Kevin Hughes ~ Punta Gorda Real Estate

For those of you who have visited Punta Gorda recently, I think you will agree that we have a lot of development going on in our downtown. It really is quite exiting. A recent articles in the Charlotte Sun gave an update on two projects; one on the home stretch and another just starting. I have electronic copies of the article available for those who are interested. Simply contact me and I'll forward it on to you.

The project on the home stretch is the Sunloft Center. They just removed the large crane off the top of this 4 story building which has been there for over a year. If you haven't seen this building in person the pictures don't do it justice. With the mix of façade styles, owner Franz Hartl and architect Bill Pansari have made this building much different than your typical downtown office building. Once completed, this will really be an asset to our downtown.

The project just starting is the ground breaking of the much talked about Sheraton Four Points Hotel. This will be part of Harbor Yacht Club which will front on our downtown waterfront. Many of you will remember that this is where the Holiday Inn (and Howard Johnson's) used to be. An important part of this project is that our city negotiated an irrevocable easement that will become part of a public promenade along our waterfront. Our city officials have long envisioned a pedestrian walkway along our waterfront and this was one of the pieces needed to make it a reality.

Conctact me for more information on Punta Gorda or more specifically, the Punta Gorda real estate market. I'm always happy to share my knowledge of the area with anyone interested.

The most common question that I hear from prospective buyers these days is, "Has the real estate market hit bottom yet?". That is a difficult question to answer because you can never tell when you're at the bottom. In fact, you won't know for sure until the market data shows that you have already started to rebound. At that point, for those trying to time the market, they have missed the bottom.

What I can tell you is that our office has definitely noticed an increase in activity. I looked at our MLS data that shows year to date (1-1-08 thru 5-15-08) there have been 61 homes sold in Punta Gorda Isles. This compares to 45 sold in the same period last year. That's a 35.5% increase. Plus there are another 33 homes in PGI in pending (under contract, but not yet closed).

The Charlotte Sun reported on Wednesday, May 14th that the Punta Gorda area was leading the state with a sales increase of 6% for the first quarter of 2008 compared to 2007 and a 23% increase over the fourth quarter of last year. Remember, when they cite Punta Gorda as a metropolitan statistical area, we are so small that it includes all of Charlotte County, not just the city of Punta Gorda.

Is this the bottom of the market? No one really knows. Only time will tell.

Visit our website for more information on recent Punta Gorda home sales or to search available Punta Gorda homes for sale.

~ Kevin

Kevin Hughes
Buyer's Specialist for
The Andreae Group
RE/MAX Harbor Realty
www.ilovepuntagorda.com