Linda Flack- Cape Coral, Fl

We at Sellstate Achievers were discussing how to help less fortunate folks. In these tough economic times the agents are not flush with money. Christmas for their own families will be be scaled down. So we got to thinking and we decided to clean out our office of unwanted furniture, equipment, and anything from home that we don't want and sell it. We are in the middle of a yard sale and have made $350 so far today.

This money will be donated to provide a better Christmas for kids that might not have Christmas at all. This sale has united all of us and what a feel good kind of day. Nothing like helping others to lift your own spirit and look at what really is important.

Cape Coral home sales have been on the rise. Inventory is shrinking

Cape Coral's numbers today are:

4142 single family homes for sale. (500) less than this summer.

511 are bank foreclosures

2050 are short sales

596 Contingent and active contingent

787 under contract

352 Sold in the past 30 days

446 Sold in the previous 30 days

447 Sold in the 30 days before that.

Homes in Cape Coral are moving and people that had been shut out of the market with the inflated 2005 pricing are excited to have their piece of paradise. Interest rates are still low and values are great. Winter came early to the North. I think they will be coming in even bigger numbers.

More foreclosures are to come. But the pace of sales is very good.

Cape Coral is moving in the right direction and that is good news.

To all our military: Thank you! I flew our flag yesterday. The Cape Coral parade had about 4000 people so the paper said.

We are so blessed to be in this country. We have seen some horrible things hit our shores. I've never understood why one person would want to hurt another. But, reality is that the world is a big place made up of very diverse beliefs. It is amazing that no matter how much good we do in the world that the world does not particularly like the US.

When our shores were hit on 9/11 it brought it home again in a big way that at any time we could be surprised with an attack. My husband was a Marine in Vietnam and I lost some friends and classmates in that war. But, despite my fear and grief I was so grateful to the men and woman that put their lives on the line for my safety and freedom in the USA. No where else on earth do we have the benefits and opportunities afforded a US citizen.

Freedom is not free.

I am so excited that there will be a new large VA facility in Cape Coral. This is so needed.

It is great to know that Cape Coral's Academic Village has some life and the City of Cape Coral is moving it forward. This is exciting for all of Lee County.

Representatives of fifteen construction, architectural and engineering firms are interested in Cape Coral's planned research park in the northern part of the city.

They attended a pre-bid conference Oct. 16 for the park, to be located on the city's 182-acre Academic Village site on Del Prado Boulevard and Kismet Parkway.

The research park has the potential of providing hundreds of construction jobs.

Those people and their employees would be planning and constructing the buildings and infrastructure needed by high tech companies the city is trying to lure to the park.

Firms that the city would like to locate at the park include companies involved in environmental and pharmaceutical research, automotive technology and other high tech businesses.

The current plant is for businesses to lease the land for a minimal fee, such as a dollar a year as an example, Vogt said.

She said colleges could take advantage of the park by locating a branch campus on the site or sending students to the businesses to learn job skills.

So far, more than 50 requests for proposal forms have been pulled off the Web site for the research park.

No bids have been turned in, but the deadline is Dec. 23. Proposals could go before the City Council by early next year.

Sometimes you read an article and just say, What? When a large news venue like Reuters doesn't do any in-depth reporting I find this to be very wrong. An article written bashing Cape Coral and calling it a waste land is just one of those articles.

Call me crazy, I have lived here since 1993 and I have watched and worked in the real estate community since then. I came from the Annapolis Md. Area where the Chesapeake Bay is always in a state of being cleaned up (Yuck) and old overpriced homes selling for huge prices. I came to Cape Coral and found beautiful waterfront property and unbelievable inexpensive prices at the doorstep of the Gulf of Mexico. The dolphins, manatees, red fish all call these waters home. Boating is done all year long and this is the "Sunshine" state.

We have grown from a bedroom community to a destination that people dream about. The pricing that grew out of control from 2004 to 2006 was created by investors and many regular folks got caught up in the frenzy.

The buyers we have been working with think they have won the lottery. Now prices have come down. The pendulum swung high to one side and didn't stop until it went back past the middle ground and has left the housing market bruised for some home owners, but for the future and current buyers the excitement of buying a piece of paradise at amazing prices have them giddy.

We are not just a seashore community. Our resident numbers have attracted big business to Cape Coral such as 4 major department stores; JC Penney, Belk, Bealls, Kohl's, plus Home Depot, 2 Lowes, Target, Super Wal-Mart, Home Goods, Carrabbas, Panera Bread, Olive Garden, Shrimp Shack, Outback and much more. Waste Land? I don't think so!