Luxury homes still selling in Lee County
BY DON MANLEY • News Press • AUGUST 23, 2009
The picture may be brightening for sales of high-end houses in Lee County.
That market segment, homes priced at $1 million or more, hasn’t seen the same sales burst this year as abodes priced at $500,000 or less. But Realtors and developers say they’ve seen an upswing in interest in mansions, mini-mansions and estate homes this summer. They’re optimistic the upcoming tourist season will bring an upswing in sales for these upscale homes, as compared to the previous season.
Roughly 100 homes in the price range, excluding short sales, were sold between Aug. 1 of 2008 and Aug. 1 this year, with another seven sales pending, according to Trae Zipperer, broker for the Luxury Property Firm, a real estate agency in Fort Myers.
The Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club in Estero provides evidence of that market segment’s liveliness. The first two home sites have been sold this year and home construction begun at Costa Amalfi, the community’s newest waterfront neighborhood.
Costa Amalfi homes start at $800,000 and can cost as much as $1.5 million.
The definition of high-end varies depending on geographic location, said Mike McMurray, of McMurray & Nette VIP Realty, which mainly handles homes on Sanibel and Captiva islands. He said he’s seen sales in the $2.5 million to $7 million range thus far in 2009 on the islands.
“We are seeing some interest out there,” he said. “I think every day, every week it will get better. I think this season will be better than last season, but it will still be a haul.”
Like McMurray, Dennis Cantwell believes many prospective buyers have been waiting to see whether upper-end prices will continue to fall. Cantwell is president of Sand Springs Development in Estero, which in April sold a four-story mansion it constructed along Bonita Beach for close to the $6.85 million asking price.
“You have some people who are looking at homes and want to buy, but are waiting, he said. “It isn’t a gang buster like it used to be, but there is life out there in the upper-end market.”
Marie Benoit of the Re/Max Realty Team in Cape Coral said the sales of $1 million or more she’s seen in the Cape usually involve homes that would have fetched $3 million to $4 million during the building boom. Much of that activity is taking place in Cape Harbour and along the Caloosahatchee, and “anything that has some big waterways, including the south spreader canal,” she said.
“There is some stuff moving, but just like anything else, the stuff that is moving is the stuff that is priced aggressively,” Benoit added.
She said four Cape Coral homes priced at a minimum of $1 million have gone under contract since June 22, something she attributed to a perception the real estate market has hit bottom.
Roland Theis was the listing agent for one of those, a 3,100-square-foot, waterfront home built in 2008 in the Yacht Club section that sold for the short-sale price of $1.26 million in July.
“This house, you couldn’t possibly reproduce it for the price, even in this market,” said Theis, of Villa Realty Group in Cape Coral. “I think people who are looking for something exclusive like this, when they see the opportunity, they grab it.”
A constricted credit market means cash is king right now, even for upper-end sales.
Chad Reedy of high-end, waterfront specialist Flaherty Realty in Fort Myers said seven of his eight transactions this year have been cash deals. That includes a roughly $3 million sale in south Fort Myers’ Town and River community and one for $1 million in Siesta Isles, located on San Carlos Island near Fort Myers Beach.
While things are looking up for high-end waterfront properties, they’re still far behind what they were during more prosperous times, said Zipperer, who specializes in waterfront homes in and adjacent to Fort Myers.
A big reason for that trend is the fact the drop in property values has caused many high-end home owners to hang on to them rather than sell, as they await a market rebound.
“There are hundreds of people that are interested in selling their property, but they haven’t come to grips with liquid value of their property today. It takes time for some people.”
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Waterfront homes in Seattle are selling well now. Glad to hear your luxury homes are moving now, too.