Naples, Florida Real Estate Prices...Deal or No Deal?

For anyone following Naples, Florida real estate in the media for example: Naples Daily News or the USA Today or even the Wallstreet Journal, one might be led to think one of two things...the real estate market is bad, bad, bad here or buyer's are going to get the deal of the century right now. Neither of which are really going on as a rule. I had a young couple from New York stop by my office on 5th Avenue yesterday fully expecting me to greet them with a basketful of properties owned by people going down in financial flames. After a very brief blast of questions (they talk a little faster than us midwesterners even though I'm well versed with the east coast banter since I have family from NY) they quickly determined what area they wanted to focus on. The Moorings and Park Shore evidently were two locations peaking their most intense interest. You can imagine their disgust after learning the price of the least expensive homes were going for high $600's and $700's and most would consider those "tear downs" dispite the fact that they are habitible. She just looked at him and said, "I'm not staying there and you are never going to convince the others up north that is a "deal". She was probably right. The same homes in any other "normal" town in the USA would probably go for a great deal less. Who on earth would be so foolish to pay those prices? Well...according to our local forecast at NBC-2 It's only supposed to be 72 degrees tomorrow. That by the way is the coldest day in the 5 day forecast. It's not what I would consider a beach day but with the 135 golf courses, the nearly completed Waterside Shops rennovation and all the other things you can do, I'll take it over Chicago...high of 37 degrees St. Louis...high of 47 degrees or New York...high of 43 degrees. Back to my special guests who came to see me yesterday...can you really blame them for thinking they were going to get a remarkable deal. Did anyone catch the article in the New York Times a couple of days ago? David Leonhardt specifically states that speculators are more likely than residents to sell a house in a panic which I believe is true and even stated that house prices nearly tripled in the first half of this decade but did anyone mention how many speculators speculated on properties lining the coast? There were some but by definition not nearly as many compared to all the preconstruction/new construction product that was gobbled up in some cases within hours of release within the last two years. I bet you're wondering what my point is....Here it goes...if you are coming to Naples to purchase real estate because you think you're first....you're not. Be prepared for sticker shock. If you've been to Naples before and you think you're going to scoop up arm loads of free properties from tattered and beaten homeowners...you're not. Be prepared to negotiate and if you think you're getting a great deal..Fabulous...but Naples dispite what the media is touting is still not cheap...not going to be free anytime soon and if you wait for a few months like many others are right now, be prepared to get your feelings hurt when your favorite property disappears. I know lots of those buyers...personally...several of which are agents who may watch those properties closer than a typical consumer. It's really kind of funny. Last year all I heard was, and "we were down here last year and we should've bought then..." this year I'm hearing "we're gonna wait". Next year I'll probably hear again "we shoulda bought last year" Que Sera Sera! We really are happy for you to come see us. We just don't want you to be disappointed when you do.