J. Kyle Foster | Naples Daily News
On a Saturday afternoon in January, Mercato in North Naples is busy and will get busier as the hours pass.
People come for the experience – from food and shopping to unique events and outdoor entertainment; from family fun to adult time that includes romantic dinners, cigars, drinks and dancing. The later the night, the heels get higher and the clothes get tighter.
At 4 p.m., it is 75 degrees and a group of 6- to 8-year-old girls practices cartwheels on artificial turf in the middle of the shopping center and later play hide-and-seek – all near busy restaurants, retail stores and an art show that has the street in between closed.
At 8 p.m., the green space is filled with people listening to Wendell Ray singing DNCE’s “Cake by the Ocean,” some sitting in chairs they brought with them. Others dancing. Children hop and run around. Stiletto-clad women in short skirts walk by to go to the three late-night spots – Blue Martini, Cavo and Burn.
Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating to take advantage of the Southwest Florida weather and the desire for visitors to enjoy it. Among the restaurants are The 239 Naples, Bar Tulia, The Capital Grille, The Pub, The Hampton Social, Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, Chipotle, Grace & Shelly’s Cupcakes, Kilwin’s ice cream.
Some of these also have locations eight miles south on Fifth Avenue South, also a very popular shopping and eating area in Naples.
“We share a lot of guests (with) downtown,” said Daniel McLean, general manager of Mercato’s Bar Tulia, whose first location was on Fifth. The cocktail menus at each location are created by the bartenders and are different, as are most of the menu items, he said.”It’s even more reason to go to both places” McLean said.
Shopping mall vs. downtown feel
“It’s like a walking shopping mall,” said Heidi Zizza as she was having drinks with friends at a table in the corner near the sidewalk at Blue Martini. “It’s very different from Fifth. Fifth Avenue is more of a downtown.”
Read the full article with photos onnaplesnews.com.
Find a home convenient to great restaurants and entertainment in southwest Florida. Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Kendall Little | Naples Daily News
Popular magazine Reader’s Digest highlighted several South Florida beaches in a February article titled “15 Best Beaches in Florida Locals Want to Keep Secret.”
One Collier County beach made the cut: Tigertail Beach on Marco Island.
What did Reader’s Digest say about Tigertail Beach?
Best for: Swimming and bird-watching
After you park your car and start walking toward the water ahead of you, you might ask yourself: Is this the beach? It certainly is “a beach,” but what you see from the parking lot is actually just a huge lagoon, full of birds and tidal pools. And yes, plenty of people set up camp right there! But if you walk just a few minutes past the lagoon (sometimes, depending on the tide, you’ll have to wade through), you’ll get to the real star: three miles of soft, wide sand, fiddler crabs and beautiful migratory shorebirds.
The author, Liz Zack, also recommends watching the sunset and then
grabbing a bite to eat at Sami’s, a local favorite that serves Italian dishes.
What other Southwest Florida beaches were included?
- Bowman’s Beach, Sanibel
- Boca Grande, Gasparilla Island
- Turner Beach, Captiva
- Lover’s Key State Park, near Fort Myers Beach
How Reader’s Digest chose its ‘Best Florida Beaches’
Read the full article with photos on naplesnews.com.
Contact David to find your new home in southwest Florida. at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
January Market Report Shows Very Suitable Climate for Seasonal Sales
Naples, Fla. (March 1, 2024) – Data in the January 2024 Market Report showed invigorated confidence in the Naples area housing market for both sellers and buyers. Overall inventory continued to climb for the sixth straight month resulting in a 58.8 percent increase in homes for sale in January or 4,639 properties from 2,921 in January 2023. Fueled by a 29.1 percent increase in new listings year over year, January showings doubled compared to showings reported in December 2023. The first month of the year also saw serious sellers taking action to capture increased buyer attention with 1,804 price decreases, a 122.7 percent increase compared to December’s 810 price decreases.
“I’m getting more requests for pre-listing appraisals,” said Cindy Carroll of Carroll & Carroll Appraisers & Consultants, LLC. “This indicates to me that new sellers are taking their REALTOR®’s advice to heart and doing the work necessary to determine the value of their home in today’s market.”
The report showed 6.4 months of inventory for January compared to .9 months of inventory in January 2022, when frenzied pandemic buying began to simmer. Brokers reviewing the report said buyer intent has shifted from pandemic years of “I want a home in Naples,” to a more sensible climate today of “I want the right home in Naples.”
With more competition, brokers agree that REALTORS® who represent a buyer or seller must look at hyper-local factors such as location within a neighborhood, competition within each price range, and extenuating factors that may influence insurance coverage and affordability such as the age of the home or claim history. Additional factors that may influence list price include mortgage rates, association fees, potential or planned future assessments, ongoing maintenance and building repairs (common for condominiums) or repairs necessary to meet new building codes and flood/storm management requirements.
While pending sales in January decreased 7.5 percent to 1,010 pending sales from 1,092 pending sales in January 2023, pending sales activity for January increased 73.2 percent compared to pending sales activity reported in December 2023 (583).
“Days on market will continue to climb,” said a Broker. “There are buyers who purchased a home impulsively during the pandemic and now they are rethinking their decision. And because a lot of them are second-home buyers, they aren’t motivated in a way typical of other sellers, so they’ve been less likely to adjust their list prices or negotiate.”
The NABOR® January 2024 Market Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. NABOR® sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings for 2024:
First-time homebuyers and those seeking homes under $500,000 will be pleased to hear that inventory in this price range increased 58.6 percent in January. In fact, inventory for condominiums priced under $300,000 increased 112 percent during the month. Notwithstanding, and because Naples is paradise, inventory for condominiums over $5 million increased 182.6 percent in January.
Find your home in southwest Florida! Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Kendall Little | Naples Daily News
In some areas of the United States, the rich are just getting richer ― including here in our backyard.
Naples was the only Florida city to make personal finance site GOBankingRates’ list of places where the rich are getting richer.
Let’s take a look at the findings and the rest of the list:
Naples ranked #14 on the list
GOBankingRates found that most growing wealth is found on the West Coast, but Naples ranked No. 14 out of the 25 cities on the list.
The study found that the average 2022 household income in Naples was $277,872, which was a 27.56% increase since 2019.
Naples also had a 20.21% increase in the number of high earning households.
California cities dominated the top 10. Here’s the breakdown.
- Los Altos, CA
$400,817 household income for 2022
22% increase in household income
- Wellesley, MA
$367,801 household income for 2022
27.80% increase in household income
- McLean, VA
$364,093 household income for 2022
22.76% increase in household income
See the list and read about the methodology on naplesnews.com.
Contact David to find your luxury lifestyle in southwest Florida – Email or call David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Her top 3 Naples restaurants
Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News
What are JLB’s top three restaurants when friends and family visit?
It took a lengthy scroll through my phone’s gallery to figure it out.
Until 2021, one top destination (according to my photos) was Siam Thai, an affordable and convenient go-to with dated décor a la Mad Men. From my vegan pal Thomas Farley, aka Mister Manners, to “Iron Chef America” judge Karine Bakhoum, whose palate was once insured for $1,000,000 by Lloyds of London, this easy downtown joint was a crowd pleaser.
Alas, Siam Thai changed hands and then closed in 2022, making it ineligible for this story inspired by USA Today’s recent listing of America’s top 100 restaurants of the year based on where my Gannett colleagues go when friends and family land in town.
…below are JLB’s three most frequent restaurant haunts from May 2015 to now.
What they have in common? Each is independently owned, decidedly fuss-free and family-friendly. They also won’t break the bank unless you go bananas ordering multiple fun cocktails because you might want to try several.
JLB’s Top 3
If there’s a downside to JLB’s job, it’s only that I don’t get to visit my favorites as often as before. But when friends and family are in town, these are my must-visits, listed in alphabetical order.
Island Gypsy
292 Capri Blvd., Naples; 239-394-1111; theislandgypsy.com
Jane’s Cafe
1209 Third St. S., Naples; 239-261-2253; janesgardencafe.com
Seventh South Craft Food + Drink
849 Seventh Ave. S., Naples; 239-231-4553; seventhsouth.com
Don’t miss JLB’s photos and descriptions on naplesnews.com.
Find a home convenient to delicious dining spots in Naples, Florida. Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
J. Kyle Foster | Naples Daily News
The Bonita Estero Rail to Trail will include construction of a 12-foot-wide asphalt path for almost 15 miles, looking similar to paths in Baker Park in Naples.
After four years of negotiations, Seminole Gulf Railway has agreed to sell its 14.9-mile Bonita-Estero rail corridor for a public pedestrian and biking trail.
Lee County and its municipalities, and Collier County if it chooses, have until March 2026 to come up with the $82 million agreed upon price brokered by the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit that works to connect people to outdoor spaces, said Deborah Orton, president of Friends of Bonita Estero Rail to Trail.
The Bonita Estero Rail to Trail – called BERT – would run from just south of the Lee Collier County border to Alico Road through downtown Bonita Springs and Estero ending just north of San Carlos Park at Alico Road. The trail will connect to Lee County’s John Yarborough Trail to the north and the planned Paradise Coast Trail to the south in Collier County.
Seminole Gulf Railway has agreed to sell its 14.9-mile Bonita-Estero Rail Corridor for a public trail in Lee County.
“This isn’t an isolated 15-mile piece of land,” said Doug Hattaway, Southeast Region conservation director at Trust for Public Land. “It’s going to connect to a statewide trail network.”
Read the full article on naplesnews.com.
Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 to find your home in healthy southwest Florida.
