Deep-pocketed buyers steering Naples market clear of bust talk
By GINA EDWARDS
September 18, 2005

When home prices hit the outer stratosphere, the number of potential buyers
admittedly shrinks. But the Naples luxury market is still in boom mode,
local agents say, despite forecasts of a housing bubble that some predict
eventually must burst.

A slowdown?

"I just don't see it," said Bill Earls, an agent for John R. Wood, who
specializes in ultra-high-end homes.

Earls had a $20 million month in July and said, "I think I've topped that
out in August."

The $24.8 million Gordon Drive estate of billionaire Campbell Soup heiress
Dorrance H. Hamilton flew off the market in less than a week when it was
listed in May. That sent tongues wagging in real estate circles.

The 7,000-square-foot beachfront house at 4444 Gordon Drive and its quick
sale grabbed national headlines for John R. Wood Inc. listing agents Merry
Coolidge and Bruce Babcock following the home's closing in July. Barbara
Chur, whose husband made his fortune in nursing homes, bought the estate,
which includes a separate guest house and Naples Bay frontage across Gordon
Drive.

The sale price wasn't a record for Naples, but the speed of the sale very
well may have been.

Agents say they had buyers lining up.

"I had someone right behind them," says Prudential Florida WCI agent Jackie
May, who specializes in Port Royal.

The multiple listing service shows just more than 450 homes and lots on the
market now priced at $2 million or more. Of those, close to 100 are priced
at $5 million and more.

Collier County Property Appraiser records show that more than 1,400
properties sold for more than $1 million from January through August.

Surprisingly, local agents say there was no summer slowdown in the high-end
market. But, although the luxury market is active, price appreciation
appears to be slowing somewhat, agents say.

Emily K. Bua, of Premier Properties, said she's not seeing as much
appreciation in the $4 million to $10 million market as in the past. Bua
said she doesn't see prices dropping, either.

"There's tremendous appreciation in the under $2 million market," Bua said.

Land values, as always, are dictating prices. Homes built in the '80s or
'90s in Port Royal and Old Naples are mostly considered tear-downs now.

"If they're not brand new, the houses are free," May said. "The ground has
just appreciated so much."

And the ground is especially rich if it's sand.

Agents say prices for beachfront lots are fetching between $70,000 and
$80,000 per foot of beachfront - thus adding between $10 million and $12
million for typical 150-foot-wide lots on Gordon Drive.

Tearing down and building new gives buyers bigger homes, higher ceilings,
and what Earls calls "the new sexy appliances."

But what buyers want most is a beautiful view, agents say.

"The bigger the view, the more it is," May said.

Many high-end buyers are already here and they want more house or more
water, May said. Some retired executives think they'll only spend a little
time in Naples, but they end up staying here a lot, she said.

Fundamentally, agents say demand from high net worth clients is strong.

More and more newcomers are discovering the market, local agents say. They
are top flight executives and increasingly they're hailing from the
Northeast and out West - a departure from the traditional Midwestern crowd.
Europeans, particularly from Germany and England, are coming in greater
numbers, too.

"There are a lot of people just discovering Naples," Bua said.

Naples has had positive national press of late and its charity wine auction,
the Naples Winter Wine Festival, attracts big spenders from all over the
world.

"I think the wine festival has brought a lot of attention to the Naples
market," Bua said.

What's most encouraging to Earls is this: "I'm seeing a good, healthy influx
of new people," he said. "I think our market has broadened."

Although the market appears flush with mega-mansions for sale, Earls said
homes are turning over and sales are brisk.

"I have 30 listings after selling $200 million (this year)," Earls said.

Overall, he said, he's up 10 percent more than last year.

One thing that gives Bua confidence in the health of the luxury market is
it's not as prone to profiteering.

"The market over $4 million or $5 million is end-users," Bua said. "The
market under $2 million has a lot of investors in it."

Agents typically define the luxury market in Naples as homes and condos
valued at $4 million and more. There's a big range in between though. May
estimates Port Royal's largest estate could be worth as much as $100
million.

For now, Coolidge and Babcock - who sold the $24.8 million estate in less
than a week - have bragging rights on speed of a mega-sale.

The four-bedroom, 4½ bath estate home built by Newbury North Associates and
designed by architect Jerry DeGennaro features dark wood paneling with
tropical decor and such luxuries as an exercise and massage room off the
master suite. Across Gordon Drive, a four-bedroom guest house and caretaker
house front Naples Bay.

"We had appointments one on top of the other," Coolidge said. "We were
hardly even ready to show it to the market place."

The top price for a home and property - $30 million paid in April 2001 for a
beachfront and bay lot combination - still holds.

High-end agents seem to be scrambling for the next record luxury sale. It
could be a cell phone call away.



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