Mortgage rates plunge to 37-year low

Freddie Mac says national average for a 30-year-fixed is 5.19 percent

MCLEAN, Va. - Rates on 30-year-fixed mortgages dropped this week to their lowest levels in at least 37 years, as the Federal Reserve pledged to pour money into the mortgage market in an effort to spur the moribund U.S. housing market.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 5.19 percent, down from the year's previous low of 5.47 percent, set last week.

The rate is the lowest since Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage rate survey began in April 1971.
source:msn.com

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Lely Resort & Lely Community Closed Sale Info

Lely Resort & Lely Community Statistics - November 2008; Sold, Pending and Active Listings

411 - Active
30 - Pending
6 - Closed
Source: SunshineMLS, Inc.

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Two casita models under construction in Olé neighborhood at Lely Resort

Olé, a private neighborhood of flats, townhouses and casitas in Lely Resort, the Collier Building Industry Association's 2008 Community of the Year.
The Cordova is a two-bedroom/ two and one-half bath casita with 1,531 square feet under air and a total of 1,978 square feet, including the courtyard and attached two-car garage. The home offers a large kitchen as well as living and dining rooms downstairs. Upstairs are two bedroom suites, an office space with a desk and a laundry room.
The Castella, also a casita home, has 1,776 square feet under air with two bedroom suites and a loft. The island kitchen has a large pantry and a breakfast nook.
Olé offers Mediterranean-style residences and pedestrian-friendly streets. Flats are available in five floor plans from 1,227 square feet to 1,774 square feet. Two- and three-story townhouses are available in nine floor plans from 1,459 square feet to 2,084 square feet. The casitas are available in six floor plans from 1,531 square feet to 2,080 square feet. Pricing in Olé begins in the mid-$200s.
The 20,000-square-foot Village Center in Olé received the CBIA Clubhouse of the Year award. It has a full-service concierge, a bistro, an ice cream parlor, pub, Internet café, coffee shop, a business center, library and a 90-seat movie theatre.
Source: Florida Weekly

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Lely Naples FL - October Closed Sale Info

Lely Resort & Lely Community Statistics - October 2008; Sold, Pending and Active Listings

406 - Active
27 - Pending
7 - Closed
Source: SunshineMLS, Inc.

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Naples Real Estate: 3 models under way in Caldecott at Lely Resort

Construction has begun construction on three furnished models in the Caldecott single-family neighborhood at Lely Resort, a country club community in East Naples.

Caldecott is a private neighborhood of 63 single-family residences in the northern half of Lely Resort offering a mix of golf course, lake and nature preserve views. Six single-story, two-story and courtyard-style floor plans, ranging from 1,647 to 2,394 square feet under air, are priced starting in the $350s.

The new models are the Florence, Tivoli and San Remo II.

The Florence is a two-bedroom, two-bath home with 2,075 square foot under air and 2,900 total square feet. It features a gourmet kitchen, breakfast nook, family room, formal living and dining rooms, study, screened covered lanai and a two-car garage.

The Tivoli is a three-bedroom, two-bath great room-style home offering 1,975 square feet under air and 2,723 total square feet including the lanai, entry and garage. This plan features a gourmet kitchen, breakfast nook, formal dining room, study, screened covered lanai and a two car garage.

The San Remo II is a two-bedroom, two-bath great room-style home with 1,809 square feet under air and 2,529 total square feet including the lanai, the garage and the entry. It features a gourmet kitchen, dining room, study, screened covered lanai and a two-car garage.

All homes in Caldecott feature raised panel cabinets, Corian countertops, Kohler fixtures, GE appliances, Mohawk carpeting and ceramic tile. Exterior features include a pool and spa option package, brick paver driveway and walkways, and a landscape package.

Amenities at Lely Resort include The Players Club & Spa, three golf courses and two golf clubhouses within the community.
Source: Naplesnews.com

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Lely Naples FL - September Closed Sale Info

Lely Resort Golf Club September 2008, Closed Sale information:

Active 403
Pending 15
Closed 8
Source: SunshineMLS Inc.

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New model center planned at Olé in Lely Resort

According to John Zagar, vice president of sales for Lely Resort, eight new furnished models will open in Olé for the upcoming winter sales season.
“The new Olé model center will be adjacent to the Village Center amenities so that homebuyers will have easy access to both residences and lifestyle amenities,” said Zagar. “Six town homes and two casitas are planned for the model center.”
The model center will be in Phase II of Olé, which offers Mediterranean-style residences with pedestrian-friendly streets and natural surroundings. Construction of Phase I is complete.
The neighborhood includes flats, town homes and casitas built by Stock Construction. Flats are available in five floor plans and range from 1,227 to 1,774 square feet. The town homes, including two- and three-story designs, are available in nine floor plans and range from 1,459 to 2,084 square feet. Casitas are available in six floor plans and range from 1,531 to 2,080 square feet. Pricing begins in the mid-$200s.
Village Center amenities include a full-service concierge, bistro, ice cream parlor, pub, Internet café, coffee shop, business center, library, movie theater, gym and dance studio. Outside is a free-form pool with waterfalls and rockscapes. There is also a tennis center.

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Lely Naples FL - August Closed Sale Info

Lely Golf Club August 2008, Closed Sale information:

Active 373

Pending 19

Closed 13
Source: SunshineMLS Inc.

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Existing single-family home sales up 80 percent in Fort Myers/Cape Coral

Sales made with the help of a Realtor in Southwest Florida rose again in July. Existing single-family home sales — or resales — grew by 80 percent to 768, from 426 a year ago, in the Fort Myers/Cape Coral market.

Condo sales rose 35 percent to 174, from 129 a year ago, according to statistics from the Florida Association of Realtors. On Marco Island, 31 single-family homes sold, up 19 percent from 26 a year ago. Condo sales rose 5 percent to 41, up from 39 in the same month last year.

[T]he Naples Area Board of Realtors in its own market report showed sales continued to rise in July. There were 361 home sales, up 31 percent from 275 a year ago.
Source: naplesnews.com

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Lely Naples FL Real Estate - Closed Sale Info

Lely Golf Club July 2008, Closed Sale information:

Active 397

Pending 25

Closed 13
Source: SunshineMLS Inc.

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Naples Home Sales Rise 5th Month in a Row

More buyers are getting back into the game. As home prices continue to drop in the Naples area, sales are rising and inventories are falling. In June, total sales rose by 9 percent to 471, from 431 a year ago.Meanwhile, the inventory of homes shrank to 10,837, from 11,602 last year, according to a monthly report by the Naples Area Board of Realtors.

Pending sales have increased and available inventory has decreased for the past five months. Pending sales increased 63 percent to 494 in June, up from 302 a year ago. For single-family homes priced at less than $300,000, pending sales rose a whopping 537 percent to 172 in June, up from 27 a year ago.

There were 231 sales, up from 146 last year. Of those sales, 113 were single-family homes — a 253 percent increase over the 32 that sold a year ago.All areas covered by the report, except Immokalee and Ave Maria, saw an increase in pending sales in June.

East Naples had the biggest jump to 106, from 39 a year ago. As long as interest rates remain low, Arlene Carozza, NABOR’s president, said she expects more buyers to get off the fence as prices become more affordable for more people.
Source: Naplesnews.com

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Lely Naples FL - June 2008 Pending & Closed Sale Report

11 Active with Contingency
16 Pending
22 Closed
Source: Sunshine MLS, Inc.

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Collier’s property tax forecast for fiscal year ‘09 not all doom and gloom

Despite concerns about, and frequent reference to, state-mandated tax rollbacks and decreases in Collier County property values, county officials believe next year’s property tax revenue will be about the same as the current fiscal year.
County Manager Jim Mudd anticipates $338,953,100 in property taxes for the upcoming fiscal year, which is $1,072,800 less than the current $340,025,900 budget. The 2009 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Collier leaders will gather for their first budget workshops on Thursday and Friday to begin trading and negotiating over what each department head or commissioner considers a vital need.
Total county gross revenue — which includes transfers between county funds, loan proceeds, Collier’s cut of intergovernmental money, and dollars carried forward from the current year — should be $1,459,123,100, compared with the current $1,848,877,500.
Commissioners will contemplate a general fund tax rate of $3.29 per $1,000 of appraised property value, some 14 cents more than the current tax rate of $3.146 per $1,000 worth of property.
However, the county maintains several general funds.
Property taxes for a secondary general fund — called the unincorporated area general fund — will increase about two cents from the current 69 cents per $1,000 worth of property to about 71 cents per $1,000 of appraised property value.
Though the primary general fund tax rate will be increasing, Collier Budget Director John Yonkosky was not immediately able to provide the rollback rate. A rollback rate is the tax rate that will raise the same amount of money as the previous year’s tax rate.
Late Tuesday, Yonkosky said he was not initially planning to present that figure to commissioners until Tax Appraiser Abe Skinner sent out official tax roll notices on July 1. However, since the 555-page county budget package is based — in part — on a tentative 4.38 percent decrease in taxable county property value, Yonkosky said he would calculate the tentative rollback for the Daily News and have it ready late Wednesday morning.
Earlier this year, Mudd implemented a hiring freeze, anticipating belt-tightening come October.
According to county officials, every department scrutinized its budget and vital needs for the upcoming year, but some managed to make off with budget increases. That includes the community redevelopment district in Immokalee, which could see an increase from its current $2.06 million to $2.85 million for the new year.
At the other end of the spectrum is the 5.52 percent decrease that County Attorney Jeff Klatkow’s office will experience, an approximate $200,000 cut from the current $3.7 million to next year’s $3.5 million.
A fast perusal of the budget shows that the county’s 1,949.55 employee workforce slated for the past year will be increased to 1,952.15 employees by Oct. 1.
Percentages in employee counts means one job is shared by more than one person.
Source:Naplesnews.com
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Lely Median Sold Price

Lely - Median Sold Price by Month Statistics:

Lely Resort - Median Sold Price by Month Statistics:

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Source: Sunshine MLS, inc.