Suncoasteam Blog

It is now the time to finally catch up with the rest of the civilized world and invest in efficient, clean high-speed rail. This country’s total reliance upon air travel is a dead end. The recent cancellation of thousands of flights only underlines the problem with this mode of travel.

Investment in a national high-speed rail system will create good, long-term jobs, help clean up the environment and reduce the dependence upon fossil fuels.

(You are welcome to post your thoughts and opinions but this is a discussion, not a personal attack. Please limit comments to intelligent, constructive discussion, whether you agree or not.)

Most efforts to bring high-speed rail to the USA have fallen to individual states. Various state proposals are on ballots and before legislature to start their own systems. This is a plan doomed to failure. Only a national system, with a national plan will work. It has to start regionally but be ready for transcontinental integration. This system should easily mesh with local and state systems to provide links to existing or additional systems. Only a system with identical platforms and vehicles will make this happen.

One of the most expensive elements of a new system is land acquisition. We can reduce this drastically if we build a system using the median strip of the interstate highway system. The current interstate highway system serves almost every significant city and spurs or bus lines can easily service smaller municipalities as connectors.

The federal government should invest in this system as they did in the Interstate Highway System under the Eisenhower Administration. The system should concentrate on high profit corridors first, such as the east coast, upper Midwest, west coast and Texas, expanding continuously until complete.

Management of individual lines should be “bid out€ to existing companies such as air line and bus companies that can manage the ticketing and customer traffic efficiently. Infrastructure maintenance should be maintained from a fund, charged as a portion of each ticket and contracted to private companies that are well regulated.

We should not think of this system as a standard rail train line. There should not be a line of train cars joined together as a standard rail train. Instead, we should have bus size cars that serve stops on the line more frequently. A computerized system can regulate speed of the cars and schedule. A system such as this will make it easy to travel intermediate distances and reduce the burden on airports. Travel from Denver to Kansas City will be easier than messing with the airport and leave the airport to those who need to travel longer distances.

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This report shows the decline in median asking price for standard (STD) homes in Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda during May – July, 2006. (Number of homes in that category)

All Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte: P-Sections 101 – P 124

July 2006
All Active S/F/H Listings – 2888
All Active S/F/H Listings 3 bed/2 bath only – 1596
Active Median List Price. 3/2/2, 1500 – 2000 s/f, w/pool $284,900 (182),
n/pool, $244,900 (241)

June 06
All Active S/F/H Listings – 2862
All Active S/F/H Listings 3 bed/2 bath only – 1568
Active Median List Price. 3/2/2, 1500 – 2000 s/f, w/pool $289,500 (184),
n/pool, $249,900 (250)

May 06
All Active S/F/H Listings – 2901
All Active S/F/H Listings 3 bed/2 bath only – 1586
Active Median List Price. 3/2/2, 1500 – 2000 s/f, w/pool $299,900 (217),
n/pool, $249,900 (280)

STD: Standard home is a non-waterfront, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 car garage, between 1500 and 200 square feet of air conditioned living area. Median sale price (half sold for more, half sold for less) was determined for homes with a pool and homes without.

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Below are statistics of homes sold in Port Charlotte / Punta Gorda between January 1, 2004 and June 30, 2006. This is a standard 3/2/2 (see note below for full description).

First column is the total number of 3/2 homes sold in the month, regardless of size.

Columns two and three are standardized homes (see below for description) with and without pools. Price is median price, bracketed numbers are number of standard homes sold.

3/2 SFH Sold/month: $-STD/with pool $STD/no pool

6/2006 – 52 $245,000 (17) $220,000 (16)

5/2006 - 97 $255,000 (14) 220,000 (12)

4/2006 – 81 $245,000 (15) 219,900 (19)

3/2006 – 90 $285,000 (19) 235,000 (11)

2/2006 – 74 $269,000 (5) 229,000 (8)

1/2006 – 61 $247,000 225,000

12/2005 – 103 $260,000 239,500

11/2005 – 101 $270,000 241,900

10/2005 – 90 $285,000 227,000

9/2005 – 122 $270,000 225,000

8/2005 – 149 $252,450 225,000

7/2005 – 172 $262,000 220,000

6/2005 – 159 $254,000 225,000

5/2005 – 146 $240,000 192,000

4/2005 – 131 $220,000 199,500

3/2005 – 139 $215,000 209,000

2/2005 – 89 $240,000 195,000

1/2005 – 87 $203,500 234,900

12/2004 – 111 $198,900 189,850

11/2004 – 91 $194,000 155,000

10/2004 – 83 $180,000 172,500

9-2004 – 59 $180,000 173,250

8/2004 – 64 $185,000 172,900

7/2004 – 179 $197,000 170,000

6/2004 – 165 $205,000 168,000

5/2004 – 170 $179,900 150,900

4/2004 – 197 $181,500 154,000

3/2004 – 161 $170,000 144,000

2/2004 – 124 $170,000 164,900

1/2004 – 99 $163,000 134,000

Notes:

3/2 SFH Sold/month: All 3/2 of any kind sold per month in PC-PG

STD: Standard home is a non-waterfront, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 car garage, between 1500 and 200 square feet of air conditioned living area. Median sale price (half sold for more, half sold for less) was determined for homes with a pool and homes without.

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After steep increases in prices for vacant land and homes in Southwest Florida over the past three years, prices have stabilized and are beginning to come down.

An analysis of listed properties and sales over the past several months show a steep increase in available properties and much longer time on the market before they sell. In some cases prices have fallen dramatically and if this trend continues, we could see price reductions of 10% or more. In this section we will discus home prices.

Over the past three months we have seen the number of homes of all types and sizes actively being marketed in the Punta Gorda / Port Charlotte area has hovered around 2,900 homes.

To perform our analysis, we tracked listings and sales in the Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte area. While we examined all home sales, we felt that using a standardized model most popular with buyers would give the most representative figures.

Our standard home is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet and not on any waterfront. We separated pool homes from those without pools for our numbers. (If you are interested in a different type of home in a different area, we will be happy to provide a report specific to your needs)

On July 15, 2006 there were 182 standard pool homes (as stated above 3/2/2, 1500 – 2000 s/f) listed with a median asking price of $284,900 and 250 standard non-pool homes with a median price of 249,900. In June, 2006, the median asking price of a pool home in this area was $289,500, (184 available) and no pool, $249,900 (250). The May, 2006 numbers are Pool: $299,900 (217), no pool: $249,900 (280).

In the month of June, 2006, 17 standard pool homes sold with a median price of $245,000 and 16 non-pool homes with a median price of $220,000. (Note: These are closed sales for which we have solid numbers. That means that the sale was negotiated on average two months prior to closing. All indications are that people are negotiating lower prices today)

This is a huge difference between asking and selling. Moreover, there is a large inventory of homes. Of the 217 pool homes available in May, only 17 closed in June. Only 16 of the 280 no pool homes closed.

This means that Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda is still a bargain if you shop around. When a seller is reasonable and a buyer is knowledgeable, a fair transaction can be arranged.

Timing is the key. If you are buying an existing home, you are probably close to the bottom of the market. This is the time to shop and negotiate a great deal. Home pricing is dependent upon replacement cost. A resale home will never cost more than a new home. There are great deals out there. All you need is a broker who will work for you.

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Your Suncoasteam wishes to use this blog as an open discussion about Southwest Florida Real Estate. Readers are encouraged to ask questions and comment upon Andy’s or Jim’s opinions.

We hope this forum becomes a means to keep you informed of changes to our regional market, options for financing, insurance, home maintenance and any issue relevant to our customers real estate needs.

Here you will find articles on pricing trends that will be valuable to both buyers and sellers. We will analyze listings and sales in select communities that can be regarded as representative of the area in general and keep you informed of these trends.

We will post information on current mortgage interest rates and help our buyers secure reasonable homeowner insurance.

And we hope that through this blog, we show you the value and professionalism of Your Suncoasteam and you choose to employ us when you buy or sell a home in Southwest Florida.

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