The Naples housing market is mirroring the weakening trend seen throughout the country.

Both year-over-year and month-over-month numbers are down in terms of number of homes sold. And while the median home price in July 2010 — $201,000 — is up nearly $30,000 from July 2009, the median sales price dropped $10,000 from a month ago.

The statistics are part of the Naples Area Board of Realtors monthly look at the housing market. The report shows a continuing dip in the median price of homes selling for less than $300,000, which represents about 60 percent of the market. The median price for homes in that segment was $15,000 less than a month ago and about $5,000 less than in 2009.

Median home prices dropped in three of the five categories the board charts, with the only gains in the $500,000 to $1 million range and homes selling for more than $2 million. Accordingly, the only areas in the study to see any significant increase in median price were in coastal Collier County.

John Steinwand, president of Naples Realty Services, said the high-end second home market traditionally spurs growth throughout the county and that an uptick in coastal sales bodes well for the future.

“It indicates that the market is stabilized and is increasing in value,” he said.

The total number of closed sales in July was down 27 percent from June and 20 percent from July 2009. That’s slightly better than the numbers in Lee County, which saw sales drop 26.5 percent year-over-year.

Phil Wood, president of John R. Wood Real Estate, said July was the first month this year his company didn’t top 2009 numbers.

For the 12 months ending July 2010, the total number of sales is still up considerably from the previous year. But the gap between those numbers is closing.

Despite a decrease in sales, the number of homes on the market dipped slightly, except in the less than $300,000 market where it increased by about 200 homes.

Ross W. McInstosh, a real estate broker and investor, said he sees the bulk of the negative impact coming from the end of the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit, which offered an $8,000 payment to buyers who haven’t owned a home in the past three years.

“The government was giving people $8,000 to buy a house,” he said. “So all those buyers bought before the tax credit ended. People who would have been first time buyers in the second half of the year already bought a house. So we were kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

The biggest impediment to the market in McIntosh’s mind is a continuing weakness in employment. High unemployment has shown no signs of abating and without jobs, people can’t buy property.

“I’m not yet persuaded we’ve somehow turned a corner on that,” he said.

A lagging job market puts more of an emphasis on discretionary home buyers, people looking for a second home, vacation property or who have the financial means to trade up in the market. Even record-low mortgage rates, which this week dropped to an average of 4.44 percent, haven’t been enough to spur on an increase in sales.

“(The job market) will certainly be an influence,” Wood said. “We hope that with corporate earnings up, unemployment doesn’t continue at this level.”

Courtesy of Naples News

Just a couple of miles from a bustling Fifth Avenue South in Naples, tucked in the mangroves off the Gordon River, 50 boat docks sit empty along acres of waterfront property.

The late John Pulling, a prominent Collier County land investor and namesake of Airport-Pulling Road, built the docks and slips just across the water from his home at least 10 years ago, said his heir, John Alec Pulling Jr.

The docks have sat empty since, the younger Pulling said.

“It’s kind of a waste of good space,” acknowledged Pulling, son and manager of the family estate.

How much longer will that be the case? It may change after the 10.5-acre tract of waterfront property goes to public auction at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

“It’s a regular foreclosure auction on the courthouse steps. It would be like a bank taking it over, only we’re the bank,” Pulling said.

“It will take no more than five minutes,” he said of the auction.

The property is adjacent to and south of the Pulling property that was to go to the city of Naples in the donor’s hopes it would some day become a public boat park. That has yet to happen as the city passed up the opportunity, sending the heirs to Collier County government officials in an attempt to complete the late John Pulling Sr.’s intentions, his son said.

Meanwhile, as many area boaters long for more access to Collier County waterways, they may wonder when they pass the foreclosure auction sign near the southern Pulling tract: “What’s to come of this?”

John Alec Pulling said he doesn’t know yet.

Wednesday’s auction is at the Collier County courthouse annex, which is Building L in the county government complex on the corner of Airport-Pulling Road and U.S. 41 East.

The property going to auction was sold in 2002 to another well-known Collier County businessman, hotel owner and land investor Philip McCabe, through his company, Gordon River Development LLC.

McCabe’s plan was to build a condominium development there called Intermezzo.

“Fortunately, I didn’t build it. I recognized the bursting bubble,” McCabe said.

The Pulling estate acted as McCabe’s mortgagee, so it foreclosed on McCabe’s interests in the property in November, the two representatives said.

“Phil (McCabe) got kind of caught in the economic downturn and got trounced. We have a lot of sympathy for him, but we’ve got to get something going there,” Pulling said.

Boater Lisa Oliver, upon first passing the foreclosure auction sign, was among those who assumed the parcel was being sold. Capt. Oliver, similar to several others, thought the average, non-yacht owning boater was losing all hope for more public water access within the city of Naples, believing the future park was to be auctioned off to a developer for good.

The fate of that abutting property to the north of this site remains unclear, but it’s not being auctioned, John Alec Pulling said.

The Pulling parcels along the Gordon River are attractive not only to the boating public but to many area developers because they remain among the few large undeveloped properties within city limits.

Naples Mayor Bill Barnett acknowledged the value of the area.

“I would love that piece of property,” Barnett said. “Of course, it comes down to numbers, but people need to know about this.”

McCabe bought the property for more than $13 million from Pulling Sr. before he died in 2005, John Alec Pulling said.

McCabe got the permits to develop three luxury condominium towers on the property, said Robin Singer, Naples planning director.

The zoning allows for 12 residential units per acre, she said.

Without rezoning or new permitting, a new owner would only be able to complete McCabe’s development plans, Singer said.

The docks and slips haven’t been inspected in years and the only other structure on the property, at 101 Goodlette-Frank Road, is a temporary sales office for the planned development, said Dave Lykins, Naples community services director.

It would be too costly for the city to purchase the property in today’s economy and notice of the auction comes along too late, said Naples City Manager Bill Moss, who became aware of it about two weeks ago.

“Even if the city did want it, it could not move that fast,” agreed Naples Councilman Doug Finlay.

Development of the tract wouldn’t conflict with any government goals, said Singer, adding that such a project would increase property values and tax income.

It’s a prime piece of real estate with 24 of the 50 boat slips covered, Pulling said. His father chose to build them, foreseeing that getting permits for covered boat slips within the city was becoming more challenging.

The docks run all along the banks of the Gordon River property and around to the southern end.

McCabe has a $14 million mortgage on the property and could potentially buy it back for $7 million if he is the highest bidder, Pulling said.

“I think the auction is just a procedure,” McCabe said.

A prospective buyer and plan for the property is already in the works, he said.

However, Pulling said he knew of no such buyer or plan.

Perhaps it’s McCabe looking to buy it back at the courthouse steps, Pulling pondered aloud.

McCabe laughed when asked it he is interested in the property again, saying he has no use for it now.

And, as for his alluding to the sale and plan for the property being somewhat of a done deal, McCabe would say no more than: “I think it will be a use the whole town would want.”

Courtesy of Naples News

In real estate, existing resale home inventory is a leading indicator in determining the health of a market. Typically, a balanced real estate market is approximately 12 months of inventory.

Yet, when the economy took a dive a few years ago, inventory skyrocketed as homes sat on the market for long periods of time, leaving many Naples and Bonita Springs neighborhoods with several years worth of resales.

Today, however, as sales increase, inventories in many neighborhoods are teetering on the edge of being healthy.

Take for instance Bay Colony, whose single-family homes and condominiums have experienced a considerable drop in inventory. This time last year, Bay Colony was reporting 2.5 years worth of single-family homes and 2.6 years of condos. Today, the market is close to being balanced, with inventory that is down to just under one year and 1.4 years, respectively.

While significant, other communities like the Colony at Pelican Landing, with 14 current listings and 10 closed sales in the past 12 months, have seen astounding changes in inventory, from 11 years worth of single-family homes a year ago to 1.4 years today and 3.1 years of condos in 2009 compared to 1.1 years in 2010.

The Vineyards has also experienced an amazing recovery from 3.1 years of single-family homes in 2009 to 1.1 years in 2010. Similarly, Pelican Bay condos have seen a huge drop down to 1.2 years compared with 5.7 years worth in 2009.

Savvy buyers taking advantage of the low interest rates and competitive prices continue to absorb Southwest Florida’s existing inventory. For example, 267 waterfront properties have sold in the last 12 months in Park Shore, The Moorings and Seagate versus 161 sales the 12 months prior.

Not every community is as fortunate, but throughout Naples and Bonita Springs the majority of neighborhoods are showing a substantial drop in inventory in 2010, which bodes well for Southwest Florida.

John R. Wood Realtors is the oldest real estate company in Southwest Florida with 53 years of experience in the market. They have eight offices from Naples to Sanibel, and employ 350 agents and staff. The John R. Wood Research Department produces monthly statistical reports that provide market knowledge for agents and customers in the Naples, Bonita and Estero areas.

Courtesy of Naples News

It’s not a buyer’s market.

It’s not a seller’s market either.

The Naples area real estate market has reached a balance, according to a quarterly report by the Naples Area Board of Realtors.

The inventory of homes has hit a three-year low since NABOR began tracking the numbers in 2007. At a press conference Friday, Naples brokers and Realtors said the market has reached an equilibrium, with an 11.3-month supply of available homes.

The report shows the inventory dropped 9 percent in the second quarter of this year to 8,845 homes, down from 9,681 a year ago. In the quarter, the $2 million and up price range saw the biggest drop in inventory – 24 percent.

(more…)

If you haven’t been to Fifth Avenue South lately, then you haven’t been to Fifth Avenue. That’s the prevailing opinion of many city leaders, as well as merchants, restaurateurs and shoppers, when they describe the changes taking place on downtown Naples’ main street as they bring the world famous avenue back to its authentic and historic roots.

Like all things, Fifth Avenue has evolved over the years to suit the changing needs, trends and economic conditions of the times. During the most recent boom, when housing prices soared and business was roaring, the street grew increasingly exclusive, featuring high-end restaurants and merchants and offering few modestly priced venues for shopping or dining.

“At that time, tourists and even locals were looking for luxury,” said Naples-based Realtor Stephen Kingsly.

(more…)

WCI Communities Inc. has survived a harrowing bankruptcy reorganization.

Now, it’s back in business.

The Bonita Springs-based developer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection two years ago after a meteoric rise to the top of Southwest Florida’s homebuilding business. Its communities include Gulf Harbour, Gateway and Pelican Landing in Lee County.

Now, WCI president David Fry says the company’s on the comeback trail: It plans to open a sales center and start building soon in one of its largest communities, Pelican Preserve in east Lee County.

But it won’t be business as usual, he said. The company will focus on the core business of building mid-level homes. Gone for the time being are the luxury towers that almost destroyed it. There’s too much excess supply in that sector for new construction to be profitable.

The company will continue as a major presence on the east and west coasts of Florida but will be selling off its communities in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, Fry said.

But WCI did cheat death.

“We just stuck our heads down and did what we had to do,” said Fry, who started with the company in 1995 as head of the amenities division.

He came to the helm of the company in its darkest hour: Aug. 1, 2008, a Friday, when entrepreneur Carl Icahn told him president Jerry Starkey had resigned. Icahn offered the job to Fry, who accepted.

Then, Fry said with a wry smile, Icahn told him, “Monday we’re going to file Chapter 11. I didn’t know the difference between Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 (straight bankruptcy). I thought I was managing a company that was liquidating.”

Contrary to popular expectations in the real estate world, WCI did not disappear.

Fry persuaded creditors to cooperate – they now own most of the company – and stayed focused on keeping up the amenities in WCI’s existing communities.

“Looking back, that’s very important,” he said, because existing residents didn’t sell in a panic. “And it made it easier when we went to sell one of our 900 homes.”

Courtesy of News Press

Naples Total pending sales increase 47% – A 9% increase in median closed price

July 2010 – The Naples area board of realtors (NABOR), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), issued findings recently indication that all locations within the greater Naples area experienced significant increases in both pending and closed sales in the month of May 2010.

Itʼs no wonder that Mayʼs activity was sos strong. The whole year has been strong, at least for our company, said Mike Hughes, General Manager and Vice President of Downing-Frye Realty, Inc. “We had well over 3,000 showings booked through our receptionists during May and weʼve averaged nine closings a day for the last five months. We havenʼt seen activity like this since the 2004-2005 bubble years.”

All geographic areas of Naples experienced an increase in pending and overall sales for the 12 month period from April 2009 through May 2010 as compared to the previous 12 month period. Ranging from a 33% increase in East Naples to a 56% increase in South Naples, overall pending sales for the most recent 12 month period increased by an average of 47%. (Closed sales alone accounted for a 48% increase with 8,152 closed sales compared to 5,495 closed sales for the previous 12 month period).

During May 2010, the number of overall pending sales increased 9% to 887 contracts compared to 812 contracts for May 2009.

Single family pending sales for May 2010 increased by 10% compared to 433 contracts in May 2009.

Closed sales of condominiums in Naples increased by 25% in May 2010 compared with 318 closed sales in May 2009. Pending sales of condominiums for the 12 month period ending May 2010 priced under $300,000 increased by 69% with 3,573 contracts compared to 2,117 contracts for the previous 12 month period.

The available inventory of single family and condominiums decreased by 10% to 9,006 listings in May 2010 compared to 10,046 listings during the same month last year.

Bonita Springs and Estero: Single family luxury homes sales strong

The Bonita Springs – Estero real estate markets saw less listings and less sales in May 2010. There were 191 single family homes that came on the market (similar to the previous month), but there were only 78 closed sales (down 25% from the previous month.)

There were 206 condominiums listed in May 2010 compared with 302 listed in January 2010. Condominium closed sales showed their lowest unit numbers in May 2010 with 84 closed sales compared to 74 for the previous month.

Closed sales of single family homes priced under $200,000 remained consistent with 43 closed sales, compared with 49 closed sales for each of the previous two months. Closed sales of condominiums priced under $200,000 were less than previous months with 64 closed sales compared with 104 and 99 closed sales for April and March 2010.

At the other end of the market in the million plus price range, there was one condominium closed sale compared with three closed sales in April and three in March. Single family homes in the million plus price range continued to sell with nine closed sales in April 2010 for a total of 34 million dollar plus single family closed sales year-to -date.

Communities that experienced the most luxury sales were the Brooks, West Bay Club, Palmira and along Bonita Beach. The average million dollar plus sale was $1,438,500.

Sales of existing single-family homes in Lee County remain steady even as median prices continue to climb.

The median price for area homes reached $96,900 in May compared with $88,500 in May 2009 — a 9 percent jump, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Florida Association of Realtors.

Home sales rose 3 percent from 1,417 homes sold in May 2009 to 1,460 homes sold last month.

But sales fell slightly from April’s 1,473 homes sold — 13 more than were sold in May.

The slowdown in home sales was expected with federal tax credit programs such as those for first-time home buyers closing up, said Steve Koffman, a real estate broker with Century 21 Sunbelt in Cape Coral.

But the bounty of foreclosure homes that was available a year ago has already begun to dry up. In May, 847 foreclosure lawsuits were filed in the county: That’s 976 fewer than in the same month a year ago.

“Some of the slowdown that you’re seeing is that $60,000 homes don’t look as good today as they did six months ago,” Koffman said.

Brett Ellis, a real estate agent with Remax Realty Group in Fort Myers, agrees and said he expects to see a drop in foreclosure sales for June.

He said there are fewer bargain homes because there are fewer foreclosures. Foreclosures have dropped partly because banks are more willing to do short sales, Ellis said.

Having fewer foreclosures coming into the market has helped boost the median prices for Lee County homes, Ellis said.

Koffman has started seeing more traditional home listings in the marketplace, where people aren’t selling their home due to a foreclosure or the need for a short sale.

Even with prices ticking up, homes here are a bargain for people looking to live in sunny Florida.

Diana Myers, a Bloomington, Ill., resident, remembers her annual winter vacations to Captiva as a child and has always had a fondness for the area. Now, she and her husband are looking here to buy their first home together.

“When we saw how the housing market was, and saw how it was a buyer’s market, we thought it was a great opportunity and hoped to take advantage of that.”

Myers toured homes in the $150,000 range and saw a blend of traditional homes and foreclosed homes.

And this is the season to buy homes in Lee County. In the past few years, the real estate industry has seen a surge in interest during June and July for buyers looking at property while kids are out of school, while sales for off-water homes remain steady, Koffman said.

Nationally, the median price in May was $179,600, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.

However, last month’s sales fell 2.2 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.66 million.

Existing home sales have climbed 25 percent from the 4.5 million annual rate they hit in January 2009 — the lowest level of the recession. But they’re still down 22 percent from the peak rate of 7.25 million in September 2005.

Federal tax credits of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and up to $6,500 for existing homeowners helped prop up sales in May. The deadline to get a signed sales contract and qualify was April 30. Buyers must close their purchases by June 30.

While median home prices are on the rise, Koffman said Lee County real estate is still experiencing a healing process.

“This is not going to be a simple process,” Koffman said. “Our economy is working its way out of the mess that it’s in and the overbuilding is correcting itself.”

Courtesy of News Press

Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest level on record, giving consumers added incentive to lock in low payments on home purchases and refinances.

Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for 30-year fixed loans sank to 4.69 percent, from 4.75 percent last week.

That’s the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. The previous record of 4.71 percent was set in December. Rates for 15-year and five-year mortgages also hit lows.

Mortgage rates have fallen over the past two months. Investors wary of the European debt crisis and the turbulent stock market have shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds, driving down yields. Mortgage rates tend to track the yields on long-term Treasury debt.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to an average of 4.13 percent, the lowest on records dating to September 1991 and down from 4.2 percent a week earlier.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.84 percent, down from 3.89 percent a week earlier. That was also the lowest on Freddie Mac’s records, which only date back to January 2005.Average rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 3.77 percent from 3.82 percent. That was the lowest average since May 2004.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.

The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 a point for 30-year, 5-year and 1-year loans. The average fee for 15-year loans was 0.6 of a point.

Courtesy of News Press

Prices on houses and condominiums on Sanibel and Captiva have dropped to their lowest levels in almost a decade.

And there are many for sale: more than 16 percent of properties on Captiva and 8 percent on Sanibel.

The sagging economy has finally caught up with the rich, and real estate experts wonder when the downward spiral in prices will stop.

“We’ve had drops for several years now and it looks like they’re bottoming out,” said Ray Ochester, managing broker for John Naumann & Associates. “They’re not there yet, but it’s getting close.”

(more…)