Naples Real Estate Voice

SEASON HOME SALES LOOKING FAR BRIGHTER

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:19:28 -0600

N.A.B.O.R. (Naples Area Board of Realtors) recently released encouraging figures for the month of November regarding pending sales overall. The increase from November of 2007 to this November was dramatic, over 54% and represents the eighth month in a row the figure has risen.

Statistically a majority of the sales took place at the under $300,000 price point which would stand to reason because of the rise in ‘short sales', foreclosures, as well as bank-owned properties (REO) in that category. Today's buyer is bargain hunting no matter what the price point, but the majority of assumed deals remains under $300,000 and that is where a lot of the sales are taking place. That has been the primary driver of the market. Meanwhile, as reported by the Naples Daily News, Naples home prices fell 25% in the month of November and the days on market has dropped as well.

The news should help to fuel an active selling season after the first of the new year!

Get Statistical Data Here

UNPAID HOA FEES CAN BECOME A REAL PROBLEM!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:31:42 -0600

You are hearing it more and more and the problem is becoming more and more common...homeowners in condominium complexes not paying their monthly or annual association fees. These homeowners are facing foreclosure and have not been paying their mortgages, so naturally they are not paying their association fees and it creates a real set of multiple problems.

REAL ESTATE TAXES GOING DOWN…THINK AGAIN!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:33:54 -0500

I read an interesting article about taxes in the State of Florida and people's complaints that their taxes aren't decreasing despite declining property values. Continue

TO RE-HAB OR NOT TO RE-HAB...THAT IS THE QUESTION

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:39:38 -0500

With the advent of the market drop over the past few years or so, fixing up homes to make a profit on is looking more and more interesting for some people. Continue

IS IT BECAUSE OF THE ECONOMY?

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:49:11 -0500

Sometimes I find myself wishing that I had an ‘easy button' to push while working on some of those hard real estate deals...You know the ones where you work like a dog, excited to find what you consider to be a gem of a property and have the customers drag their feet because they think that there will be a better deal around the next corner. Continue

CANADIAN MARKET FOLLOWING U.S.?

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:39:38 -0500

Canadians interested in selling their homes are suddenly finding their market looking more and more like our market here in the U.S., a strong buyer's market, and it is a change that they aren't liking. They are being told by their real estate agents that if they list their home, it might not sell because of the change in the market. It was just a few short months ago that the sellers were totally in control of the market and were getting the high prices they listed at.

The change in the Canadian Market begs the question as to how deep the effect will be regarding Canadians interested in purchasing South Florida real estate. There is no question that this trend will have an effect and that is certainly a huge cause for concern since it was the Canadians who supported much of the real estate buying this past summer.

With the fear in Europe causing a wait and see attitude, we don't need that coming from our northern friends!

WILL RATE CUTS RESTORE CONFIDENCE?

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:41:06 -0500

Some people will undoubtedly misconstrue today's financial aid rate cut of 0.50% by Ben Bernanke and the FED thinking that it will lower it will lower the mortgage interest rates, when in fact the opposite could happen. Certainly the move was unprecedented and quickly followed by major central banks around the world in a move to stave off financial destruction. The cut followed the $700 billion rescue plan that no one is calling it a bailout anymore. Continue

I’VE GOT A BIG MOUTH!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:56:07 -0500

I've always considered myself a ‘networker' probably well before the term even became a term. In real estate, we all look toward our happy customers for referrals, and actually it doesn't matter whether it is real estate or not, any business can benefit from the power of word-of-mouth marketing. Continue

DO I REALLY MISS WHAT I THINK I DO?

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:52:09 -0500

The Fall season here in Florida get us closer to my very favorite time of year when we can throw open the windows, turn the a/c off and finally “air” out the house. The good news is that it can last up to five months if the prevailing wind currents that bring us that cooler weather from the north remain in a certain pattern. Last year was a perfect example of that happening and it was great! Continue

HAVE A GREAT BIRTHDAY MEL...MEDICARE IS A YEAR AWAY!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:51:37 -0500

Today is my 64^th birthday and I consider myself rather fortunate that I have managed to outlive my father by some 10 years, although I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's the luck of the draw or more so because we have come a long way medically and our generation is just living longer.

TODAY...WAS IT ABSOLUTELY CRAZY OR WHAT!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:39:38 -0500

With everything that went on today regarding the failure of the "buyout", Wall Street and the historic hit that it took, the takeover of Wachovia National Bank by Citi Group, as well as all the other news, it's nice to know that there are some stable factors in the banking industry in all of this. One of them is Wells Fargo, the banking source for Prudential Florida Realty, our company. Continue

CAN WE NOT GET A LITTLE LOVE GOING?

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:32:05 -0500

While driving around Naples today trying to get real estate done, I tried to listen to as much of the live hearings discussion about the Government bailout proposal as I could on CNBC radio. Continue

IS THERE A BIT OF PARANOYA IN THE MARKETPLACE?

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:22:18 -0500

The recent announcement by the President of his proposal to buy out hundreds of billions of dollars worth of mortgage assets in order to stop the bleeding in the financial circles may have had somewhat of an adverse effect. Continue

THE COYOTES ARE COMING...THE COYOTES ARE COMING!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:09:42 -0500

All summer long we have been hearing about and reading stories of the coyotes up in The Brooks communities in Bonita Springs. They have boldly attacked small dogs while on a walk with their owners, and in some cases, the dogs have broken free of their leashes or backed out of their collars and were chased down by the coyotes, caught and dragged away. Continue

THE NEWS JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:50:56 -0500

ContinueThree pieces of good news in one day yesterday...Just unreal...

First...the 30-year fixed mortgage rates have dropped sharply to a seven month low and are now sitting at 5.78, down from 5.93 the week prior. It's good news for those who have had the patience to wait to transform 3/1 and 5/1 arms to 30-years fixed notes. It was the fifth straight week that the rate has declined and certainly should help to stimulate mortgage applications. Continue

GOOD NEWS...NAPLES IS NOW UNDERVALUED!?!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:47:50 -0500

Every early morning and late evening, we take Roxy, our Swiss Cattle Dog (Entlebucher Sennenhund) out for a 2+ mile walk. While the evenings have cooled significantly over the past couple of weeks, it is the mornings that I most enjoy because it has become quite cool with minimal himidity. Continue

THOSE 3 DIGITS CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:37:25 -0500

There aren't 3 numbers more important than those which make up one's FICO Credit Score, for that score will be the determining factor as to whether someone receives a loan for a car, boat or a mortgage for a new home. Continue

THE INTERNET…IT’S NOT CHOPPED LIVER!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:05:38 -0500

NAR (National Association of Realtors) recently completed a 10 year study of buyers on the internet and their behavoir. Not suprisingly they found more and more people are using the internet to search for homes and during the ten year period, there was a 15 fold increase of buyers who found the home that they eventually purchased on the internet. Continue

I THINK I’M LOSING IT…BUT IT FEELS GREAT!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:41:03 -0500

Today I convinced my other half to take a ride up to the local Harley Davidson dealership to look at some bikes. (I had been up there with my good friend, Paul Strong, a week or so ago because he just bought a Harley and he convinced me that if I bought one, we could take the girls and ride to Key West for the weekend.) I thought that was pretty romantic and a good excuse to go look. Continue

OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME...HOME BUYER TAX CREDIT

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:55:21 -0500

If you are a first-time home buyer an found the chances of owning your first home rather ellusive, your timing couldn't be better. As a metter of fact, it might be the chance of a lifetime with Uncle Sam coming to the rescue! Continue

HAVE WE REALLY SEEN THE BOTTOM?

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:33:12 -0500

People are always asking if we think that we have seen the bottom of the housing market here in the greater Naples area and my response is always the same. Continue

THE TIME TO BUY IN NAPLES IS NOW!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:07:49 -0500

If ever there was a tine to buy greater Naples Real Estate, the time is now. The fallout from the federal government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been swift and it has translated into lower long term interest rates. That coupled with the vast amount of inventory of every segment of the marketplace makes it a no-brainer. Continue

OH CANADA EH...

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:20:16 -0500

I read with interest tonight that the number of Canadian buyers purchasing Florida real estate more than doubled this year over the last. I wasn't aware that it was that high, but I have been saying all summer long that it has been the Canadians supporting the greater Naples real estate market far more so than the Europeans. Continue

SHORT SALES COULD REALLY BE CALLED LONG SALES!

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:51:53 -0500

The buzz words in Greater Naples Real Estate continue to be short sales along with pre-foreclosures and bank owned properties. As Naples attorney Ronald S. Webster wrote "Short Sales Should be Called Long Sales" and rightfully so. Continue

RUMOR HAS IT THAT IT IS OPEN SEASON FOR THE BARGAIN HUNTERS

V. K. Melhado P.A., ABR, e-Pro, GRI, TRC (Downing-Frye Realty ) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 19:33:51 -0500

As we head toward the end of ‘high season', (Easter comes early this year and traditionally Easter signals the end of ‘high season',) we are seeing pending sales picking up in the greater Naples Real Estate Market. Maybe it is because the fence sitters are finally getting the message that the market has indeed stabilized and the exceptional bargains are being snapped up by the Canadian and European buyer. Continue