[KYWildcat]

I am a Fort Myers area real estate appraiser. I report in depth the current market conditions, trends, etc. in my appraisal reports. I perform appraisals for litagation, estates, ERC relocation, private purposes for other than lending and some lending appraisals. I have almost stopped doing appraisals for lending purposes due to the fact that the majority of the lending work is through 3rd parties and they do not want to pay the higher fees that I request. The exception to that is the old established banks that I work as sub contractor. For the majority of my markets in Southwest Florida (Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Bonita Springs, Naples, Punta Gorda, etc) the markets have been stabile for the last 3-6 quarters. The less sought after properties in this area, I would have to do much more extensive research on each market prior to making that statement since the general market is made up of many, many different markets. The median priced home in Lee County sold for $322,000 (realtor assisted) at the market highs in Dec 2005. Today, I believe its $105,000 depending on which monthly data you utilize. I have sold my condo for 3.5% more than I purchased one year ago. There are slight monthly variances but the overall trend is stabile.

I signed a contract on a house in the Villages (Santiago) yesterday and will moving to The Villages on or about March 1. This has been a very planned purchase/ move over the last several months. I have been researching the market in the Villages for quite some lengthy time. According to my data, it is considered a stabile market. I have not reseached when the market highs were experienced but the last 3-6 quarters I have seen from my collection of data, a stabile market does exist. I will say that The Villages probably had less decline in values from the market highs than anywhere else in the state of Florida. The Villages have something that no one else can offer. They are still expanding at the rate of 200/ month new homes and they are not exactly spec houses. There are relative few if any foreclosure sales or short sales. In my search for bank/reo & shorts as a potential buyer, I found less than 10 total with the majority in the lower priced properties. The contract I signed yesterday was for $195,000 which was my offer. And I believe that being an appraiser, I offered the fair market value. (list was $215,000) Looking in the county records on this particular property, the prior sale was 02/2007 for $235,000. The owner also did many upgrades since purchase.

I look forward to my retirement in The Villages now. I might maintain my appraisal business on a very limited basis. I am licensed in the state of Florida.