thousands of foreclosures. However, it makes good sense to encourage people with money or good credit to buy  by giving them special incentives and very low interest rates when they buy a foreclosure. If a qualified buyer could get a 2% loan backed by the government that would give buyers the push they need  to purchase a home. The current South West Florida real estate market offers a great buying opportunity. Don’t try and time the market because like most you will not get it right. How many of us envisioned the financial and housing problems we have today a year ago? Not many.

If you are financing then a 2% lower interest rate difference could save you 140k over the life of a 30 year loan.  What this means is that  with these prices and low rates now is the time to take action.

Ok so you are a cash buyer. You also have an advantage because we can assist you in negotiating  a great deal on a bank owned home or condo as well as with motivated sellers.  

We are experiencing a very high level of interest in high end buyers as well as those in the 150 to 300k price range. People can not buy lower priced homes and are doing so becausr they were priced out of the market and not have a window of opportunity to live in sunny Southwest Florida.

2008 ended the year with home sales raising dramatically with a 146 percent increase over December 2007.

In Lee County Realtors  assisted in selling 1064 homes over 432 in December of 2007. However, and good news for buyers is that the median sales price fell 50% during the same period from $215,200.00 to $106,900.00.

Lee country real estate  for 2008 showed sale of  8217 existing properties which is a year over year gain of 43 percent.

This does not take into account new home sales or foreclosures sold at auction.

While there are large inventories in certain price ranges some of the higher end properties are holding there pricing better than lower price SW Florida real estate.

For those of you that want to enjoy the warm South West  Florida sunshine then now may be a good time buy especially with the low interest rates. What if we have more inflation then interest rates will go up. What that mean is you could pay tens of thousands of dollars more over a 30 year loan with just a few points difference.

Lets say you bought a condo or a house today for $300,000.00 and after you bought it the value went down by 10% or $30.000.00 and your loan was 5.5%.  You are down 30k for now but over time more than likely will recover that if the property value increases.  However lets say on a 300k loan  your rate was was  7.5%  for 30 years. On the 7.5% loan you would be paying about  $144,000.00 more for the same property over 30 years. Rates make a major difference so don’t try and time the bottom as it may not make financial sense.

For more information on Southwest Florida real estate contact one of our experienced agents at Lee Collier Realty toll free at 888-999-3208 or local at 239-992-7737.