Sand Caper Condos – Fort Myers Beach FL

Beautiful Condo overlooks the Gulf of Mexico!  Unit features new tile and newly remodeled kitchen, The building has just been painted and new pavers installed around the pool. This complex has a 2 week rental minimum which helps with extra income. You can watch the diving Ospreys and Pelicans as they catch fish for dinner. You can enjoy the Egrets and Cranes wade in the shallows of the preserve while walking by to the wide sandy beach! Sand Caper Condo is located at the serene south end of the island close to everything Fort Myers Beach Has to Offer:  shopping, restaurants, golf and a marina. All you need is a toothbrush since this is a turnkey unit. New A/C in 2009 and new hot water tank in 2008.

Click For more info and pictures of this Sand Caper Vacation Condo for sale.

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Come Stay and Play on Fort Myers Beach in Your Own Vacation Condo!

It’s time to plan your Summer vacation so why not consider the Crystal Blue Waters of the Gulf of Mexico here on Fort Myers Beach? Our beautiful Estero Island features some of the best beachfront and bay-side condos anywhere in Florida.

From Condo-Hotels like the Pink Shell Resort to Family beach front condominiums offering weekly rentals like Smugglers Cove, owning a vacation condo on Florida’s barrier islands can be your dream come true.

So if you are planning a trip to the Gulf Coast, Fort Myers, Sanibel Island or Naples this Summer, Why not take advantage of GRID Realty Groups Fly & Buy Discount Vacation Program for discounted vacation weeks, look at a few vacation condos for sale and if you decide to buy, we’ll refund your condo stay at closing!

Visit Florida Real Estate GRID for up to date Southwest Florida MLS Listings.

NEW YORK (CNN) – Renting used to be cheaper than buying, but in many U.S. cities that’s no longer the case, as rents continue to climb and home prices stagnate.

While asking prices for homes declined 0.7 percent over the past 12 months through March, rents rose 5 percent, according to a report released Thursday by real estate listing site Trulia.

The median rent for all types of rental homes hit $1,350 a month in March, up from a median of $1,285 a month 12 months ago, Trulia reported.

“Buying a home is more affordable than renting now in almost every part of the United States,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist for Trulia. Several metro areas recorded double-digit percentage increases in rental rates.

In Sarasota, FL., the average rent jumped 12.9 percent year-over-year, the biggest increase of any of the 100 largest metro areas Trulia surveyed. Miami and San Francisco saw the next biggest increases, with rent hikes of 12.1 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively.

Banks are loosing up on credit restrictions making it easier for home buyers to get the credit they need towards a new mortgage. Contact Clay Cason or Alex King at GRID Realty Group to see what we can do for you.

For more on this article see http://www.ksla.com/story/17349943/do-not-assign-dont-rent-buy-a-house-instead

Visit Florida Real Estate GRID for up to date Southwest Florida MLS Listings.

Good News for the Real Estate Industry as Housing Crisis comes to an end in 2012!

According to a recent report by Capital Economics, the forecast for the U.S. Housing market is looking good. Most experts believe that the housing crisis of the past few years will come to an end in 2012 as banks begin to once again loosen credit restrictions allowing more potential borrowers to receive housing loans.

The analytics firm notes the average credit score required to attain a mortgage loan is 700. While this is higher than scores required prior to the crisis, it is constant with requirements one year ago. Additionally, a Fed Senior Loan Officer Survey found credit requirements in the fourth quarter were consistent with the past three quarters.

However, other market indicators point not just to a stabilization of mortgage lending standards, but also a loosening of credit availability. Banks are now lending amounts up to 3.5 times borrower earnings. This is up from a low during the crisis of 3.2 times borrower earnings. Banks are also loosening loan-to-value ratios (LTV), which Capital Economics denotes “the clearest sign yet of an improvement in mortgage credit conditions.”

As we mentioned in earlier blog posts, Florida is leading the charge in the U.S. Real Estate Market recovery, particularly in the Southwest Gulf coast region around Fort Myers Beach.If you have ever dreamed of owning a vacation or retirement home or condo in Florida, Now IS THE TIME! Prices are still low but expected to begin rising by the end of the year.

Contact one of our GRID Agents at info@MLSGRID.com or call  239.324.9859 for a free market evaluation or customized MLS Search Report.

Visit Florida Real Estate GRID for up to date Southwest Florida MLS Listings.

Join Us for an open house of unit 907C at Estero Beach & Tennis Club Condos – Manhattan Skyline Style Condominiums on Fort Myers Beach !

Located at:
7360  Estero Blvd.
Unit 907C
Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931
Date: Wednesday March 23rd, 2012
From 11am-3pm

This 1 bed/1 bath corner unit at Estero Beach & Tennis Condos offers Long Beach Views, Sunsets Galore over Sanibel, Marina Services at FishTale, Shopping at Santini Plaza, Clay Tennis Courts and of course White Sugar Sandy Exclusive Beaches. Located between Lovers Key State Park and World Famous Sanibel Island, this High Rise Apartment in the Sky makes a great stop over for the International Traveler between ventures or the Florida Life Style Vacationer.

Visit Florida Real Estate GRID for up to date Southwest Florida MLS Listings.

Real Estate Prices Coming Back In Balance

The most expensive houses in Southwest Florida went for chump change last year — relatively speaking.

Turns out that just like the rest of us, the very rich appreciate a bargain even when they’re shopping for multimillion-dollar houses.

Even so, the most expensive home in Lee County in 2011 was a bay-to-Gulf mansion on Captiva Drive that went for $6,087,000, according to statistics compiled by Michael Polly of Royal Shell Real Estate.

But that was still less than 2010’s winner: another Captiva house on Dickey Lane that was bought for $7 million.

In Collier County, the decline was even steeper: 2011’s winner was a $15 million Fort Charles Drive house compared to 2010’s $22 million for a Gordon Drive house.

“You’re talking about sellers who don’t have to sell and buyers who don’t have to buy,” Polly said. “We’ve seen a dramatic interest in those properties because they’ve come down to current market prices.”

Cheryl Turner, an agent with John R. Wood Realtors in Naples, said potential buyers of the most expensive homes are newly interested in Southwest Florida because of the lower prices.

That doesn’t mean a buyer now will get an absolute steal, she said. “The homes coming on the market are some of the newer homes. There are fewer teardowns. There are fewer and fewer choices and the prices are holding firmer.”

Now, she said, “The pending sales are for more than the closed sales are. As those (pending sales) close, I think you’re going to see a prior bottom.”

The new interest in luxury homes here extends from the very top to the next tier down, said Brad Hunter, chief economist for Metrostudy, which tracks subdivision sales in Southwest Florida and other areas.

He noted that at the opening of Riverstone, a gated community being developed in North Naples by GL Homes, there were people camping out overnight like in 2004, at the top of the boom.

For more of this article please visit the News Press at:  http://www.news-press.com/article/20120306/BUSINESS/303060019/Southwest-Florida-s-high-end-real-estate-priced-move?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Home

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Island Board Of Trade (IBOT) To Hold Free Property Tax Seminar

The Island Board of Trade (IBOT) will be hosting a FREE Property Tax Seminar on Tuesday, Feb. 7, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. The seminar will take place at Bonita Bill’s Waterfront Cafe, 700 Fisherman’s Wharf on San Carlos Island (under Matanza’s Pass Bridge).

The featured speaker of the seminar will be Mike Hagen, attorney from Taxcuts1. Plan to attend to get a better understanding of your property taxes.

–submitted by Georgia Reinmuth

Re-posted from http://www.fort-myers-beach-observer.com

Visit Florida Real Estate GRID for up to date Southwest Florida MLS Listings.

Brazilian state-run bank buys Florida-based bank to expand operations in US

According to a report in the Washington Post, Brazil’s State run bank has purchased Florida-based EuroBank in an effort to expand it’s operations here in the U.S..  The statement says the acquisition will help Banco do Brasil “expand its operations in the United States, especially among the Brazilian and Hispanic communities.”

According to the article by the Associated Press:

EuroBank said on its website that Banco do Brasil will “cooperate in the development of the communities where the bank is located and will provide products and services like checking accounts and savings accounts, debit and credit cards, domestic and international funds transfers, and internet banking.

Over the past two years, Brazilians, Argentines, Venezuelans and Mexicans have helped revive the real estate market in south Florida, one of the hardest hit by the mortgage crisis that punished much of the U.S. in 2008.

“From a real estate point of view, south Florida depends on the Latin American market,” Edgardo Defortuna, one of the founders of Miami-based Fortune International Realty, told The Associated Press late last year.

Walter Molano of the PCP Securities investment bank said that for many Latin Americans, property in Miami costs less than in their home countries.

“Miami is less expensive than many capitals especially Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and in some cases Bogota, Buenos Aires and Santiago,” Molano said last year.

GRID Realty Group is at the forefront of the real estate market when it comes to bringing International buyers and Investors to the Southwest Florida Markets. Through our International “Vacation Fly and Buy Real Estate” and EB-5 Investment Visa partnership programs, our highly experienced multilingual team of agents can assist with all your real estate or investment needs.

For more on this article please visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/brazilian-state-run-bank-florida-based-bank-to-expand-operations-in-us/2012/01/20/gIQAUaMMDQ_story.html

Visit Florida Real Estate GRID for up to date Southwest Florida MLS Listings.

U.S. Real Estate Market Sees Surge In New Construction Opportunities

Wall Street saw a gain in the DOW on Tuesday of over 337 points, a jump many analysts say is largely due to growth of new construction in the U.S. Housing Market.

The Commerce Department says builders broke ground on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 homes last month, a 9.3 percent jump from October. That’s the highest level since April 2010 and requests for building permits, a gauge of future construction, rose by 5.7 percent.

Although the numbers for new home construction are well below what they were a few years ago, with an increase of single-family permits of just 6.6 percent in the past year, apartment permits have surged by roughly 63 percent.

For the investor, particularly those interested in EB-5 Investment opportunities in the U.S., this is excellent news. Renting has become a preferred option for many Americans who lost their jobs during the recession and were forced to leave their houses.

Visit Florida Real Estate GRID for up to date Southwest Florida MLS Listings.

Santini Marina Plaza Seafood Festival

Join us for day of fun and food at the Santini Marina Plaza Seafood Festival.
When: January 14, 2012
Time: 9:00AM-4:00PM
Place: Santini Marina Plaza
7205 Estero Blvd
Fort Myers Beach, FL

Enjoy an amazing seafood samplings, fresh baked pastries and a delectable assortment of cake and ice cream treats from the restaurants of Santini Marina Plaza.

This Fort Myers Beach Seafood Festival is fun for all ages! Adults can browse and shop the more than 40 street vendors and artisans while the kids can see the antics of “Buttons” the Clown or have their face painted.

Call Bonnie at 239.443.8810 For More Information

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