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.
Single-family homes are seen in this aerial photograph taken over San Diego, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020. U.S. sales of previously owned homes surged by the most on record in July as lower mortgage rates continued to power a residential real estate market thats proving a key source of strength for the economic recovery. Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes ticked higher in October, marking their strongest annual pace since January even as competition for relatively few properties on the market pushed prices higher. Existing homes sales rose 0.8% last month from September to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.34 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. That was stronger than the 6.18 million units that economists had been expecting, according to FactSet. Sales fell 5.8% from October last year, when they peaked following a summer and fall surge as buyers who had held off during the early days of the pandemic jumped back into the market. “It looks like the housing market is remaining strong, resilient and one may even say, (had) something like a mini surge, not the big one we saw last year,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. Continued job growth, a stock market at all-time highs and rising, but still historically low mortgage rates are helping to drive home sales, Yun said. Resilient demand continues to push the cost of a home higher. The national median home price jumped to $353,900 last month, a 13.1% increase from October last year, the NAR said. While up overall, sales were mixed by region. Sales fell 2.6% last month in the Northeast and were flat in the West. Sales rose 4.2% in the Midwest and edged up 0.4% in the South. Each region’s sales were down from October last year. Through the first 10 months of the year, home sales are up 11% from where they were last year and are 13% higher than they were in the same stretch of 2019. “We’re easily on pace for an annual total of at least 6 million this year, which would be the best performance in 15 years,” Yun said. Home sales have been healthy for most of this year, spurred by an ongoing desire among many people for greater space to wait out the coronavirus pandemic. Mortgage rates are also historically low, though they’ve begun to creep higher in recent weeks. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year mortgage was 3.1% last week, up from 2.98% the previous week. A year ago, the rate averaged 2.72%. That upward trend is prompting some potential homeowners to act more quickly. Homes continue to sell within days of being put up for sale. Homes typically remained on the market 18 days before getting snapped up last month. That follows a six-month streak of homes typically selling after 17 days on the market. In a market that’s more evenly balanced between buyers and sellers, homes typically remain on the market 45 days. All told, 82% of homes sold in October were on the market for less than a month, the NAR said. At the end of October, the inventory of unsold homes stood at just 1.25 million homes for sale, down 0.8% from September and down 12% from a year ago. At the current sales pace, that amounts to a 2.4 months’ supply, the NAR said. Despite the historically low interest rates, the lack of supply combined with a surge in home prices has left many would-be buyers frustrated, especially those shopping for homes in the more affordable end of the market. Among homes priced at $150,000 or less, sales slumped 24% last month, reflecting a dearth of properties available in that price range. Sales of homes in the $250,000 to $500,000 range dropped 2%. Much of October’s home sales increase was concentrated among properties that sold for $750,000 and higher, the NAR said. First-time buyers accounted for 29% of homes sold last month, up from 28% in September. They made up 32% of sales in October last year, the NAR said. Investors, meanwhile, made up 17% of sales last month, up from 13% in September and 14% in October last year. All-cash sales accounted for 24% of transactions last month, the NAR said. That’s up from 23% in September and 19% in October 2020.