Let's Talk...
Fla. students can go to school across county lines

 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – April 15, 2016 – Florida has a new "school choice" law (CS/CS/HB 7029) that allows state students to attend any school they wish subject to a set of rules.

While it's too early to predict the impact on the state's housing market, 50 percent of buyers with children younger than 18 considered the quality of local schools an important consideration, according to the National Association of Realtors® 2015 buyer and sellers report. The law goes into effect July 1, 2016.

"While the new school choice law has a potential impact on buyer demand in certain neighborhoods, it's important for buyers to understand that 'school choice' isn't a sure thing," says Margy Grant, Florida Realtors vice president and general counsel. "There are rules. A buyer's child may or may not be allowed to attend a specific school – and even if they can, the parents may later find out acceptance to a middle school doesn't lead to automatic acceptance into the area's high school.

"Realtors should not tell buyers that their children can attend a different school, and all school district information should come directly from local records," recommends Grant. "As always, Realtors should be the informational 'source of the source' to help buyers uncover the information they need to find their perfect home."

Rules for Florida's school choice program

• Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, a parent whose child isn't subject to a current expulsion or suspension order may seek enrollment in any public school in the state, including a charter school, providing that school is not operating a full student capacity.
• Parents must provide transportation for any student attending a school outside of his or her district, though the chosen school "may provide student transportation at their discretion."
• When schools determine "capacity," they must include "specifications, plans, elements, and commitments contained in the district's educational facilities plan and required long-term work programs." In other words, a school may not accept new students simply because a few classes have unoccupied desks.
• Certain students take precedence over other students in an open enrollment process, including dependent children of active duty military personnel who moved as a result of military orders; children relocated due to foster care placement in a different school zone; children relocated due to a court ordered change in custody as a result of separation or divorce, or the serious illness or death of a parent; and students residing in the school district.
• Charter schools may provide preferential treatment in the controlled open enrollment process to the enrollment limitations consistent with law and its charter contract. The charter school must post the application process on its website.
• Students residing in the school district may not be displaced by a student from another district. In Florida, school districts tend to be operated at a countywide level.
• A student who transfers may remain at a school until he or she completes the highest grade level offered. An out-of-district student accepted into an elementary school, for example, may remain at that elementary school until he or she completes all grades. However, continuation at that district's middle school isn't guaranteed.
• Each district school board must post the open enrollment application process on its website required to participate in controlled open enrollment. In addition, it must maintain existing academic eligibility criteria, identify schools that have not reached capacity and ensure that each school board adopts a policy of preferential treatment.

© 2016 Florida Realtors®

Let's Talk Hot Off the Press...

First Quarter Inventory is Reason to Smile

Naples, Fla. (April 15, 2016) - According to statistical data in the First Quarter 2016 Market Report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), buyers, sellers and REALTORS® have a good reason to smile because inventory is on the rise; making the Naples area housing market more stable than any previous quarter in the last eight years.

"Our seasonal buyers seemed to get off to a slow start this year, but showing activity has picked up in the last six weeks," said Kathy Zorn, broker/owner, Florida Home Realty, concurring with fellow broker analysts reviewing the statistics that their firms also reported recent increases in property showings. 

According to the report, overall inventory for the first quarter of 2016 increased 33 percent to 5,651 homes from 4,253 homes in the first quarter of 2015. Leading the rise in inventory by percentage of increase during the first quarter of 2016 were condominiums in the $1 million to $2 million category, which increased 61 percent to 208 condominiums from 129 condominiums in the first quarter of 2015. Leading the rise in inventory by the number of units were condominiums in the $0 to $300,000 price category, which increased 33 percent in the first quarter 2016 to 1,181 condominiums from 887 condominiums in the first quarter of 2015. Geographically, the overall inventory in North Naples (34109, 34110, 34119) increased the highest percentage in the first quarter of 2016 by 43 percent to 1,630 homes from 1,142 homes in the first quarter of 2015.

Overall pending sales (homes under contract) in the first quarter of 2016 decreased 23 percent to 2,786 homes pending from 3,628 homes pending in the first quarter of 2015. The only pending sales category that increased was the single-family $500,000 to $1 million price category, which increased 11 percent to 308 single-family homes pending in the first quarter of 2016 from 277 single-family homes pending in the first quarter of 2015.

"A five percent decrease in overall closed sales [12-months ending] isn't bad considering 2015 was a phenomenal year," said Rick Fioretti, NABOR® President and Broker Associate with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Florida Realty.

There were 9,352 overall closed sales in the 12-months ending first quarter 2016 compared to 9,873 overall closed sales in the 12-months ending first quarter 2015. Added Fioretti, "That, coupled with prices remaining steady in all sectors above $300,000, indicates market stabilization."

The report also showed traditional sales are at the highest level on record at 95 percent since NABOR® began tracking activity in July 2009 when traditional sales were reported at 51 percent of all sales. Only 5 percent of closed sales in March 2016 were non-traditional, short sales or foreclosed properties.

According to Cindy Carroll, SRA, with the real estate appraisal and consultancy firm Carroll & Carroll, Inc., "The report indicated that we had 7.2 months of inventory in March. This is an important number to watch as I think it shows a stabilization trend is well rooted."

The NABOR® First Quarter 2016 Market Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. The NABOR® First Quarter 2016 sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings: 

• Overall pending sales decreased 23 percent to 2,786 in 1Q 2016 from 3,628 in 1Q 2015.

• Pending sales for single-family homes in the $500,000 to $1 million price category increased 11 

                percent to 308 single-family homes in 1Q 2016 from 277 single-family homes in 1Q 2015.

• Overall closed sales decreased 5 percent to 9,352 homes in the 12-months ending 1Q 2016 from 9,873 

                homes in the 12-months ending 1Q 2015.

• Overall median closed price increased 12 percent to $311,000 in the 12-months ending 1Q 2016 from     

                $278,000 in the 12-months ending 1Q 2015.

• Overall inventory increased 33 percent to 5,651 homes in 1Q 2016 from 4,253 homes in 1Q 2015.

• Inventory for condominiums in the $300,000 and below price category increased 33 percent to 1,181 

                condominiums in 1Q 2016 from 887 condominiums in the 1Q 2015.

• Average days on market decreased 9 percent to 77 days in 1Q 2016 from 85 days in 1Q 2015.

            

The NABOR® March 2016 Market Report reflects these overall (single-family and condominium) findings: 

• Overall pending sales decreased 25 percent to 1,136 homes in March 2016 from 1,520 homes in 

                March 2015.

• Overall closed sales decreased 25 percent to 794 homes in March 2016 from 1,063 homes in March 

                2015.

• Closed sales in the $500,000 - $1 million single-family home price category increased 34 percent to 90 

                single-family homes in March 2016 from 67 single-family homes in March 2015.

• Overall median closed price increased 8 percent to $323,000 in March 2016 from $300,000 in March 

                2015.

• Overall median closed price increased 101 percent in the Immokalee/Ave Maria area to $239,000 in 

                March 2016 from $119,000 in March 2015.

• Median closed price for condominiums in the $2 million and above price category increased 18 percent 

                to $2,837,000 in March 2016 from $2,405,000 in March 2015.

• Average days on market decreased 4 percent to 76 days in March 2015 from 79 days in March 2015.

• Overall inventory increased 33 percent to 5,651 homes in March 2016 from 4,253 homes in March 

                2015.

• Inventory for condominiums in the $1 million to $2 million price category increased 61 percent to 208     

                condominiums in March 2016 from 129 condominiums in March 2015. 

While commercial activity is not reflected in the statistics, Bill Poteet, owner and broker at Poteet Properties, indicated that cash sales are up in the commercial real estate market despite a lack of inventory. He believes that demand will continue to grow for commercial real estate properties in the Naples area, and the growth trend will continue as long as our economy is good.

"Our market is performing very well in the face of many stateside and worldwide factors," said John Steinwand, Broker and Principal at Naples Realty Services, Inc., referring to matters such as the low Canadian exchange rate, impending presidential election, and the United Kingdom's stance on its continued EU participation. "While some homebuyers may sit back until outcomes are in sight, others, particularly in the $500,000 to $1 million price range, are finding the increase in inventory to their advantage."

Mike Hughes, Vice President/General Manager of Downing-Frye Realty, summarized the first quarter report by saying, "Inventory is at the best level we have seen in the past three years, and days on the market are decreasing. Properties at preferred locations are selling quickly. With the increase in inventory, the buyer has more properties to choose from this year. I also think that the sellers might be more flexible this year with their price. It is definitely a good year to be a buyer." 

As always if you have any questions about our Real Estate Market here in South West Florida please feel free to contact me!

Michelle J. DeNomme, REALTOR, GRI

Cellular Phone I  239.404.7787

E-Mail : Michelle@NaplesHomeSweetHome.com

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty

Office: 239.659.2400

E-Fax Number: 239.236.5550

Website:  www.NaplesHomeSweetHome.com        

Blog Page:   http://michelledenomme.blogspot.com  

Twitter Me: DeNommeRealtor 

To view the detailed report be sure to click below:

View 1Q 2016 Market Statistics

View March 2016 Market Statistics

The Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®) is an established organization (Chartered in 1949) whose members have a positive and progressive impact on the Naples Community. NABOR® is a local board of REALTORS® and real estate professionals with a legacy of nearly 60 years serving 5,000 plus members. NABOR® is a member of the Florida Realtors and the National Association of REALTORS®, which is the largest association in the United States with more than 1.3 million members and over 1,400 local board of REALTORS® nationwide. NABOR® is structured to provide programs and services to its membership through various committees and the NABOR® Board of Directors, all of whose members are non-paid volunteers.

  

The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics.

Let's Talk... Hot off the Press...
Fla. cities at top of luxury home list

 

MIAMI – April 12, 2016 – America's top cities and ZIP codes for luxury home listings and sales kept a stable pace of growth over the last year, according to Coldwell Banker Previews International's latest annual Luxury Market Report.

Florida cities landed in the most top spots for high-priced real estate, with luxury sales posting double-digit growth in Miami, Naples and Palm Beach. Two cities – Lake Worth and Wellington – also landed in the top 20 list for luxury home sales worth $10 million or more for the first time.

The uptick in luxury sales occurred across the country, though certain pockets showed the highest increases. In Austin, Texas, for example, sales of $1 million-plus homes last year jumped 32 percent year-over-year thanks to an increase in its tech and entertainment industries.

However, Fort Lauderdale followed closely behind with a 31 percent increase in $1 million-plus home sales, and Seattle saw a 30 percent increase.

Closed sales

$1,000,000-plus home sales: Florida cities in top 208. Naples (1,135 sales with a 93% average list price to sales price ratio)
10. Miami (1,007 with a 92% ratio)
14. Fort Lauderdale (789 with a 90% ratio)
18. Miami Beach (650 with a 92% ratio)

$5,000,000-plus home sales: Florida cities in top 204. Miami Beach (95 sales with a 91% average list price to sale price ratio)
5. Naples (87 with a 92% ratio)
12. Palm Beach (43 with an 89% ratio)
13. Miami (43 with an 89% ratio)
18. Boca Raton (33 with an 88% ratio)

$10,000,000-plus home sales: Florida cities in top 205. Miami Beach (25 sales with a 90% average list price to sale price ratio)
8. Naples (16 with an 89% ratio)
10. Palm Beach (13 with an 87% ratio)
11. Miami (13 with an 87% ratio)
17. Delray Beach (7 with a 90% ratio)
19. Wellington (7 with a 76% ratio)
20. Lake Worth (6 with an 89% ratio)

Listings

$1,000,000-plus listings: Florida cities in top 202. Miami (1,654 listings)
3. Miami Beach (1,473)
4. Naples (1,146)
9. Fort Lauderdale (878)
10. North Miami Beach (810)
13. Boca Raton (662)
18. Sarasota (455)

$5,000,000-plus listings: Florida cities in top 202. Miami Beach (365 listings)
6. Naples (120)
7. Miami (106)
11. North Miami Beach (91)
12. Boca Raton (87)
13. Palm Beach (81)
15. Fort Lauderdale (75)
18. Key Biscayne (52)

$10,000,000-plus listings: Florida cities in top 202. Miami Beach (152)
9. Naples (33)
10. Palm Beach (33)
13. Miami (24)
14. North Miami Beach (22)
17. Boca Raton (18)
18. Key Biscayne (18)
19. Fort Lauderdale (18)

The complete report with a ranking of all U.S. cities is available online.

© 2016 Florida Realtors®   

Let's Talk...

Six FL Metros Among Fastest Growing 20 in Nation, Two in South West Florida...

Drivers stuck in traffic along Cleveland Avenue, Colonial Boulevard, or Cape Coral Parkway will groan in agreement with the release of a new report by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Thursday’s report found the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area to be among one of the fastest growing in the nation in 2014 and 2015.

According to the data, from July 1, 2014 to July 1, 2015, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro, which includes all of Lee County, grew by 3.3 percent putting it second among metro areas in Florida, behind only The Villages, a retirement community west of Orlando, which grew by 4.3 percent. The Villages have been the fastest growing metro area in the nation for the last three years in a row.

Nationally, only The Villages and Myrtle Beach, S.C. rank ahead of Lee County. Midland, Tex., and Odessa, Tex., also grew by 3.3 percent.

Census estimates put the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro’s population over 700,000 people for the first time, at 701,982. That ranks the area as the 79th largest metro area in the country, a gain of one spot over 2014.

Florida accounted for six of the 20 fastest growing metros, with Punta Gorda, North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, and Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island finding spots on the list.

The Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island metro area, congruent with Collier County, grew by 2.6 percent from 2014 to 2015, with estimates putting the population at 357,305 in July of 2015. Combined, Lee and Collier Counties broke the 1,000,000 resident barrier for the first time in 2014.

Texas had five of the 20 fastest growing, South Carolina had three. Colorado and Utah each had two, while Oregon and North Carolina had one each.

Farmington, N.M., near the Four Corners, has the dubious honor of having the fastest shrinking metro area, with population falling by 4.2 percent.

20 FASTEST GROWING METRO AREAS
(percentage change follows city)

The Villages FL, 4.3

Myrtle Beach-Conway-N. Myrtle Beach SC-NC, 3.5

CAPE CORAL-FORT MYERS FL, 3.3

Midland TX, 3.3

Odessa TX, 3.3

Greeley CO, 3.2

Austin-Round Rock TX, 3.0

Bend-Redmond OR, 2.9

Punta Gorda FL, 2.8

Ft. Collins CO, 2.7

North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton FL, 2.7

College Station-Bryan TX, 2.6

Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort SC, 2.6

NAPLES-IMMOKALEE-MARCO ISLAND FL, 2.6

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford FL, 2.6

Raleigh NC, 2.5

St. George UT, 2.5

Charleston SC, 2.4

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land TX, 2.4

Provo-Orem UT, 2.4

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© 2016 Naples Herald. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Let's Talk Hot Off the Press...

Here’s what you missed at The Real Deal’s Toronto event

Top investors, developers & brokers headed to Canada for marquee showcase and forum

April 01, 2016 05:45PM
By Hiten Samtani

- See more at: http://therealdeal.com/miami/2016/04/01/heres-what-you-missed-at-the-real-deals-toronto-event/?

From the New York website: Canadians are often sorry, but they won’t apologize for their sizable real estate bets: The country is one of the largest investors in the U.S. market, and The Real Deal’s first-ever event in Canada brought the biggest players from both countries together for a day of education, networking, and plenty of deals. 

The event, held at the Sony Centre in Downtown Toronto on March 30, kicked off with an intimate Q&A with Michael Wekerle, legendary Canadian investor and star of “Dragon’s Den.” True to character, the “King of Bay Street” took the stage sporting a tan three-piece suit with a pocket square and yellow socks, and donned silver Ray-Bans which he never took off.

“I spend a lot of money on shoes and clothes now because I didn’t have it as a kid,” he told branding expert Tony Chapman, who asked the investor questions about his career, his comfort with risk and his real estate bets.

Removing “fear and greed” from the investing equation is paramount, Wekerle said. He spoke about his decision to cash out of his big 2008 bet on the South Florida housing market, explaining that his “exit formula is based on a 3x return.” South Florida is an area he remains bullish on, he said, noting that “you cannot replace beachfront. Location location location.”

Michael Wekerle and Tony Chapman

Between the panels, attendees checked out the latest projects being marketed by Related ISG, Douglas Elliman, ARX, Magic Development, Freed Development and Pemberton Group.

Next up was a discussion on South Florida real estate, which brought on stage some of the industry’s leading authorities on that market: Carlos Rosso of the Related Group; Dev Motwani of Merrimac Ventures; Gil Dezer of Dezer Development; Jay Parker of Douglas Elliman Florida; and Mark McLean of the Toronto Real Estate Board.

Moderated by TRD’s Editor-in-Chief Stuart Elliott, the panel focused on some of the latest trends in South Florida development and Canadian activity there. Elliman’s Parker said that despite the relatively weak loonie, Canadian buyers were still asserting themselves.

Mark McClean, Gil Dezer, Jay Parker, Carlos Rossi and Dev Motwani

“There have been more luxury buyers from Canada at 70 cents than ever before,” he said. Rosso said that though the market was healthy, developers were no longer pricing as exuberantly as they had been in 2014 and 2015.

“Today you can get much better deals than two years ago,” he said. Dezer said whetting Canadian appetites for South Florida real estate was simple: Target them in the winter months, and “show them a picture of a palm tree.”

Parker and McLean spoke of the need for South Florida brokers to work far more closely with their counterparts up north.

“We have never powerfully connected the broker community in South Florida to the community in Toronto, which is a missed opportunity,” Parker said. Because of high commission splits in Canada, it’s been tricky to collaborate in the past, but the effort was important so that both sides could establish trust.

“Wrong answer,” Dezer said. “They [Canadians] are going to buy anyway without you, so make sure you’re there.”

Attendees in discussion at The Real Deal’s Toronto event at the Sony Centre

The final panel discussed big-picture trends in the U.S. real estate market, with a focus on opportunities in New York and other gateway cities. JDS Development Group’s Michael Stern, who’s developing 11.5 million square feet between New York and Miami, talked about the extraordinarily high barriers to new condo development in New York, from unaffordable land to a spike in construction costs.

Sharif El-Gamal of Soho Properties, the developer behind 45 Park Place in Tribeca and the Dream Hotel in Times Square, said that “luxury has become a taboo word” in New York, but it was important to separate sentiment from the facts. “If you look at 2007-2008, we haven’t even come close to that supply” of luxury product in this cycle, he said.

Michael Stern, J.D. Parker, Sharif El-Gamal, Phil Soper, Rick Rush and moderator Hiten Samtani, discussing investments in residential and commercial markets in key U.S. cities

Rick Rush of Hodges Ward Elliott noted that despite a 30 percent growth in the supply of hotel rooms in New York, occupancy rates were still hovering around 85 percent. He addressed the Airbnb effect, saying that the short-term rental behemoth was, at most, pushing hotel occupancy rates in New York down by  just 1.5 percent and mostly affecting hotels offering lower price points. Other major hotel markets such as San Francisco, Miami and Los Angeles were also enjoying high occupancy rates, he said. And some emerging markets, such as Nashville, Austin and Denver, “are on fire,” he said, with “jobs following people instead of people following jobs.”

Phil Soper, CEO of Royal LePage, one of Canada’s oldest and largest brokerages, said that despite falling oil prices and the weakening Canadian currency, U.S. real estate remains a central component of Canadians’ investment strategies.

“Long-term, nothing has changed,” he said.

Amir Korangy introducing a Q&A with Dragon’s Den star, Michael Wekerle

J.D. Parker, director of the tri-state region at Marcus & Millichap, noted that Canadian institutional investors such as Ivanhoe Cambridge continue to grab headlines with big-ticket deals like the $5.3 billion acquisition of Stuyvesant Town, smaller Canadian players aren’t yet playing a role in the U.S. multifamily market. Fears of the headaches of rent regulation and the uncertainty of dealing with difficult tenants are a deterrent, he said.

Hiten Samtani, TRD’s managing web editor and the moderator of the panel, then asked a question about Donald Trump, and whether his divisive rhetoric would have an impact on foreign investment.

Attendees discuss Miami developments

El-Gamal, a Muslim developer whose 2010 plans for an Islamic center near the Ground Zero site thrust him into the national spotlight, said it was “embarrassing” that “such a divisive conversation” about race and identity was happening in 2016.

The Middle East remained a major investor in the U.S. real estate market, El-Gamal noted, telling the audience that he was disappointed that Trump had used his massive platform in such a manner.

Soper noted that Trump had talked about building a wall between the U.S. and Canada, which is by far the largest foreign real estate investor in New York. In that event, “we won’t bother coming anymore,” Soper said, to applause from the audience.

“I’m scouting for a second home in the event [Trump] wins,” Parker quipped. “[It] would be a good investment prior to him winning — which I don’t think it will happen.”

Tags: The Real Deal, Toronto

- See more at: http://therealdeal.com/miami/2016/04/01/heres-what-you-missed-at-the-real-deals-toronto-event/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=heres-what-you-missed-at-the-real-deals-toronto-event&utm_source=The+Real+Deal+E-Lerts&utm_campaign=effa2f0ff2-SF_DAILY_02_17_20162_16_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6e806bb87a-effa2f0ff2-385823109#sthash.h08wl0YA.dpuf