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.

With an average annual temperature of 75 degrees, Fort Myers offers year-round outdoor fun on the water for its residents.  Water skiing is a popular Southwest Florida activity and we are fortunate to have two communities with large freshwater lakes catering to water skiing families.

The Harbourage

The Harbourage features two aquifer-fed freshwater lakes which are 30 feet deep and cover 104 acres.  The lakes at The Harbourage are fronted by upscale single-family homes.  Many community residents have ski boats docked behind their homes and enjoy skiing on a regular basis.  The Harbourage is an established, gated community of 128 homes located in South Fort Myers off US-41, south of Alico Road.   Currently, two homes at The Harbourage are available for sale.

Miromar Lakes

Miromar Lakes is anchored by two lakes with 700-acres of sparkling water and three miles of sandy beaches.  This upscale Mediterranean inspired community includes single-family homes, town homes and condos.  Some homes in the community feature private docks and other residents dock their ski boats at neighborhood facilities.  Miromar Lakes is located of Ben Hill Griffin Parkway between Alico Road and Corkscrew Road.  Here is a resource to view available Miromar Lakes MLS listings.  New construction opportunities are also available.

Boaters Attracted to McGregor Boulevard and Iona Road Communities

The most expensive and sought after real estate in Fort Myers is located along the Caloosahatchee River in South Fort Myers.  This area includes neighborhoods located off both historic McGregor Boulevard and Iona Road.  Both of these streets both run parallel to the river and are dominated by residential waterfront communities on their river-facing, west sides.

McGregor Boulevard, which is lined with majestic royal palm trees, was home in the roaring 1920s to our original snowbirds…..Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone.  Today, 90 years later, it is still home to prominent snowbirds as well as many of the movers and shakers of our community.  The McGregor Boulevard communities of Palmetto Point, Gulf Harbour and the Palms of McGregor are luxury waterfront neighborhoods.  Old Fort Myers offers history lovers a chance to own a period house from the days of Edison, many of which have been wonderfully restored.   Boating enthusiasts are drawn to the popular riverfront communities of Caloosa Yacht & Racquet Club, The Landings and Town & River.

The western side of Iona Road is also lined with riverfront communities and is a very popular area with boat and yacht owners.  This area offers very quick, unrestricted access to the open waters of the Gulf. Luxury boating communities along Iona Road include Jonathan Harbour, St. Charles Harbour and Connie Mack Island.  Upscale Iona Road communities offering outstanding boating opportunities include Catalpa Cove, Harbour Isle and Intracoastal Harbour.

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.

Cameratta Properties, the developer of High Point Place in downtown Fort Myers has sold the remaining 76 units in the project to Denver-based Real Capital Solutions.  Cameratta’s planned First Street Village and 511-acre Preserve at Corkscrew were also acquired by Real Capital Solutions.

This transaction, which provides an infusion of professional capital, bodes well for the highly-regarded High Point Place high-rise development.  Real Capital is acquiring the 76 units for $13.1M or about $172,000 per condo.  Over the past year, 17  units that have sold at High Point Place at a median price of $325,000.  From a valuation standpoint, it looks like Real Capitol was able to get a 47% discount on this bulk purchase.

It will be interesting to see how aggressively Real Capital looks to sell out this inventory.  In reviewing their previous track record, they look to be patient investors willing to time the market for the maximum return.  A patient strategy would be good news for the entire Fort Myers high-rise market as High Point Place is clearly the best product and should continue to command a significant premium to other high-rise towers.

At present, there are 15 units listed for sale at High Point Place ranging from $149,900 to $880,000.  Here is a resource to view active High Point Place listings.  Our team has represented buyers on several transactions and remains bullish on High Point Place.

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.

Sailors and boaters are drawn to the Boardwalk Caper community for its unrestricted deep water access……location less than 10 minutes from the Gulf…………and affordable home prices.

The community is connected by a 1/2 mile lighted boardwalk home to 251 slips.  Many friendships have formed, boat purchase decisions have been made, knowledge has been passed along and even a romance or two have sparked during a stroll along the boardwalk.

When you are not enjoying the waters of the Gulf, the gated Boardwalk Caper community has much to offer including four swimming pools, a fitness center, clubhouse, tennis, shuffeboard and basketball courts. Boardwalk Caper’s location just before the Fort Myers Beach Bridge also offers convenient access to the beach.

Housing options at Boardwalk Caper include condos, high-rise condos and town homes.  Currently, there are 18 homes for sale at Boardwalk Caper ranging in price from $175,000 to $599,000.  Here is a resource to view active Boardwalk Caper real estate 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.

While Fort Myers Beach is recognized world-wide for its gulf-side beaches, the bay side of Fort Myers Beach offers tremendous gulf access boating.  The bay-side neighborhoods of Fort Myers Beach offer unrestricted deep water gulf access with very short rides to open water.  Fort Myers Beach gulf access communities are located along the entire length of Estero Island on the bay side.  In addition to great boating, residents in these neighborhoods have a short walk to the gulf beaches.

Two of my favorite gulf access communities are not located on either of the two islands, San Carlos or Estero that Fort Myers Beach is best known for, but rather in the mainland section of Fort Myers Beach off San Carlos Boulevard south of Summerlin Road.  These two upscale communities of Siesta Isles and Palm Isles feature newer luxury homes on wide canals and are bordered by extensive natural preserves. Homes are currently for sale in Siesta Isles ranging in price from $475,000 to $888,000 and at Palm Isles from $479,000 to $1.35M.

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.

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.

An intimate and exclusive gulf access community

Tucked away off Iona Road just west of Mcgregor Boulevard and Gulf Harbour is the community of Harbour Isle.  Housing options at Harbour Isles include single-family homes, villas and condos.  The community was built-out by respected local developer Carlton-Naumann.

The Harbour Isles location in the Iona section of South Fort Myers offers boating access to the gulf in about 15 minutes.  The community features an 82 slip marina with dock space available for both rent and purchase.  Harbour Isles also features a freshwater lagoon with docks where owners can keep boats up to 28 ft.  Boats in the freshwater lagoon can be forklifted to the saltwater marina twice a day for no charge.  This is a great low-cost docking option for owners of boats up to 28 ft. in length.

Harbour Isles amenities include multiple pools, a clubhouse, gym, tennis, volleyball and basketball courts, fishing dock and a small beach.

Currently, 11 Harbour Isles properties are listed for sale ranging in price from $289,500 for a 1,642 attached villa to $3.29M for a 5,342 SF riverfront estate home.  Here is a resource to view Harbour Isle real estate.

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!