Let's Talk Hot Off The Press...

August Home Sales Strong as Prices Hold Steady Naples, Fla. (September 20, 2019) - Closed sales of homes  in Collier County increased 7.4 percent in August, but overall  inventory fell 17.8 percent to 4,917 properties compared to 5,980  in August 2018, according to the August 2019 Market Report released  by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks  home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island).  This reduction in inventory - which included 616 homes that were either  terminated, expired or withdrawn from the Southwest Florida MLS in  August - resulted in a six-month supply of inventory for Collier County  at the end of August. "We know that traditionally, inventory will begin to creep up  in September, October and November as many sellers try to  get a jump on the competition that might list their properties  closer to our winter season," said Mike Hughes, Vice President  and General Manager for Downing-Frye Realty, Inc. "But the  pre-season months (September through November) can be a  great time for buyers as well. Buyers will find less competition  [from other buyers] in the pre-season months. They will also  get an early peek at properties that will probably sell during  season."   The August ShowingTime report indicated that local  REALTORS® scheduled 16,878 appointments during August.  This is an increase of 16 percent compared to showings in August  2018. On average, a home in the Naples area is shown 16 times  before it secures a contract.    Broker analysts reviewing the August Report are leery of sales  activity next year as sellers will face market uncertainty brought  on by a presidential election. In the third quarter of 2016 - right  before the last presidential election - overall closed sales in Collier  County decreased 14 percent compared to closed sales during the  third quarter of 2015. Budge Huskey, President of Premier Sotheby's International  Realty added, "The overall market is very healthy today based  on the average person's financial position continuing to improve  in tandem with the economy. Yet in the luxury and upscale second  homes markets, which are often elective, buyers tend to have a  longer-term horizon and base investment decisions on where they  believe the economy and markets will be a year or more  out in the future. Accordingly, there are mixed signals and sentiment."    Incidentally, the $300,000 to $500,000 price category led closed  sales in August with a 10.1 percent increase followed by closed  sales of properties under $300,000, which increased 6.5 percent.  Closed sales of homes between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000  decreased 5.7 percent.   "Sales of single-family homes were up almost 10 percent this August, " said Huskey. "Despite the reduced inventory overall, new listings  coming on the market were up 4 percent in August and builder  inventory is up as well." The median closed price in August decreased just 0.2 percent to  $317,918, which is only $582 lower than the median closed price in  August 2018 ($318,500). In fact, price increases have only been  reported in two of the last 12 months (October 2018, 3.7%;  and April 2019, 3.4%).    "We don't know how changes in the political climate will affect  the housing market in 2020," said Wes Kunkle, President and  Managing Broker at Kunkle International Realty. The August  Report showed median closed prices for homes below $300,000  and homes between $1 million and $2 million decreased 4 percent  in August, while homes between $300,000 and $1 million showed  no change in median closed prices.    The NABOR® August 2019 Market Reports provide comparisons  of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest  Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes  an overall market summary. NABOR® sales statistics are presented in  chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium)  findings:  Kunkle added, "We have an entire generation of first-time  homebuyers who have never seen interest rates over 6 percent.  With the recent quarter percentage point cut in interest rates,  there isn't been a better time to lock in and buy than now!"   Geographically, closed sales of single-family homes in the East  Naples are (34114, 34117, 34120, 34137) increased the most in  August by 35.6 percent followed by closed sales of single-family  homes in North Naples (34109, 34110, 34119), which increased  15.6 percent.    Jeff Jones, NABOR® President and Broker at Keller Williams  Naples, added, "There were 1,443 price reductions made during  August [29 percent of the total homes listed], which is important  for buyers as this is an indication that many sellers are eager to  sell!" As always if you have any questions regarding  the enclosed August South West Florida Real  Estate Report please feel free to reach out to  me by e-mail at  Michelle@NaplesHomeSweetHome.com  or by calling 239.404.7787. I hope you have a fabulous weekend. Michelle 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: DeNommeRealtor Homesnap: http://www.homesnap.com/Michelle-DeNomme  Office Address: 621 Fifth Avenue South Naples, Florida 34102 Member Naples Board Of REALTORS  Member Florida REALTORS  Member National Association Of REALTORS  Graduate REALTOR Institute (GRI) Graduate (C2EX) NAR Commitment To Excellence

Let's Talk... Hot Off The Press!
Please Join Us 
On Saturday, October 5th 
From 3:00 to 6:00PM 
At Celebration Park :0)

Let's Talk...

The Garden's 2019 Annual Maintenance Closure,  running September 3 – 30, takes on a festive air  as we gear up to celebrate our 10th anniversary!  Join us starting October 1 as we commemorate  the months ahead with special Member events,  enhanced programming to allow you to connect  with our collections on an even deeper level,  and continued conservation work throughout  the Caribbean Basin to protect the plants we  love for decades to come.  Music in the Garden 12 – 2pm, October 6 & 20 Welcome the cool breezes and shorter days synonymous  with Fall as Music in the Garden moves back outdoors.  Bring your own chair, and sit a spell in your favorite tropical  setting.     View the Fall Lineup Sponsored by:  ‌ Special Thanks to: Fall Walk 6 – 9pm, October 17 – 31 Explore the Garden illuminated in lights as you  delight in autumn in Southwest Florida. Enjoy  live music, specially crafted menu items, and  activities for the entire family.  Discover Fall Walk Media Support Provided by: ‌ Special Thanks to:  Collier County Library Cardholder  Free Admission Promotion October 11 – 13, Rescheduled due to  Labor Day Weekend Storm Closure  We are pleased to offer Collier County Library  cardholders free admission on select dates this  October! Bring the entire family for fun in the Garden.  At least one person per group must be an adult cardholder. Plan Your Visit to the Garden Become a Member Today! The Garden is gearing up for an exciting year, and  we want you to be here to celebrate with us. Now  through September 30, you can save on two of our  most popular membership levels as our gift to you!  Family level membership: $99 ($110 value) Contributing level membership: $215 ($250 value) Join online using these promo codes: FAMILYFUN – Family level membership GREATVALUE – Contributing level membership Become a Member Today & Save After the Storm: Helping our Friends  in the Bahamas  Naples Botanical Garden and Bahamas National Trust  have long maintained a close partnership in research  and plant conservation. In the wake of Hurricane Dorian,  the Garden has set up a donation portal benefiting the  Bahamas National Trust, the country's national park service,  which manages more than two million acres of land and sea  throughout the country's numerous islands. 100% of funds  donated using this link will be used to support the Bahamas  National Trust’s recovery and restoration efforts. Donate to Recovery Efforts Today Free for Members, Included  with General Admission Music in the Garden | 12 – 2pm, 1st & 3rd Sunday W.O.N.D.E.R. in the Garden | 10:30am Daily Tours | 10am Daily Dig Deeper | 11:30am & 1pm Daily  Donate Now       a Member Naples Botanical Garden, Inc. is a 501(c)3  organization.  A copy of the official registration and financial  information may be obtained from the Division  of Consumer Services by calling 1.800.435.7352  within Florida and referencing registration #CH-7593.  Registration does not imply endorsement, approval  or recommendation by the State.

Naples Botanical Garden | email@naplesgarden.org,  4820 Bayshore Drive, Naples, FL 34112

Donna Fiala, Collier County Commissioner, District 1
ENCA Luncheon Speaker Thursday 9/19 (RSVP Today!), New ENEE Awards, Marco Executive Airport Updates, Arts Community Forum, Landscaping Tour, Storage Facilities and Soccer Fields

Donna’s Tidbits

St. Andrews Square, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Just mention 
you are participating in the Dine Out for ENEE Awards Fundraiser. 
Please nominate and recognize outstanding individuals working in the education field who are dedicated to the success of the students at the above schools. Nominations will be accepted now through November 15th, 2019. Please visit www.ENEEAwards.org and click on Nominations at the top of the page. The Nomination Form can be submitted online, e- mailed to eneeawards@gmail.com, or mailed directly to 8595 Collier Blvd., Suite 107-109 Naples, FL 34114. Teachers in Title One Schools rarely receive compensation for the extra hard work they have performed because those perks go to A-schools. These are wonderful, caring schools, but they have a more difficult challenge.

the size of the existing terminal, with the balance paid by local airport and county taxes. The second project will raze the old terminal building, which will free up space for a larger apron. The cost is approximately $4 million, with 90% paid by the FAA. A third project, paid by a private developer: Marco Hangars LLC, is building new hangar facilities on 117,000 sq. ft. of space with 11 totalhangars. When it’s complete there will be abrand new, much larger airport terminal, a larger apron, more hangers, and nicer landscaping. Our little airport has served us well for many years, as has our AirportDirector Justin Lobb, and it’s getting betterall the time. When I worked for the airline here in town (PBA) we would fly charters for the Marco Marriott into the Marco Island Airport! There are a lot of construction vehicles in that area right now, but whenyou get a chance and you’re not wanderingaround during their work hours, go take a peek, or better yet, call Justin and schedule a speaking engagement for your HOA ordevelopment or club. He’s a great speaker,and the news is terrific! By the way, this does NOT mean they will be bringing in larger aircraft or jets. The runway cannot get any bigger and environmental concernskeep it contained. For those who don’tknow, Marco Airport has a unique feature –a nest of American Crocodiles, and Burmese pythons have been caught nearby. We all hope they get rid of those pythons! They are not a unique feature, and not wanted.

The Marco Island Airport, which is located on Mainsail Drive in East Naples is going through major upgrades. A $13 million dollar upgrade to the airport facility and I mean MAJOR! The FDOT will be paying 80% of the cost (or $9.4 million) for the new airport terminal, which will be over 16,000 sq. ft., more than double

For those arriving early, welcome back! Hopefully your summer was everything you hoped for. On Sept. 12th, as I was starting to write this newsletter, I passed a Car Carrier on Davis Blvd. unloading thecars on board. It’s pretty early, but this isthe beginning of our winter residents coming back to our little paradise. The agencies, schools, law enforcement and not-for-profits are always thrilled as they see them arrive because they look at themas their “volunteer workforce” coming home! Right now it’s easy to get into therestaurants and grocery stores, etc. That will change soon, so enjoy it while you can. I was astounded when Eurasia on US 41E atthe entrance to “old” Lely opened. I went there the first night, figuring they’ll needour local support, but boy was I wrong! It was booming with business on their first day back! Twice more I went, but then had to make a reservation because they werevery, very busy! That’s what you get whenthe food is outstanding, the service is friendly and professional, the prices are right, and the owners are hands-on owners! Of course, I run into Marco people there all

the time. I love that Marco comes to East Naples, and East Naples goes to Marco! We support one another, and that makes life better.

The East Naples Civic Association will be holding their regular monthly luncheon on this Thursday September 19th at 11:30 AM atThe Player’s Club in Lely Resort. RSVP’s areneeded by today (September 16th). Please call 434-1967 and leave your name and number of people attending with the answering service. Our speaker will be yours truly, a 45-year resident of East Naples, and a long standing member of ENCA. The Civic Association was founded in 1950 and it is the oldest Civic Association in Collier County. I will be talking about how East Naples became the County Seat, and accomplishments through the years to help bring the community into a better place. We encourage people who attend and have lived here and participated in Improving the area to offer comments as the meeting progresses.

Donna’s Tidbits

How about Sue Orshell, who moved here in 1960! She can probably tell us about Hurricane Donna. We even have original press clippings and entire newspapers donated by Lila Zuck for our information. You will love seeing these newspapers but please be gentle. They areover 40 years old and we’d like to keep themin good condition. There were many folks who have helped to make our community better through the years. I truly hope they can attend and tell us what they have done or what they remember. Hopefully it will become a trip down memory lane. Tom Cannon, make sure to tell us when you owned a Dairy Queen in the shopping center, and John Hooley, please tell us what part you played in the upgrade of the parks and streets, and Lila Zuck, if you see this, PLEASE come and let us see you amongst us! Maybe even say a few words???

A new event will be presented by theENCompass Magazine called East Naples Dine Out on Thursday, Sept. 26th. Sponsored by East Naples Civic Association, it’s afundraiser to recognize outstanding individuals working in the education field who are dedicated to the success of students of Avalon Elementary, Calusa Park Elementary, Lely Elementary, Manatee Elementary, Parkside Elementary, Shadowlawn Elementary, East Naples Middle School, Manatee Middle, and Lely High School, plus Lorenzo Walker High School. Participating restaurants will donate a portion of their sales when the diners mention they want to support the E.N. Excellence in Education (ENEE) Awards. They include: Sam Sneads, lunch and dinner in Lely Resort; 21 Spices by the National award winning Chef Asif (and an East Naples resident!) in Sugden Plaza; Napoli on the Bay located in Hitching Post Plaza, Sugden Plaza and 910 Collier Blvd on Marco Island, take- out and delivery All Day!; Five Guys in Stock Plaza on 951 at Lely Resort; Rib City in Naples Towne Centre – dinner; Burger Fi at Eagle Creek Plaza – all day; Brooks Burgers – Freedom Square, lunch & dinner;Palumbo’s Pizzeria – Stock Plaza, lunch & dinner; Mitch’s Cookies (and they have ice cream too!) – King’s Lake Square, all day;Foxboro Sports Tavern and avid supporter of Lely High School located in the Shops at Hammock Cove – lunch & dinner; The Real Macaw – a popular, long time restaurant on Bayshore Dr., dinner; 485 Degrees – PelicanLarry’s Plaza – All day; and Flavors by Brazil –

Donna’s Tidbits

This week I am taking a tour of our median landscaping issues on the roads in this area: US 41 and Collier Boulevard all the way to Jolley Bridge, Rattlesnake Hammock Rd., David Boulevard from County Barn Road to Santa Barbara, and Airport Road to Golden Gate Parkway. We are looking at the condition of the planting bed and the plants that sit inside, what works and what doesn’t.It should be very educational.

Collier County invites you to discuss the arts and cultural and creative opportunities for all residents in our community. An Arts and Culture Community Forum will be held on Wednesday, September 18th from 5:30 pm to 7pm at the Government Complex in the Commissioner Boardroom located at 3299 Tamiami Trail East. There are two other forums at different locations: Tuesday September 17th 5:30-7:30 at the Collier County Public Library HQ at 2385 Orange Blossom Drive and Wednesday September 18th 5-7pm at the Naples Art Association –585 Park Street in the City of Naples.

We have many accomplished artists within the arts world in our region, as well as hopeful artists. The Arts have been a major force in our community for many years, but now the County wants to hear from you to find out what is most interesting to you and begin to work on a Strategic Plan for the future. Aside from the County, sponsors include the United Arts Council, Community Foundation and Artis-Naples. It’s soimportant when an organization reaches out to the people they hope to serve and ASK them what they want, what do they prefer, and what do they hope to accomplish! So happy to hear Collier County is reaching out to everyone.

I know it seems every time we turn around there is another storage unit being built, so I asked the County Manager how many are already built along the East Trail, how many are being built right now, and how many are approved and waiting to be built. Of course, there are others as well along Rattlesnake Hammock, Davis Boulevard and 951. 

Donna’s Tidbits

The staff came back to the manager saying we have five already built, one that is being built and four that are proposed. We have three developer commissioners that are fine with them, but a couple of us wonder what will happen to an area oversaturated with affordable housing, gas stations, car washes, and three-story storage units. I’ve asked tolimit amounts of these items so that a community can have land available to build things a local community needs like barber shops, shoe stores, dress shops, retail and restaurants, but no one will vote with me to bring a better balance to a community, no matter whose community it is! Look at what can happen to any community when you build too much of one thing, but the othercommissioners don’t agree, with the housing – it’s a 4-1 vote, and the others it’s a 3-2vote. I believe it’s our responsibility to builda community for all, to accommodate the needs of the residents who live in that area. Am I old fashioned?

We have a real need for soccer fields in the East Naples area. We have lots and LOTS of kids who love to play soccer, and it gives them an opportunity to learn good sportsmanship, gain friendships, become a family support system, and so on. I won’t tellyou the response I got, but it was no, but said in other words. We have one soccer field in East Naples Community Park and two at Eagle Lakes. One can be used year-round and the other is closed in the summer while the kids are out of school. I’d love it if the school system would allow us to conduct sports in their playgrounds. It would help the community so much. Would you like to take a little tour to compare our parks withthe parks in the other parts of town? I’dlove to conduct that tour, or you can goyourself if you’d like. Make sure to look atthe facilities where the little children can play inside, where they have classes, and where the kids can get in out of the lightning storms or out of the tremendous heat of thesummer. You’ll find it interesting, to say theleast.

Commissioner Fiala’s Contact Information:
By Mail:
COMMISSIONER DONNA FIALA 3299 TAMIAMI TRAIL EAST #303 NAPLES, FL 34112
By Phone: (239) 252-8601
By Email: Donna.Fiala@CollierCountyFL.Gov
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