It's different this time, they said.
No, it's not. It never is.
This story from once-white-hot Naples is the epitome of the post-bubble reality. And it's just gonna get worse. Much, much worse.
In a sign of the times, the for-sale sign has come down at Intermezzo, a luxury waterfront community in Naples.
The developer, Phil McCabe, has closed the sales center and temporarily suspended sales at the mid-rise condominium, saying he will wait for the market to improve before opening his arms to buyers again.
"It was just my judgment that the market was too much in turmoil for me to proceed at this time," said McCabe, president and CEO of Gulf Coast Commercial Corp. "Everything is ready to go — the brochures, the other marketing materials for the models. But we'll cover them up with a dust cover and we'll just wait out the market."
Following a national trend, there has been a shift in the Naples market. Home sales have slowed, listings have grown and investor interest in buying real estate has waned. The changing market is partly driven by interest rate hikes and rising home prices.
In February, existing single-family home sales in the Naples metro area dropped 47 percent from the same month a year ago, according to the Florida Association of Realtors.
"It's not a factor of the product at all," he said. "It's the market. The market has totally collapsed."
April 18, 2006
FLASH: Naples Florida - from white-hot to "the market has totally collapsed". Wow.
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Near where I live Ryland homes is building a new subdivision about 15 feet away from a very busy railroad track. I'm not kidding. If one of those freight trains ever derails, the whole subdivision could get wiped out. Otherwise, they will just live with the noise, as the track is slightly elevated and a soundwall would do no good. Wouldn't you love having a train chugging by your backyard at 3AM?
In Tampa the most expensive property is at the tip of Harbour Island between junky industrial ship repair buildings (made of rusted tin) and a waste treatment plant. It's also the most polluted area in Tampa, and sales contracts include disclaimers, so nobody can sue the developer later. Paying millions dollars for a tiny bit of land in the middle of hell (houses not included) doesn't seem odd to the developer, real estate agent, buyer, or anybody else involved, but it does seem odd to me, especially since the entire island was purchased for one million dollars by the original developer in the 1970s or 1980s.
In Tampa, a house on a waste water drainage ditch is listed--seriously--as waterfront property, and buyers have to pay an extra fee. Also, the property cost twice as much as it would without the drainage ditch. Places on retention ponds are also defined as "waterfront properties."
Big surprise - when everyone has to drive to Ft. Myers to work in Naples that's a big problem there. Ever seen the trailers out in Pahokee? I wonder if the walls could handle a small fart much less a large hurricane.
Ft. Myers is in the crapper too. All these idiots ran up Florida and now we're screwed. Once a hurricane devastates Naples it will be over. With all the damage Charley did in 2004 it's amazing how quickly everyone forgot.
Oops, I just read the full article and this stood out:
Pat Candito, a Realtor with John R. Wood Realtors in Naples, paints a rosier picture of the Naples real estate market. She said there are still buyers out there.
Her company is getting calls from people looking for homes, just not as many as a year ago.
John R. Wood had a strong first quarter, she said.
"Naples is not in any way in trouble and neither is the real estate market," Candito said. "This is paradise, and people still want to move to paradise. People up North are looking to move to paradise. We talk to them all the time."
What the hell? PARADISE? Paradise is paying 1.2 million for a shitty condo between an airport and a shit treatment facility? What kind of planet was she born on? Maybe she's one of the natives but her comments were just stupid and seem to fly against the face of reality.
I guess paradise is watching a Category 4 hurricane plow full speed ahead (Charley) and forgetting about the after effects a measly 2 years later.
California and Florida AREN'T real States anymore, they are just Real Estate Carnival Sideshows RAN by the Huckster RE agents,Carnie speculators and Clown Mortgage, INC.
Do you believe the Fed claims that inflation is at .1%? When they stop raising rates, inflation will spiral out of control. It looks like they have decided to inflate their way out of this mess. It's time to load up on precious metals and oil. The smartmoney knows what is going on and that is why natural resources keep going up. They're not going to sell us their valuables for our worthless dollars. I see oil hitting $100 this year and gold will be over $1000 with silver hitting $25. Maybe the IMF can bail us out this time.
My neighbor bought an (overpriced) condo in Naples late last summer. Can anyone here recommend a smart-ass 1-liner I can recite to him?
anon with friend in naples
"ever read housingpanic?" would work
But we are operating under a new paradigm! They're not making any more land! All the yankees are going to move here next week! Buy now or be PRICED OUT FOREVER!!!
even if all this bad stuff happens like you losers think. Why are you so happy that other people will go through hardships? Go make money for yourself and get happy. Keith is black, so he doesn't actually work, so I meant the make money part for the rest of you "HPers"
Because people who think they can get something for nothing deserve to have hardships.
Unfortunately, the real parasites (Toll Bros, scum mortgage brokers, etc.) are going to come out of this OK, while ordinary people who just wanted a place to live are going to get hosed.
"Why are you so happy that other people will go through hardships"
I couldn't be MORE upset that people are about to go through hardships. It's why I started this blog - I NEVER want this to happen again
People are going to go through hardships because of corruption, greed and a flawed system. It all has to change.
What's about to happen is going to suck. But future generations should (oh, god, please let them) learn from this huge mistake, and never again get caught up in a ponzi scheme.
Yeah right. The dotcom ponzi sceme just ended in 2000 then the housing ponzi scheme started in 2002. What have they learned?
fool me once, your fault. fool me twice, my fault
fool me three times - shoot me
The housing market in Naples will return to normal once the speculators unload their properties. There are a projected 4,000,000 retiring baby-boomers expected to move to Florida in the next few years. There are very few areas in Florida that will not enjoy a good appreciation. It's like anything else, demand sets the price.
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