I'm getting asked a lot about my opinion on what the Covid 19 pandemic means to the housing market. What could happen, what won't happen.
If only I had a crystal ball. But here are some thoughts for today:
What I know, is that real estate is one of three of mankind's basic needs. Clothing, food and shelter. People need a place to live. When the quarantines are over and people feel sale, jobs are restored, my sense is that the marketplace will pick up where it left off based on the simple economic principle of supply and demand. Over the past 10 years, there has been a continuous shortage of new construction. Some published sources go so far to say there is a shortage of 4,500,000 homes, overall, based on our population growth in the U.S. And unlike prior housing recessions, the fundamentals seem to be solid.
What do YOU think?
Monday, March 30, 2020
Monday, October 28, 2019
Restoration of Florida's Picayune Strand Nearly Complete
When I was 12 or 13, my family was vacationing in Southwest Florida. Our parents took us for a day trip to an area that defied reason -- at least when you're 13.
My dad, a lover of all things real estate, drove us to an area that had been marketed as "Golden Gate Estates South." Miles and miles and miles of paved roads (more than 260 miles to be exact) -- seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Street signs at most intersections, and light posts lining a number of streets.
And grass .... two to three feet high as far as you could see.
No fences, very few trees. Just miles of straight, paved roads through acres and acres of grassland. More than 50,000 acres, to be exact.
FAST FORWARD TO TODAY -- Now known as the Picayune Strand State Forest, this former development is beautiful. This first project in a larger plan to restore part of the Everglades is in its final stages.
BUT THEN -- It was 1971 or '72, and we were in the middle of what had been advertised as the largest under-construction subdivision in the United States. Its size, developers claimed, when completely built out would dwarf Miami, Florida. Which begs the question: Have you ever heard the phrase, "I've got some swampland in Florida I'd like to sell you?" That area in eastern Collier County was just such a place.
A forested swampland, the area was logged in the 1930s and 1040s. Then developers had the idea if they dig canals and drained the land, they could sell house lots. This tied in with similar thinking at the time that if large portions of the Everglades were drained, huge swaths of incredibly rich land would open up for agriculture.
Building lots were sold for several years via advertisements in newspapers and magazines. The developers flew buyers over the land while they were here in the winter to take a look. Buyers would pick out a lot they liked, plunk down some cash or write a check, and VOILA! They owned a building lot in Golden Gate Estates South. The vast majority of buyers never stepped foot on the land they were looking to buy.
But come summer, when the annual summer rains came, all the newly dug canals criss-crossing the region could not drain all the water from these lots. Standing water was the norm (as it actually had been for thousands of years). Lots were unbuildable. It truly was a land scam. They basically were selling flooded plots sight unseen in the 1950s. Eventually, the developers went bankrupt. The State of Florida condemned the land and started a program to buy back property. An estimated 17,000 property owners or their heirs -- scattered all around the globe -- had to be tracked down. The State paid 125 percent of appraised market value on the lots. It took years,
The long range plan? Figure out a way to turn 57,000 acres back into something that would help water ecology, instead of blocking sheet flow across what had long ago been "The River of Grass." In the meantime, the land suffered. An abundance of canals mostly did their job. Because the land was better drained, it became dry in summer. Fires occurred with more frequency. Which led to more palm trees growing and a change in the natural flora and fauna.
What my family and I saw on that day back in the early 1970s was that moment when the developers were first bankrupt, and the "progress" to date was being allowed to revert back to nature. Beautifully paved roads were in place. But nothing was there.
It was eerie.
An aerial photo of Picayune Strand from 2016. Paving removed from most roads but they still appear as trails.
Many canals have been plugged. Portions of some canals remain as small lakes/ponds.
Today, decades later, most of the canals have been plugged, rather than entirely filled in. Most of the asphalt roads, which have been crumbling for 20 years or so, have been bulldozed and the aggregate removed. Wildlife is abundant. A pumping station at the north end of this broad swath of land will soon start pushing water ono the expanse, allowing "sheet flow" -- the broad, slow-moving way water spreads across the Everglades -- to once again move across all those acres.
In areas where you can drive or hike through, you see wading birds, cypress domes, and a diverse community of native plants and animals. Wood storks, a bird that has had a tough time in recent years in Florida, seem to be doing well.
More work remains to be done, but the Picayune Strand is a testament that we can undo the bad we do to the Earth. In all the world, there is only one Everglades.
And in Florida, environment equals economy.
My dad, a lover of all things real estate, drove us to an area that had been marketed as "Golden Gate Estates South." Miles and miles and miles of paved roads (more than 260 miles to be exact) -- seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Street signs at most intersections, and light posts lining a number of streets.
And grass .... two to three feet high as far as you could see.
No fences, very few trees. Just miles of straight, paved roads through acres and acres of grassland. More than 50,000 acres, to be exact.
FAST FORWARD TO TODAY -- Now known as the Picayune Strand State Forest, this former development is beautiful. This first project in a larger plan to restore part of the Everglades is in its final stages.
BUT THEN -- It was 1971 or '72, and we were in the middle of what had been advertised as the largest under-construction subdivision in the United States. Its size, developers claimed, when completely built out would dwarf Miami, Florida. Which begs the question: Have you ever heard the phrase, "I've got some swampland in Florida I'd like to sell you?" That area in eastern Collier County was just such a place.
A forested swampland, the area was logged in the 1930s and 1040s. Then developers had the idea if they dig canals and drained the land, they could sell house lots. This tied in with similar thinking at the time that if large portions of the Everglades were drained, huge swaths of incredibly rich land would open up for agriculture.
Building lots were sold for several years via advertisements in newspapers and magazines. The developers flew buyers over the land while they were here in the winter to take a look. Buyers would pick out a lot they liked, plunk down some cash or write a check, and VOILA! They owned a building lot in Golden Gate Estates South. The vast majority of buyers never stepped foot on the land they were looking to buy.
But come summer, when the annual summer rains came, all the newly dug canals criss-crossing the region could not drain all the water from these lots. Standing water was the norm (as it actually had been for thousands of years). Lots were unbuildable. It truly was a land scam. They basically were selling flooded plots sight unseen in the 1950s. Eventually, the developers went bankrupt. The State of Florida condemned the land and started a program to buy back property. An estimated 17,000 property owners or their heirs -- scattered all around the globe -- had to be tracked down. The State paid 125 percent of appraised market value on the lots. It took years,
The long range plan? Figure out a way to turn 57,000 acres back into something that would help water ecology, instead of blocking sheet flow across what had long ago been "The River of Grass." In the meantime, the land suffered. An abundance of canals mostly did their job. Because the land was better drained, it became dry in summer. Fires occurred with more frequency. Which led to more palm trees growing and a change in the natural flora and fauna.
What my family and I saw on that day back in the early 1970s was that moment when the developers were first bankrupt, and the "progress" to date was being allowed to revert back to nature. Beautifully paved roads were in place. But nothing was there.
It was eerie.
Many canals have been plugged. Portions of some canals remain as small lakes/ponds.
Today, decades later, most of the canals have been plugged, rather than entirely filled in. Most of the asphalt roads, which have been crumbling for 20 years or so, have been bulldozed and the aggregate removed. Wildlife is abundant. A pumping station at the north end of this broad swath of land will soon start pushing water ono the expanse, allowing "sheet flow" -- the broad, slow-moving way water spreads across the Everglades -- to once again move across all those acres.
In areas where you can drive or hike through, you see wading birds, cypress domes, and a diverse community of native plants and animals. Wood storks, a bird that has had a tough time in recent years in Florida, seem to be doing well.
More work remains to be done, but the Picayune Strand is a testament that we can undo the bad we do to the Earth. In all the world, there is only one Everglades.
And in Florida, environment equals economy.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Live Differently Today, So You Can Live Differently Tomorrow
Okay, so I REALLY take offense to a new story in the New York Post recently, proclaiming that the lead person in the article is a cheapskate.
No, he's living differently today, so he can live differently tomorrow. He is a new breed of millennial who has a high income, and lives frugally on purpose, and is investing and saving, so he can retire early. The story, which can be found by clicking here, tries to be an uplifting piece but really trashes the persons quoted, and paints them as being out of touch with consumerism. While the author does mention that some of these affluent millennials have "side hustle" jobs, and love to frequent second hand stores, the headline pretty much states what the author and editors think of these very responsible young people. The headline reads, "Inside the Strange Secretive Lives of Rich Millennial Cheapskates."
YAY FOR THESE YOUNG PEOPLE!!!!
The New York Post editors missed an opportunity here to teach. Of course the newspaper's job is to sell more newspapers and get more online clicks, you do that with flamboyant, provocative headlines. So, I guess the paper did its job. Instead, it creates a sense that these people are somehow odd for rejecting consumerism at all costs.
If you read between the lines, the story shows how working hard, investing and buying what you need vs what you want will result, as the the subjects of the story plan, in living a fantastic life in retirement, potentially free from worry about how bills will be paid in the golden years, and enabling them to live a life of travel and fun in those later years.
They're not cheapskates. They're living within their means. They're being responsible.
I wish them all well. And congratulate them on their initiative, and refusing to bow down to the consumerism that is pushed on them day and night by advertisers.
No, he's living differently today, so he can live differently tomorrow. He is a new breed of millennial who has a high income, and lives frugally on purpose, and is investing and saving, so he can retire early. The story, which can be found by clicking here, tries to be an uplifting piece but really trashes the persons quoted, and paints them as being out of touch with consumerism. While the author does mention that some of these affluent millennials have "side hustle" jobs, and love to frequent second hand stores, the headline pretty much states what the author and editors think of these very responsible young people. The headline reads, "Inside the Strange Secretive Lives of Rich Millennial Cheapskates."
YAY FOR THESE YOUNG PEOPLE!!!!
The New York Post editors missed an opportunity here to teach. Of course the newspaper's job is to sell more newspapers and get more online clicks, you do that with flamboyant, provocative headlines. So, I guess the paper did its job. Instead, it creates a sense that these people are somehow odd for rejecting consumerism at all costs.
If you read between the lines, the story shows how working hard, investing and buying what you need vs what you want will result, as the the subjects of the story plan, in living a fantastic life in retirement, potentially free from worry about how bills will be paid in the golden years, and enabling them to live a life of travel and fun in those later years.
They're not cheapskates. They're living within their means. They're being responsible.
I wish them all well. And congratulate them on their initiative, and refusing to bow down to the consumerism that is pushed on them day and night by advertisers.
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
There’s A Reason John R. Wood Properties Consistently Ranks #1 In Real Estate Sales Volume In Southwest Florida
I'm going to toot our own horn a bit .... or mine perhaps, as well!
There’s a reason John R. Wood Properties consistently ranks #1 in real estate sales volume in Southwest Florida.
We are experts in the real estate market, our agents are consummate professionals who value client relationships, and we maximize the exposure of seller properties across international marketing platforms. My team at Grup Coastal Living eats, breathes and sleeps customer service. We are a seven-person team with more than 100 years experience in this business collectively.
I've heard from some who believe that agents just want to count the cash. My group wants to get the deal done for you, whether buying, selling or investing. Your best interest comes first. The money comes later.
Deciding to sell your property is more than just a real estate transaction. Your home is a place filled with possessions, memories, and personalized spaces. Whether you’ve lived there a month or three decades, the process of selling a home can sometimes be a sensitive one. Working with the right real estate agent and the best real estate company in Southwest Florida makes a difference.
When you begin the process and want to find the value of your property, a seasoned real estate agent can bring clarity to the different influencing market factors. Once your home is listed, your John R. Wood agent will help you with the staging process to ensure your property puts its best foot forward in a competitive market. Finally, our dedicated marketing department will roll out a full-blown listing campaign that gives your property maximum global exposure.
The John R. Wood marketing program is designed to provide properties with global exposure in order to create the fastest possible sale at the highest possible price. The Wood firm spends well into seven figures each year to bring local sellers the finest print, digital and television exposure available.
High quality print publications include Luxury Portfolio Magazine, Gulfshore Life, DuPont Registry, Naples Portfolio, HomeLook® Magazine, Estate Lifestyles®, and Estate Galleria®. Newspaper placements include HomeLook® Weekly, Florida Weekly, and select community publications such as the Pelican Bay Post.
The Wood firm also understands the value of digital marketing and employs dedicated videographers, graphic designers, and content experts to give your property life on the internet, across all digital and social media platforms as well as on multiple, well known websites around the world.
Our marketing program is working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, reaching buyers from all over the world to achieve a sale for you. My team also employs a full time social media expert. Licensed, she understands your needs, as well as having a stellar ability to exploit various technologies to promote your property to targeted audiences anywhere in the world.
If you’re ready to sell your home, you’ve come to the right place.
Brent E. Greer l John R. Wood Properties l 239.207-4330 l bgreer@johnrwood.com
www,BuyUpParadise.com CoastalHomesOfNaples.com
#buyupparadise #johnrwoodproperties #beachbreezes #sugarsandbeaches #warmgulfwaters #coastalrealtor #realtorlife
#jrw60 #
There’s a reason John R. Wood Properties consistently ranks #1 in real estate sales volume in Southwest Florida.
We are experts in the real estate market, our agents are consummate professionals who value client relationships, and we maximize the exposure of seller properties across international marketing platforms. My team at Grup Coastal Living eats, breathes and sleeps customer service. We are a seven-person team with more than 100 years experience in this business collectively.
I've heard from some who believe that agents just want to count the cash. My group wants to get the deal done for you, whether buying, selling or investing. Your best interest comes first. The money comes later.
Deciding to sell your property is more than just a real estate transaction. Your home is a place filled with possessions, memories, and personalized spaces. Whether you’ve lived there a month or three decades, the process of selling a home can sometimes be a sensitive one. Working with the right real estate agent and the best real estate company in Southwest Florida makes a difference.
When you begin the process and want to find the value of your property, a seasoned real estate agent can bring clarity to the different influencing market factors. Once your home is listed, your John R. Wood agent will help you with the staging process to ensure your property puts its best foot forward in a competitive market. Finally, our dedicated marketing department will roll out a full-blown listing campaign that gives your property maximum global exposure.
The John R. Wood marketing program is designed to provide properties with global exposure in order to create the fastest possible sale at the highest possible price. The Wood firm spends well into seven figures each year to bring local sellers the finest print, digital and television exposure available.
High quality print publications include Luxury Portfolio Magazine, Gulfshore Life, DuPont Registry, Naples Portfolio, HomeLook® Magazine, Estate Lifestyles®, and Estate Galleria®. Newspaper placements include HomeLook® Weekly, Florida Weekly, and select community publications such as the Pelican Bay Post.
The Wood firm also understands the value of digital marketing and employs dedicated videographers, graphic designers, and content experts to give your property life on the internet, across all digital and social media platforms as well as on multiple, well known websites around the world.
Our marketing program is working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, reaching buyers from all over the world to achieve a sale for you. My team also employs a full time social media expert. Licensed, she understands your needs, as well as having a stellar ability to exploit various technologies to promote your property to targeted audiences anywhere in the world.
If you’re ready to sell your home, you’ve come to the right place.
Brent E. Greer l John R. Wood Properties l 239.207-4330 l bgreer@johnrwood.com
www,BuyUpParadise.com CoastalHomesOfNaples.com
#buyupparadise #johnrwoodproperties #beachbreezes #sugarsandbeaches #warmgulfwaters #coastalrealtor #realtorlife
#jrw60 #
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Real Estate Group Investments Work Anywhere: Florida, California, New York -- ANYWHERE
I have frequently been asked why buyers of income-producing real estate should consider group investing strategies.
Here are a few thoughts .....
First, the focus is on growth with no personal liability.
-- you do not sign a promissory note or mortgage
-- you have significant protection from litigation and lawsuits
Second, you can invest in larger, higher-quality projects that can be done in a way that meets your individualized investment goals.
Third, group investing spreads risk of "loss" over the entire group.
-- vacancies are spread out over 20 units rather than one or two units
-- "risk" operates much like the insurance industry
Next, you have opportunity to structure your financing to meet individual investor goals
-- No mortgage means increases in cash flow, minimizing risk
-- Lower loan-to-value ratios (50-60 percent mortgage value). This utilizes leverage benefits while maintaining the investment safety net.
-- Set payments in single or multiple pay options for investors. This can range from a few hundred dollars per month to a single payment of five or six figures.
Moveover, you have the ability to maintain tax benefits of real estate ownership for investors while eliminating record-keeping and tax preparation.
Group investing eliminates the burden of management for investors. Done right, there is no tenant contact nor maintenance issues. Further, good investment properties have already been located, prices negotiated, and financials (income, expense, etc.) and returns already analyzed.
Frequently, group investment opportunities find people investing with local people they already know and trust.
Group investments provide great asset protection.
-- Protects investors from suit against investment
-- Protects investment from suit against investor
Who SHOULDN'T be involved in a group real estate investment?
-- Investors who want total control of the investment
-- Investors who want to select the investment (project/property) themselves
-- Investors who don't know how to set up the investment
-- for example, there are laws and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations that must be met both in setting up and runing and/or managing a group project
-- also, to encourage others to invest, there also are numerous and specific laws that must be followed.
These are a few of the many pros, and a handful of the cons of group investment. Bottom line, make sure your real estate adviser understands how such a project can be set up, and understands capitalization rates, internal rate of return, vacancy rates, carrying costs, and the many ins and outs of investing in income producing properties.
With everything in place, group investing can be a very lucrative approach for creating channels of passive income for all parties involved.
Here are a few thoughts .....
First, the focus is on growth with no personal liability.
-- you do not sign a promissory note or mortgage
-- you have significant protection from litigation and lawsuits
Second, you can invest in larger, higher-quality projects that can be done in a way that meets your individualized investment goals.
Third, group investing spreads risk of "loss" over the entire group.
-- vacancies are spread out over 20 units rather than one or two units
-- "risk" operates much like the insurance industry
Next, you have opportunity to structure your financing to meet individual investor goals
-- No mortgage means increases in cash flow, minimizing risk
-- Lower loan-to-value ratios (50-60 percent mortgage value). This utilizes leverage benefits while maintaining the investment safety net.
-- Set payments in single or multiple pay options for investors. This can range from a few hundred dollars per month to a single payment of five or six figures.
Moveover, you have the ability to maintain tax benefits of real estate ownership for investors while eliminating record-keeping and tax preparation.
Group investing eliminates the burden of management for investors. Done right, there is no tenant contact nor maintenance issues. Further, good investment properties have already been located, prices negotiated, and financials (income, expense, etc.) and returns already analyzed.
Frequently, group investment opportunities find people investing with local people they already know and trust.
Group investments provide great asset protection.
-- Protects investors from suit against investment
-- Protects investment from suit against investor
Who SHOULDN'T be involved in a group real estate investment?
-- Investors who want total control of the investment
-- Investors who want to select the investment (project/property) themselves
-- Investors who don't know how to set up the investment
-- for example, there are laws and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations that must be met both in setting up and runing and/or managing a group project
-- also, to encourage others to invest, there also are numerous and specific laws that must be followed.
These are a few of the many pros, and a handful of the cons of group investment. Bottom line, make sure your real estate adviser understands how such a project can be set up, and understands capitalization rates, internal rate of return, vacancy rates, carrying costs, and the many ins and outs of investing in income producing properties.
With everything in place, group investing can be a very lucrative approach for creating channels of passive income for all parties involved.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
My Team At JRW Has A New Name and Logo
We are now: Grup Coastal Living
... at John R. Wood Properties.
The change comes at the behest of new marketing rules issued by the Florida Real Estate Commission, and follows new guidelines being adopted across the USA.
I am proud to partner with these first class individuals in providing unparalleled professional services to discriminating buyers and sellers along our beautiful Southwest Florida coast.
Friday, April 5, 2019
Lee County, Florida Announces Funding For New Artificial Reef in Gulf of Mexico
The Lee County commissioners have awarded a contract to create a new artificial reef at Chris Koepfer's ARC Reef Site using a $120,000 grant from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and 1,000 tons of donated concrete and limestone.
The reef site is located approximately 14 nautical miles southwest of Redfish Pass.
Lee County has operated an active artificial reef program since the late 1980s. Grants from federal, state and private sources help create a range of recreational opportunities from inshore to the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico. Reef sites range from sunken ships and boxcars to bridges and barges. Koepfer's ARC Reef Site is named in memory of the pioneer of Lee County's artificial reef program.
The reef site is located approximately 14 nautical miles southwest of Redfish Pass.
Lee County has operated an active artificial reef program since the late 1980s. Grants from federal, state and private sources help create a range of recreational opportunities from inshore to the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico. Reef sites range from sunken ships and boxcars to bridges and barges. Koepfer's ARC Reef Site is named in memory of the pioneer of Lee County's artificial reef program.
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