The Marco Island real estate market has continued to show improvement through the third quarter of  2011.  Overall sales volumes have  increased for the third consecutive quarter.  Marco Island  total sales volumes registered over 50% over Q3 of 2010. Inventory has shrunk by over 14% as compared last year and new listings were down by nearly 14%.  while overall pending sales  were up  nearly 39% over Q3 2010. There was good news on the sales prices as well. Overall average sales were up  by nearly 15% over the previous Q3.

Condos and lots had strong performances in Q3 2011. Lots lead the way with a 113% increase in volume and an average sale price increase of almost 15%. Pending contracts in these categories were also strong with 104% and 91+% increases, respectively. We are seeing a lot of buyer’s now opting to buy waterfront lots and build new construction. This has taken some of the wind out of the sails of existing home sales. However, homes sales volumes still registered a respectable 4.29% increase. Pending home sales showed a bit of weakness. We believe the weakness is due the depletion of quality properties in the market value range as well as the trend towards new construction.

Distressed properties (aka Foreclosure and short sales) made up about 15% of active homes, 8% of active condos  and  11% of the active lots.   Overall, Marco Island’s 15% foreclosure rate  for  homes is below national (17%), Florida(27%) and Collier County(26%) levels, according to RealtyTrac.

With season soon upon us, we have seen a flurry of buyers entering  the Marco Island real estate market .  We anticipate that  we will see good sales volumes through December that will continue as we enter January. However, we should not  expect any appreciable difference in sales price at least until mid-to-late Q1 2012. 

Click to see all of the Marco Island Real Estate Statistics for Q3 2011

The Marco Island Real Estate market continues to show consistent improvement in September 2011. New Listings were 25% lower than last September and overall inventory was down 14.5%. Overall Closed transactions were up almost 33%. While the month to month average and median prices were positive, all signs of a stabilizing market.

Individually, the single family homes were on pace with last month but below last September's numbers. We believe that due to the strong interest in homes in the past that the inventory has been depleted of quality homes that are well priced. Good properties are leaving the market quickly. The silver lining is that average home sales price was up nearly 18% month to month and near even with last year. Could we be seeing a change in the direction of home prices?

On the flipside, lots and condos had a banner month!

In September, lot sales surges 225% over last year and 44% over last month. Lot are at bargain prices which has caused some of the buyer's to consider new construction vs. existing homes. This has taken some of the momentum away from single family home sales as buyer's are not finding what they want in single families. We are already seeing waterfront lot price going up slightly.

Condos also had a triple digit increase over last September, moving up over 106%. We have seen a renewed interest in condos. There was over a 30% increase in the condo average price index. Most likely attributed to a increase in the higher end condos. However, there are still plenty of condo bargains to be had in the Marco Island real estate market.

Overall, the market is primed for an great season! The values are there but you will need to move quickly as we are seeing the good properties leave the market quickly. If you have been sitting on the fence, now is the time to get off and find your place in paradise.  

See all the Marco Island Real Estate Statistics for September 2011

Marco Island real estate continues to outperform the previous year's volumes and chip away at the current inventory. Speaking of inventory, the overall inventory was down nearly 15% from last year. To make matters more appealing, the overall pending sales are impressive with over a 91% increase over last year and 10% higher than the July 2011. Single Family Homes took a little break from its sales volume climb while lots and condos hit the gas peddle, with increases of 80% and 175% over August 2010, respectively. The total closed sales notched up at 61.5%.

It is not surprising that we are seeing major sales increases over last year due to the drop in sales attributed to the gulf oil spill. However, you can't deny that the sales volume strength has been consistent. The good and bad news is that prices have not found enough momentum to start pushing prices up but it is only a matter of time before they will. Keep in mind, average price has many factors the contribute to its number.

Click the link to see all the Marco Island Real Estate Statistics for August 2011 

It appears that the foreign investors are back! Considering the discount prices on us real estate and the weak dollar, foreigners from Canada to China are snatching up values for cash all over the US.  In a National Association of Realtors report released in July, 28 percent of Realtors reported they had worked with at least one international client, up from 23 percent a year earlier. Of those Realtors, 18 percent had completed at least one transaction with an international buyer, compared with only 12 percent in 2009.

See the 2010 NAR Profile of International Home Buying Activity

Southwest Florida has been seeing its share of foreign buyers and we would expect this trend to continue as fears from the Gulf oil spill continue to dissipate. The southwestern coast of Florida holds 4 of the top 6 most active florida markets for international buyers.  Buyers from Canada, United Kingdom, Germany and Latin America seem to make up the majority of foreign investors in Southwest Florida. However, we will likely see more eastern European and Chinese investors trickle in. Who could blame them? SWFL real estate has seen a dramatic price reduction after leading the nation in appreciation through the real estate boom. There was a reason that people were buying here before. Because it's PARADISE!

For the whole story, see Foreign buyers see big opportunity in housing bust » Marco Eagle

I've watched a lot of trends and analyzed the Marco Island real estate statistics until I see double. There is just no denying that there is something positive happening in the Marco Island and Naples area. Case in point,

• web traffic and qualified leads have increase considerably over the last year
• Pending & closed sales are outperform the previous year's volumes
• Buyers have become more proactive and aggressive in their searches
• Value properties are receiving multiple offers at the same time
• Buyers continue to queue into this summer's buyer's market

In the last couple of months, I've been in a few dogfights to position buyer's into top spot to get these hot properties. As well, there have been several cases where I attempted to submit an offer only to find out that it went pending the night before. This kind of activity on the low ends will certainly help the whole market as list to sell ratios shrink and price level out.

Although it will still be some time before we see any significant appreciation, we are seeing a shift in the buyer's mindset which will make these next several months very interesting.

If Marco Island is an indicator for Southwest Florida and Southwest Florida is an indicator for the rest of Florida then it looks like we are starting to turn the ship back in the right direction. I've posted some interesting figures on Pending Sales Remain Strong at MarcoRealtyBuzz.com that indicate that the buyers may be coming back to Florida.

For more information about Marco Island Real Estate, contact:
Joseph A. Bartos, P.A.
(239) 404-5068
mailto:info@bartosgroup.com
Let us assist you in buying or selling a property in the Marco Island area.

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From a practical standpoint, it doesn't mean much. However, it is an excellent way to understand why using RSS or ATOM Feeds to publicize your blog makes sense. These web feeds are the crucial component of web syndication. Unfortunately, it can be a bit overwhelming to get your mind around these concepts. If you are the kind of person that is still struggling with programming your VCR, comprehending web syndication may be a stretch. Thus, I thought I would break it down for you.

Think of it this way! Many years back Oprah Winfrey was a local talk show (your blog) in Chicago. The viewing audience (your readers) was limited to the areas that show was promoted in. However, Oprah's goal was bigger than just the Chicago market. So, the show was recorded (RSS feed) and sent out to a bunch of TV stations (RSS Aggregators / Syndicators) across the nation in hopes that other stations (Newsreaders ) would pick up the show. As more stations picked up her syndicated show, her audience grew.

Hopefully, this enlightens you as to the purpose of syndicating your blog. If your blogging on ActiveRain, it automatically supplies both an RSS and ATOM feed. Look for the Chicklet  . Click the chicklet and copy the URL from the address bar in your web browser. You are now ready to submit your feed. You will need to follow the direction on these sites to submit the feeds. If you are using another blogging site, you will have to search the help system to find out how to activate your RSS/ATOM feed.

As to not reinvent the wheel, there are many good sites that provide information on RSS feeds.

I like http://www.rss-specifications.com/ .

Check out there list of places to submit your RSS feed. http://www.rss-specifications.com/rss-submission.htm

Good Luck!

Once you've built your plan and picked your blog platform, it's time to start adding content to your blog. You should make a list of topics that you think your audience would be interested. Keep adding to your list as new ideas come up. As you add the post to your blog follow these guidelines.

• Remember your theme - Remember who your audience is and what you are looking to accomplish
• Be informative - Readers will come to your blog because there is information that is relevant to them. Keep focused on what you think is your readers would be interested in. Advertising your new listings and open houses is OK but make sure that informational content outweighs the amount of self-promotional posts. Remember, by providing the information, you are identifying yourself as an expert in your real estate market.
• Keep it current - Talking about things that happened months ago may not interest your readers. Content should be fresh.
• Use keywords - Keywords are a critical part of the search engine ranking systems. Make sure you reference word that are pertinent to the topic of your post. For instance, if I were writing about a condo on the beach in Marco Island, I would make sure I included the words Marco Island, Florida, the condo name, beach, beachfront and Gulf of Mexico in the post. This way, the search engine can index these words when someone searches on these words. 
• Be clear and concise - Spend some time putting some structure to what you post. Writing random thoughts may be good for some readers but will likely confuse most readers and sending them looking for somewhere else to find the information. Retaining your audience is key to success with your blogs.
• Correct errors - If your posts contain a lot of typo's or poorly worded sentences, it shows that you are not very concerned with what you are publishing. Not to mention, it's downright annoying. With technology today, it takes minutes to spell check and a another few minutes to proof read your post. Take the time to do these thing and you won't lose your audience because of carelessness. 

There is a wealth of information available on the Internet. Here are some ideas to get you started on your real estate blog

From a consumer perspective, you can write about:

• market trends
• news/events affecting your market
• statistics (make sure you have proper disclaimers)
• tips to buyers or sellers
• new listings
• open houses
• events or activity
• your charity projects...

From a networking perspective, you can write about:
your real estate market

• your real estate market
• your area of expertise
• your marketing techniques
• how you solve a problem
• trends in the industry
• personal success stories...

One quick way to add content to your blog is to find something that someone else wrote and hyperlink to it in your post. It could be from another blog, website or an online news article. It could also something someone sent you via email but make sure that you have permission to use it. It's a good idea to get an email from the author confirming it's OK to use. Then, file it away with the rest of your blog information. When linking to another post/article, You should provide some brief commentary to let your readers know what your view is on the topic or at the very least introduce the topic.

Adding content to your blog is as easy as using a Microsoft Word (that is if you know how to use Word). Besides editing your blog from within your blog control panel, you can also post blog entries through email or even right from your Browser. The new Google Toolbar has a send to button that allows you to open a blog editor with a link to the page that your are browsing and publish your completed entry directly to your blog.

Now, your ready to get started blogging your way to success.  Keep in mind, blogging is a journey, not a destination. It takes consistent and ongoing effort to reap the rewards of this new era in the real estate industry. Those who take the time to plan their blogging strategy and execute on that plan will help you get to the results that you wish.

Good Luck,

Joseph A. Bartos, P.A.
(239) 404-5068
Amerivest Realty
Marco Island Real Estate Forum
Marco Island Florida Real Estate
Naples Florida Real Estate

 p.s. I have recieved a lot of requests about RSS and syndication. I'm working on a entry regarding the topics.

This is part 4 of a 5 part series.  

There are many options to choose from when picking a blogging platform, often called a blog hosting service, and there are a lot of free services that will allow you to get acclimated to blogging without unnecessary overhead. Some options are:

Blogger by Google (free)
Typepad by Six Apart  (has 3 basic levels; Basic, Plus, and Pro)
•·     http://growabrain.typepad.com/growabrain/
•·     http://realestatetomato.typepad.com/
•·     http://realestatesnippets.typepad.com/
MovableType by Six Apart (for business blogging)
Vox by Six Apart
WordPress (free)

Also, Check with your website vendor, they may package a blogging solution with your website.

Real Estate Industry Blogging Platforms

http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/
http://www.inman.com/default.aspx
http://www.activerain.com/

One of the decisions that you will need to make is whether you are focused on consumer-oriented interaction or referral/social networking. ActiveRain provides an excellent network to learn from other agents in the field and create a referral network and as I understand is working on launching a consumer-oriented version of it's service. 

I use Blogger.com for the Marco Island Real Estate Forum  blog focused at clients, potential clients and preferred partners. My real estate technology blog on ActiveRain is directed towards other agents.

Having a good plan will definitely help in identifying a service that will meet your needs. If your intent is to expand and customize your blog's look and feel and functionality, make sure that the blog platform is one that provides the flexibility to address your current and future growth needs. Changing platforms can be painful if you outgrow it.  Get it right the first time and you will avoid a headache.