dredging in Royal Harbor

October 19 Update
Here are some new updates for Royal Harbor.
The bridge project is the mitigation the state required of us in order to do the main dredging project. When this bridge project is completed the rock removal dredge will move over and start on the Curlew canal and follow the regular dredge southward. The dredging is far ahead of schedule but has broken down and repairs are now underway. The dredge is working 24/7 by permission of the city.
As the dredge nears your canal every homeowner will be sent a letter and every home will have a hand delivered notice on their door. It will explain the private dredging process and give you the opportunity to have your dock dredged. I have previously sent the formula for pricing for this and you can find it on the Royal Harbor website.www.royalharborassociation.org

New Start

My new resolution is to try and keep this more updated. Since 2008 the Real Estate market in Royal Harbor has dropped, dropped and dropped in value. A look at a graph of values in the Naples area will show a bell curve. In 2000 and 2001 prices were about where they are now. The in between years shows a steady rise until 2006 and 2007 when prices began to fall and now here we are back at the level we were in 10 years ago. So is this the low?
No one can forsee the future but look at the signs. 12 new housing starts inRoyal Harbor right now. (some are complete make-overs but still will result in a new home) the number of homes for sale has gone from the upper 60's (68 to 69) last year to now in mid 40's. So supply is slowly getting back to balance. With 415 homes in here, 40 some on the market should be close to a correct number.
So why are we here? Is it forclosurers, short sales or just -lower prices? Well, all 3. The few forcosures and short sales helped drive prices down but the real drive to lower prices was the market at work. Buyers refused to buy at the higher levels. As prices dropped more and more people were willing to jump in and buy. The low end is now in the 600,000,s (an exception may be a really poor lot or torn up home) and the upper is is ????. Most of the upper end has sold in the 2.5 million range. Still there are a few holding out for 3 million or more.
I have several listings in the area and I am really busy with showings and offers. I have 2 pending and several I think are going to go to contract in the next few weeks.
This is an overview. If you are reading this and want up to date information on a specific price range in here then email me. trforshier@premiereplusrealty.com

If you are looking for a condo with access to waterfront that is a different market. More on that later this week.

IKE dips North sparing Florida and Royal Harbor

All we got from IKE was a small 2 foot rise in our high tide level. as it passed a couple hundred miles to the south of us. Residents of Royal Harbor closely monitored this storm as it was origionally projected to pass through southern Florida. A dip south caused by the strong Bermuda high and a lot of wind sheer kept the Hurricane on a SW track and over and through Cuba then across to the Gulf where it took a bee line for Galviston and Houston. Another miss and now we are over the half way mark in the 2008 hurricane season.

Formation of East Naples Bay Advisory board

The newly appointed East Naples Bay advisory board met today for the first time. they were updated by the engineering firm hired by the city council to do the research on the area. they elected a chairman, Ted Toybe and V. Chmn Jim Doan other members are Bonnie Mattieo, Terry Green, Harold Oldak and chip Harris (who was not present.)
The meeting was an organizational one. One public speaker (me) spoke to the new committee regarding funding and the 4 separate areas to be dredged. Royal Harbor, Oyster Bay, Golden Shores and Naples Bay. It was suggested each fund its own area. The committee asked the engineers to break out the costs by these 4 areas and to have them ready for the next meeting Oct 6.

Hurricanes and Naples Royal Harbor

Peak Hurricane season is here and with stormes lined up in the Atlanatic folks in Naples can only watch the Weather channel and wait. They are hopiong that Hannah, Ike and Josephine all blow somewhere else and not here. So far so good in NAples. FAY hit just south of here , below Marco Island, as a tropical storm and then slowly cruised up the middle of the State and dumped us with a ton of rain. Then Gustov went past on the West. It gave us a surge but nothing else.
Residents here say the main effect of the season so far has been the cancelling of the tourists arrival as each storm presents its path of uncertainty. This has also led to a slowing of the Real Estate market that looked like it was trying to start up after such a long downturn.
We shall see..

Gustov causes extra high tides

Yesterday as Gustov passed to the West of us we experienced a 3 foot rise in our normal high tide. Here is a photo down my canal in Royal Harbor. This was just after high tide and you can see the warter is over the seawall in places. No damage anywhere I know of. Some streets along the coast flooded due to full storm drains.

sample new listing Royal Harbor

Here is an example of the type of older home in Royal Harbor. this one, 2224 sf, is priced hundreds of thousands less than in 2005. the housing slump has hit. It is new on the market at $1.295 million. A few years ago lot value was 1.5 mil. Some lots are now in the 800's. This season will be a buyers paradise. If you have cash you can get a real deal on a quality older home or find the building lot of your dreams.

Boat Theft in Royal Harbor

For nearly a year we have been theft free in boats. Now it seems that the target has changed from the long range go fast boats to luxury cruisers. It was in the paper that a 40 foot Sea Ray was taken from a dock on Tarpon road this week. No details from the owners yet but the newspaper says that police think it is human smugglers again. These people set off go to Cuba , pick up people and smuggle them into the US using these large long range cruisers. More on this as we hear more.

First Foreclosures hit Royal Harbor

Last week we saw the first foreclosed properties hit the market in Royal Harbor. These two properties are now bank owned and are now at very reduced prices from the past few years. Both properties are priced at lot value but both do have homes on them now. These properties are in direct competition with the homes now on the market by residents. this will encourage sellers to look more favorably at all offers to buy.
Presently there are 40 some homes in Royal Harbor for sale and many have prices well below what many thought the market would ever fall to. A few years ago $1.5 million was the start point here for anything. Today several homes are priced in the 900's and below.
This is a buyers market. Some homes have been on the market for 2 or 3 years and have never had an offer. It is true that many owners in this area have deep pockets but for some, selling this season will be a necessity.
If you are one of the people with cash and are looking for deals this area has some of the best possibilities in all of the Naples Area. I have several customers returning this fall for a final look and purchase. These people are going to look awfully smart in a few years as these properties rebound and prices start to edge up again.
Don't you miss this boat. If you are wanting a waterfront property this is the time and the place.

Royal Harbor Fishing

Last month I asked anyone catching fish from Royal Harbor to send mew some pictures to post in my Newsletter. I received several answers. Some were catching Gropuper, and big ones, some catching kings and one caught a big 15 pound tripletail. These, however, were all caught from Royal Harbor boats offshore. INside they are still catching sheeps head, some snook and snappers and no REDs reported. Anyhow, some are catching fish.
You can see what I catch..

Dredging the neverending story

After all the meetings and print about trying to get new dredging done in Royal Harbor, Oyster Bay areas here we are in May and we find out the East Naples Taxing district , that was to be the funding mechanism, has expired. The originators of the taxing district built in a termination date that was, I believe, last October. So all monies collected, spent etc, all work done and all decisions made are really moot as this organization had no authority to do any of it.
Makes you wonder about the city government. You think?
Now most residents have gone North until November of 08. Maybe when we reconvene the Royal Harbor area will do its own dredging as a community. This would probably be alot less expensive and time consuming than going in it with all 3 subdivisions.

Dredging in Royal Harbor area

Yesterday over 50 residents with properties along the East of Nales Bay attended the East Naples Bay taxing district meeting at City Hall. All, it appeared, were against the formation on spoil silands along the East side of Naples Bay. Although the engineer hired to do the study told the audiance of the benefits of the islands none there wanted them in thier view.
At the end the advisory board voted to scrap the idea of the islands but to go forward with plans to dredge even at the higher cost involved.
No one spoke about the different subdivisions doing their own dredging programs.

Royal Harbor Dredging project

Dredging Royal Harbor

Last month the taxing district was talking about dredging costs and spoil. One of the ideas was to take the spoil and increase the volume of material in the shallowest areas of the bay and form islands in Naples Bay. These were to provide habitat and help with the water quality of the Bay. It was also to be somewhat cheaper than trucking away the spoil.

Now I hear some people are concerned this spoil is contaminated. I also see in the Naples Daily News that some bay front residents are concerned with these islands spoiling their view of the water. At all the meetings I attended, contamination was not a concern since we were told the canals were surveyed for not only depth but contaminates. As to the view, well, I suppose to some an island may not be as attractive as the water without one. No one can speak for another’s preferences. It does appear that there will be some opposition to the islands.

Doesn’t this seem like another reason for Royal Harbor to do their own dredging project separate from Golden Shores and Oyster Bay? From the data I have seen, Royal Harbor will not have the bulk of the spoil or rock. Most of it will come from the canals on the north end of the bay. All but one of the proposed spoil islands will also be located in that area north of the No Wake zone. The only proposed area affecting Royal Harbor residents would be looking south at the southern end of Royal Harbor and that is already an island during low tide. This would mean the Royal Harbor dredging could be done under the existing permit, would make less spoil, thus might not need to form islands and would be able to be done in a reasonable time frame.

The taxing district meeting scheduled for this month was postponed, so there is no news from that.

Homestead portability Royal Harbor

I spoke with Abe Skinner the Collier appraiser last week and was updated on this latest taxing issue of portability in the Homestead exemption. This is how it was explained to me.
If you are moving up, this means buying a more expensive home, and if you you have at least 500,000 in homestead savings then you can carry all of it (up the the half million) with you on your next home. Naturally if you have less say an accumulated 375,000 in assessed value minus your taxable value then you carry only that forward.
BUT...If you are moving down you do not carry all your savings. There is a formula you use to determine how much of your savings you can port. Those people thinking they can then go from a home where they are saving 500,000 in taxable value and buy a lesser value home and get this reduction are wrong. They will not take 500,000 with them, only a portion will transfer. I think that is based on the percentage of assessed value to the actual value.
I am sure this will be explained as we near the deadline to vote. Still so far this has been misleading.
If you are in Royal Harbor and are homesteaded getting the 3% annual raise max then you move down this will most likely effect you.

More on Dredging

At the Dec. meeting the idea was brought up to have Royal Harbor do its dredging project separate from Golden Shores and Oyster Bay. This might be cheaper and quicker for Royal Harbor than doing the project as originally proposed, as there is more rock removal in the northern canals and they are also tied up in the legal dredging over the Yacht Club and Naples Bay Resort. This singular project would be under maintenance of the old 1991 permit. I was told by a member of one of the members of the sailing and Yacht club board that it might take years for this to get resolved. More on this later.