Naples Florida Real Estate

Villas of Pelican Bay is a fabulous centrally located community that can be found next to the Pelican Bay golf course on Gulf Park Drive! Currently there are two properties available there but you'll want to hurry! Pelican Bay sales are up nearly double compared to this time last year!

I took some video of Laurel Oaks at Pelican Bay while doing some research for the next issue of my "Pelican Bay Pink Pages", a monthly Pelican Bay newsletter that is available on a subscription only basis to Pelican Bay homeowners and prospects.  They've been doing great improvements and should be commended for their attractive and money saving improvements!  To learn more about Laurel Oaks at Pelican Bay, sign up for the Pelican Bay Pink Pages!

Enjoy the Laurel Oaks at Pelican Bay video!

While doing some research this evening, I stumbled across a terrific deal located in Pointe at Pelican Bay! Pointe at Pelican Bay is a gated, attached villa community featuring a pool, spa and fitness center.  At one time units sold for nearly $400.00 per square foot but the one I found today is LISTED for only #307.00 per square foot. The details are located below:

505 Via Veneto #201

Now $849,000 doesn't sound like that great of deal considering two just sold in Pointe at Pelican Bay in the $600's but this unit is MUCH LARGER, coming it at over 2,700 square feet of living space so comparatively, that unit really is a great deal.

Currently there are 4 Pointe at Pelican Bay homes for sale and are worth a peek.

I run into properties all the time I can consider a bargain but mostly I don't blog about them just in case the customers I'm currently working with may have an interest.  By the time my customer has either purchase or moved off of it, the property is gone and then blogging about it would be redundant.  That's why it's smart to contact me direct and let me find a property for you that will work for your needs and if you're looking for a beachfront steal, call me right away!

PS~ The blogging has slowed because I am a BUSY girl! But, I'm not too busy for you if you give me a little time to prepare for your visit!

Best Regards,

I'm not quite sure what was in the air this time last year regarding the typical prospect for Pelican Bay but it was just plain weird!  I suspect it had a great deal to do with the stock market blues that occurred September 2008 paired with the typical, "I want to buy when Pelican Bay bottoms out" mentality. The mixture of the two occurrences made for an interesting few months for sure. 

We saw a handful of single family homes dip under 1 million again, a super glut of condos that sat without offers and a few low-rise condos sell for under $300,000!  It wasn't too terribly long ago when you couldn't tip toe into Pelican Bay without $500,000 in your pocket and at that price you weren't going to get much...maybe a horribly outdated condo hugging Tamiami Trail...but that was about it.  That's probably why some sellers stuck their nose up at low offers which by what I heard and saw was prevalent.  Some listing agents fumed to the point of near hostility at some of the offers I presented only to gulp hard 6-8 months later when I was back with inquiries on the same properties that still hadn't sold...sigh.  Other sellers took less than they'd hoped to get deals done and some agents worked their tails off to insure closings.  All in all, it was a pretty rough year for Pelican Bay.

Rumor has it there will be more foreclosures and short sales appearing in locations like Pelican Bay this year.  There are 3 Pelican Bay properties being advertised as possible short sales now although only one of them looks like the deal you would hope to find...in fact...it is a REALLY good deal! If you're interested in learning more about it, shoot me an email or give me a call!  There are currently zero foreclosures.

Talking about good deals in Pelican Bay...a single family home closed for $775,000 today! HOLY COW! It had been put on the market for a whopping $1,499,000 just over a 2 years ago and was listed for just under $1,000,000 when they negotiated that price! So, yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause you can still cut a nice deal in Pelican Bay.

Here's a breakdown of the current Pelican Bay Real Estate Market:

Pelican Bay Homes (Single Family):
31 Active
6 Pending
24 Closed last year 
That's about a 15 month supply...not bad but there is a slight oversupply of inventory!

Pelican Bay Villas
32 Active
6 Pending
34 Closed last year
Villas over all other product still are the hottest ticket in Pelican Bay! This market is STABLE.

Pelican Bay Condos (Low-Rise)
97 Active
9 Pending
78 Closed last year
There's just under a 15 month supply...same oversupply as single family!

Pelican Bay Condos (Mid-Rise)
17 Active
4 Pending
11 Closed last year
Eh...18 month supply :(

Pelican Bay Condos (High-Rise)
175 Active
6 Pending
81 Closed last year

OMG Nearly 26 month supply of inventory...there might be some opportunity here!

Currently there are 352 Pelican Bay listings. That's just over 18 months of inventory.  It's going to be important for Pelican Bay property owners who want to sell this season to play it smart! You'll want to watch pricing closely and you'll want to take a peek around your property.  People aren't snatching up tired for premium pricing anymore and for those of you who were smart enough to remodel or have product in excellent condition, crazy pricing isn't probably going to attract that cash/close tomorrow buyer either.

If I were listing my Pelican Bay home to sell right now, I'd be making sure all systems were in great working condition, everything was in beautiful aesthetic condition, my property was priced at an "oh crap if we don't buy it today somebody else will" level and I'd be hosting open houses every weekend. Now I know some people don't think open houses work but they definitely do in Pelican Bay.

For more information regarding Pelican Bay, visit my website or contact me direct!

Best Regards,

Shannon Lefevre, PA
Your Naples Smart Girl!

It's been awhile since you've seen a Pelican Bay Naples Florida real estate update out of me so let's not dally any longer!

There are a whopping 378 active listings in Pelican Bay right now with the lowest priced property currently priced at only $285,000 located in Laurel Oaks at Pelican Bay (that is a steal) and the highest priced property priced at $14,900,000 located in the Strand at Bay Colony

Of the 378 Pelican Bay properties for sale there are: 

• 41 Pelican Bay single family homes
• 99 Pelican Bay low rise condos
• 25 Pelican Bay mid rise condos
• 183 Pelican Bay high rise condos
• 30 Pelican Bay attached and detached villas

There are currently 35 Pelican Bay properties pending with the lowest listed priced pending sale property listed at $270,000 (no brainer) located in Glencove at Pelican Bay and the highest priced pending sale rolling in at $5,795,000 in Bay Colony Shores

Of the 35 Pelican Bay properties currently pending there are:

• 5 Pelican Bay single family homes
• 15 Pelican Bay low rise condos
• 1 Pelican Bay mid rise condo
• 10 Pelican Bay high rise condos
• 4 Pelican Bay attached and detached villas

So far this year there have been a total of 105 Pelican Bay Sales with lowest priced sale selling for only $249,999 located in Laurel Oaks at Pelican Bay and the highest priced sale rolling in at a whopping $16,400,000 located in the Strand at Bay Colony once again!

Of the 105 Pelican Bay Sales there are:

• 10 Pelican Bay single family homes
• 33 Pelican Bay low rise condos
• 4 Pelican Bay mid rise condos
• 37 Pelican Bay high rise condos
• 21 Pelican Bay attached and detached villas

Obviously some segments of Pelican Bay are doing better than others with Pelican Bay villas leading the way in sales.  In fact there's barely a year of Pelican Bay villa inventory on the market right now!  Low rise condos aren't doing bad either but the biggest glut of inventory clearly falls in the high rise product in Pelican Bay.

Sellers:  If you're thinking about selling...choose your pricing very carefully.  Properties listed over $500,000 are not seeing near the traffic compared to properties priced below $500,000.  Be sure your properties are in the best possible condition as well.  Pelican Bay properties that are updated, clean and are priced well are clear winners while anything less can sit for a LONG time.  Most importantly, if you really don't care if you sell right now, either take your place off the market or wait a bit...

Buyers:  Your best negotiation will probably occur in the price ranges above the $500,000 price range but don't expect a heavy discount guarantee.  Market times on many of these listings will prove that sellers can and will hold out for their price.  There are already some great deal listed but do not expect to realize huge discounts off fair market value and rule but more of an exception.

For more information regarding Pelican Bay, contact me direct!

Best Regards,

Your Naples Smart Girl!

Pelican Bay Short Sales & Pelican Bay Foreclosures are just two more topics I've been asked about consistently throughout the last several months.  Let's face it, "Short Sale" and "Foreclosure" are two of the most attractive real estate terms of the moment especially if you are a buyer looking for a deal.

Pelican Bay currently has 9 "possible" short sales listed , 3 pending and 2 closed.

Are short sales all they're cracked up to be in Pelican Bay? According to MLS there are only 2 that have sold in Pelican Bay. 

Here are the stats:

St. Tropez#602 listed for $549,000 sold turnkey closed for $521,000. It had also been remodeled. It was listed February of last year, pended in June and sold in July...not bad. There's only one other one that has closed in St. Tropez as of January 2008.  Unit #203 sold furnished for $410,000 and had been remodeled as well.  There were points to consider including #203 had no view and #602 had a great Gulf of Mexico view.  This is a big factor!

BUT

There's one on the market now for less than the short sale sold just 10 "short" months ago. I'd tell you more but the agent will not allow me to blog about it.  You're welcome to check out the St. Tropez at Pelican Bay portion of my website to see what's currently available. Did that short sale buyer get the deal of the universe?  You tell me...

The next short sale looks a little more like a deal!

700 L'Ambiance #202 sold for $484,000 unfurnished. It was listed for $599,000 in December 2009, went under contract in January and closed in April. It sold for 21,000 less than anything else over the last 17 months but wait there's more! The short sale was actually larger and showed MUCH better than the one that sold for more so in this case, yep, the short sale was the better deal!

It's impossible to guess how lucrative or prevelent Pelican Bay short sales will become.  The best way to determine if a Pelican Bay short sale is in fact a deal is to look at it on a case by case basis.  Do some analysis with your favorite "smart" agent. 

At this time there aren't any foreclosures in Pelican Bay but if there were, you'd be able to check those out along with the 9 available Pelican Bay short sales in my next issue of the Pelican Bay Pink Pages!

It's only available by subscription so don't forget to sign up by shooting me a quick email with your name and email address!

Best Regards,

Your Naples Smart Girl!

Did you know there are still Pelican Bay and Bay Colony agents who refuse to allow IDX capability on their Pelican Bay and Bay Colony listings?  That means they won't allow other agents and/or companies to advertise those listings on their websites.  This can prove to cause quite an exposure problem since over 86% of all buyers are beginning their search on the Internet these days.  Some of the buyers I've worked with during the last couple of years do so much research before they come down they actually send me a list of what they want to see before they get here which will usually eliminate those listings not advertised on my Naples Florida real estate website. Now some might question why those listings need to show up on my site.  I actually place quite high on most Pelican Bay and Bay Colony search terms so I do see quite a bit of traffic from potential buyers across the world. If those listings aren't there then that means no exposure for those nonIDX properties.

The reason why this is such a disservice to both consumer and seller is due to the fact that there isn't one company (or agent) who has mastered the ability to place on the front page of each search engine for every Pelican Bay related search term which means that those listings may just go completely unseen.  For example, if you search Toscana at Bay Colony in Google right now, there's one listing you just won't find on any of the websites that show on the first page.  The agent who has the listing isn't listed there and neither is their listing they've prevented IDX access to.

Today there are 14 Pelican Bay properties that are NOT available through IDX.  It doesn't sound like much but that's over 23 million dollars worth of real estate that may not be seen by the majority of buyers out there.

You'll be able to see those listings when you sign up for the Pelican Bay Pink Pages.  That's my monthly newsletter available to those who sign up.  NonIDX listings, Pelican Bay and Bay Colony buying and selling trends along with tons of other timely content can be found in the Pelican Bay Pink Pages.  If you're interested, just send me an email at slefevre@johnrwood.com expressing your interest in the Pelican Bay Pink Pages with your name and email address and I'll add you to the mailing list.  

Best Regards,

Your Naples Smart Girl!

The Pelican Bay Pink Pages is now in circulation!  Here's an example of the first issue below:

The Pelican Bay Pink Pages offers a huge amount of information like:

• Listings of Pelican Bay open houses
• Current Pelican Bay market trends
• Pelican Bay neighborhood updates
• Inventory reports
• The ability to search Pelican Bay homes
• The ability to search Pelican Bay condos
• Pelican Bay closed sale information
• Buy strategies and trends
• Selling strategies and trends

There's more content than any blog or website can offer and it comes directly to you so you can be up to date on the latest Pelican Bay happenings.

Sign up and see for yourself here!

Sign up by shooting me a quick email: slefevre@johnrwood.com 

Best Regards,

Your Naples Smart Girl!

Ever wanted to know what was going on in Pelican Bay but didn't want to bother your agent for the updates?  Get near real time information through my new Twitter account: @Pelican_Bay.   From there you'll learn what's new on the market, pending listings, closed sales and more updated several times throughout the day!  It doesn't get much easier than that!

Best Regards, Your Naples Smart Girl!

A colleague of mine (Scott Lepore) dropped by my office yesterday with some statistics about Pelican Bay that proved quite disturbing.  While he was preparing for a big speech he'll be giving next week, he ran an in depth market analysis of the past 2 years of sales activity and compared those with the current year.

Here's what he handed me:

We still have a full week of peak season before we can officially call it 1st Quarter 2009 but as you can see from the numbers above, Pelican Bay isn't doing so hot!

Now let's double the trouble by showing what's currently available and what the projected number of sales will be for 2009 based on 1st Q's activity:

How many fewer sales are we on track for so far this year?

BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY IF YOU WANT TO SELL YOUR PELICAN BAY PROPERTY!

There are some aspects in real estate that always remain the same!

• Price
• Condition
• Location

There's no mystery Pelican Bay is a phenominal location and offers fabulous amenities like the beach clubs, fitness center, golf club and spa!  But my fellow Pelican Bay property owners (and neighbors), we need to make a tough decision!  Do we really want to sell now (in what appears to be super crappy market) or do we wait for better times? 

Here are cold hard facts!  If you want to sell today, you either need to have something very special seperating your property from the other 446 Pelican Bay listings or your pricing has to be SO astronomical, buyers are compelled to write contracts for fear of losing such an excellent buy!

The price reductions have begun and I believe we're going to continue to see a need for price adjusting for the next several months until Pelican Bay is stable again. 

The faster Pelican Bay property owners adjust price or take their properties off the market, the faster a more stable Pelican Bay real estate market will result. 

Also a simple note to the less motivated. If you haven't had any showings in awhile and you don't want to either sharpen up your property condition or drop your price, for Pete's sake, take your property off the market!  2 years of active inventory is a little much! 

For more information regarding Pelican Bay Naples Florida, you can contact me direct or follow my Pelican Bay Naples Florida tweets on Twitter @Pelican_Bay

Best Regards!

Your Naples Smart Girl!