Cape Coral Florida Golf Course and Waterfront Homes

Coral Oaks Golf Course 3/2/3 Pool Home; 1607 NW 31^st Avenue, 33993 $369,000.

• 2437 sq ft under air, 4714 sq ft total
• Vaulted ceiling in the family and dining rooms, Trey ceilings in the bedrooms
• Heated Spillover SPA, Saltwater Pool for low maintenance
• 18" tile floors throughout; paver-brick driveway and pool deck
• Golf Cart garage with overhead door; 600 sq ft garage
• Extra large master bath with walk-thru shower and Roman tub
• Granite counter-tops, architectural plant shelves throughout
• Built-in entertainment center, surround sound, speakers in all rooms & verandah
• Whole-House reverse osmosis system with 800 gallon reserve tank
• Large walk-in Closets in all bedrooms, two in the Master
• Paver Driveway and Pool Deck
• Built-In Generator Wiring and Cutover Panel; In-the-walls Pest Control System
• Key West pleated blinds throughout; Plantation Shutters on bay shower windows
• Summer Kitchen on the Verandah; Stainless Steel Barby, sink, refrigerator
• Central Vacuum System; Security System; cat 5 wiring throughout
• Heat Recovery System for Hot Water; A LEECO Good Sense Home
• Beautiful Eastern view across the Coral Oaks Golf Course; no HOA fees
• 

More pictures and details: http://www.JimGibson.BIZ
Look for: 1607 NW 31st Avenue, Cape Coral, FL
MLS#: 200800126

For some time, we have kept some restaurant information on our main website:

http://www.jimgibson.biz/ go to "About Cape Coral"

Here is some supplementary info for someone looking for a quick meal out:

Ariani Restaurant,1529 S.E. 15th Terr.,Del Prado Mall,Cape Coral, FL 33990, 239-772-8000
http://www.chefdario.com/ariani.html opens at 5:30pm, reservations suggested, dressy casual
My all-time favorite for a nice, quiet dinner in a classy setting.
A truely remarkable meal...try the Lambuco.....say hello to Chef Dario and Alice for me!

Annies Redstaurant (239) 945-3133 814 Se 47th St, Cape Coral, FL
Just off Coronado, near the CC Pkwy......great breakfast, loved by locals!
Lots of action on Sunday Morning!

Azucar Cuban Restaurant (239) 549-2833 3326 Del Prado Blvd S, Cape Coral, FL
Try the Cuban Sunrise breakfast with hashbrowns, Cafe con Leche. Tostada (Cuban toast)
Fresh squeezed OJ. Best fresh Cuban bakery pastries anywhere! english spoken here...

Houlihan's, 627 Cape Coral Pky W.,Cape Coral, FL, (239) 542-7878
Nice atmosphere. Casual, Good bar. Good fish tacos. Good burger deluxe. Wine.
I'm mad at them because they quit furnishing chopsticks with the Ahi salad. :(

Iguana Mia Mexican Restaurant, 1027 Cape Coral Pky E, Cape Coral, FL
Can't miss the green bldg....best overall Mex & Margaurita's I know of in the area.
Also in the green building inFort Myers on US41 (near Hooters).

Orient Restaurant (239) 574-2151 308 Del Prado Blvd S, Cape Coral, FL
Say hello to Chef Sean and Peggy. Great lunch buffett every day.
Takeout, of course. Try their egg foo yung!

Jason's Deli on Santa Barbara, just N of Veterans Parkway (in a strip mall)
My fav in-and-outer on a busy day. Baked Potatoes, salad buffett, soups, sandwiches.

Thirsty's Restaurant, 4835 Vincennes St, Cape Coral, FL Two blocks south of CC Pkwy.
Great plate lunch, popular with locals. Fish on Friday. Try the tuna salad plate with carrot salad.

Morettis Seafood Restaurant ~ 4200 Pine Island Rd NW, Cape Coral, FL 33993, (239) 283-5825
Been around a long time in several locations....good food, pounding band in the back room.

Jimbos Restaurant ~ 1604 SE 46th St,Cape Coral, FL 33904,(239) 540-9533 Really faces Del Prado.
On the water, outside deck usually nice. Oldest in Cape coral (?) Sandwich variety.

Bubba's, Pine Island Road....next door to the German American Club Locals hangout;
Try Bubba's Sirloin....if you like rare, order the baseball cut, Pittsburgh rare if Jay is on the Grill.

So there you are....these are my favorites.
Many days spent chasing real estate deals and quick meals that did not do justice to the fine cooking.
If you are looking for real estate in Cape Coral, you owe it to yourself to try every one of these restaurants
before you buy that new Cape Coral Home. You won't be sorry!

Jim Gibson, Realtor, MBA, E-PRO
http://www.JimGibson.BIZ

Reading the local papaer this morning, I saw two conflicting messages:

First of all, a liquidation sale in a gated community resulted in a total sellout of 116 homes in just two weeks. Seventy percent were sold to homesteaders. So much for the idea that there are no buyers out there. This, after the recent Countrywide auction that attracted hordes of qualified buyers, even though Countrywide seems to be a little challenged when it comes to conducting an auction. Then there is the mesage that actual closed sales has hit a peak recently not seen for about 18 months. Every title company I talk to is busy.

Then there is the "other side of the story". In the business section of today's paper is an article headlined: "Lee housing market clogged with unsold homes". Lee county inventory has swelled to almost 16,000 homes. In the county, 5,189 single-family homes were listed for less than $200,000. Cape Coral has over 5,000 single family homes for sale. Furthermore, there is a "shadow market" of houses not officially for sale, which are in the final stages of foreclosure. For a variety of reasons, banks are apparently holding back some of this supply......maybe for an upturn in the market? Who knows. Or maybe they are just not finished shuffling papers on these homes and they will soon hit the market.

One thing is sure.....if buyers continue to buy, we will gradually chew up this inventory. At this point it is anybody's guess as to how long it will take, but there may be some pleasant surprises in store for home sellers. Sixteen thousand homes selling at five hundred per month equals a thirty two month supply. That same sixteen thousand homes selling at sixteen hundred a month equals only a ten month supply, which is not too bad. Are we there yet? I don't see it yet, but I see it coming. And guess what? Sixteen new home permits a month won't do much to replenish that supply.

I was setting up an itinerary for homes this evening. Buyers are a nice young couple from the East Coast, anxious to make a go of it in Cape coral. They have a definite price point in mind, so we are searching for the best value we can find at that price. Not unusual for persons moving into the area, but different from bottom-feeding methods when you just want the rock-bottom price for a given square footage. Buyers also stated that they do not want to play the short sale game.

What I found in my search is that prices ranged from $69 per sq ft up to $149 per sq ft. We picked out 9 (non-short sale) candidates and will whittle the list down tomorrow before we do showings. We left in a couple more than we need in case of difficulty reaching the listing Realtors. Yes, that's right....it is still hard to contact many listing agents for a listing appointment, even on vacant houses, where they are using the old style mechanical combo boxes.
Back to the story, I was amazed that 2 of the lowest priced homes were in the best neighborhoods, with city water and sewer. Two of the highest priced were way out in the edges of the city, on well and septic.

Amazing how many sellers just don't get it.....YET!

Also amazing how many sellers DO get it.

We've got lots of both types.

Be prepared to be amazed!

JimG

Despite conflicting information from two data sources, it is clear that home sales in Lee County Florida have increased during First Quarter 2008. Home SALES show a small decrease Year-to-Year, reflecting somewhat diminished purchasing activity in Q4 of 2007. PENDING sales show a 17% increase Year-to-Year and confirm what many Realtors are saying......buyers are beginning to "pull the trigger". Inventory levels of lower priced homes have fallen ( on a months basis) as Pendings rise. Obvious reasons include Compelling Prices and Pent-Up Demand.

Many bank-owned properties were priced too high in 2007. Not being known for aggressiveness, banks were always just a bit behind the pricing curve in 2007. Some of them, at least, seem to have figured that out and have gotten their pricing about 5% to 10% ahead of falling prices. Also, Real Estate Auctions in Lee County have become predictive of future pricing. Result? The $100,000 floor that seemed to exist in Cape Coral Real Estate during 2007, seems to have been re-established as an $80,000 floor. The $90/sq ft floor for good houses is now a $75.00/sq ft floor. That 20% write-down was apparently enough to bring out first-time homebuyers, schoolteachers, policemen and other who just couldn't make it work previously. It also seems to have triggered a wave of vulture buyers who are betting that they can rent out the properties for three to five years and cash in on property price increases.

SouthWest Florida hs not changed, in fact, our weather for the last two years has been the best in twenty years. And, yes Alice, the yellow brick road does lead to places with good weather. SW Florida still has the year-round golfing, boating, fishing, beaching, sittin' on the verandah with a refreshment, and all the other things that are so much fun for retirement and spring break and holidays and (shhhh!) work. Baby Boomers are not getting YOUNGER. At some point they either have to make the decision to go to Florida or stay "up North". Eventually, they will visit SW Florida, see the compelling market prices and STAY! We have been through many cycles (albeit less severe) of this length before and they always end. Most recently, homes purchased in 1989 did not recover their purchase price until about 1997-1999. BUT WHEN THEY DID.......!!!! I know, I was one of those homeowners who bought in in 1989, only to see my home's value stagnate for 10 years. When I sold it in 2000, I tripled my money and then some. Not bad for a ten year return - tax free.

So here we are again. At the bottom.
Five Years away from a payoff for today's investment.
Guaranteed? No.
Historically Probable? Absolutely.

Why do you think all these "Vulture Funds" are being formed? It's no different from a situation where you and a few friends pool some funds and buy a home. Share it, rent it, do whatever, then SELL IT five years from now. Vulture funds are just a larger group of investors who share the same vision.

Smile on your Real Estate....
JimG