34 years ago I embarked on a career in real estate.  You can imagine that I've seen a lot of things in those years and you'd be correct.  Every year when Easter rolls around the corner, I'm reminded of an experience I had in the beginning of my career.

"Picture this" as Sofia Petrillo of the Golden Girls used to say.  It was the early 80's, I was a young novice Realtor® showing 2 flats in Cicero, IL. My buyers at the time were looking for an investment property where they could live in one flat and rent out the other one. Just before Easter, a listing had come on the market that fit their criteria and I excitedly called my buyers to set up an appointment to view the property.

This photo will give you an idea of how a 2-flat in Cicero looks:

The Buyers and I walked up the front steps entered the hallway where we were welcomed into the owners unit on the first floor.  These owners spoke English with a heavy accent. Now I have to tell you that all these years later I can still remember the flurry of activities that were occurring in this apartment.  There were people all over the place, especially in the kitchen where women were working on preparing, from the smell of it, an exotic Easter feast. 

This particular two flat had enclosed the back stair area at the rear of the building.  The Buyers and I walked through the 1st floor kitchen and up the back stairs to the 2nd apartment where no one was home.  Instead of exiting from the living room down the front stairs and out the front door, we exited through the 2nd floor kitchen door and down the back stairs to see the basement.

When we had walked up the stairs, we notice a strange odor but as we walked down the stairs and got closer to the basement it began to smell as if we were in the elephant house at Brookfield Zoo.  If you've ever been to the elephant house at Brookfield Zoo, you'll never forget the smell! 

By the time we reached the basement door, the smell was overwhelming.  I began to think someone had died in the basement.  I could not get the basement door open and we went back up the stairs to ask the owners open the door for us.

When I asked the Seller to open the basement door for us, he became agitated and said we were not allowed in the basement.  By this time, the Buyers had decided that this was not the 2-flat for them and we left.

Upon returning to the office, I called the listing agent, informed her that the basement area of her listing smelled like elephant house at Brookfield Zoo and that the Sellers would not allow access to the basement.  She said she'd check with the Sellers and call me back.

The listing agent called to inform me that the Sellers were slaughtering lambs in their basement for the Easter holiday!  As I was a city girl, I found this  information particularly appalling.  Can you imagine the visions that went through my head?  I'm sure the city of Cicero had some ordinance about not keep livestock in a 2-flat but these Sellers didn't know about the ordinance or didn't care.  The listing agent should have refused showings while these particular Sellers were celebrating the holiday.

This experience taught me to ALWAYS keep in touch with my Sellers and to remind them to tell me if anything changes and or happens in their homes while they are listed with me.  I have another story about a pit bull I can share with you another time.

It's important for a Realtor® to communicate with their Sellers.  I highly doubt that I'll ever run into any lambs being slaughtered in basements today. I talk with my Sellers so often I'll know about it if it happens.

Should you be thinking of selling your home in Pelican Bay and want a candid assessment of what it would take to sell your home in today’s market, I would be happy to provide you with a free market evaluation. Feel free to call me at 239-594-2780 or e-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com

Yes, I really do have a crystal ball on my desk.  Over the years I have used this crystal ball to answer questions for my Buyers and Sellers such as, "What price do you think the Sellers/Buyers will take?" This ball has also heard "Should I buy now or wait to see if the market will go down?" in addition to "Should I sell now or wait until the market comes up?"  I can tell you that when I have asked my crystal ball ANY questions, the crystal ball always gets murky and doesn't provide a concrete answer.

I've just finished calculating the 2011 year to date statistics for all building types in Pelican Bay.  Even if I did look into my crystal ball right now, I'd be looking at it cross-eyed after looking at so many numbers!

So, what happened in the 2011 real estate market in Pelican Bay?  Let's gaze into the numbers........

LOW RISES - 2010 saw 80 closed sales while 2011 realized 94 sales.  The average sales price dropped in 2011 to $434,934.00 from $443,218.00. Of those 94 sales in 2011, a whopping 76 of these sales were between zero - $499,999.00. (Click on link to see breakdown of 2012 sales by price range.)  Days on the market rose in 2011 to 205 days from 163 days in 2010. In 2010, 57% of all low rises listed failed to sell.  In 2011 only 49% of all low rises listed failed to sell.  The average listing price of a low rise listing that failed to sell in 2011 was $448,160.00.  Out of the 94 sales in 2011, 40 of these sales were 3 bedroom units with an average price of $466,543.00.  To see a breakdown of sales by number of bedrooms, click here---->Low Rise Sales by bedroom  As of today, Pelican Bay has a low rise inventory that could last 14 months.  Keep in mind a "normal" market is said to have an inventory that could last 6 months.

MID RISES - 2010 brought 25 closed sales, while 2011 only had 21 closed sales.  The average sales price dropped in 2011 to $514,750.00 from $559,740.00 in 2010.  The average days on the market rose in 2011 to 255 days from 187 days in 2010.  Eleven of the 2012 twenty five closed sales were under $499,999.00.  Out of the 27 listing that failed to sell in 2012, six of them were priced between $450,000.00 -$499,999.00. (Click on link to see breakdown of 2012 sales by price range.) The percentage of unsold units rose in 2012 to 56%.  2010 saw 42% of all mid rises failing to sell.  It is interesting to note that 15 of the 21 closed sales were 3 bedroom units. To see a breakdown of sales by number of bedrooms, click here---> Mid Rise Sales by bedroom As of today, Pelican Bay has a mid rise inventory that could last 14 months.

HIGH RISES - 2010 saw 97 closed sales while 2011 brought 116 sales.  The average sales price dropped in 2011 to $1,297,584.00 from $1,427,165.00 in 2010.  Days on the market dropped to 245 days from 255 days.  45% of all the closed sales were between $1,000,000.00 - $2,999,999.00. ( Click on link to see breakdown of 2012 sales by price range.) The percentage of unsold units rose slightly in 2012 to 62% from 2010's percentage of 60%. To see a breakdown of sales by number of bedrooms click here---> High Rise Sales by bedroom.  As of today, Pelican Bay has a high rise inventory that could last 15 months.

ATTACHED VILLAS - In 2010 there were 17 closed sales.  2011 saw 25 closed sales. The average price in 2011 dropped to $829,480.00 from $855,203.00 in 2010.  Days on the market dropped from 254 in 2010 to 213 days in 2011.  Eight of the 25 closed sales were between $550,000.00 - $$699,999.00.  (Click on the link, to see a breakdown of 2011 sales by price range.) The percentage of unsold units rose to 49% in 2011 from 47% in 2010.  To see a breakdown of sales by number of bedrooms click here ------> Attached Villa sales by bedroom. As of today, Pelican Bay has a attached villa inventory that could last 7 months. 

DETACHED VILLAS - 2011 saw the exact same number of closed sales as in 2010; fifteen.  The average price in 2011 dropped to $938,333.00 from $1,258,533.00 in 2010.  Days on the market dropped in 2011 to 213 days from 255 days in 2010.  (Click on the link, to see a breakdown of 2011 sales by price range.) It is interesting to note that there were no 2 bedroom detached villas sold in 2011.  38% of all detached villas failed to sell in 2011 down from 53% in 2010. To see a breakdown of sales by number of bedrooms click here ------> Detached Villas by bedroom.  As of today, Pelican Bay has an inventory to last 13 months.

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES - The number of closed sales dropped slightly in 2011 to 29 closed sales from 31 sales in 2010.  The median sales price dropped in 2011 to $1,400,000.00 from $1,500,000.00 in 2010.  Days on the market went up slightly in 2011 to 213 days from 200 in 2010.  (Click on the link, to see a breakdown of 2011 sales by price range.) 51% of all single family homes failed to sell in 2011 down from 54% in 2010. To see a breakdown of sales by number of bedrooms click here------------> Single Family Homes by bedroom.  As of today, Pelican Bay has an inventory that could last 16 months.

All these numbers tell me that Pelican Bay still has an above average inventory.  The Attached Villas appear to be rapidly approaching the "normal" inventory of 6 months.  Until our inventory starts being absorbed, we still may see a drop in prices.

Click here to view---> 2010 Pelican Bay Real Estate Statistics and 2009 Pelican Bay Real Estate Statistics. 

Should you be thinking of selling your home in Pelican Bay and want a candid assessment of what it would take to sell your home in today’s market, I would be happy to provide you with a free market evaluation. Feel free to call me at 239-594-2780 or e-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com

W-O-W! The 2012 season in Naples Florida has started out with a BANG!  This January has been busier for me than January 2011.  I've been writing contracts for my Buyers and presenting contracts to my Sellers.  There are times I wish there were two of me to go around.

Recently my darling husband, Don, purchased a LG android phone for my birthday present.  Poor Don, I've been having a love affair with my android phone since he bought it for me.  While I am relatively tech savvy, I decided to take a course through Collier County Adult Education.  My teacher, Luis Untura, looks barely old enough to have graduated high school.  I felt my age when I first saw him standing in front of the class.  Luis is a wonderful teacher who instructs our class on how to use our android phones with an incredible patience and an contagious enthusiasm.

I had been using Skype, mainly for Skyping family and friends, and couldn't wait until Skype was available on the android phones.  I kept waiting for a Skype update for the operating system on my android.  Luis, encouraged me to try loading the Skype app to my phone and voila!  Skype worked!

Can you guess WHY I was so excited I could use Skype on my phone?  I couldn't wait to connect via Skype on my phone with my out of town Buyers who wanted me to preview a property for them.  My Buyers set up a Skype account and we set a time that I would be at the property they were interested in seeing. 

At the appointed time, we connected on Skype and I used my phone to walk through the house so my Buyers could see how it looked.  They were also able to hear the traffic noise that came off the expressway the house was near.  I knew this would be an issue and I had warned them about the noise. Once they heard the traffic noise from the lanai, they understood my concern.  While this house was not the one for them, I'll be able to find them a home and have them see everything I see about the home.  How wonderful is that for real estate use of an android phone?

Work has kept me from the beach lately.  I DID manage to get down to the Sandbar to have dinner with my brother James while he was in town.  As sunset approached, I attempted to Skype my girlfriend in Chicago so she could see sunset but she was not at her computer!  Here's the sunset we saw that night. 

Should you be thinking of selling your home in Pelican Bay and want a candid assessment of what it would take to sell your home in today’s market, I would be happy to provide you with a free market evaluation. Feel free to call me at 239-594-2780 or e-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com