Posts Tagged ‘ Sunbelt ’

Are you tired of bad News? – I am

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

Tired of bad news?
Watching the news, reading the paper, reading the headline news online. Nothing but bad news. I am tired of it.

Here are some good news for you:

The Feds keep the interest rates at almost 0% for at least until 2013.  Interest Rates for a 30 year fixed mortgage dropped from 4.45% to 4.37%

Florida kept its AAA Credit Rating

Price per Barrel of Oil dropped to $ 84.00

And here are some current housing numbers for SW Florida:

From January to June 2011 we sold (6 Month)

8,337 Single Family Homes and

2,315 Condos

From January to December 2005 (12 Month) (Real Estate Boom!!) we sold

9,842 Single Family Homes and

3,675 Condos

From January to December 2006 (12 Month) (Real Estate Boom!!) we sold

8,144 Single Family Homes and

2,618 Condos

The Median Price in June 2011 is $ 101,500

The Median Price in June 2010 was $ 93,000

In June 2011 we sold 1,233 Homes and only 1,013 Homes were newly listed

June 2011 we sold 1,233 homes

Out of those 1,233 homes were 318 Bank Foreclosures, 241 Short Sales and 674 conventional sales.

Monika Wilson

Century 21 Sunbelt

2378 Surfside Blvd

Cape Coral, Florida 33991

http://www.spotfloridarealestate.com

http://www.floridaisforyou.com

http://www.cipsglobalrealtors.com

Moving with Pets to SW Florida, Health Risks, Tips, dog friendly parks, beaches and restaurants

Friday, July 22nd, 2011
My German Shepherds

My German Shepherds

A lot of you guys are thinking about moving to SW Florida and
some of you will bring their pet (s). I have 3 German Shepherds and 3 Cats
myself and I would like to share some tips with everyone.

Florida is sub tropic and with that there are a few things pet
owners need to know.

1) Heat: Specially in summer time it can get hot, pets need a
lot of water, shady places to go and should never stay in a parked car, not
even with the windows open. There are cooling vests available if you take your
dog for a longer hike or training.

2) Heart Worms: is a deadly disease which is being transferred
by mosquitoes. It is very important to have your pet on preventive medicine,
like heart guard, revolution or others http://www.placervillevet.com/canine%20heartworm.htm

3) Pythiosis: is a fungi like illness which is being transferred
to the pet through fresh water plants. Most dogs are immune against this
disease but some are not, Pythiosis is most of the time deadly for the animal.
There are tests and immunization available. http://www.pythiosis.com

4) Alligators, snakes and frogs. There are Alligators, snakes
and poisonous frogs in Florida. Most of the time they will leave you and your
pet alone. Best tip, “use common sense”.

5) Flees and Ticks are very common in Florida as well, good
preventive medication is always helpful. In choosing a tropical preventive
medication, your pet should be able to stay without those nasty parasites.

I thought everyone might want to know where to go with their dogs. Here is a list of Lee
County dog parks and beaches:

http://www.leeparks.org/pdf/Dog-friendly-facilities-for-web.pdf

Plus the brand new Dog Heaven Park at the Shell Factory:

Shell
Factory site of dedication to new

Dog friendly
Restaurants:

http://www.bringfido.com/restaurant/city/cape_coral_fl_us/

Monika Wilson

Century 21 Sunbelt

http://www.spotfloridarealestate.com

Monika Wilson has gone mobile

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Monika Wilson, Century 21 Sunbelt has gone mobile!

I want to tell you about a great new way you can search for homes – right from your mobile phone.  I have partnered with Smarter Agent, the nation’s leader in mobile real estate technology, to provide this mobile search capability to ALL of my clients!

My tool will allow you to search homes for sale anytime, anywhere – right from your cell phone!

Wherever you are, driving, or walking around looking at properties, you’ll have access to all of the MLS information on the homes for sale around you, with just one touch of a button on your cell phone.   Hit “Call to See” and you will be put right in touch with ME, ready and waiting to serve all of your real estate needs.

It’s so easy to do!  Just text M4461 to 87778, and the application will be sent to your phone by text message.  Just click on it and the application downloads right away. Some cell phone providers require to call them (*2) to unblock “87778” before you can download the app. App does not work with international cell phone numbers (yet)

I know you will love this great new way to look for homes. So don’t delay – start searching for your dream home TODAY!

Always at your service,

Monika Wilson

Century 21 Sunbelt

2378 Surfside Blvd, Cape Coral, Florida 33991

Phone: 239 558 2010

http://www.spotfloridarealestate.com

http://mobile.smarteragent.com/c21/monikawilson/

Real Estate outlook for 2011

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

2011 Outlook For Florida Real Estate Markets

The following is my personal opinion. I am a Realtor in SW Florida since almost 20 years and I have seen the market coming and going. Out of my experience Florida is on the way to a fairly fast recovery.

 Yes, there are still so many negative news in regards of Florida and the Real Estate Market. However there are a lot of positive signs as well. 

 Florida still ranks among the top Foreclosure filings but banks are reporting that the number of foreclosures is declining. A lot of buyers and investors are experiencing the very fast market. Homes come on the market and if priced fairly they are selling within days.  

 Florida is different from other parts of the country. Our big advantage and largest positive is the tropical Florida. While people up north get tired of snow shoveling, ice scratching in freezing temperatures, they think about the nice, sunny, warm Florida. – The sunshine State.

 Snowbirds- (the phenomenon of migrating northerners every winter to Florida)  bring money to the area, buying second homes, retirement homes and spend money in restaurants and stores. Also Baby Boomers are getting close to retirement age and they are welcome here in Florida.

 The prices are low and more people can afford to buy a home. 

 What is good for some is bad for others. Some people are losing their homes to a short sale or a foreclosure and those homes are making it possible for other people to fulfill their dream of their own home

 But beside the weather, the nice and friendly people and the beaches, Florida has a lot to offer. Did you know that Florida has no state income Tax? – What about the state or country you come from? – Florida has no Tax on food, we have homestead exemptions for primary residents and Florida is an asset protection state. 

 Our new governor Scott is starting to run the state like a business. He is cleaning up the “waste” and he is recruiting businesses to come to Florida to create jobs and with that opportunities for everyone. It seems he is quiet successful already.

 He is talking about getting rid of the corporation tax, reducing or eliminating impact fees for businesses and other programs to make doing business in Florida attractive.

 There is a lot of sunshine on its way to sunny Florida.

 Monika Wilson

Century 21Sunbelt Realty

Cape Coral, Florida

Http://www.spotfloridarealestate.com

Housing Statistics SW Florida December 2009

Monday, January 25th, 2010

Members of the Association closed 1,340 single family home sales in December, bringing the total for 2009 to 16,789; this is a 91.4% increase vs. 2008 when 8,768 homes were sold. Of the December sales, 48.3% were bank-owned, 18.2% were short sales and the remaining traditional sales made up 33.4% . The median price was $89,929, which is 8.0% lower than the prior December; however, the median price continues to be influenced by the number of bank-owned and short sales, which continues to drive down the overall median price. During Quarter 4, the median price for traditional sales was $135,000 (a 3.5% decrease from the prior quarter), for bank-owned sales it was $69,900 (up 2.7%) and the median price for short sales was $94,950 (up 6.6% from last quarter).

What is the Market doing in South West Florida

Friday, August 7th, 2009

front with gate Of course I don’t have a crystal ball either. Even so that I am a realtor in Cape Coral since 1994 and have seen the market going up and down. Fact is that the market is going in cycles and that there are indication for experienced Realtors and Buyers and seller when the market is entering a new cycle.

Comparing our market today with the beginning of 2004 is pretty much comparing “bananas with bananas”. The market is ready to bounce back. Even so we are still dealing with bank foreclosures and short sales, we have more properties sold than we have coming new on the market. We see the prices coming up and we see multiple offers on certain properties. In a lot of cases we have to offer over asking price just to get the property.

It is my honest opinion that the market will bounce back sooner than a lot of people are expecting, I strongly feel that prices probably will go higher than they were in 2005. Right now most properties are selling under their real and true market value, in 2005 most properties were selling way above true market value. Very soon we will see properties selling to a price they are really worth – and out of experience we will see it going up to above market value again.

Florida is still a great place to live, we have the sun, the beaches and a lot of activities. People here are very friendly and people feel home pretty much right away. Real Estate is an investment you can enjoy, feel and touch. Other than in stocks and bonds – Real Estate will not just disappear, it will be there during good and bad economic times. People always need to live somewhere and space is running out. There is just so much and there will be no more.

Just a little story to show how much money can be made in Real Estate if we are watching the market very closely and have the feeling for the right timing..

I had a young man from Germany coming over to purchase a vacant land in Cape Coral. We discussed our options and his budget. (his budget was $ 15,000) I found him a nice piece of land in NE Cape Coral, which he purchased for $ 11,000. His mother was not to happy with my choice since she thought he bought a lot way out and in the middle of nowhere. That was in summer 2004. Towards the end of 2005 this young man sold this same property for $ 85,000.  That is a nice return on his money. – And by the way, yes when he bought the property in 2004 it was pretty “lonesome” at the furthest NE location of Cape Coral. When he sold the property the whole neighborhood had very nice new homes around him. Cape Coral was just growing like crazy. And that is where we will be in very near future again.

Please visit my web site at: http://www.spotfloriarealestate.com and click on the tab “search properties”. Here you can open up a free account and check on currently listed and sold properties. You will see properties on the market for not even 1 day and they are sold already. That is how fast and hot the market is. Don’t get me wrong, there are sitll very nice and good priced properties out there – but time is running out.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Monika

Hello Everyone

Friday, August 7th, 2009

monikawebWelcome to my blog. Here I will give updates about current developments in the Real Estate Market in South West Florida, Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers, Pine Island and Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva Islands. I am in South West Florida since 1990 when I moved to this wonderful place from Germany. Since 1994 I am a full time licensed Realtor in the Cape Coral Area. I work for Century 21 Sunbelt in Cape Coral, Florida and I live in rural North Fort Myers.

Looking forward talking with you

Monika