Happy Thanksgiving!

Only 5 more days until Thanksgiving!  Where did the time go?  Will you be preparing a Thanksgiving dinner this year?  Don and I are hosting a dinner for 10 people on Thanksgiving Day and I haven't even started to haul out my family's recipes to make a grocery list.  My brother James, and my sister-in-law, Millie will be arriving on Tuesday the 25th to celebrate the holiday with us.  Sometimes I swear that James is just making the trek from Chicago land to savor our Mother's stuffing and our Grandma's carrot cake!  (Where DID I put those recipes after we remodeled our kitchen???)

Since I made my last statistical report on real estate in Pelican Bay on October 29th, not much has transpired. 

It appears that our listings inventory is rising in anticipation of season.  Once again I would caution all sellers in Pelican Bay if you really do not have to sell, do not put your place on the market.  The October 2008 Naples Area Homes Sales Report showed that 72.62% of all pending sales in October of 2008 in Naples were under $300,000.00!  These sales area being driven by all the short sales and foreclosures in the Naples area. 

What should a Pelican Bay Seller do if they have to sell their home?  Let us say that a Seller owns in a subdivision that consists of all low rises.  I would advise the Seller of that low rise to talk with a Realtor® to look at the closed sales, the number of active listings, and the pending sales in that Seller's subdivision.  Once those figures have analyzed, the Seller should then see how his unit stacks up to all the other low rise units in Pelican Bay. A Realtor® should be able to provide the Seller with average and median prices in Pelican Bay and be able to interpret those figures.  If a  Realtor® is not able to obtain the price the Seller wants, the Realtor® should tell the seller.  There are Reality real estate prices and Disneyland© real estate prices, the real estate market we are in right now is not a Disneyland© market.

The Florida Sales Report for the 3rd Quarter of 2008 for existing Single-Family Homes and Condominiums while still reporting a decrease in prices, had a bit of good news.  The number of Realtor Sales for Single-Family existing homes was up 5% from the same period in 2007.  The existing Condominium Realtor Sales were only down 2% from the same period.

For those of you who frequented the Sound Advice store near K-Mart and Chili's on 41, you will be disappointed to learn that this store joined the list of store closings in Naples.

I called the Sandpiper Restaurant in Pelican Bay a few minutes ago and found out that they are totally booked for Thanksgiving.  The Sandbar Restaurant (239-597-2781) will also be serving dinner on Thanksgiving.  I called them also and left a message to see if they were still taking reservations for Thanksgiving dinner.  While I am cooking this year, many people will be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at one of Pelican Bay's restaurants on the beach!

Where ever you are on Thanksgiving Day, I hope you have a wonderful day!  If you are able to spend it on the beach in Pelican Bay, you are especially lucky!

The Halloween Party down at the Sandpiper Restaurant on October 31st was lots of fun.  Some people dressed in costumes, others like my neighbor Cay and I opted for an easy disguise.

The food that evening was great.  Whoever was in charge of all the decorations did a wonderful job.

Thursday, November 13th from 5:00 PM - 8:30 PM the Sandpiper is having a Country Western Party.  There will be a yummy BBQ that Pelican Bay residents will be able to enjoy.  The Sandpiper will also be serving Thanksgiving dinner.  Celebrating Thanksgiving while gazing out at the Gulf of Mexico is a real treat.  If you do plan to have dinner at the Sandpiper on Thanksgiving, make sure to get your reservation in as soon as possible at 239-592-5722.

Last evening while walking down to the beach for sunset, my husband and I saw the screech owl who has not been seen for a while back in his tree hallow.  It is hard to see the owl in this photo because I took it with my camera phone but if you look hard, you can distinguish the owl from the tree.

Don and I made it down to the beach just in time for a lovely sunset.

For those of you residents who enjoyed shopping at Circuit City at 13585 Tamiami TRL N by 41 and Wiggins Pass will be sorry to learn that this store will be closing.  This store has only been open a short time and was convenient to Pelican Bay.

Nordstrom's opened with great fan fare at the Waterside Shops on Friday.  This store has been a long awaited addition to Waterside Shops.

Bonita Bay Group has been having their problems with golf club members exercising their right to resign their membership the Naples Daily News reported this morning. 

Since my last blog entry, there have been 9 pending sales in Pelican Bay.  It is interesting to note that 5 of these 9 pending sales had a listing price over $1,000,000.00. 

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