Ginny's Blog

Real Estate is still a great investment if you know how and when to buy.

Because there has been so much bad publicity about the real estate market peeking out I wanted to share some of my thoughts with you.

The front page of the Naples Daily news said that we have had a 31% decrease in sales this year but they forget to mention that prices are all at least 30-40% higher than last year. That means that fewer buyers can afford to buy! I heard there was another bad article in USA today too....I wish the reporters and the media would be quiet because they are the ones causing a change and hurting our market!

Also high end pre-construction is still going strong. The properties over $ 1 million are still selling in record numbers.

Aqua sold over 40 and they start at $1,950,000, Moraya Bay has sold over 40 and they start at $3million, Tavira at Bonita Bay sold more than 40 and prices are all over $1 million and they raised prices $100,000-200,000 the first week.

The only thing I see happening is there is a lot of properties on the market under $450,000 from investors flooding the market to make their 30-40% appreciation! In developments like Villagio, Bermuda Links, & Cypress Woods there was nothing on the market last year because they sold out at the $200,000- 325,000 price range and now the investors have flooded the market trying to get their profit and sell the same units for $330,000 to $450,000. I don't think it is a bad market if investors have raised their prices so they can make $100,000+ in less than a year. Where else in the world can they make that kind of profit with 10-20% down?

There are around 600 condos on the market in Naples, Bonita Springs & Estero Florida in this price range that are pre-construction or that will be finished in the year 2006. Although that sounds like a lot...according to Sunshine MLS 269 have sold so far this year...that is about 130 a month! If that rate stays the same most of them will be sold this year!

They can never rebuild those same condos for the prices they were selling for last year because building cost, cement and tile has gotten much more expensive. I do not see a big real estate bubble....the only thing I see is that property will not appreciate at 30-40% a year...it can't...maybe only 10% but that still isn't bad and if investors can close and hold on to their properties for a year and a day they will be able to put more profit in their pocket.

There are also a lot of high-rises on the market both resale and pre-construction 274 approximately (built 2003-2006) but 127 have sold so far this year. These condos are priced under $2mill (this number does not include developer pre-construction sales) There are more high-rise condo's over $2mill on the market but I did not include those in this report. They can not build high-rise condos for what they built them for before because high-rise condos usually have great water views and there is hardly any land left and building costs have gone way up.....!
We have the best market in the nation and with all the baby boomers coming to town it is predicted to stay the best for the next 10-15 years!

If you want to buy or sell real estate call me at 800-683-9997....if I can't help you I will find you one of America's Best Agents in your area to help you make sure all your transactions are successful!