Cape Coral Real Estate nowhere near recovery....... (Sarasota, Lehigh Acres: home, schools)

[yoko]

Originally Posted by twobums

for some, the glass is half full ... living here full time is far different than snowbird/vacationer/part time living.

I love living here ~ moved in Sep of '08.

Here are some articles from people who think the glass is half empty. As always, take what you want from the MSM.

www.marketwatch.com/story/fund-manager-sees-another-crash-in-home-prices-2010-01-19?source=patrick.net

]UPDATE 4-One in 7 U.S. mortgages foreclosing or delinquent | Reuters

The Mess That Greenspan Made: Don't bet on the housing "rebound" continuing

3 reasons home prices are heading lower - Dec. 31, 2009

]Scariest Chart Of The Day - The Atlantic Business Channel

Here Comes the 'Double-Dip Recession' -- Seeking Alpha

For 2 years positive spinners have been saying everything is O.K. and Cape Coral is/will be doing great, while in reality prices have been consistently fallen. All articles you mentioned, they will not read because why to expose the truth.

Whoever saved money two years ago and even one year ago, now could buy a much nicer house at a much lower price. Anyone did not, he has lost. This is called loss of opportunity.

Even now, to save money and buy next year, one is much better off.

What journalists of major publications write about Cape Coral is true..Cape Coral is a "wasteland" !

[bberman]

Our real estate agent showed us several homes in short sale in the northern Cape Coral area......countless abandoned homes, partially developed blocks, looked like a plague hit the area. Unbeknownst to us and our agent, one of the homes had been totally stripped of everything including fixtures, light bulbs, electrical junction boxes, even the front door! The entire area has a very odd feel to it. We left and headed elsewhere on our house buying journey.

[Angelala]

Originally Posted by :)>

It's great if property values have gone up . . . . but did you either of the last two posters actually SELL the property you feel went up or are you tracking hypothetical trends and/or listening to realtors? I'm not disagreeing or trying to be a wise guy . . . I'm only playing Devil's advocate.

Our house is on the market right now, we bought for 270,000 last year and put 50,000 in upgrades in it and have it listed for 499,000. We had a cash offer of 425,000 and turned it down. So actually we would have made a little more than what I posted after realtor fees and so on. We love the house but put it on the market just to see if it sells, if it does we will upgrade in house if not we will gladly keep it.

[Ruby24]

Originally Posted by Angelala

Our house is on the market right now, we bought for 270,000 last year and put 50,000 in upgrades in it and have it listed for 499,000. We had a cash offer of 425,000 and turned it down. So actually we would have made a little more than what I posted after realtor fees and so on. We love the house but put it on the market just to see if it sells, if it does we will upgrade in house if not we will gladly keep it.

You most certainly must like the house if you turned down that offer.
We bought in October and thought we got such a great deal, but other houses are selling for the same and even being offerred for less.
I still know we got a good deal and I dont think the prices will go much lower. At least I'm hoping.

[twobums]

Congrats to Angelala on choosing the right home in the exactly right neighborhood then making the right upgrades.

Buyers may be few & far between in this difficult market but Angelala has proven real estate can be sold.

[Angelala]

Originally Posted by twobums

Congrats to Angelala on choosing the right home in the exactly right neighborhood then making the right upgrades.

Buyers may be few & far between in this difficult market but Angelala has proven real estate can be sold.

It's not our first rodeo. I was tempted to take the offer but my hubby didn't want to. Yes the house is very nice we got it on a bank approve short sale. It was 95% done so we had to finish it and get the certificate of occupancy on it which was a pain but it was worth it. The house is gulf access in the SW area so it's in a great area and if we don't get the price we want we will just keep it.

[fwi]

Originally Posted by bberman

Our real estate agent showed us several homes in short sale in the northern Cape Coral area......countless abandoned homes, partially developed blocks, looked like a plague hit the area. Unbeknownst to us and our agent, one of the homes had been totally stripped of everything including fixtures, light bulbs, electrical junction boxes, even the front door! The entire area has a very odd feel to it. We left and headed elsewhere on our house buying journey.

You either have the wrong realtor or you are looking in the wrong areas.........or both, or perhaps your price range is too low.
I don' t know what your price range is, but I would guess it is not much by the way you describe what you have seen.
You should check out the SW and SE CC areas, for dry lots you can find a very nice pool home in the 150-200K, for waterfront+pool you can find good stuff from $250K+

[twobums]

I checked SE & SW CC homes with a friend anxious to buy a home... she did not buy for the same reasons, too many abandoned homes, empty streets and an eerie feeling.

[Angelala]

Originally Posted by twobums

I checked SE & SW CC homes with a friend anxious to buy a home... she did not buy for the same reasons, too many abandoned homes, empty streets and an eerie feeling.

That's not what I have seen, we drive around the neighborhoods regularly and there may be one or two empty home's here and there but that's it. I have found the SE and SW areas very nice with people jogging, walking and walking their dogs.

[yoko]

" Statewide, Florida will be slower coming out of the recession than other parts of the country, and it will likely take most of 2010 before the state will find anything resembling an economic bottom, Fishkind said.

Some hard-hit areas of Florida may not be able to return to anything approaching normal activity anytime soon, he said.
"There may be parts of Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres that won't recover," Fishkind said. "It could be that 10 years from now, they are still having problems.""

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100122