All Blog Entries by Sue Boyle

How's the Marco Island luxury real estate market doing?  From the look of things on the multiple listing service, pretty darn good!  Considering that this segment of the market is usually the slowest and toughest to move, Marco Island seems to be doing o.k.  There are currently 129 single family homes for sale on Marco Island priced between $800,000-$10,000,000.  Most are located directly on the Gulf, beach or golf course. 

Currently, the most expensive home for sale on the Island is priced at $8,975,000.  Its been on the market 287 days and features 5BR/5BA/3HB and 7056 air conditioned square feet.  It has its own theater room, exercise room and game room.  Located in The Estates, It includes amazing views of Roberts Bay and has a private dock and

Last week saw a total of 16 sales close on Marco Island with the majority of those being condos.  To break it down:

• Three homes sold with two very close in price at $250,000 and $255,000 respectively and one at $667,500. 
• Thirteen condos sold ranging in price from $80,000-$1,675,000.

Sometimes there's an obvious trend.  For example, condos that sell mostly in the $300,000-$600,000 range.  That was not the case this week.  Prices were all over the place with no obvious rhyme or reason to it.  Let's take a closer look at what sold:

• The two Marco Island homes that sold in the $200's were both inland with no water access.  This would explain their lower prices however, the one that sold on 29 N. Barfield was an exceptional deal.  It

There were a total of eleven beachfront condos and waterfront condos listed this week with many of them looking like great buys.  Five were located in the South Seas community alone!  The lowest priced one was in Seabreeze South.  While not directly on the water, Seabreeze sits right across the street within easy walking distance of the beach.  The unit currently offered for sale is a 1BR/1BA listed at $119,500.  The Seabreeze community offers a clubhouse and one of the largest pools on the island so for the price and location, it really looks like a deal to me.

South Seas is a gated community consisting of four towers right on the beach and several waterfront condos with gulf access.  Four of the new listings this week were in the beachfront

Even if you've purchased several homes in the past, there always seem to be costs at the closing table that you weren't prepared for.  While mortgage brokers are now required to disclose all of their closing costs, there are other costs not associated with a mortgage you will need to be aware of.  This is especially true if this is your first home.

1. Appraisal Fee- While appraisals tend to be very subjective, they are still required by all lenders.  The appraiser will compare the home you're interested in buying to other homes with similar features in the same neighborhood or area that have recently sold.  They like to use data from the last 3 months but will go up to 6 months out if necessary.  Costs range from $175-$500 depending on the size of

Most buyers have two things in mind when they start looking for a home.  First, they want to make sure they find a home that has all of the features they need and desire and secondly, they want to get the best deal possible.  

When looking at buyers who have been able to save thousands of dollars off of the seller's asking price, you see a trend.  There are three things that you should be aware of before you ever submit an offer:

• Make sure you have a clear idea of what you're looking for.  I know it sounds like commom sense but many buyers don't realize, until they've started looking, exactly what's important to them.  You have to be able to differentiate between what you desire and what you need.  Finding a home that satisfies both is ideal but

If your home was on the market for awhile and did not sell, try not to get discouraged.  There are several things to consider and sometimes it has nothing to do with your home or the market.  The first step is to make sure you make a commitment to do whatever it takes to get your home sold.  After you've done that, there are four things to consider.  Usually a problem with one of these will explain why your home did not sell.  They are:

1. Teamwork
2. Pricing
3. Condition of your home
4. Marketing

1. Teamwork-Your relationship with your Realtor should be a full partnership where your needs are being heard and communication is a priority.  You should receive prompt feedback after showings occur so you have an idea of what the market thinks of your

Known on Marco Island as one of the premier luxury communities, The Estates have been very active in the last 6 months.  As of February 1st, 17 homes have sold ranging in price from $470,000-$2,500,000.  The average selling price was 85% of asking price and the median days on market was 206.  Not bad at all when you consider the price range and the fact that FL real estate is still recovering from the crash.  Currently, there are 37 properties for sale in The Estates ranging in price from $315,000-$12,900,000.  To see more details about these homes with photos, check out The Estates on our website.

Located on the south side of Marco Island, The Estates are off of South Heathwood, Barfield and Inlet Drives.  To the east is Barfield Bay, in between

Hideaway Beach Club is a unique, luxury community located on the beautiful beaches of the Gulf of Mexico.  This gated community on Marco Island has half of it's 300 acres devoted to wetlands and preserved conservation land and features a large concentration of Florida Live Oak trees.  If your dream is to live in a house directly on the beach, Hideway Beach is the only spot on Marco Island you can acheive this.  The other option would be a condo on the beach, which are also available in the Hideway Beach Club community, as well as all over Marco Island.

Hideaway Beach offers so much to its residents.  It's perfect for the person who wants to remain active in life.  Residents can make use of the huge Hideaway Beach Sports Center featuring a fitness

There are several options for dining on Marco Island if you're looking for beautiful views of the bays and Gulf.  I will cover a small part of the west side of the island in this blog.  Your choices begin with the shopping and dining destination known as The Esplanade Shoppes.  There are 3 restaurants to choose from located on beautiful Smokehouse Bay.  The first is CJ's on the Bay.  Featuring a large outdoor gazebo bar with nightly happy hour specials, it also includes outdoor tableside seating and a beautiful indoor restaurant as well.  Live entertainment is also presented Thursdays-Saturdays and their food is spectacular.  Chef Laura offers pasta and seafood entrees as well as burgers, pizza and a wide variety of salads.  Next door is Tara Steak

People are often surprised when they discover the number of great restaurants available on Marco Island.  They assume because we're on a relatively small island that the selection will be limited.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  No matter what your taste may be, there's something on the island to satisfy it.  If you enjoy Italian, try Verdi's American Bistro, Arturo's Ristorante Italiano or Davide Italian Cafe.  All received great reviews on Yelp and feature classic dishes like Chicken Penne, Pasta Pomodoro and crusty bread with olive oil for dipping.  This is only the tip of the iceberg.  There are many other restaurants that feature Italian as well. 

If you're more into seafood, you might like Snook Inn.  Close to numerous boating