ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
Credit: Getty Images via CBS News. Vehicle sales dropped again in June, the second month in a row of declining vehicle sales, as rising prices and shortages keep would-be buyers away. Imported vehicle sales fell 13.1% from the previous month while domestic vehicle sales also declined, down 8.7% overall as auto sales shrank 11.2% and truck sales fell 8%. The declines dragged car sales to below their pre-pandemic level. “Vehicle sales have contracted for two consecutive months as extremely high prices, particularly for used cars, is cutting off demand,” Oxford Economics’ Mahir Rasheed said in a research note. Consumers are feeling the pinch. The portion of households who said June was a good time to buy a vehicle was at its lowest level in nearly 40 years, according to the University of Michigan. Oxford Economics expects the drag on car sales to last through the year. “While robust domestic demand and an improving health backdrop will keep a floor under vehicle sales through the rest of 2021, the pace of sales will be weighed down by inventory constraints,” Rasheed wrote. Blame the chips A shortage of semiconductor chips, which are essential components of new cars and trucks and most of which are imported, has reduced the production of new vehicles and pushed used-car prices to record levels. A General Motors plant in Kansas City, Kansas, has been closed for six months thanks to the chip shortage. Used car prices shoot up All that pent-up demand is pushing car buyers into the used-car market, pushing those prices to unseen levels. The average price for used vehicles between April and June jumped to $25,410, up from $20,942 in the year-ago period, according to Edmunds.com — the highest price on record for the auto research firm. Used vehicle prices are responsible for one-third of the rise in consumer prices, according to the Labor Department. When it was new, a typical 2019 Toyota Tacoma SR double cab pickup came with a sticker price just under $29,000. Two years later, dealers are paying almost $1,000 more than that to buy the same vehicle, even though it’s used, and are reselling it to consumers for more than $33,000. Edmunds said the average price of a new car in the second quarter was $40,827, up from $38,895 a year ago. In the past year, used vehicle prices on average have climbed 30%, according to Black Book, which tracks car and truck data. That’s created situations where high-demand vehicles are selling for more than they did when they were new, said Alex Yurchenko, the company’s senior vice president of data science. “The market is very strange right now,” said Yurchenko. “Dealers need the inventory, so they are paying lots of money for their vehicles on the wholesale market.” Yurchenko found 73 models of 1- to 3-year-old vehicles being sold at auctions (where dealers buy their vehicles) for prices above their original sticker, which is called the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Many of the models Yurchenko found were high-priced trucks and SUVs or highly sought-after loaded-out vehicles, including the high-performance Ford F-150 Raptor pickup, the 2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon SUV and the boxy Mercedes G-Class AMG63 high-performance SUV. But the two-wheel-drive Tacoma SR is the lowest-priced model of Toyota’s top-selling small pickup. To be sure, higher-end versions of the Tacoma also were on the list, but even more mainstream vehicles are selling for more than their original prices. For instance, the 2020 Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade made the list even though both are considered good values compared with more expensive SUVs with three rows of seats. Yurchenko says the crazy prices are moving further into more ordinary vehicles. “Before we get through this, prices for many mainstream vehicles will get closer to their manufacturer’s suggested retail price,” he said. Driven by scarcity The main factor pushing up used car prices is scarcity, according to Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds. Nearly all of the regular sources of used cars have been disrupted by the pandemic, she said. Fewer new car sales in the past year means fewer trade-ins. People are extending their leases. Rental car companies, normally a reliable source of used cars, are instead buying used cars themselves in order to rebuild their fleets that were sold off last year as business travel and tourism came to a halt. It all started in April and May of last year, when U.S. automakers were forced to close factories for eight weeks to help stop the novel coronavirus from spreading. That cut production, limiting inventory even as demand remained surprisingly strong. The factories came back faster than expected, and, in the meantime, computer-chip makers had switched to manufacturing semiconductors for phones, laptops, gaming systems and other consumer electronics. That created a shortage of automotive chips, which is forcing car companies to temporarily close factories, leaving some dealers with few new vehicles. The lack of new vehicles and higher prices have sent more people into the used vehicle market, so demand is high there, too. Plus, rental car companies, normally a source of late-model used vehicles, are keeping their cars longer because they can’t get new ones, Yurchenko said. At present, consumers who have to replace a vehicle don’t have much choice. “Unfortunately, if you need a vehicle, you’ll need to pay the price,” Yurchenko said. Signs of slowing down But there are signs that price increases are starting to slow. Used car prices rose 0.75% last week, the lowest weekly gain in 17 weeks. Trucks and SUV prices grew 0.68%, the lowest weekly gain in 15 weeks, according to Black Book. Karl Jensvold, owner of PricedRite Auto Sales, a used vehicle dealer in Lincoln, Nebraska, said he’s seeing wholesale prices leveling off, but he doesn’t expect them to drop anytime soon. “I think the normal used car market has reset to a different price point,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll see the prices (from) before COVID for a while.” Yurchenko said at some point prices will have to go back to normal and used vehicles will depreciate once again. The timing depends on how long it takes to get more computer chips so automakers can resume normal production, he said. “Once the new inventory levels start increasing, that’s where the pressure on the used market will be relieved,” he said.