The most expensive home to sell in Lee County, Florida during July 2010 was a Sanibel gulf front home located in the Gulf Pines subdivision.  This 3,716 SF home located at 906 Snowberry Lane Sanibel, FL features 4 BR / 4.5 BA.  The selling price was $2.4M / $646 SF.

Congratulation to selling Realtor Eleanor See of John R. Wood Island Real Estate for closing the most expensive residential property in July 2010.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County home sold in July was a single-family home located in Bonita Springs the Quail West community at 28901 Girard Terrace, Bonita Springs, Florida.  This home is 4,600 SF and features 4 BR / 4.5 BA with water and golf course views and a stunning porte-cochere covered walkway. The selling price was $1.3M / $283 SF.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Kathie Soller of Coldwell Banker for closing this transaction.

In July 2010 there were two residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price over $1M, down from twelve in June 2010, seventeen in May 2010 and thirteen in April 2010. The luxury market here is Southwest Florida is in a bit of a lull this summer.

Here is a resource if you are interested in learning more about Fort Myers luxury homes that are currently listed for sale.

Ex-BoSox Gator Greenwell sells Alva Estate for $3.060M

The most expensive home to sell in Lee County, Florida during June 2010 was an under-construction, river-front estate in Alva owned by former MLB player Mike “Gator” Greenwell.  This 8,100 SF estate, located at 12350-20 Old Rodeo Drive in Alva features 4 BR and 6 BA and 1,500 feet of frontage on the Caloosahatchee River.  The selling price was $3.060M / $378 SF.

Congratulation to selling Realtor Aldee Rosenberg with Coldwell Banker for closing the most expensive residential property in June 2010.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County home sold in June was a single-family gulf-front home located on Captiva in the Frowes Subdivision at 16183 Captiva Drive, Captiva.  This home is 3,743 SF and features 4 BR / 3.5 BA with direct beach access and a shared dock on Pine Island Sound. The selling price was $2.5M / $668 SF.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Jim Branyon of Royal Shell Real Estate, Inc for closing this transaction.

In June 2010, there were twelve residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price over $1M, this is down from seventeen in May 2010, thirteen in April 2010 and up from seven transactions in March 2010 and five transactions in February 2010.

Here is a resource if you are interested in learning more about Fort Myers luxury homes that are currently listed for sale.

When we discuss Fort Myers area real estate options with prospective clients, the number one desired feature is “a location close to the beach.”   When drilling down further about what beach the client wants to be near, most answer near the Sanibel beaches. The proximity to Sanibel feature trumps all other popular desires including newer, good neighborhood, gated, gulf access, waterfront and low condo/HOA fees.

One of the questions that comes to mind when discussing proximity to Sanibel is exactly what constitutes a location as being close to Sanibel?  I was recently looking at a listing located off Colonial Boulevard near I-75 and it was described as being “close to Sanibel.”  Per Google Maps, the fastest route between I-75/Colonial and the Sanibel Causeway is via McGregor Boulevard with a distance of 16.5 miles and a driving time of 30 minutes.  Unless this listing agent owns a helicopter or has access to George Jetson’s aerocar, this close to Sanibel label seems like a bit of a stretch to me. Whatever the case, I wouldn’t want to ride my beach cruiser in a pair of flip flops from Colonial Boulevard to Sanibel!

There are a number of South Fort Myers developments that are close to Sanibel and are available in a wide-range of housing options from luxury high-rises to single family homes in a gated communities.  For the purposes of defining “close to Sanibel,” I am going to include developments from where the average baby-boomer could easily ride a beach cruiser in a pair of flip flops to the Sanibel Causeway Beach.

Here are Fort Myers communities that are truly close to Sanibel:

Boating: Catalpa Cove; Connie Mack Island; Jonathan Harbour; Palm Acres; St Charles Harbour
Condo/Town Homes: Lucaya; Sanibel View
Golfing: Kelly Greens
High-rise Condo: Mastique; Punta Rassa Condos; Sanibel Harbour Towers
Single-family: Caloosa Creek; Colonial Shores; Shenandoah

To ease your home hunting process, here is a resource which consolidates all the active close to Sanibel listings.

The Naples Daily News reports that year-to date sales have exceeded $43M in the upscale Miromar Lakes waterfront community.  New homes sales are leading the surge as more than half of the sales this year have been new construction.  At the current pace Miromar Lakes is on target for more than $80M in property sales in 2010.

Miromar Lakes is a 700-acre luxury community featuring 22 distinct neighborhoods with estate homes, single-family homes, coach homes, villas and condos.  The centerpiece of the community are a pair of  aquamarine freshwater lakes offering over three miles of private sandy beaches.  Miromar Lakes residents enjoy in-lake swimming, water skiing, fishing, boating and sailing in this resort-like community.

At present there are over 50 homes for sale at Miromar Lakes ranging from a 8,392 SF estate home in the Castelli neighborhood listed for $4.995M to 2,160 SF coach home in the San Marino neighborhood listed for $239,000.  Here is a resource to view Miromar Lakes real estate currently available and listed for sale.

The most expensive home to sell in Lee County, Florida during May 2010 was a Sanibel home on nearly an acre gulf-front parcel.  This home is located at 4099 W. Gulf Drive in Sanibel 15017 and features 5 BR and 4.5 BA.  The home was built in 1992 and features panoramic views of the beach and gulf.  The selling price was $3.275M / $963 SF.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Art Corace of RE/MAX of the Islands for closing the most expensive residential property in May 2010.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County home sold in May was a single-family home located on Sanibel in the Chateaux Sur Mer neighborhood at 4709 Rue Belle Mer Sanibel.  This home is 2,148 SF and features 3 BR / 2 BA with awesome views of the beach and Gulf. The selling price was $2M / $931 SF.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Michael McMurray of VIP Realty Group for closing this transaction.

In May 2010, there were seventeen residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price over $1M, this is up from thirteen in April 2010, seven transactions in March 2010 and five transactions in February 2010.  It is safe to say that we continue to see a slight rebound in the Fort Myers area luxury market!

Here is a resource if you are interested in learning more about Fort Myers luxury homes that are currently listed for sale.

Well not really, but as tonight is the Season Nine Idol finale and Simon’s swansong, it might be fun to look at where the stars of the show might live if they relocated to Fort Myers.

Simon Cowell has ended his longtime illustrious bachelorhood with an engagement to make up artist Mezhgan Hussainy.  The Captiva Gold Coast is by far the best choice for these two lovebirds as it offers the exclusivity and privacy required by a star of Cowell’s magnitude.  The home I picked out for Simon is a modern 12,000 SF  gulf front estate on Captiva Drive listed for $18M.

Despite an attire and vocabulary that never ceases to amaze, Randy Jackson is truly a man of the people.  I can’t imagine Randy living in a suburban home with a manicured front lawn.    While I initially thought of downtown luxury high-rise development High Point Place as a fit for Randy, there is nothing currently on the market designed for someone of his stature.  A good fit for Randy might be a penthouse unit at the Paramount at Gulf Harbour.  A 4,370 SF unit done up in South Beach pastels listed for $2.25M is my pick for Randy.

Wow, is Lee County really big enough to handle all these Idol stars?  For Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia De Rossi, a waterfront estate on Barefoot beach would seem to be a good fit.  With a number of pets, Ellen and Portia definitely need a single-family home.  How about an 8,030 SF contemporary European inspired Barefoot Beach home with a huge gourmet kitchen for preparing those vegan delicacies, a fitness center and salt water aquarium.  The asking price of $12.575M is a drop in the bucket for this couple.

Oozing with class and style, Kara DioGuardi and recent husband Mike McCuddy need a home to support the growing social demands of Kara’s blossoming career.  With her Italian heritage, an estate home on the shores of Lake Como at Miromar Lakes might suite Kara just fine.  My pick for Kara is a 5,032 SF waterfront home listed for $3.995M in the Isola Bella neighborhood of Miromar Lakes.

Wow, I have left the toughest for last…..just where does ubiquitous metrosexual Idol host Ryan Seacrest belong?  My first thought was Gator Greenwell’s almost finished estate in Alva, but there might be a little too much dust on the roads of Alva for Seacrest’s Bentley.  Suddenly it dawned on me that Ryan belongs on Andy Rosse Lane in Captiva.  I can visualize him holding court at the Key Lime Bistro and the Mucky Duck during the same evening.  How cool would it be to witness a chance meeting between Ryan and Simon at one of the Andy Rosse Lane establishments?  Currently, Ryan can pick from five Andy Rosse Lane homes currently for sale.

The most expensive home to sell in Lee County, Florida during April 2010 was a gulf front Captiva estate home located in Captiva Village.  This F A Lanes Bayview neighborhood home located at 15017 Binder Drive in Captiva is 3,929 SF and features 3 BR and 3.5 BA.  The home was built in 1999 and has a private boat dock and lift and panoramic views of Pine Island Sound.  The selling price was $2.4M / $611 SF.

Congratulations to selling Realtor LeAne Suarez of Gulf to Bay Sotheby’s International Realty for closing the most expensive residential property in April 2010.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County home sold in April was a single-family home located on Connie Mack Island at 14771 Jonathan Harbour Drive in Fort Myers.  This home is 5,662 SF and features 5 BR / 5 BA with views of the Bay, Gulf and Caloosahatchee River. The selling price was $2.2M / $389 SF.  Gulf Returns had previously featured this home in a post about Fort Myers luxury foreclosures.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Myrna A Richards-Speas of Amerivest Realty of Lee Island Coast for closing this transaction.

In April 2010, there were thirteen residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price over $1M, this is up from seven transactions in March 2010 and five transactions in February 2010.  It is safe to say that we are seeing a slight rebound in the Fort Myers area luxury market!

Here is a resource if you are interested in learning more about Fort Myers luxury homes that are currently listed for sale.

Yacht Friendly Luxury Community

Deep-water enthusiasts with a taste for large boats and yachts make their home in the South Fort Myers community of Palmetto Point.  With wide canals, deep unrestricted access and just a few minutes ride to open water, Palmetto Point is truly a boater’s paradise.

Palmetto Point is located in South Fort Myers along venerable royal palm lined Mcgregor Boulevard.  Located directly to the west is prestigious Gulf Harbour Yacht and Country Club and to the east is a protected Conservation 20/20 Preserve. Palmetto Cove residents can join Gulf Harbour as a non-resident member and enjoy all the amenities of this community.

Homes at Palmetto Point range from majestic estates with over 8,000 SF to modest 3 BR single-family ranch homes.  In the last year, 5 homes have sold in Palmetto Point ranging in price from $476,000 to $2.5M.  There are currently 22 homes available for sale at Palmetto Point ranging in price from $549,900 to 14.9M.

View active Palmetto Point Listings.

Southwest Florida condo buyers are taking notice of the significant price reductions at Fort Myers River District high-rise developments.

Over the last 12 months, 63 condos worth a total of $11.4M worth have sold in the six new Fort Myers riverfront condo developments.  On a dollars per square foot basis, recent sales have been at about 50% of the price that these condos originally sold for as new construction.

Here is a breakdown by building of these transactions:

Fort Myers High-rise 12 month snapshot

The Oasis has been a complete bust with no sales in the last year and High Point Place continues its leadership position as the premier Fort Myers luxury high-rise building.  Buyers are attracted to the high-end finishes in High Point Place units and also welcome the urban amenities including Starbucks and Publix that are available right outside the front door.

View active Fort Myers high-rise listings

Distressed High-rise Asset Available

Oasis Condominium in Fort Myers

Bank of America has foreclosed on the Related Group’s Oasis Condominium development in the Fort Myers River District.  The $157M filing ranks as the second largest ever in Lee County.  Jorge Perez and the team at Related Group had ambitious plans to bring a slice of South Beach to Fort Myers, but missed badly on the Oasis project.

What went wrong at Oasis? A number of factors have contributed to the failure at Oasis.  The biggest single contributor to the failure at Oasis is one of timing. This project was the last Fort Myers Riverfront high-rise development to be delivered with completion after the market had busted.  Also, Related was very slow to react to the changing market conditions and didn’t adjust pricing as quickly as competing developers.  Another strategy mistake by Related was trying to go it alone on the marketing and not listing Oasis units in the Fort Myers MLS system.  In summary, poor timing coupled with a failure to react to the changing market and not initially marketing via the local MLS were key drivers in the projects failure.

What is the current opportunity for a distressed asset buyer? At present a total of 425 units in the 440 unit project remain unsold and are currently being offered in a bulk sale by Bank of America.  The offering is being managed by Colliers Realty and does not have an official asking price.

What is the value of this asset? The 425 units at Oasis are a total of 576,640 SF distributed across two high-rise towers.  The 2009 Lee County assessed value of the project is $182,402,960, which looks to be a completely unrealistic valuation.  One defendable methodology to arrive at a fair value for this asset is to look at sales over the last year at the other River District high-rise projects.  For this evaluation, competing projects include: Alta Mar; Beau Rivage; High Point Place; Riviera and St Tropez.  Collectively, these five projects had 62 sales in the last year.  The average sale was for $177,543 with an average unit size of 1,523 SF for an average price of $116.57 SF.  This methodology would peg the retail value of the 425 Oasis units at (576,640 SF x $116.57 SF) $67,218,924.  As this is a distressed bulk deal, a buyer would probably look to acquire the asset in the $30M – $40M range.

Our analytically-orientated team is available to lend due diligence assistance to any potential buyers of this asset.

South Fort Myers luxury boating community

St. Charles Harbour Yacht Club

St. Charles Harbour Yacht Club continues to set the standard for luxury yachting communities in the Fort Myers area.  This intimate community of just 82 single-family homes spread across 145 acres is truly a beautiful place.

The St. Charles Harbour location off Iona Road is very close to the Sanibel Causeway and offers some of the best boating access in the area.  The full service marina has 68 slips available for lease or purchase with direct deep-water access to the Intracoastal waterway.

Over the last year four homes have sold in the St. Charles Harbour community ranging in price from $400,000 ($122/SF) for a 4BR / 3BA 3,220 SF home on Chatfield Drive to 1.275M ($289/SF) for a 4BR / 3.5 BA 4,406 SF home on Dorset Lane.  The average selling price of these four homes was $813,750 ($222/SF).

Currently, 13 homes are available for sale in this upscale community.  Prices start at $499,000 ($149/SF) for a 3BR / 3.5 BA, 3,359 SF home on Blenheim Drive to $3.999M ($618/SF) for a 6,476 SF Waite Island estate home.  If you are in the market for a home in a Fort Myers luxury community, buying one in this beautiful community for under $150/SF is an exciting proposition!

Prestigious South Fort Myers community with first-class amenities

Gulf Harbour, located along famed McGregor Boulevard in South Fort Myers continues to be a very popular Southwest Florida community.  Already in the first 15 weeks of 2010, 24 properties have been sold at Gulf Harbour.  Condos sales have dominated the Gulf Harbour transactions in 2010 with 20 of the 24 sales.  Affordability has been a key driver with 11/24 transactions at or below $220,000.

Four Gulf Harbour single-family homes have sold in 2010 ranging in price from $705,000 ($213 / SF) for a 3,315 SF Seaside Estates home to $5.12M ($387/SF) for a 13,233 SF estate home on Longwater Chase in the Edgewater neighborhood.  This transaction was notable as it involved former WCI Chairman and Ambassador to Portugal Al Hoffman selling to AC/DC member Cliff Williams.

A really quick Fort Myers short sale…..must be an oxymoron or a Realtor’s late night long tale!

High Point Place in the Fort Myers River District

Well not always, our team recently closed a short sale in 37 days!  This transaction was for a High Point Place condo located at 2090 W. 1st Street #1609 in the Downtown Fort Myers River District.

This 1,803 SF unit was listed for 299,000 /$165 SF and our client offered $270,000 / $149 SF.  The offer was accepted by the owner on 02/09/10.  Bank approval came within a month and the transaction closed on 03/18/10, a mere 37 days after offer acceptance.

Hopefully this kind of interval becomes the norm rather than the exception as our MLS database is still pretty weighted down with Fort Myers short sale listings.

The most expensive home to sell in Lee County, Florida during March 2010 was a Fort Myers riverfront estate located in the Iona Shores neighborhood.   This home, located at 12742 Dennis Drive in Fort Myers, is 5,429 SF and features 4 BR and 4.5 BA.  The property was built in 2008 and offers direct gulf access boating.  The selling price was $1.637.5M / $302 SF.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Ray Martyniuk of Premiere Plus Realty for closing the most expensive residential property in March 2010.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County home sold in March was a single-family home located in the Shadow Wood at the Brooks Community at 9154 Willow Walk in Bonita Springs. This home is 3,928 SF and features 3 BR / 4.5 BA with views of three lakes and two golf holes.  The selling price was $1.361M / $346 SF.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Sharon Grabau of John R. Wood for closing this transaction.

In March 2010, there were seven residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price over $1M, this is up from five transactions in February 2010 over $1M.  Here is a resource if you are interested in learning more about Fort Myers luxury homes that are currently listed for sale.

Continued Buyer Interest at #1 Golfer’s Community in Fort Myers

Five Fiddlesticks County Club homes were sold in the first quarter of 2010.  Prices ranged from a low of $100,000 ($85.84 SF) for a 1,165 SF 2 BR / 2 BA Highlands condo to $741,000 ($200.98 SF) for a 3,687 SF 4 BR / 4 BA new construction home on Glenfinnan Circle.

The volume of sales in 2010 is slightly behind the pace in 2009, and quite behind in average transaction size.  In 2009, three Fiddlesticks homes sold for over $1m.

A consistent theme at Fiddlesticks both this year and last, is that sellers have accepted offers on average in the 88% – 89% of asking price.

At present, there are 67 active Fiddlesticks listings, ranging from a low of $49,900 to a high of $2.1M.  If you are interested in Fiddlesticks and would like representation by an information-rich, low-pressure firm, please let us know.  Our team specializes in assisting buyers with aggressive offers at upscale communities.

Casa Del Rio, the Gulf Harbour estate home of former WCI Chairman and former Ambassador to Portugal, was recently purchased by AC/DC Bassist Cliff Williams for $5.12M.  Casa Del Rio had previously been listed for as much as $17M during the real estate boom period.  Hoffman, a notable Republican party leader, has hosted fund raising events at Casa Del Rio for party dignitaries including then President George W. Bush.

Williams is upgrading from another luxury home in the Gulf Harbour community, which is now on the market for $1.375M.  It is great to see a Williams staying put a Gulf Harbour.  I am ready to go if fellow AC/DC band members Malcolm or Angus Young want to join him in the neighborhood!

Fort Myers Luxury Home along Caloosahatchee River

The Wall Street Journal reports that now might be a really good time to buy a luxury home.

The key factor cited in the article is that sellers are getting realistic about pricing and are cutting deals to get their homes sold.  Another factor is that interest rates are currently very low and many are predicting short-term increases in rates.

Here locally, we are seeing a very limited number of upper-end closings.  Most of the transactions over $1m have been waterfront homes on the islands and along the Caloosahatchee River in South Fort Myers.  Prices have dropped the most in the upscale country club communities, but to date there has been very little activity for these homes.

If you are considering an investment in a Fort Myers luxury home, we are ready to assist.  Our team has toured most of the current available inventory and can assist in quickly narrowing your search to the most appropriate properties.

Luxury foreclosure on Connie Mack Island

The Southwest Florida real estate market is being driven by distressed property sales. Foreclosures have dominated this sector in Lee County, FL,  with 10,700 sales at a median selling price of $65,000.

In the last year, there have been relatively few luxury foreclosure transactions in the Fort Myers area.  In fact, there were only two foreclosure transactions with a selling price over $1M.  These two transactions were a home on Connie Mack Island which sold for $2.65M / $541 SF and a home in Bayshore Park which sold for $1.7M / $296 SF.

A new luxury foreclosure listing on Connie Mack Island has just come on the market for $2.199M / $389 SF.  This is one of best waterfront homes in the Fort Myers area. This home is not only behind the Jonathan’s Harbour gates, but also located on private and ultra-exclusive Connie Mack Island.  This is a must see property for deep water enthusiasts with larger boats.

Zen Gardens Growing in Popularity throughout Southwest Florida

Sanibel Zen Garden

Long popular on the West Coast, creating a zen area in a home or yard is catching on in Southwest Florida.  The Zen movement has Buddhist roots emanating from China and utilizes meditation to attain enlightenment.

With year round temperatures averaging 75 degrees, most Southwest Florida Zen areas have been built outside in the form of a Zen garden.  Zen gardens are often viewed as a living work of art and often feature prominent stone compositions.  The living elements in the Zen garden are carefully pruned to create a near static picture-scape.

Here locally, the South Fort Myers high-rise development of Mastique has a shared Zen garden for its residents.  Also, there are currently a handful of single-family homes on the market with Zen gardens.  An estate home listed for $2.229M in the Fort Myers luxury gated community of Devonwood features an outdoor Zen area with a koi pond.  On Sanibel, in the waterfront sailboat access of Sanibel Isles, a single-family home listed for $2.1M features a wonderfully peaceful Zen garden.

If you are interested in learning more about Zen real estate in Southwest Florida, we are here to assist.