The most expensive home to sell in Lee County, Florida during January 2012 was a Sanibel single-family home located in the prestigious Gulf Shores community.  This 2,742 SF gulf front home is located at 4449 Waters Edge Lane, Sanibel, FL and features 3 BR / 3 BA.  The selling price was $3.55M / $1,295 SF, which was 91% of the asking price.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Cynthia Sitton of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty for closing this transaction.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County residential property sold in January 2012 was a single-family home located in Bonita Springs at Bonita Bay.  This 10,505 SF home located at 26091 Mandevilla Drive Bonita Springs, FL features 8 BR / 9.5 BA .  The selling price was $3,148,414/ $300 SF, which was 86% of the asking price.

Congratulations to selling Douglas Brunner of Premiere Plus Realty for closing this transaction.

In January 2012 there were 14 residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price of $1M or greater, up from nine in December 2011, ten in November,  seven in October and 10 in September 2011.

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

Sanibel Island topped legendary travel destinations including Bali, Paris and St. Johns as Arthur Frommer’s 2012 favorite places to visit in the world.  It is easy to fall in love with Sanibel during a visit to this beautiful barrier reef island.  Despite the $6.00 LeeWay toll, I always look forward to a trip over the Sanibel Bridge as most of your worries just seem to melt away on this magical island.

The Sanibel beaches are the shining jewel of Southwest Florida and offer of the best shelling experiences possible.  Not to be missed are the eclectic restaurants of Sanibel and the Ding Darllng Nature Preserve.  Many of Sanibel’s residents have come for a visit and decided to stay for a lifetime.  If you are curious about establishing permanent roots on this beautiful island, here is a resource to learn more about Sanibel real estate.

The most expensive home to sell in Lee County, Florida during September 2011 was a Sanibel single-family home located on the 17th fairway of the Sanctuary.  This 5,634 SF home is located at 2596/2598 Wulfert Road Sanibel, FL and features 5 BR / 4.5 BA.  The selling price was $2.225M / $394 SF, which was 89% of the asking price.

Congratulations to selling Realtor W. Toby Tolp  of VIP Realty Group, Inc. for closing this transaction.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County residential property sold in September 2011 was a single-family bayfront home located within the Sanibel Estates neighborhood.  This 4,595 SF home located at 536 Lighthouse Way Sanibel, FL features 4 BR / 4.5 BA.  The selling price was $2.15M/ $468 SF, which was 86% of the asking price.

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

In September 2011 there were ten residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price over $1M, up from six in August, but down from 13 in July, 22 in June and 16 in May.

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

The most expensive home to sell in Lee County, Florida during May 2011 was a Captiva single-family, waterfront home located within South Seas Resort.  This 3,455 SF home is located at 945 South Seas Plantation Road, Captiva, FL and features 5 BR / 4.5 BA.  The selling price was $4.5M / $1,302 SF, which was 90% of the asking price.

Congratulations to selling Realtors Fred G. Newman and Vicki Panico of Royal Shell Real Estate for closing this transaction.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County residential property sold in May 2011 was a single-family waterfront home located within the Sanibel beachfront Seaspray neighborhood.  This 4,192 SF home located at 1320 Seaspray Lane, Sanibel, FL 33957 features 4 BR / 4.5 BA.  The selling price was $2.5M/ $596 SF, which was 89% of the asking price.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Jim D. Hall of VIP Realty Group, Inc. for closing this transaction.

In May 2011 there were sixteen residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price over $1M, down from 18 in April, on par with 16 in March, down slightly from 17 in February and up from seven in January. In May 2011, the Fort Myers area luxury market had a fourth consecutive very active month.

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

With its quirky and historic downtown and status as the county seat, Fort Myers serves as  a major commercial hub for Southwest Florida.  Businesses are attracted to the area to serve an ever growing population in this fast growing part of Florida.  Currently available Fort Myers commercial property listings currently run the gamete from retail to office space and industrial.  With the wide range of options currently on the market, it is a great time to start of relocate a business in Fort Myers.

Just to the northwest of Fort Myers sits Cape Coral, the most populous city in Southwest Florida.  With demographics trending towards families and a younger crowd, Cape Coral is another interesting market for new businesses.  Available Cape Coral commercial property listings include retail, industrial, office and hospitality.

The barrier island of Sanibel beckons many visitors who elect to stay for a lifetime.  Entrepreneurship runs strong throughout the Sanibel community is the lifeline of the Sanibel economy.  Currently available Sanibel commercial property is dominated by retail offerings with hospitality and office options also available.

The most expensive home to sell in Lee County, Florida during January 2011 was a Fort Myers single-family riverfront estate located just south of the Edison Estate.  This 4,400 SF home is located at 2600 McGregor Boulevard, Fort Myers, FL and features 4 BR / 5 BA.  This home was on the market for 319 days.  The selling price was $2.7M / $614 SF, which was 77% of asking price.

Congratulation to selling Realtor Chris Cardi of Jones & Co Realty for closing the most expensive residential property in January 2011.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County residential property sold in January 2011 was a Sanibel condo located directly on the Gulf of Mexico at Chelsea Place.  This 3,610 SF condo located at 1715 Middle Gulf Drive #2, Sanibel, FL features 4 BR / 5 BA.  This condo was on the market for 247 days.  The selling price was $2,648,630 / $734 SF, which was 76% of asking price.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Mary Lou Bailey of VIP Realty Group, Inc. for closing this transaction.

In January 2011, there were seven residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price over $1M, down from 11 in December 2010, up from five in November 2010 and on par with seven in October 2010.

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

The most expensive home to sell in Lee County, Florida during December 2010 was a Sanibel condo located at Tantara Condos.  Tantara is an eight-unit, luxury condo development located directly on the Gulf of Mexico.  This 2,270 SF penthouse condo located at 3049 West Gulf Drive #301 Sanibel Florida features 3 BR and 3 BA.  This condo was on the market for 65 days.  The selling price  was $2.0875M / $920 SF, which was 84% of the asking price.

Congratulation to selling Realtor Steven Fisher of RE/MAX of  The Islands for closing the most expensive residential property in December 2010.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County residential property sold in December was a Bonita Beach gulf-front home.  This 3,576 SF single-family home located at 27400 Hickory Boulevard, Bonita Springs features 5 BR / 4 BA.  This home was on the market for 696 days.  The selling price was $1.8M / $503 SF, which was 95% of the asking price.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Krifting Swan of RE/MAX Island Harbour for closing this transaction.

In December 2010, there were eleven residential sales in Lee County with a selling price over $1M, up from five in November, seven in October, three in September 2010, six in August 2010 and two in July 2010.

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

The general consensus in the real estate industry is that listings have the most activity in the first seven days, have the best chance of selling in the first 30 days and become stale in the 90 day time frame.  It is hard to imagine any buyer giving a second thought to a listing that has been on the market over 1700 days like these 2005 listings.

Currently, there are four active listings in our MLS dating back to dating back to 2005.  Three are in Cape Coral and the fourth on Sanibel Island.  There are no short sales or foreclosures in this group, heck most of us didn’t even know what a short sale was in 2005!

The prize for the oldest, stalest  listing goes to a Cape Coral home located at 615 SW 52nd Street that has been on the market for a whopping 2010 days.  This 1,344 SF home is listed for $495,000 / $368 SF.  No million dollar intersecting canal view hidden behind some overgrown brush, in fact this is an off-water home.  Over the past 90 days, 17 similar off-water homes in this part of Cape Coral have sold.  The average selling price of these homes was $58 / SF.  Based on actual comps, the value of this property is in the $78K range or about $417K below asking price!

If you are looking for a good deal on a new home in the Fort Myers area, here is a resource to learn about and view the hottest, newest Southwest Florida real estate deals.

Congratulation to selling Realtor Kay Lani Atkinson of Coldwell Banker for closing the most expensive residential property in August 2010.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County residential property sold in August was a Sanibel gulf-front condo located in the Gulfside Place development.  This 2,298 SF condo located at 1605 Middle Gulf Drive, #201 Sanibel, Fl features 3 BR / 3 BA.  This condo had been on the market for 481 days and was previously listed in 2007 & 2008 for $2.5M The selling price was $1.5M / $653 SF which was 75% of the listing price.

Congratulations to selling Realtor Dan Cohn of VIP Realty Group, Inc. for closing this transaction.

In August 2010, there were six residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price over $1M, up from two in July 2010, 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.

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.

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.

Sanibel Lighthouse

TripAdvisor named Sanibel as one of its Travelers’ Choice 2010 winners in the beach & sun category.  A TripAdvisor award is the real deal as winners are derived from millions of real and unbiased reviews and opinions on the TripAdvisor website.

Sanibel has almost completely erased the damage caused by Hurricaine Charley and is back firing on all cylinders as a world-class destination.

TripAdvisor sums up the Sanibel experience quite succinctly:

Most vacation spots are either relaxing (Tahiti) or family-friendly (Orlando). Sanibel Island, however, is that rare place which is both. Spend a quiet afternoon shell-collecting, or find a hotel with a kids’ program so you can enjoy a trip to the spa or a round of golf.

I have to agree with TripAdvisor that Sanibel is truly a fantastic place to visit and an even better place to call home.

For many Southwest Florida residents, their first experience in the area was a vacation on Sanibel or Captiva. My first visit to Lee County was a week-long vacation at SouthSeas on Captiva Island.  It is truly easy while enjoying the beach to forget about the snow back home and visualize making Southwest Florida your permanent home.

If you have pondered making Sanibel your permanent home, now may be a good time to take a look.  Sanibel real estate prices have compressed, although nowhere near the off-island levels of surrounding Lee County communities. From Sanibel gulf front resort condos to homes on golf courses, there are a diverse variety of Sanibel real estate options currently available.

Sunset on Sanibel Beach

Have you ever looked at Sanibel condos and passed because the prices were outside of your comfort zone?  It just might be time to take another look as prices have compressed in the Sanibel condo market.

At present, there are nine condos listed for sale with asking prices below $300,000.  Six of these are 2 BR units with a minimum of 750 SF of living space.  Units in this price range are generally 20+ years old and not upgraded with the latest finishes like granite counters and stainless appliances……but certainly these are projects that can be tackled after purchasing a unit.

While beachfront units are not available in the sub $300K price range, most are located within walking distance or a short bike ride from one of Sanibel’s wonderful Gulf beaches.

East End Sanibel condo developments with listings priced under 300,000 include: Captains Walk; Tennis Place; Sundial; Mariner Point

Mid Island Sanibel condo developments with listings priced under $300,000 include: Lake Palms

West End Sanibel condo developments with listings priced under $300,000 include: Blind Pass Condo

Here is a resource to view active Sanibel condo listings.

The selling price was $3.7M / $288 SF.  Congratulations to selling Realtor Marilyn Kistler of Prudential Florida Realty for closing the most expensive residential property in January 2010.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County home sold in January was a single-family home located at 561 Lighthouse Way, Sanibel.  This gulf access canal-front home in the Sanibel Estates neighborhood of is 3,416 SF and features 5 BR and 4 BA.

The selling price was $1.4M / $410 SF.  Congratulations to selling Realtor Chuck Bergstrom of RE/MAX of The Islands for closing this transaction.

In January 2010, there were four residential transactions in Lee County with a selling price over $1M.

At the present time, there are interesting real estate investment opportunities across the Southwest Florida market in Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, Estero, Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Sanibel and Captiva.

The selling price was $3.0M / $961 SF. Congratulations to selling Realtor Peter Aldrian of Captiva Realty, LLC for closing the most expensive home in March 2009.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County home sold in March was a single-family home located at 4600 Schooner Drive on North Captiva Island. This newly-built home offers 5BR and 5BA and a 1/7th ownership interest in a lot providing deeded beach access.

The selling price was $1.475M. Congratulations to Mark Muller of Resort Properties Internationale, LLC for closing this transaction.

The selling price was 2.275M / and a whopping $858 SF. Congratulations to selling Realtor Kara Cuscaden of Royal Shell Preferred Properties for closing the most expensive home in January 2009.

Honorable mention for 2nd most expensive Lee County home sold in January was a Sanibel canal-front, single-family home located at 513 Lighthouse Way on Sanibel. This sailboat access home offers is 3,023 SF and features 3BR and 3BA.

The selling price was $1.575M / $521 SF. Congratulations to Glenn Carretta of John R. Wood Island Real Estate for closing this transaction.

Boca Grande sits just north of Cayo Costa Island and offers unprecedented peace and tranquility. Boca Grande residents have the opportunity to rub elbows with the rich and famous as recent visitors have included George H. W. Bush (my niece sat behind him in church recently!), Katherine Hepburn and George Steinbrenner.

If you have shopped for property on Boca Grande recently, you may still have sticker shop about the price of entry into this fine island community. Many Boca Grande buyers also consider Sanibel Island as an alternative. While Sanibel is busier than Boca Grande, the west end offers a similar feel. Sanibel certainly has a wider range of housing options and a more manageable price for entry.

The second home market in Southwest Florida is busier right now than it has been the last two seasons. Throughout the real estate market downturn, the Sanibel real estate market has remained relatively stable. Sanibel will never be overbuilt and continues to be a good place to invest.

Is 2009 the year you find the Sanibel home of your dreams?

Sanibel Planning Commission Approves Chateaux Sur Mer project

After a nearly a year of contention between Chateaux Sur Mer homeowners, their neighbors and the city planners, the Sanibel Planning Commission gave the go ahead to building a new waterfront home.

This case was a classic, “we don’t want a trophy home“ in our neighborhood debate and in the end everything worked out when a revised plan was submitted and appproved.

Chateaux Sur Mur is a waterfront Sanibel beach community of 73 single-family homes located in the West End of Sanibel off Sanibel-Captiva Road.

Mimms’ revised home plans receive approval [The Island Reporter]

I know, during your last visit you checked out a few units and cringed at the prices……..Might it be time to rethink Sanibel as a viable 2nd home option?

Today there are four Sanibel condos available for under $300,000 and a total of 36 available for under $500,000.

One of the best Sanibel deals is a 2BR condo at Spanish Cay, on Middle Gulf Drive, across from the beach. This property is listed for $285,000.

Another interesting option is a 2BR condo at Seashells of Sanibel, located on West Gulf Drive. This property is listed for $345,900.

Drop us a note if you want to check out Sanibel options.

The Not So Big movement was created by architect Sarah Susanka, who has since 1998 published six books on the topic.

Many of the buildable lots in treasured oceanside locations like Sanibel, Captiva, Boca Grande and Fort Myers Beach are smaller and unable to support a large trophy home. Seacoast Cottage truly offers a great solution this application.

Seacoast Cottage is planning on building a model home in The Dunes community on Sanibel. I look forward to viewing this property when complete.

Beach cottage industry not big on building large [News-Press]

Sanibel rental property owners Ed and Susan Hanna have learned a costly lesson about taking passive losses for rental property. In a nutshell, the IRS disallowed their taking passive losses and ruled that Susan Hanna could not work as a full-time database consultant and also qualify as a full-time real estate consultant.

Beach House Bummer [Forbes.com] registration required

The phrase Sanibel starter home is truly an oxymoron, but for the ambitious dreamers there are some options. For starters, the bar is pretty high on Sanibel…….it takes a cool half a million to get into the game.

The average asking price for a single family home on Sanibel is currently $1.6M. The average selling price over the last 90 days is $1.075M and the selling price per sq. ft. was a lofty $504 sq ft.

For the purpose of this posting we are looking at single-family homes with a minumum of three bedrooms. There are a few two bedroom homes at lower price points, but are probably not realistic options for a number of buyers.

The lowest priced three bedroom single-family home on Sanibel is located at 848 Rabbit Road and is listed at $499,999. It has 1596 sq ft and was constructed in 1957.

A 3 BR, 2.5 BA home located at 986 Greenwood Court N in the Dunes Subdivision is available for $530,000. It has 1287 sq ft and was constructed in 1981.

Another option is 1932 Roseate Lane, a 3 BR 2 BA home located in Sanibel Lake Estates that is listed for $599,000. The home has 1741 sq ft and was built in 1970.

These 3 homes are a small sampling of the property available on Sanibel. Please drop me a note if you have any interest in finding your piece of this great island.

Sanibel and Captiva are the bellwether for tourism here in Lee County. The success of our real estate market is interwoven with the ability of these resort communities to draw visitors to the region.

The continued health and growth of our market is dependent on the absorption of inventory by in-migration. Many of these newcomers will be baby-boomer aged northerners who were initially attracted to the area through a vacation on Sanibel or Captiva.

On a day when the northeast is getting hammered by a major blizzard, it is great to see that the lead travel story in the Boston Globe is about visiting Captiva and Sanibel. For those of you up north planning a trip down, please drop me an e-mail if you are interested in looking at investment opportunities on Sanibel or Captiva.

Captiva comes back [Boston Globe]

Sanibel Waterfront Estate for $18.9M

Casa Yucca, the former Sanibel home of CIA Director Porter Goss, is listed for $18.9M. This is currently the highest asking price for a home in SW Florida.

The nearly 3.5 acre waterfront site has 315 feet of gulf frontage along Sanibel’s gold-plated West Gulf Drive.

The home has six bedrooms, seven baths and two half baths. Casa Yucca features a 75 foot pool, tennis court and a separate guest house with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

The Most Costly Home for Sale [WINK-TV]

According to the National Association of Realtors, 13 percent of all homes – or 1.02 million – purchased in 2004 were vacation homes, up nearly 20 percent from 850,000 in 2003.

This trend is also common-place in Lee County on Sanibel and Captiva Islands. A quick review if the Lee County Property Records and current MLS listings for the newer high-end subdivisions on Sanibel like Butterknife, The Sanctuary and Beachview Country Club is quite revealing. Many of the newly constructed Sanibel luxury homes listed in MLS are vacant and owned by remote investors.

It will be interesting to see if this type of spec luxury building works for investors in Lee County. Unlike the overall housing, the market for high-end luxury homes in Lee County is soft where the current available inventory for homes over $1 million is 230% greater than a year ago.

This Is the Risk That Jack Took [NY Times]
Second-Home Market Surges, Bigger Than Shown in Earlier Studies [National Association of Realtors]