Marco Island Real Estate Stats and Commentary March 2020

The following stats compare March 2020 to March 2019. Sold Single Family Homes UP 66% (58 vs 35)  11 HOMES CLOSED THAT WERE EACH OVER $2,000,000.00 Sold Condominiums UP 27% (66 vs 52) Sold Single Family Vacant Lots UP 66% (22 vs 11) Pending Single Family Homes DOWN 53% (35 vs 74) Pending Condominiums DOWN 35% (40 vs 62) Pending Single Family Vacant Lots DOWN 64% (5 vs 14) (Pending means it went under contract but has not closed yet) Inventory: 290 Single Family Homes (DOWN 22% from 2019) 367 Condominiums (DOWN 19% from 2019) 251 Single Family Vacant Lots (DOWN 25% from 2019) 908 Total Homes, Condos and Vacant Lots for sale. Summary: A total of $128 Million dollars worth of real estate closed on Marco Island in the Month of March 2020. $72 Million dollars last month and $70 Million in March 2019 (last year).  Now I must point out that the virus was upon us and the closed sales we see in March were for properties that went under contract mostly in January and February. But, just like driving a car, we need to look out the windshield and not into the rearview mirror to see where we are going. As you have heard a thousand times already, these are unprecedented times. Nobody knows for sure what exactly will happen, but I have a great imagination and here is what I think. First, if you currently have a mortgage now is a great time for you to look at refinancing it. Rates are at record lows and if you emerge from the virus with a job and the ability to pay your mortgage it will most probably be lower if you act now. You have nothing else to do, so take advantage of the time you have to sit around and save yourself some big bucks. Second, if your property is on the market currently, leave it on the market. There are millions of people sitting home spending millions of hours looking at Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, and porn. You might as well let them look away at your properties because when the dust settles they may realize that being quarantined on Marco Island sure beats most other places in the world and they may decide to move here. Lastly, what does the old Lucky 8 Ball have to say? I shook it up and here is what I got, THIS TOO SHALL PASS! Be thankful that you did not catch the virus. If you or someone you know did, my thoughts and prayers are with you and them, but chances are you will make it out the other end of this healthy. Time will pass, the world will certainly never be exactly the same, but things will calm down and Marco, as I said before, is as good a place as any to be quarantined so why not live here?  The stock market has scared the daylights out of many and it was certainly soaring prior to the virus. That tells me that as the market returns and many of those gains are recouped, you are going to see people take some of that stock money off the table and use it to invest in Real Estate which was already happening as there were an inordinate of multi-million dollar sales happening. Life is short and sometimes more fragile than we imagine, use this time to reflect on making the most out of it. Now it is time for me to come clean and explain why you have not heard from me for a few months. This is going to be very difficult to tell you, but I need to get things off my chest, at least that is what my Shrink tells me to do. This is not going to be funny, but hopefully, there will be a happy ending someday. I love self-deprecating humor so here comes my story of woe with as much humor as I can currently muster. Many of you have heard me refer to my first wife and my current wife in past posts. Now 2.6 of my faithful 7.6 readers know that in fact, my current wife is, in fact, my first and only wife. In fact, I have only been married once and I was dumb enough to think I got it right the first time. I loved to write about Barbara as I adore and love her, and it always put a smile on my face knowing she was my proofreader and would see what I had to say first each month. Well, right after New Years she gave me the news that her feelings changed after 26 years and she wanted a divorce. Without giving you the gory details, I moved out and went on a tour of the local hotels in Naples while my head spun and heart ached. I learned a lot about hotels and now consider myself an expert in the field. The pancake maker machine at the Holiday Inn Express is spectacular and gives you a reason to awake in the morning when you have no other reason to. The Red Roof Inn has rooms that look at the pool and rooms that look at the parking lot. I chose the parking lot because nobody wants to see people having fun at the pool when they are miserable, it actually pisses you off. The Gulf Coast Inn is great for the money and they have a Sushi place attached if you can eat. The Hilton is new and expensive so I stayed away from that unless everyone else was booked. Keep in mind this is the busy season and I was forced to bounce around based on availability. I did sleep in my car one night, but that was out of desperation and frugality. Then, as this was getting expensive, I moved to the lower-tiered motels like the Glades Inn on 41.  Then, when I was at rock bottom emotionally, I went to Conty's on 41 as it is probably the rock bottom of hotels and in the peak of the season here the room was $100 per night. Normally, it is $100 for 100 nights. If you love bugs, mold, drugs, hookers, noise, traffic, things that go bump in the night, this is the place for you. I was never so glad to have a C.C.W. in my life and made sure all my neighbors knew I was not in any frame of mind to be messed with. Once those boundaries were established I fit right in with those that live there permanently as they came to understand I could be their worst nightmare instead of the other way around. While living there, the Collier County Sherrif's office raided the place for human trafficking, this is not a joke. However, it is sad to see some of your new best friends carted off to jail. One officer did enter my room to ask me a few questions. After I gave him my tale of woe, he shook my hand, patted me on the back to see that I was carrying my Glock, told me to enjoy my stay and left. Ironically, I can tell you that the guy in the dirty T-shirt at the front desk and the lady that owns Conty's could not have been any nicer or friendly. These folks have seen it all and can deal with any situation and still have a smile. There is a lesson to be learned there. Now, if that wasn't enough. In February I went for a routine colonoscopy. I have learned one thing about colonoscopies and that is when you wake up in the bullpen with everyone else you only want the nurse to be standing there. If the doctor is there, he's not there to say good morning sunshine. Well, I open one eye and spy the nurse so I'm feeling my luck is changing for the better. Nurse Ratchet utters "good morning sunshine" and I figure I'm good to go. She then said, "you lay there honey, I have to go get the doctor he has something he wants to talk to you about". I figure he's not asking for my credit card to pay the bill so this isn't going to go well. In my fog, he shows me a picture he took 48 feet up my colon and said: "that thing there in the picture is not supposed to be there". I am sending you for a Cat Scan, blah, blah, blah, surgeon, hospital, blah, blah, blah, "good luck" and he gives me a pat on my butt. I'm all alone as my buddy Bobby dropped me off for the procedure and is in the waiting room. All the other poor slobs getting bad news have their spouses or significant others in the bullpen for moral support and to get these instructions written down. The nurse said, "honey, I'll write it all down and you'll be fine, I think".  I walked out to Bobby and we went for lunch, I think. Jumping ahead I meet the surgeon and he tells me there is a 2-inch tumor on my "appendiceal orifice" and he is going to remove at least the right side colon on April 1st a.k.a. April Fool's Day. (he tells me I don't really need it anyway, but I beg to differ) He doesn't think I'll be crapping in a bag when he is done because he has done 3 or 4 of these operations in the past with mostly good results. He tells me he is going to use a robot, and the robot has done thousands of them, so I feel better knowing about the robot's experience. I ask him what the robot's name is and he tells me "Davinci".  I asked if maybe he could find me a Jewish robot instead as I'd feel more comfortable. He didn't think that was funny since he was eye-talian, as they say in the mid-west. Because all the boob jobs, tummy tucks, and facelifts got canceled at the hospital because of the virus, they moved me up to March 16th for the operation.  Now I had the pleasure and honor of going into a hospital where they were already treating 2 confirmed cases of the virus, but they offered me a 37% discount off my bill if I acted now and I couldn't pass up a deal like that.  I had to go into the hospital alone as there were no visitors allowed and masks and gloves weren't yet the rage. I had the operation on a Monday and was supposed to stay for 5 days. On Wednesday, the doctor and Rosencrantz the robot came to see me and explained that because of the virus they suggest I pack my crap and get out that day. I agreed, grabbed my urinal which was my new best friend and then tried to figure out how to get out of the bed as I hadn't been up yet. They unhooked me from everything, the hospitalist told the nurse to "stick" me with something strong and send me on my way. I kid you not, they got me out of the bed, told me where the elevator was and I walked out. No wheelchair and high as a kite. It took me a few tries to find the lobby, which was deserted, but I finally found my way out. My guts and ass didn't spill on the floor so all was good. I returned to the trailer park where I am renting down by the Snook Inn and my younger son Willy is taking care of me. Willy isn't real excited about now being "Trailer Trash", but my new neighbors could not be nicer. Throw this whole virus thing on top of everything above and I can now identify with the Clint Eastwood line "A man's got to know his limitations". Now, if there is a dry eye reading this, I ask that you rub some pepper in your eyes as you are obviously heartless. I do know that the 7.6 faithful are wondering what this has to do with Real Estate and here goes. First, if you fall in love with a property, do your best to do your homework and make sure it is the right property for you. Ownership can be a long term commitment and you don't want to fall out of love with something that you thought was your forever home. Secondly, life is short and getting shorter every day. You can horde your money and make excuses for not buying that winter home, new car, or whatever, but realize that finding joy in material things is great if you have the money to do it. There is no shame in that. The house doesn't break your heart, the car won't crush your dreams, and there is some joy to be found there. Live life to it's fullest. Lastly, when buying a home there are people along the way to help you with your decision. Home inspectors, termite inspectors, dock and seawall inspectors, mortgage professionals, contractors and a host of others that are there to support you and guide you. Personally, I would only trust a Jewish Realtor (not a robotic one), but that's just my thought. The tie in here is that throughout all of my recent ordeals I have been humbled by the number of people that have stepped forward to help me in any way they could, particularly emotionally. There are some people that I really barely knew that have shown me compassion and support that I am brought to tears over. In real estate, there are folks that will step in as well to help you and have nothing but your best interests in mind.  For those that have helped me personally and professionally, I can't thank you enough. I am blessed more than I ever knew and that is the best thing that has come of all my recent adventures. I will be here for a long time to come (I think) and look forward to helping you with your real estate needs or anything for that matter. I am just a call, text, or email away. THANK YOU ALL! The inquiring 7.6 faithful readers demand to know The High and Low Sales for the month of March, and they are as follows: Single-family home, 4785 South Heathwood Drive closed for $4,785,000. Condo, Belize 2303 closed for $3,657,500 and a vacant lot at 1475 Caxambas Court closed for $3,250,000.   For the bargain hunters, a 2 bedroom home at 281 Second Ave. closed for $398,000. A condo in Estuary 2 closed for $162,500, and a vacant lot at 775 Whiskey Creek closed for 39,000, YES, you can still get a great deal on Marco Island. I used to ask for folks to take Barb and me out for dinner for a night of jocularity and smiles, but since that is off the table, I ask that you simply enjoy your family and friends until further notice.   And, if you are thinking of using me as your Realtor, keep in mind that I will never be out thought or out fought.  Rosenkrantz the robot popped 5 holes in my belly and then cut my belly button open to yank out the leftover parts. If you want to see a picture of it email me and I'll send it. However, if you see me walking around shirtless remember the story I am going to go with is that I was shot 5 times and then stabbed. I'm trying to toughen up my image.  Past boring newsletters can be viewed here: https://viewmarco.blogspot.com/ Gerry Rosenblum Broker Associate Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty 2013, 2012 & 2007 President Marco Island Area Association of Realtors 2008 Realtor of The Year - Marco Island 239-450-4770 (cell) 1-888-239-5131 (toll-free e-fax) 1-800-237-8817 (toll-free) To View the Entire Marco MLS go to: www.viewmarco.com   Copyright © 2020 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty, All rights reserved. A fun way to follow the Real Estate Market on Marco Island. Our mailing address is: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty 900 North Collier Boulevard, Marco Island, FL Marco Island, FL 34145 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.