The Gary Cardillo Group

Your Punta Gorda Waterfront Specialists

You are here: Home / Archives for florida waterfront

Did you hear?

by

Did you hear PUNTA GORDA was ranked #1 as the nation’s most sought-after areas from buyers who are looking at homes in a different metro area from where they live AND we were the only city listed in top 10 in FL  #lovewherewelive  #garycardillogroup #localagents Read more below from Realtor.com….

Here Are the Most Popular Cities for Homebuyers in 2022—and the Places People Can’t Wait To Leave

By Clare Trapasso

May 3, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic shook up just about everything—especially where many people live. It caused a mass real estate migration unlike any in recent memory.

Lots of folks traded the cities for suburbs—more space! fewer people!—while others relocated to new, often cheaper, parts of the country. And with the popularity of remote work that allows buyers to live just about anywhere and the growing frustration with record-high home prices, the real estate reshuffle isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

In the first quarter of the year, more than half, 59.7%, of all of the views on the home listings on Realtor.com® came from shoppers based in other metros, according to recent Realtor.com research. That was a 4.6% bump over the same time last year.

Our economics team analyzed the search traffic on Realtor.com to figure out the areas where people wanted to move to—and where they most wanted to leave. We scrutinized the data to determine the nation’s most sought-after areas from buyers who are looking at homes in a different metro area from where they live. On the other end of the scale, the team also found the metro areas where the highest percentage of locals were looking for homes someplace else.

“The pandemic led many Americans to revisit priorities, preferences, and timelines,” says George Ratiu, manager of economic research for Realtor.com.  “Worries over health, financial pressures, lifestyle, and well-being were channeled into finding a home in a location which offered ample access to the outdoors, better quality of life, and increasingly important, affordable housing.”

As for trends, we found that the ever-elusive quest for affordability is still driving most preferences. Vacation and retirement destinations are especially popular with those browsing real estate listings from other areas. Some shoppers were looking to relocate, especially those who can work remotely. Others were hoping to purchase a second home, and then there were those who just wanted to dream.

Meanwhile, folks in the more expensive cities, colder parts of the country, and college and military towns seem to be looking for exit strategies. Folks in the chilly and pricey Northeast were the most likely to look at homes in other parts of the country. About 37.2% of them viewed properties in different regions. About 26.4% of folks from the Midwest, 25% of those in the West, and just 11.3% of people in the South also searched Realtor.com for residences located elsewhere.

To track the moves, the Realtor.com analysis covered the 300 largest metropolitan areas in the first quarter of 2022. (A metro area encompasses the main city and surrounding towns and smaller urban areas.) We limited the list to just one metro per state to ensure geographic diversity.

OK, let’s start with the most popular list—a tour of the most desired destinations for homebuyers right now!

Real Estate Update: April 2022

by

Many people have asked me with the war going on in Ukraine, inflation and interest rates on the rise when do I see the market crashing or at the very least bursting.
While no one has a crystal ball, we have several things going for us that I feel will enable Florida and our area specifically to do better than most. Yes, the higher cost of living does affect the discretionary income for many, while higher interest rates will impact those when it comes to financing a home. However, Florida remains very attractive for its climate, its cost of living when compared to many northern states, and for the tax benefits to be enjoyed. In other words “weather, water, way of life!”
As I’ve mentioned many times before, ever since the onset of Covid, those moving from the north found they could work remotely and sold their homes at a much higher price than the homes they were purchasing in Florida. Most paid cash, while others only borrowed 50-60%. There were no sub-prime mortgages and over leveraging granted to buyers who, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t qualify for the loans they were seeking. From a lending point of view the banks were in much better position to sustain a real estate slow down knowing those that were approved for loans were well qualified and weren’t a great risk.
Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda specifically were considered the fastest growing areas in the country and compared to our surrounding counties, we were the “bargain” that attracted the growth. However, with that growth and low inventory levels sellers started taking full advantage of the “captive market” and property prices started to soar. Unfortunately, when prices start to take meteoric rises on properties that shouldn’t be rising to that level, that is when you can start to see some pull back. I base this more on buyer feedback than any prediction of a crash.
While Covid may still be a presence, I think more people feel they can cope with it better now than at the panic levels we have experienced the past few years. While the real estate market has become a 365 day a year business, we are starting to see some of our winter visitors heading back home to be with family for Easter. These may ease the “frenzy” a bit when it comes to bidding wars, but keep in mind a well-priced property doesn’t require a buyer to be present to submit an offer on a home, so I would still expect to see multiple offers on those properties.
So what do I see? I feel prices will remain high, but for those properties that are perceived as excessively priced, there will be price reductions as buyers are keeping an eye on those market rates and inflation. The result is they will hedge themselves a bit from going out on a limb and submitting an offer for a property that is perceived to be well over market value. Coupled with material costs to build or remodel, I feel the market will remain strong, but buyers will exhibit a bit more caution and make offers more in line for what they feel their total investment will be in a home, and not be as influenced by emotion as what we may have been experiencing.
Very few can argue that Florida affords one an incredible lifestyle, and that bodes well for our community. By comparison we are better poised for continued growth and with developers and national home builders still attracted to our area I think pricing, especially in the $250,000-600,000 will remain very competitive.

Real Estate Update-“Nearly half of home buyers pay cash”

by

By NANCY J. SEMON STAFF WRITER “Charlotte Sun Newspaper”

Homes sales strong despite holidays
January traditionally is a slower month for real estate sales, and although closed sales were down from December, the market shows no sign of slowing.
“There is a 30-day lag and due to the holidays in December, Realtors were not writing as many contracts; January is even lower than the summer months,” said Sharon Neuhofer, president of Realtors of Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte-North Port-DeSoto, Inc.
She said in some parts of the nation, rising interest rates might be attributed to slowing home sales, but not in our area.
Many buyers in Southwest Florida are paying cash, so the mortgage interest rates do not affect them, she pointed out.
In January, when there were 323 closed sales of single-family homes in Charlotte County, 46.4%, or 150 buyers, paid cash.
Neuhofer said beside January’s traditional slowdown in sales, Realtors “have buyers we don’t have houses for.”
She said current low inventory levels means would-be buyers do not have a lot to choose from, and when they do find a house, often there are multiple parties interested.
“You can’t sell what we don’t have,” she said.
The same scenario held true for townhomes and condominiums. Of the 66 closed sales, 47 buyers paid cash, or 71.2% in January.
But while the median and average sale prices of single- family homes in January was lower than in December, the median and average price of townhomes and condos was higher.
SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES
The median sale price in January was $346,500, compared to $350,000 in December. The average sale price of $407,678 was also lower than December’s $450,671.
For 11 consecutive months, sellers were getting 100% of the original listed price.
The median time to sale was 57 days, and time to contract was 12 days. There were 370 homes in inventory in January, which represented a 0.9 month supply.
The inventory level from a year ago was down 30.8%.
TOWNHOMES AND CONDOS
The median sale price in January stood at $287,000, up from $269,950 in December.
The average sale price was $312,069 versus $296,717 in December.
The median percentage of the original listed price was 100% in January, continuing a nine-month trend.
Inventory stood at a 0.6 month supply, the same as it was in December. The inventory level was down 77.8% from a year ago.
Those wanting to sell should “know what you’re going to buy, or you could wind up homeless,” Neuhofer said.
QUICK SALES
She said with cash buyers coming to buy in Southwest Florida, homes are being bought up quickly.
The median time to contract for single family homes in Charlotte County was 12 days, and the median time to sale was 57 days — under two months.
But in some cases buyers will offer incentives — such as a higher price — if sellers agree to move in 30 days.
The median time to contract for townhomes and condos was similar — 10 days, and 53 days for the median time to sale.
January saw 671 single family homes about to come onto the market in February, and 119 townhomes and condos.

Lessons Learned As We Relive History

by

With St. Patrick’s Day upon us, it would be easy to get caught up in the festivity associated with a day where we all consider ourselves Irish regardless of our heritage. However, with the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine, I would be remiss not to share the life lesson it means to me.
For several years in writing these newsletters, I’ve reflected many times on my extraordinary childhood and the memories I’ve held dear to this day. I think of my diverse group of friends where the color we talked about was in our box of crayons, not the color of our skin. You were Italian if your last name ended in an “a,” an “i,” or an “o,” and if your hair was red, you were Irish for sure. We celebrated the things we had in common and laughed at our differences for the most part. While our parents bore the scars from a tough early life, they rarely talked about those times and often told us their goal was to give us a better life than theirs.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve also mentioned that I’ve become increasingly fascinated and more appreciative of those who fought so hard to give us the freedoms we enjoy today. Through countless articles and documentaries, I’ve tried to envision what it must have been like to be in the heat of the battle and the unquestionable sacrifice and bravery it took to leave loved ones behind and answer the call to serve their country. However, as much as I tried to grasp the intimacy of that experience, once I closed the book or came to the end of that documentary, I was safely home again, and my only scar was the bad dream I had just experienced.
Maybe it is because most of my generation didn’t have to fight a war, and unwittingly we’ve passed a certain naiveté and complacency down to the next generation. We don’t hear about sacrifice but more about entitlement. We don’t celebrate our similarities but focus on our differences. The teams we picked in dodgeball are far different from those we choose today, where color, political beliefs, and “my way is better than yours” are the deciding factors.
I’m amazed at how fast our world seems to be spinning out of control, and the values we held so dear have been tossed aside as antiquated thinking and no longer relevant. I’ve often prayed that God would get us back on track with some wake-up call before it is too late, and perhaps he finally has gotten our attention.
Those close to me know I start each day reading my devotionals and reference those readings with stories in the Bible. I find it amazing the stories in those pages I’ve been reading for decades appear to be playing out in front of us today. Sacrifice, persecution, bravery, and love of fellow man are on full display. It is as if we’ve been thrust back in time when those were qualities to be admired rather than avoided and taken for granted.
The tragedy we are seeing unfold in Ukraine is not much different than the story of David and Goliath. Who would ever think a comedian named Volodymyr Zelenskyy could rally his country and harness that resolve into a national battle cry. He sounds more like a character out of a Harry Potter novel, yet this unlikely hero is fighting alongside his fellow citizens against this mighty foe. And who would have thought countries throughout the world would be inspired to set aside their differences and rally around this outclassed nation of people whose only desire is to live in peace?
I’ve often said, “Men make plans, and God laughs,” and in an extraordinary way, God not only has a sense of humor in choosing the person he has but a plan no one could have expected. Sound familiar? Anyone who has played a team sport knows you leave your differences in a locker room, but you go out on the field as one. Is this our wake-up call and our last opportunity to come together as a nation ourselves? Is this our opportunity to resolve our differences instead of being so galvanized in our opinion and thought? I hope the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine will make us better as individuals and stronger as a nation before the lesson must be learned again. We have so much to be grateful for, and I hope that we not only rekindle what we have taken for granted for so long, but we can be an inspiration to others as the people of Ukraine and their president have been to the world.
We know many deserving charities are in dire need; however, at this time, the people of Ukraine desperately need our support. Listed are some of the organizations supporting their plight.
BStrong– Bstrong’s mandate is getting refugees out and aid into Ukraine #refugeesoutaidin Bstrong and Global Empowerment Mission have established a Welcome Center in Medyka, Poland/Ukraine border.
Expansion into Hungary & Romania: Your donation is scaling outside of Poland to partners in two other Ukrainian border countries to provide aid.
Airbnb.org Sign up to provide temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees or donate to their stays.
Care.org The international humanitarian group is providing food, water and other items to families fleeing violence in Ukraine.
Project Hope The global health and humanitarian relief organization is on the ground in and around Ukraine delivering medicines and medical supplies. It has teams in Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and Romania.
-Gary Cardillo

A Summer Full of Surprises

by

Over the past few years, the term “Staycation” has been used more frequently by people who most often didn’t have the time to get away for the traditional vacation. The thought was, “If we can’t get away, what things can we do within our community or at least within relatively close proximity that will give us the feeling we were on vacation?” After all, we do take what we have locally many times for granted. With our son and daughter in law having recently moved to Colorado to pursue furthering their medical careers, we thought we’d visit them for a few weeks after they were settled, then enjoy some time back home on eastern Long Island, NY where we could enjoy the last few weeks of summer visiting those charming farm stands, vineyards and historic waterfront towns. However, with more and more people coming to Florida this summer looking to relocate permanently, our mini-vacations seem to be in a holding pattern, and those opportunities to make lasting memories seem to be slipping away, or are they?

Like many, we were becoming creatures of habit in our community. We were always going to the same places to eat or getting in the car for an impromptu drive yet always finding ourselves winding up in the same place. I thought, “Why are we always hearing about the fun adventures everyone else is going on, yet we find ourselves tied to the computer or phone and only giving ourselves permission to steal just a few brief moments for ourselves?” Last month I mentioned how my wife Gail signed us up for a golf membership to force me to take a break and it has been a gift that keeps on giving. Unfortunately, while I’ve always heard practice makes perfect, I seem to be defying that logic. Those who bought homes along the golf course thinking they were going to enjoy those beautiful vistas are now running for their lives as I seemed to have purchased a box of golf balls that have a magnetic pull toward single-family homes. I’m even seeing less wildlife along the golf course as the word must have gotten out that I am out on the course! As frustrating as my game has been, I am constantly reminded of the words long-time friend, and nationally recognized golf professional Bob DeStefano, shared with us when we were in Junior Golf. He said, “The difference between adults and children, when asked how they played, an adult will complain about all the poor shots they made while a child may have had the same number of poor shots, but they will tell you about the good one they had.” So it is in pursuit of my one good shot that keeps me coming back for more. I don’t think that makes me a glutton for punishment, does it? The club has also been great to meet old friends and new ones. One of our friends we met asked us to join them for dinner at the Elk’s Lodge. If you don’t know the Elks, like many similar organizations, they self-fund many scholarships through the fun events they hold at the club. While we joined several years ago, we never seem to find time to go. Our friends mentioned they were invited to a prime rib special and asked us to join them. We were greeted with not only some of the friendliest people we ever met, but the food was outstanding. Perhaps the most pleasant surprise was the entertainment by a duo known as “Hot Mix,” and that is exactly what they did. I don’t know what I enjoyed more, watching people dance as couples the way they did years ago, spinning each other around the dance floor to the tunes of the ’50s and ’60s, or my wife showing off her dance moves from the disco era! Maybe it was low expectations after seeing the number of Elk heads on the wall when we first walked in, but as I said to my wife, “We could have been back home in Little Italy where I’m sure the Elk Heads would have been replaced by the heads of members from the opposing crime family.” Of course, she just rolled her eyes in reply.

While we reminisced with our friends on the complete surprise we just experienced, 24 hours later we found ourselves listening to the music of a Led Zeppelin tribute band whose lead singer was a personal friend of one of our friends. I don’t know about you but, tunes from Dion and the Belmonts the night before are about the polar opposite of Led Zeppelin, yet wouldn’t you know somehow one of the couples from the Elks must have gotten the wrong invitation and wound up on this dance floor ballroom dancing to Stairway to Heaven. While they were mesmerizing to watch, on the other side of the dance floor was a group of guys and gals who danced as if they were still under the influence from the party favors being handed out at Woodstock. I leaned over and said to Gail, “I feel like Lawrence Welk is being danced to on one side and from the body language of those on the other Star Wars must have some kind of lasting influence.” Again the roll of her eyes said it all. While the band, known as In The Light of Led Zeppelin was amazing, what I was watching on the dance floor was equally entertaining, and who would have ever thought right across the street was Port Charlotte’s guitar virtuoso Mike Imbasciani and his Bluez Rockerz. 
As if this wasn’t enough of a musical extravaganza, another great entertainment venue you have to visit is the Visani Italian Steakhouse and Comedy Theater. We’ve seen some of the best comedians, hypnotists, and tribute bands who have performed on some of the largest stages in the country as well as on T.V. Recently, we saw an Eagles tribute band with a group of friends that go by the name The Alter Eagles. If you closed your eyes you would swear this talented group of musicians was the original band as they have recreated the music note for note. To think you would have to drive to a major city to get this kind of entertainment is amazing in itself, but to experience it just minutes from home makes me appreciate our area even more.
So you don’t feel that our summer experiences have been all music-related, another great surprise was a trip to the Babcock Ranch Eco Tour. With so many people moving to Florida, finding a native Floridian is as challenging to me as finding a good New York bagel, but if you want an intimate experience with Florida’s rich history and wildlife in 90 minutes, this is a tour you don’t want to miss. Surprisingly we still have cowboys and Florida Cracker cattle, with some of the animals coming right up to our safari bus. To see the diversity of wildlife in its natural habitat is an experience second to none. In fact, the original telegraph lines connecting our area to the rest of the state still weave in and out of the woods, and I bet you didn’t know Punta Gorda was originally known for being one of the largest producers of Pineapples!
I often tell those looking to move to our area with high aspirations of boating, golfing, going to the beach, and experiencing all the outdoor activities Florida has to offer daily, “You never will, because you always can. We fall into complacency where the weather we experience daily somehow creates a mindset of what we don’t do today we can always do tomorrow, and before you know it you didn’t do the things you thought you were going to do.” Despite our goal in coming to Florida to live a more fulfilling lifestyle, we find we are busier than what we anticipated, and all the things we moved here for we somehow put on the back burner and took for granted. After living in the state for over 22 years I still find it amazing to think within a 2-3 hour drive we can attend professional sporting events in Tampa or Miami, the arts in a host of cities closer to home, and world-class beaches and golf within an hour’s drive. We can take overnight trips to a variety of different towns and cities where you can enjoy the fast pace and glitzy lifestyle of our state’s larger cities, or the downhome cooking and history found in many small towns that dot our state’s less traveled country roads. These are those surprises we overlook that are so close to homemaking our staycations so enjoyable. Now that I think about it, it may be time to revisit the charming ambiance of North Captiva’s Tween Waters Inn where we sailed to for a weekend stay so many years ago and where so many memories were made.

About The Gary Cardillo Group

Gary Cardillo, Realtor While most people would like to talk about themselves, Gary and Gail have always put their clients first, and their diverse backgrounds have provided their clients an unparalleled level of service and knowledge throughout the past years.
  » Read More...

Read Our Blog