Marco Island Real Estate News

BREAKING NEWS!  The Remax franchise on Marco Island has been purchased!  We are now Remax Affinity Plus.  This change is not only exciting for all of the agents but it means great things for all of our customers. We are now part of a large group of Remax offices from Port Charlotte south through Naples and now Marco.

Our new owners are absolute rock stars of Florida real estate.  Remax Anchor of Charlotte County and Remax Affinity of Naples and Bonita Springs have combined forces and purchased the Marco Island franchise.  Remax Anchor won top honors in the Remax system worldwide in 2009.  Success like this relies a philosophy of customer service that is top-knotch.

For current sellers that were listed with the old Remax, your listings will

Admiralty House on Marco Beach got a facelift a few months ago and looks fantastic!  This condo is one of the classic favorites on Marco Island.  Its familiar vertical blue stripes can be seen for miles. With the recent improvements, it's a great time to buy or sell.  Buyers can enjoy the upgrades and sellers can compete better in the market.

Built in 1972 by the Mackle brothers, the Admiralty House looks brand new now thanks to a complete remodelling of the lobby and all of the hallways.  The lobby received a new stone tile floor that is stunning.  The color scheme was changed to what I would describe as "sophisticated tropical."  The sliding entry door was replaced.  The walls were repainted throughout and the hallways received new carpet.

With the easy access to statistics that the internet provides, buyers and sellers are more informed than ever before.  Everybody is familiar with Zillow, Trulia, and KW.com.  While these are all good sources of information, their statistics aren't that reliable or timely.  For the real information, contact The Boyle Team and we'll give you the true stats, straight from the Marco Island MLS.

Case in point - Have you seen what happened to Marco Island condo prices in the third quarter anywhere on the internet?  There was a spike in the price graph that is very interesting.  The median selling price for condos shot up over 18% when compared to the same period in 2011.  The mean price climbed over 14%.

What caused this and what does this mean going

We have four new listings in the Marco Island MLS to talk about today - 2 homes, 1 condo and 1 lot.  The first home is a fantastic, water-direct home.  "Water-direct" is the term we use for property on the water that doesn't require its owner to navigate under a bridge on the way to the Gulf.  This particular home has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and just about 2000 s.f. of living area.  It's on a 100'x110' lot with very quick access to the Gulf. It's a super deal at only $689,000

The next home we have is located off the island in King's Lake.  The interesting thing about King's Lake, besides being a great neighborhood, is Bob Seger lives here.  At least, that's what I've heard.  The house for sale has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and

According to a new survey by CoreLogic, a private real estate data provider, home prices went up 4.6% in August compared to one year ago which is the "largest year-over-year increase in more than six years."  Prices also rose 0.3% between July and August which is the sixth straight month of gains.  The good news about the steady increase in prices, the increase in home sales and rising builder confidence is that it looks like our housing recovery may actually be sustainable.

The Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller index also rose in July after two straight years of declines.  Also, all of the states are seeing a rise in home prices except for six that still show a decline.  Five of these include Rhode Island, Illinois, New Jersey, Alabama and

We all have dreams that we are convinced we'll achieve one day.  Marco Island dreams are our business.  When it comes down to it, though, we are really afraid of our dreams. We're afraid of the unknown. We are afraid of actually taking the leap and making the commitment.  The grandest dreams we carry inside are tempered by a fear of failure and sometimes a fear of success.  We all know the expression, "be careful what you wish for, you might get it."  Most of us will admit that we're at least a little afraid of change. 

But change is good.  None of us are getting any younger and the clock is ticking.  The status quo, no matter how nice it may be, will satisfy us less and less over time.  We have to take action or life can get stale.  A shake-up can

August was a good month in the Single Family Home (SFH) market on Marco Island.  Sales were brisk.  Listings are up.  Smiles are up. 

In August, New listings were up 15% over July and up a whopping 44% over August of last year.  Sold listings in August were up 12% over July and up 31% over August of 2011.  Pendings are following the same trend.The only cloud on this sunny day are August prices.  The August median SFH price is down about 2% when compared to August of last year.  Don't worry to much about that, though.  The year-to-date median price which is a much better barometer of price trends is up - 3.4%.  Not to shabby.

From an anecdotal perspective, our customers these days are not wasting time choosing a property to buy.  The general

As the season approaches here on Marco Island, many home owners thinking of selling have a dilemma.  There are so many real estate companies on the island, it can be difficult to choose the best one to sell your home.  Of course, I'm biased.  I think Remax is the best and I'll explain why in a minute but there are literally dozens of companies right here on Marco that will take your listing.

Some companies boast that they specialize in luxury homes, others brag about their newspaper advertisement budgets and others talk about how long they've been in business.  While these are all good arguments, it can be difficult to extrapolate how these various features will benefit you specifically.  What set of attributes will get the job done FOR YOU?

It's

Do you think you it would be valuable to know what is about to come onto the Marco Island real estate market in the coming weeks?  Of course it would.  The more information you can get, the better, right?  You need to know that you have had every opportunity to see the relevant inventory.

Selling real estate effectively means keeping your ear to the ground.  The most desirable properties go fast.  Sometimes, they sell before they even get listed.  How do you get to see these properties?  Well, your agent has to be paying attention.  They say that 90% of life is showing up.  Well, 90% of real estate sales is "product knowledge" and that means knowing as much about what will be coming to market as possible.

As your agents, it is our responsibility

When trying to sell your home, keep in mind that you are in a competition with other sellers in your area.  As with any race, you have to strategize and execute if you want to win.  Follow some of the tips below to get your home in top form and insure you beat out the competition.

1. Check out your competition.  Drive through the neighborhood and look for homes that are for sale.  Keep an eye out for open houses and go to them whenever possible.  Make a mental note of the condition of the homes and how they're priced.  You will probably start to notice a trend: the homes that are in the best shape and priced the most competitively sell the fastest and for the most money. 
2. Put your plan of attack together.  With the help of your Realtor , you can