August 2012 RSS Feed

When I first decided to visit Florida, I had a dream of Mediterranean style homes, set around sparkling pools, with dusty subtle colors reminiscent of Greece on a beautiful sunset evening.  I have to say that Florida was not exactly like that, where there is a huge choice in the style of homes available.  However, two communities stood out amongst the others, as close to my idea of a little bit of the Greece I remember from my youth.  Paseo in Fort Myers and Lely in Naples, both of these communities exclude all the wonderful qualities that I found so appealing in my youth, streets with houses and villas in a variety of colors line the streets, resort style free form pools surrounded by exotic landscaping, that make you feel you are on a permanent…

Waterfront homes in Naples are what living in Florida is all about.  Homes in Naples on the waterfront obviously sell for a premium, but there are many canals and waterways that weave their way inland, many of them have water deep enough for boat access, which means you can take your boat out into the Gulf of Mexico, cruise on down to Marco Island or head north to Fort Myers and Sanibel, if your feeling brave, then take a cruise down to Key West! The waters of the Gulf of Mexico are normally calm, with very little tide movement, the trip down to Key West is around 3 hours, but many people take their time and take in the scenery as they cruise along. 

Some of the larger waterfront communities are Vanderbilt, Port Royal, and Marco Island, Bayfront…

The Executive Club in Naples in Naples Florida is a great place to consider if you have a boat, there is the opportunity here to have access to a boat dock.  The Executive Club consists of low-level condos on the waterfront, located in The Moorings on Gulf Shore Boulevard, not far from Park Shore.   Naples is a wonderful place to a vacation property, if your thinking of finding a little piece of paradise to keep your boat in and to visit during our warm winter months, then the Executive Club in Naples could be for you.

By Joe Epifanio

I am being asked more and more whether "Please can you find me a Naples Property with low HOA fees?"  When you're looking for a property, after working out exactly how much you can afford for your new home in Naples, it's sometimes a shock to find out about all the extra fees.  Communities in Naples with HOA and condo fees, usually have wonderful amenities, from resort-style swimming pools to golf courses, clubhouses with fitness centers and much much more, but if you really don't want all of that and are looking for a nice community in a good neighborhood, there are lots of different options, Palm River  or example, or Naples Park, a great little community with all sorts of different houses nestled side by side, close to the Gulf. There are also lots of…

Black Bear Ridge in Naples is putting up their prices at the end of September 2013 by $10,000, so if your thinking of purchasing in this wonderful new community, it would be good to take advantage of their lower prices and choose your home before the end of September 2012. Naples, Florida has homes for sale to suit every lifestyle.

By Joe Epifanio

Well, here we are waiting for Tropical Storm Isaac to either pass us by, turn into a Hurricane, or turn inland and come ashore in Naples.  Living in Naples Florida, one of the many things that worry many homeowners moving to Naples, or thinking of purchasing a winter vacation home in Naples is the threat of hurricanes during the rainy season.  I have to admit, when I first moved here over 15 years ago,  I too, was concerned about the possibility of hurricanes,  I remember my very first hurricane,  I also remember how very calm my Floridian neighbors and friends were, they had been through this a few times, they all had their stories,  but the most reassuring thing was, no one was panicking!

 The USA has its share of wild and dangerous weather and…

Naples Real Estate sales are continuing to build in Florida.  Mike Huges the VP at Downing-Frye Realty, Inc explained that our pending sales In January 2012 were our highest January since 2005!  Same again in February, with 398 pending sales, March had 465 Pending sales and April was also the best since 2005, May and June also followed the same path.  July which is normally a slower month in being in the middle of the Summer slow down, also never missed a beat with another very strong pending sales list.  That makes seven strong homes sales months for the first part of 2012.  Altogether we had a 17% increase in pending sales in Naples Florida compared to the same time period in 2011. Inventory is continuing to diminish and prospective buyers are rising. …

There is a huge pent-up desire in the USA to buy a house, with the economy being depressed for the last few years,  many people have not been able to afford to move house,  either through being upside down with their loans or sadly losing jobs.  People who have been trying to sell homes during this period have found they are up against the hard competition, the housing inventory was growing daily, that,  together with hard to get mortgage's kept many people from moving house.  First time buyers in Naples,  who have waited until the market levelled off before they jumped into owning a house, are now finding that the inventory is getting thin, first time buyers represent 32%  of purchasers, in a good economy they would represent around 40% of buyers, the…

Want a piece of paradise, it's closer and more affordable than you think!  More and more people are deciding to buy their own piece of paradise down here in Naples.  If you love the area and do not want to stay in hotels, then a second home could be for you, can't afford it I hear you say, take into account that your vacation home is only going to be used for short periods of time, so rather than it sit empty for months on end, many owners decide to rent out the second homes as a vacation home.  Naples has a season, it runs from December to April, although the height of the season is January to March.  During this time Naples comes alive with a huge influx of vacationers, snowbirds,  visiting from the cold frozen north. 

So, if you're considering a…

It seems like new developments are really taking off in Naples, the ground has been cleared in Lantana at Olde Cypress, Chiasso at Fiddler's Creek is underway with new models hopefully ready by summer of 2012. Since 2006 new home construction in Naples has slowed down, where we were seeing new homes and developments popping up almost overnight, the choice was overwhelming, For a while it seemed like construction sites produced nothing but grass, but all that has changed, Ole in Lely is busy building its final phase and new homes are also being built at Lakoya at Lely Resort with further development planned once the current neighborhood is built out. If you want to find out about new construction, we can help.

By Joe Epifanio