Naples, FL. "Best Places to Get a Mortgage."






SmartAsset, a New York financial technology firm, did the study and rankings, based on four factors:



overall borrowing costs;
ease of securing a mortgage;
cheap property taxes;
low annual mortgage payments.



It was the third year for the study.


"This is the first time Collier County has made the national Top 10. However, this is the third year in a row they have ranked in the Top 10 for Florida," said A.J. Smith, personal finance expert and vice president of content at SmartAsset.


Collier ranked eighth in Florida in 2016 and fourth in both 2015 and this year.


"Collier County's ranking was likely helped by the fact that they outperformed the national averages in each of the study's categories," Smith said.


SmartAsset bases its rankings on $200,000 loan after a 20 percent down payment, Smith said.


SmartAsset looks at expected costs over the first five ...

Take a big breath, Naples.
The city tops realtor.com's list of the least-polluted cities in America.
To determine where the air is pristine and the water is safe to drink, the website ranked the 10 largest metros based on the following factors:
» Toxic chemicals released from factories
» Greenhouse gas emissions per square mile
» Number of Superfund sites per square mile
» Air quality, determined by the number of clear days in a year
» Water quality, measured by contaminants such as lead, copper and arsenic
Florida leads the way in air quality, and Naples is the cleanest city in the state, helped by its natural surroundings, which include the Everglades, Ten Thousand Islands and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
"Collier County has more acres of protected lands than any other county in Florida," Renee Wilson, a spokeswoman for the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, told realtor.com, pointin ...

Collier County's median home price dropped in January compared with a year ago, but an overall increase in sales encouraged analysts trying to gauge the 2017 real estate market after a rough 2016.

The median — the price that divides half the homes that sold for more and half for less — fell 8 percent in January to $314,000, compared with $340,000 for the same month a year ago, according to a monthly report released Friday by the Naples Area Board of Realtors.

The NABOR report tracks sales by the Realtor association's members in Collier County, excluding Marco Island, and includes mostly resales, not new-home sales.

"I don't think it's down that much to be scared of, and I think we'll see those numbers start to come up," said Kathy Zorn, broker/owner at Florida Home Realty.

Overall, according to the report:




Pending sales were up 9 percent to 924 in January, compared with 847 a year ago.



Closed sales were up / ...

The award-winning Ronto Group announced the Phase II building at Naples Square is rapidly approaching sell-out. Just six opportunities remain available to be in a newly constructed Phase II residence for the 2017 season. Sales volume has surpassed $65 million. Homebuyers continue to have a choice of four Phase II floor plans. Previously sold furnished models showcasing the Phase I Denison and Essex floor plans are open for guided tours with a sales associate.
Naples Square is being developed by Ronto at the corner of 5th Avenue South and Goodlette-Frank Road in downtown Naples. Naples Square’s walkable lifestyle is bringing a sense of cohesion to downtown by connecting 5th Avenue to Bayfront with access on 10th Street via 3rd Avenue South. Naples Square’s walk-able lifestyle and the availability of one and two-story, two and three bedroom plus den floor plans with open-concept living areas and open-air terraces continue to transform how people live in Naples’ downtow/ ...

A Naples design panel gave final approval Wednesday to a real estate developer’s plan for a Olde Naples downtown promenade of waterfront dining on Naples Bay.
The six-member design review board voted unanimously in favor of the project from Naples Bay Center LLC for five restaurants with rooftop and outdoor dining overlooking the bay near the intersection of Riverpoint Drive and the Fifth Avenue South bridge.
Harry Zea, the project’s developer, said construction should start this summer and that he hopes to have The Prom on Fifth open by the end of tourist season in 2018.
With approximately 450 seats of rooftop and outdoor dining, 10 dock spaces open to boaters and a boardwalk wrapping around the property, the project stands to become one of the largest public waterfront venues in the city.
“It had to be presented where it was an open atmosphere that incorporated the most fun aspect: the water,” Zea said about his vision for the promenade, which he calls a l ...