Below you will find all of the latest events for February

BEACH COMBING
Every Tuesday & Wednesday at 9:30 AM
Join a Master Naturalist for a walk discovering beach treasures. Learn about sea shells, sea creatures and tidal movement. This is a great interactive event.

NATIVE PLANT WALK
Friday, February 7th – 9:30 am
Join a Ranger or Volunteer for a NATIVE PLANT WALK to explore a barrier island. The entire family is welcome. Learn about the Maritime Hammock plants, how they protect us, and what we can all do to protect them. Comfortable clothes, water bottle, sunglasses, sunscreen are all recommended

GOPHER TORTOISESS
Friday, February 14th - 9:30 AM
Learn about the park's shy, shelled, terrestrial friends, their habitats and how social they can be. Learn

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The 43rd annual Naples Boat Show will be held this weekend (Beginning January 30th) January 31st, as well as February 1st and 2nd at the newly renovated Florida Sports Park off of Rattlesnake Hammock Road.  Attendance is free to the public and there will be plenty to do. Vendors will be located both inside and outside. The indoor vendors will be have an air conditioned area inside the 7000sqft exhibit hall.

The expected turnout is between five and seven thousand people. On display and there to talk to attendees will be about 100 different boat vendors as well as others. Adults will also enjoy the opportunity to participate in wirkshops with subjects ranging from fishing and boating tactics, to information about the latest boating and fishing technologies.…

 

Brrrr! Teeth gritting cold had really invaded warm and sunny Florida early this year. Many Floridians have felt the brunt of the cold early this January. Drastic changes in temperature have caused the temperature to drop of more than 30 degrees and even lower across Florida. You can see commuters huddle up in their jackets, sweatshirts, and scarves while waiting for the train or bus. There are also a number of patients being rushed to the hospital for complaints of cold-related illnesses. These frigid air masses have caused drastic changes in the Floridian lifestyle.

The month of January 2014 is considered as the coldest month this century. On the 7th of January, Floridians have experienced freezing temperatures that went down around as 18

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A brand-new consumer protection rule has just gone into effect in Naples and around the country, made to empower mortgage applicants and homebuyers by providing them with more information as to why a loan was rejected or accepted. This will help to identify cases of discrimination as well as provide appraisals and other data in a time-conscious manner so that the buyer can contest the results.

Here are some specifics about the rule, which was enacted on January 18th:

• Lenders must provide for the applicants a free copy of any valuation, which may consist of several commonly-used reports that include an appraisal report, an automated valuation model report, or a broker price opinion.
• Lenders have three days after the submission of a

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2013 was a year that saw significant growth in Naples' housing market, and it ended much like the way it was represented throughout the months – with a bang.
The Naples Area Board of Realtors released statistics for December of last year and the rest of 2013 as a whole, and they were just as impressive as was expected. From 2012 to 2013, overall median home prices jumped 18% to $240,000, and in December alone they leapt 22% to $260,000.
Homes in the highest and lowest price ranges saw the most outstanding performance, with those selling for less than $300,000 seeing prices rise 15.6% throughout the year in and 16.4% in December alone. Similarly, prices for homes more than $2 million rose 5% during the year and 2.2% in December. According to Naples

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`Highly-renowned builder Stock Development has just released a series of six brand-new homes and homesite packages at the gated, single-family community of Black Bear Ridge in the heart of Naples.

After a year of seemingly endless sales in the community, Stock was prompted to purchase the six new homesites and open them for sale immediately to counter the public’s demand. The new homes and sites will be priced starting in the high $300s.

Named the 2013 Collier Building Industry Association Builder of the Year, as well as placed on the Builder 100 list of the top home builders in the United States, Stock Development now has an inventory of homes in Black Bear Ridge to satisfy homebuyers for the time being – but if the Naples market continues its

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A recent study of the nationwide economic trends show a cluster of Southern states in a flurry of job growth on the heels of greatly improving economic outlook, according to the Economists Outlook blog of realtor.org. Despite the vast job loss from years past, the country has added 7.5 million new jobs in the previous 4 years, including a staggering 2.3 million in just the last 12 months.

In Florida, the trends are just as impressive. The Sunshine State is ranked 2nd in the country with 2.5% job growth in the last year, behind North Dakota, which saw 4% gains behind massive new oil and gas production. Along with Florida, two other southern states in Texas and Georgia saw robust job growth of 2.5 and 2.3 percent, respectively.

But it isn’t just the

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Entering its finishing stages in this luxurious Estero community is a home that gives offers a fantastic level of creativity and freedom – the buyer will be able to personally select the final interior finishes to suit their taste while still having the home be move-in ready this season.

The home is located in the Caprini neighborhood of Miromar Lakes, a large community that boasts a 700-acre lake with resident boat docks. Featuring a spacious den, three bedrooms and three and a half baths, a state-of-the-art gourmet kitchen, and a comfortable and convenient lanai that comes with an outdoor entertainment area, this home is a beautiful addition to the neighborhood – and when you include the added personal touches, it becomes a must-have.

Rated the

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If you’ve been waiting for the scarce supply of new homes around Southwest Florida to ease up, you’re in luck – prospects are looking up for 2014.

As the past months and years reflected soaring prices for the few new homes available, reports for this previous year show that starts and permits jumped sharply both locally as well as around the country, giving builders and buyers alike a renewed confidence for the future.

Nationally, permits are running at peak highs for the past half-decade, and Southwest Florida itself is outpacing the nation for one- and two-family homes. In November of last year, some 634,000 single-family homes were permitted across the country – a 10.5% increase from the same month of 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and

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It’s been eagerly anticipated for months, and now the time has finally come – D.R. Horton is releasing their Washington luxury model home in Fiddler’s Creek.

Located in the village of Chiasso, in the Veneta section of the community, this new model is a 2,788 square foot haven that reflects a popular Mediterranean style often seen throughout the area. The interior was expertly designed by One of a Kind Design Inc., and boasts an incredible formal dining room, an inviting covered entry, and the option of a spacious, three-car garage.

It’s a fitting addition to Chiasso – the gorgeous village within Fiddler’s Creek is an elegant and comfortable sanctuary for the perfect Florida lifestyle. With calm waterways snaking throughout the homes, Chiasso

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