My Crystal Ball

LAmbiance – Pelican Bay – Naples FL – Years ago I bought a crystal ball as a paper weight. When people asked me about my real estate predictions, I used to joke that my crystal ball is always cloudy.

Since the pandemic started, I must have been asked my opinion of the market hundreds of times. When the pandemic first hit I worried about prices decreasing. As more people came to Naples to enjoy warm weather during the pandemic, I saw more owners pull their rental units off the market to use the units for themselves. Some of these people retired early; others were working from their Florida home.

I then saw the people who started living in the units they used to rent start looking for larger units. Almost every buyer like this that I interacted with wanted a villa in Pelican Bay under a million with a pool. Even in early 2021 this was almost impossible. People were buying larger units and selling their smaller units or keeping them in the family. As 2021 progressed, the inventory in Pelican Bay decreased. As of this morning there were only 19 listings in the entirety of Pelican Bay. Of those 19 listings, only 3 are under 1 million dollars. The least expensive is $725,000.00. In all of Naples there are only 894 active listings. I can remember when we had thousands of listing for sale in all of Naples.

This lack of inventory caused countless multiple offer to happen. Units were selling way over list price. Here’s just one example: a 3 bedroom, 1526 square feet under air, Pebble Creek unit with a one car garage, listed at $799,000.00. It closed on 1/21/22 for $856,000.00.

LAmbiance had 10 sales last year. You can click here to view them: https://bit.ly/3H8ZLvY Note: 3 of the GARDEN HOMES SOLD OVER 900K. There is a 3 bedroom, first floor garden unit that is currently off the market. It will be returning to the market after some work has been done, hopefully before mid-Feb. That unit is currently priced at $950,000.00.

My real estate career has spaned 44 years. During this period of time, I have never seen a market with so little inventory. People who might want to sell their Pelican Bay units to move to bigger units are stuck in place because there is nothing on the market.

So, what do I think is going to happen to the market? Once again, my crystal ball is cloudy. Unless we start getting more inventory on the market, I think we still will be facing multiple offers. Buyers coming into Naples now are facing major sticker shock. If they refuse to buy or the pandemic wans and inventory climbs, we might see the market start to stabilize and prices decrease a bit. I’m thinking maybe a 3-5% decrease. Let’s see what happens as Easter approaches.

LAmbiance is in need of volunteers for the directors positions in Gardens I and Gardens II. If you are interested in becoming a director, please call Eagle Property Management at 239-596-5567 by February 11th. NOTE: If we cannot find volunteers for the job, Gardens I and Gardens II might have to pay for an outside person to fill the position.

If you are thinking of selling your L’Ambiance unit, please call me before you do any major remodeling. I’d be happy to discuss current market conditions and give you selling tips. I have a list of buyers who are looking for specific units in L’Ambiance. I’d be happy to discuss not only the pricing in L’Ambiance but the pricing for low-rises in Pelican Bay and condos in Naples to see how your unit fits into the equation.

If you own in L’Ambiance, have you joined our L’Ambiance in Pelican Bay Facebook page yet? It’s a great source to ask questions and to get information. Just click here —> LAmbiance in Pelican Bay. Because I am keeping this a private page, you’ll be asked to answer a couple of questions so I can approve you on the page.

Would you like to subscribe to L’Ambiance updates? E-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com and I will add you to the subscription list. Please know that I keep our e-mail address private.

Please note that I receive not compensation for mention of any businesses or events.

About the author:

Lynn Wilber is a Real Estate Professional who lives in L’Ambiance in Pelican Bay. Her 43 years of real estate experience and her area expertise have been valuable resources to LAmbiance Sellers and Buyers. For more information, please contact Lynn Wilber via e-mail at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com or call 239-594-2780.

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Sunshine Shunned: Snowbirds Hesitant about Florida Return

Lambiance  – Pelican Bay – Naples, FL – The link below will take you to an interesting article about Florida’s snowbirds.

Source: Sunshine Shunned: Snowbirds Hesitant about Florida Return

I’ve recently heard of 3 families cancelling vacations to Florida and a few snowbirds holding off their trips to their Florida residences until the Covid numbers come down. It will be interesting to see what happens this season.

LAmbiance’s units are desirable to many people. Last week we had a second floor garden home come on the market. It was under contract within 3 days. As of today there are no units for sale in LAmbiance. There are only 22 places for sale in all of Pelican Bay.

Since the beginning of the year LAmbiance has had 8 sales. If you click here, the link will take you to a list of those sales.  https://matrix.swflamls.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?p=DE-99347885-537&k=190465XHFL8&eml=THlubkhXaWxiZXJAZ21haWwuY29t#1

It’s definitely a Seller’s market. If you are thinking of selling, you can be aggressive with your price. There are so few listings and so much demand your property should sell quickly.

If you are thinking of selling your L’Ambiance unit, please call me before you do any major remodeling. I’d be happy to discuss current market conditions and give you selling tips. I have a list of buyers who are looking for specific units in L’Ambiance. I’d be happy to discuss not only the pricing in L’Ambiance but the pricing for low-rises in Pelican Bay and condos in Naples to see how your unit fits into the equation.

Downing Frye’s office has moved! Our new office is in the Galleria on Vanderbilt at:

8950 Fontana Del Sol Way Suite 100 – Naples, FL 34109

If you own in L’Ambiance, have you joined our L’Ambiance in Pelican Bay Facebook page yet? It’s a great source to ask questions and to get information. Just click here —> LAmbiance in Pelican Bay. Because I am keeping this a private page, you’ll be asked to answer a couple of questions so I can approve you on the page.

Would you like to subscribe to L’Ambiance updates? E-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com and I will add you to the subscription list. Please know that I keep our e-mail address private.

Please note that I receive not compensation for mention of any businesses or events.

About the author:

Lynn Wilber is a Real Estate Professional who lives in L’Ambiance in Pelican Bay. Her 43 years of real estate experience and her area expertise have been valuable resources to LAmbiance Sellers and Buyers. For more information, please contact Lynn Wilber via e-mail at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com or call 239-594-2780.

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Canadian Snowbirds Delaying Fla. Visits Until COVID-19 Eases

Lambiance – Pelican Bay – Naples, FL – I saw this article in my trade e-mail this morning and wanted to share it with you.

Travel decisions for our Canadian snow birds likely are contingent on how much longer the U.S.-Canadian border remains shut or if Florida’s COVID-19 cases rise or fall in the next few months.

Source: Canadian Snowbirds Delaying Fla. Visits Until COVID-19 Eases

As I read this article, I thought about L’Ambiance’s Canadian owners and our Canadian renters who return to us. Until Canada reopens the boarder to the U.S., they won’t be visiting. I haven’t seen any stats about the lack of European visitors this summer as of yet.

The Naples Board of Realtors July Stats showed a decrease of -3.2% in Naples Beach Area condo median closed sale price.  You can view the full report just click here —- report. Just scroll down to the Naples Beach stats on page 17.  All and all I’d say the market is doing pretty good considering we are in a pandemic.

L’Ambiance’s palm trees were trimmed this and the coconuts were removed. This made for some pretty interesting sounds. I’m always happy to see the coconuts down before a hurricane. I can just picture a storm slamming them into a window.  Our Hong Kong Orchid trees were also trimmed too.

Trimmed Palm Trees

Trimmed Hong Kong Orchid

Trimmed Palms in L’Ambiance

…………………………………………

So, how have you been managing through the pandemic? Don and I have pretty much stayed close to home. We usually do quit a bit of entertaining but that has stopped. We find ourselves virtually entertaining on Skype or Zoom now. We hope you and your families are all safe and healthy.

Downing Frye’s office has moved! Our new office is in the Galleria on Vanderbilt at:

8950 Fontana Del Sol Way Suite 100 – Naples, FL 34109

If you own in L’Ambiance, have you joined our L’Ambiance in Pelican Bay Facebook page yet? It’s a great source to ask questions and to get information. Just click here —> LAmbiance in Pelican Bay. Because I am keeping this a private page, you’ll be asked to answer a couple of questions so I can approve you on the page.

If you are thinking of selling your L’Ambiance unit, please call me before you do any major remodeling. I’d be happy to discuss current market conditions and give you selling tips. I have a list of buyers who are looking for specific units in L’Ambiance. I’d be happy to discuss not only the pricing in L’Ambiance but the pricing for low-rises in Pelican Bay and condos in Naples to see how your unit fits into the equation.

Would you like to subscribe to L’Ambiance updates? E-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com and I will add you to the subscription list. Please know that I keep our e-mail address private.

Please note that I receive not compensation for mention of any businesses or events.

About the author:

Lynn Wilber is a Real Estate Professional who lives in L’Ambiance in Pelican Bay. Her 43 years of real estate experience and her area expertise have been valuable resources to LAmbiance Sellers and Buyers. For more information, please contact Lynn Wilber via e-mail at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com or call 239-594-2780.

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Red Tide in Naples FL

LAmbiance – Pelican Bay – Naples FL – If you are a member of our LAmbiance in Pelican Bay page on Facebook, you have seen all the posts I have made about the epic red tide that has hit our area this year. Those of you who know Don and I are aware we spend 90% of our summer after work at the beach, unless ThorGuard has prevented us from getting there. (ThorGuard is Pelican Bay’s lightning protection system. I could write a whole another article on ThorGuard.) Since about the beginning of August, we have been unable to go to the beach due to high red tide levels. In the twenty-two years we have lived in Naples, this was the worst red tide we have seen.

You may find yourselves coming back to Naples and be lucky enough that the red tide is not present.  Today I checked https://visitbeaches.org/ to determine if red tide is present on Vanderbilt Beach because I’d like to visit the beach today.  Luckily red tide is not present as of 10:43 AM this morning. One thing to keep in mind about red tide is that it can come and go. It can be nice in the AM and terrible in the PM.  I’ve put the above link on my phone’s home screen along with:

Collier County Red Tide Status

NOAA Gulf of Mexico Harmful Algal Bloom Bulletin

If you are returning to Naples and you are lucky enough to be here when there is no red tide, you might think “Oh it wasn’t that bad, the press must just have been playing it up.”  I am here to tell you as your neighbor, who has been here all summer, IT WAS THAT BAD.  Don and I had the unfortunate experience to be in the Gulf when the tides changed. We found ourselves being circled by dead fish, dead crabs as big as my hands and dead eels as long as my arm.  We quickly left the water and we haven’t been in the Gulf since that time.  If you really know the Wilbers, you know how much this had to hurt our summer.

“So what?” you might ask yourselves. “Red Tide isn’t here now, why should I worry about it?”  You should worry about it because red tide comes and goes.  While it might not be here while you are in town, it could reappear a week after you leave.

There was an excellent article in the TC Palm Treasure Coast Newspaper today.  In the article there is a link to a video of the blue-green toxic algal bloom flowing through Cape Coral.  One of the sentences in the article really stuck home with me, “Those of us who live here know paradise is in trouble.”  I thought to myself “Oh my God! This is so true!”  I live here and I have seen and smelt the dead fish. I heard from my friends about the black water down at Marker36 beach. I’ve seen the tram drivers wearing masks to protect themselves from red tide. I’ve seen the warning about high bacteria levels at Vanderbilt beach.  This is not fake news, it is a reality.

On September 24, 2018, I posted a podcast of a discussion of water quality in Southwest Florida. A former Lee County Commissioner, Ray Judah, was being interviewed about all  the aspects that affect our water problems.  If you haven’t listed to the podcast, please do so by clicking —–> PODCAST

I know some of our neighbors are registered to vote in Florida.  While I stem from a family who had constant political discussions, I loathe getting involved in discussions in today’s political climate. Red tide has been a problem going on for years. BOTH political parties have contributed to the lack of financing for red tide research and testing. BOTH political parties have taken campaign money from the sugar cane industry.   I would urge you to contact the candidates on our ballot and see where they stand on getting money for research and testing for red tide and blue-green toxic algal and how they intend to handle more pollutants going into our waterways. Both of our Senators are so excited they have found money, 1.6 billion, for a reservoir to hold the polluted run off from Lake Okeechobee. I still haven’t seen an answer as to what they intend to do with all the polluted water that will be held in the reservoir.

In my opinion, common sense should dictate that our money should be spent on reasearch as to what causes red tide, what feeds red tide and how can we prevent more pollutants from going into Lake Okeechobee.

I have given you a lot of information in this post.  Please take some time to listen to the podcast and read the articles I’ve referenced.  Your neighbor, who happens to be a Realtor, thinks it is important that you research your candidate’s stand on what they plan to do about red tide and pollution flowing into our waterways before you vote.  Your property values could depend on the quality of our water.

Please note that I receive not compensation for mention of any businesses or events.

About the author:

Lynn Wilber is a Real Estate Professional who lives in L’Ambiance in Pelican Bay. Her 40 years of real estate experience and her area expertise have been valuable resources to LAmbiance Sellers and Buyers. For more information, please contact Lynn Wiber via e-mail at Lynn@NaplesBuys.comor call 239-594-2780.

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LAmbiance Website

LAmbiance – Pelican Bay – Naples FL –  Many thanks to the members of our LAmbiance website committee, EJ Eckert, Whit Turner, Richard Reich and Don Wilber for putting together our new Lambiance community website!  This website is just chock full of all sorts of information you may need from any recent notices to residents and board contact information.  Looking for a form?  You’ll find it on this site.  What committees do we have here in LAmbiance?  The information is on the site. Need a copy of the rules and regulations?  You’ll find them on this site.  Need association documents?  You’ll find those on this site also!  Does your Realtor need condo documents?  There is a specific sign up for Realtors on this page so they will only be able to access association documents.

I snapped a photo of my desktop screen so you could see what the site looks like on-line.

New LAmbiance Website. https://lambiancenaples.com/registration

Because our LAmbiance site is a secure site, registration is required. Shortly after you submit your registration, you will receive an email with login instructions. You will then be able to choose a password, login and browse the member-only sections of the site.

The registration link is: https://lambiancenaples.com/registration

For many years, neighbors have wanted a neighborhood directory.  What is nice about this new site is that neighbors can list their contact information in the neighborhood directory.  Don’t want to be listed?  You can choose NOT to be listed or choose what information in your profile you want listed when you register. You can even post a photo of yourself in your profile! In the upper right hand corner of the site, you’ll even find a link to our LAmbiance Facebook page.  Just click on the white f to be taken to the Facebook site.

Would you like to give feedback on our site?  Once you are registered, you can click on the CONTACT US button on the site. Where it has SEND TO, click on the drop down menu and select WEBSITE QUESTIONS.  You can also comment at the bottom of this blog post and I will make sure the website committee receives your comments.  Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated!

What’s happening in the real estate market?  I’m saving my thoughts for another blog entry as it is just too much to type.

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

If you own in L’Ambiance, have you joined our L’ Ambiance in Pelican Bay Facebook page yet? It’s a great source to ask questions and to get information. Just click here —> LAmbiance in Pelican Bay. Because I am keeping this a private page, you’ll be asked to answer a couple of questions so I can approve you on the page.

If you are thinking of selling your L’Ambiance unit, please call me before you do any major remodeling. I’d be happy to discuss current market conditions and give you selling tips. I have a list of buyers who are looking for specific units in L’Ambiance. I’d be happy to discuss not only the pricing in L’Ambiance but the pricing for low-rises in Pelican Bay and condos in Naples to see how your unit fits into the equation.

Would you like to subscribe to L’Ambiance updates? E-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.comand I will add you to the subscription list. Please know that I keep our e-mail address private.

Please note that I receive not compensation for mention of any businesses or events.

About the author:

Lynn Wilber is a Real Estate Professional who lives in L’Ambiance in Pelican Bay. Her 40 years of real estate experience and her area expertise have been valuable resources to LAmbiance Sellers and Buyers. For more information, please contact Lynn Wiber via e-mail at Lynn@NaplesBuys.comor call 239-594-2780.

YouTube | Linkedin | Twitter | Facebook | Reviews | Lambiance on Facebook