Greg Snow - Southwest Florida Real Estate Expert provides real estate services to Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Sanibel and Captiva Islands

"In 65, I was seventeen and running up one- o - one"  www.jacksonbrowne.com  and little did I realize a 1965 song by the Kinks, www.thekinks.org of " Who' be the next in line" was referencing things other than trysts. The good or bad thing about youth is , that ultimately one gets over it :). So, has this decade been the most trying, demanding, confusing and thought content provoking or is it door number 2 (any of the past ones we heard about or can remember) or door number 3, hence the next in line thinking??

Looking at the calendar, I can tell we are on the last days and nights of the first decade of our 21st century. My current thoughts are that time waits for no-one, where have you gone Joe Dimaggio, what's up pussycat, who are you, when I was seventeen, and why's up (Wise up would be better) :)

For all of you who find links to our past and present culture in these simpets, you most certainly have been round the block (or possibly gone round the bend). Living now in our paradise we call southwest Florida, and seeing balmy weather for December here, reflecting back to just what has occurred in the last 360 days and nights might give us all a real sense of what is real and what is memorex .

Who would have thought that running into a fire hydrant by your house would get you HOSED for a couple of hundred million dollars ? That  you would die before singing "Beat It" a few times for a couple of million dollars? That being the leader of the free world means moving a couple of Billion dollars around to bring the USA out of a dive that was so close for us going out. As we wait for the final days and nights to bring in 2010, may we all have the bravado to be better people, spouses, parents, and willing participants in our world......Have a Happy Holiday :)

As we approach our Thanksgiving Day here in Lee County, Florida, it sure seems like we have been here, done that, bought the T-shirt, sold it at a profit, and looking to discover if the world is really round and round. This probably sounds like a script from Abbot & Costello or Laugh-In. I always chuckle when I see or hear "Who's on First..www.abbottandcostello.net, maybe a tad retro for some of the youth of today, but possibly more compelling and insightful than they would ever suspect.

A brief view of my projected week coming to fruition..:) There is a superb possibility of NOT being in any brick and mortar retail, wholesale, or other shopping venue on Black Friday. Waiting for an opportunity to do the "S" word the day after Thanksgiving has evaded my world and I need to keep the streak intact. I believe Al Gore discovered a computer with Internet (lol) and one could go to web sites and pages and purchase goods. Issue solved. Probably forced to watch Detroit Lions and my Bete Noire, Dallas Cow (fill in the blank).. :) Of course, the real value still is family and friends, which I know I will never have enough. Love to all, and next holiday..  to all a GOOD NIGHT!!!!!!

This 10 year old home in a gated community was a specially designed home by Bud Lawrence. Style exudes everywhere from the Italian tile and colorful stained glass windows to hanging tapestry and custom stamped driveway. The Bar-B-Que imported from Germany weighs almost one ton and adorns your lakeview, with large Carp and turtles, besides the pool and spa (new heaters) The Wolf gas stove is worthy of any local restaurant as is the commerical refrigerator and adjacent stand alone ice-maker. Enjoy your wine cooler as you relax in your man or women “cave “ in  the insulated 3 car garage which easily converts back if desired. The living room is extra comfortable, with many additional electrical outlets in the floor, and tall walnut french doors leading out into the pool/spa area. Two inches of polyurethane seal solidify the foundation, trusses, and roof, and reduce the A/C costs in your tropical paradise here in Southwest Florida. Should you fall hopelessly in love with the décor and furnishings, no worries, we’ll see that they convey with the home.

Hello, how are you doing? I just heard a tremendous fact about where I was exactly 25 years ago today :). I was in the old Orange Bowl, on a wet and rainy Friday , the day after Thanksgiving, and witnessed one of the all time best college football games. Late in the hotly contested game between Boston College and the U of Miami, Doug Flutie www.dougflutie2.com , rolled toward me, waved, and then turned and threw a game winning 48 yard touchdown pass. One of those Kodak moments.

Where are we today???? Sunday's News-Press, www.news-press.com ran a story about Thomas Alva Edison, our all time most influential citizen, and his value to putting Fort Myers and Lee County on many person's radar.  Front page story was to drill or Not to drill in our Gulf of Mexico, and how close is too close? Is the pursuit of energy for the U.S. worth a possible MAJOR problem for our area and the whole state of Florida. Do we really want to risk a $60 Billion dollar tourist industry over the possibility of finding oil and or natural gas in the Gulf? Looks like we be coming full circle from early energy discovery to modern day materials.

 Leading headlines today in our local newspaper the News-Press indicates more foreclosures, this time upscale homes are the next target in our topsy turvy real estate market. Lee County is down about 40% in volume from October of 2008, however the middle class is now living the dread of foreclsure fiilings on their properties here. Although new hosuing starts are actuall up here, reduction of inventory is still top priority for all builders. The real estate industry has scratched, struggled, and fought the market's retreat from median home price of $325,000 plus in December of 2006 to about $88,000 today and bargain opportunities still occur should one wish to purchase "the American Dream".

I just read where Warren Buffet and his Berkshire Hathaway group purchased Burlington Northern Railroad for almost $30 BILLION DOLLARS... which indicates one of the all time sharp investors is "all-in" on a harbinger service to accomadate the country's return from the abyss. Locally, we have Lee County reaching the end of almost three years of losses, depreciation, and wipeout of real estate values with real tangible tragic stories of being swept up in the tidal wave of flipping, opti-arm mortgages, and in some cases even fraud to arrive at where we are today. Where are we? Where are we going? Who's on first? What's on second? I don't know -third base!!!!!! Ah, Bud and Lou, come on down. We need you here.:)

 Reading newspapers in today's society sometimes is only done at airports, bathrooms, or while waiting for a doctor's appointment. This morning, I happen to glance at our local paper, the News-Press had a front page story on forgetting the American Dream, which is home ownership. "A survey from the National Foundation Credit Counseling was released showing that almost 50% of all American adults no longer view home ownership as a reliable way to build wealth and 31% don't expect to ever be able to own a home". The crash of our real estate market in Lee County was easily one of the harshest in the U.S.A, and many people who have gone through foreclosure or a short sale will have limited opportunites in the near future because their credit probably took a 100-250 point drop. Many people now rent, and up to now, have probably been paying less than their previous mortgage cost them. Demand for rental housing will increase which will drive up rates in the near future, but for the moment our rental inventory is large, many of these are foreclosures bought by investors to lease out. Is the pain and agony of our fall from exuberence going to last more than a few more years? I sure hope that the answer is a definite NO...:)

 I have the distinct priviledge of marketing a superb home for sale at 1908 Piccadilly Circle in Cape Coral in Lee County Florida. Priced at $698,800, and mostly furnished if desired, you can have a waterfront home in a secure, gated community, that has comfort, style, and value rolled into easy living here on the (B)West Coast of FLA. In our Lee County housing market, there are still many choice available to our consumers looking for that special property that makes the think this is the one..this is the one..this is the one

This home certainly merits one's consideration as a real eye pleasing opportunity for a lucky home shopper.

Much more to follow soon :) Stay tuned.

Greg Snow

 Good News... Our Market here in Lee County Florida is showing the tangible and some intangible signs of beginning to not only stabilize, but move in a stronger direction in both pricing and number of sales. :) We have already closed more sales this year than in 2005. Optimisim is still tempered by 12% unemployment here, reluctance of lenders to part with funds, end (maybe) of the first time buyers credit, and inability of homes in our feeder markets (midwest and East coast) to sell, and agents are still selling homes (even though we are working twice as hard for alot less). Have we survived to see a newer housing dynamic or is there more nasty surprises in our future?  I feel the glass is more than half full, and re-fills are available.