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FOUR REASONS TO THINK TWICE ABOUT BUYING IN NAPLES AND MARCO ISLANDThe Florida real estate market may not be pretty, but in most parts of the state, it is pretty transparent. Reason number one to think twice about buying in Naples and Marco
Island: The fox is guarding the chicken coop. While Naples and Collier County do not provide information about recent home sales in a readily available searchable format (the Collier County appraiser does not even publish an e-mail address), the Naples Board of Realtors does publish some aggregate information about recent home sales. Is any of it true? Is it supported by publicly available home sale transactions by address, type of property, sale price and per square foot sales price, and other data? Not that we can find. Reason number three to think twice about buying in Naples and Marco Island: Because the Collier County economy lacks diversity, during recessions it will have no options but to cut services or increase taxes. Here’s why: The 25 largest employers in Collier County account for approximately 27,150 jobs. The Collier County Public Schools (6,685), The Collier County Government (2,984), The Collier County Sheriff (1,273), and the City of Naples (509), account for 11,450 jobs. Of Collier County employers with more than 400 workers on the payroll, 42 percent of the employees are paid for with local tax dollars. And this does not count the 500 plus jobs at the United States Postal Service. Even worse, among the remaining 25 largest employers, 15 percent of jobs are in low-paying big-box retail and grocery chains, 10 percent are in hotels and restaurants, and 7 percent are in real estate development, if those jobs still exist (see reason four next). Low paying jobs. Government jobs with pension obligations and other benefits supported by property taxes. Jobs in the most troubled sectors of the economy. That’s a snapshot of the Naples economy that officials don’t seem eager to show off. No wonder they don’t want to show you home price sales. Reason number four to think twice about buying in Naples and Marco Island: The real estate market trajectory looks like a swan dive. In 2006, the market value of Collier County property increased more than 30 percent. In 2007, the market value of value Collier County property increased more than 5 percent. Only in 2008 did Collier County market values decline by almost 6 percent. This would suggest that economic realities are only now beginning to catch up to Naples, Marco Island and Collier County. The taxable value of all 2008 Collier County new construction is off by 28 percent as compared to 2007. Both the market value and the taxable value of new construction in the City of Naples are down 52 percent in 2008 compared to 2007. In other words, real estate development, one of the biggest and best paying sources of private employment in Collier County and Naples is in a state bordering on Depression. In Marco Island, the taxable value of new construction is down a staggering 76 percent in 2008 as compared to 2007. And the best you can get in Collier County is a public employee who says
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Naples Real Estate Market Snapshot
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