High-priced homes up in Lee

Number worth more than $1 million triples

The News-Press, August 9, 2003

By Wendy Fullerton

The number of Lee County homes valued at a million dollars or more has tripled in the last three years, another sign the area is busting out of the shadows of its wealthier neighbor to the south.

“It’s suggesting we’re not just seeing explosive growth, we’re seeing explosive growth at the high end, ”said Gary Aubuchon of Aubuchon Homes Inc., a Cape Coral custom builder. “That’s a wonderful thing; the advent of a million-dollar-plus market is wonderful for our local economy.”

The million-dollar homes added $3.5 billion to the tax base this year. Overall, Lee County’s taxable property value is $43.1 billion.
“People that spend it love it,” Lee County Property Appraiser Ken Wilkinson said. “If you have a home paying $20,000 to $30,000 a year in taxes, they are more than paying for growth in one home, and that’s being used to benefit all of us.”
Since 2000, the numbers have gone through the roof, from 782 homes with a value of $1 million or more to 2,327 in 2003, according to the property appraiser’s office.

During that time, Cape Coral had its first million-dollar home sale. Now, 30 homes in Cape Coral are valued at a minimum of $1 million.
“Things have changes obviously a whole bunch,” Aubuchon said.

Waterfront is driving the double-digit increases that take place each year. “It’s made a million-dollar home…not that much home,” Aubuchon said. “Not the million-dollar home we dreamed about as kids.”

The city had its first million-dollar lot sale last year.

A million dollars is different in San Francisco that it is in Pittsburgh and Lee County, said Dean Schwanke, an expert on development trends at the Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit real estate research group.
“They aren’t making waterfront property anymore,” he said.

Dan Prevo, 53, who spends much of the year on Sanibel, is in the process of completing his million-dollar-plus home on Sanibel.
The beachfront lot alone is valued at a million-plus.

“There’s a limited amount of that type of property available,” he said. “It’s precious property.”
It’s not just waterfront, however. Bonita Springs had more than 620 million-dollar homes, and more than 40 weren’t on water.

A LOOK AT THE HOMES

Profile of the million-dollar-plus homeowner
• 31.5 percent pay cash
• 67 percent are between ages 35 and 55; 4 percent are under 34
• 88 percent are married
• 41 percent plan major renovations
• Business executives are top profession, followed by those who own their own businesses
• 89 percent want a four-or five-bedroom house, and half buy a house that is 4,000 to 6,000 square feet

Top amenities
• Designer kitchens
• Media/entertainment room with theater-style seating
• Wine cellar
• Tennis courts, basketball courts
• Indoor pool
• Ballroom, cigar room

Ken Plonski, spokesman for luxury homebuilder WCI Communities, agreed the numbers signal Lee’s reputation as a destination for people of affluence.

“It just reflects the lifestyle, the ambience of the region and people’s willingness to invest here,” he said. “Lee County has the opportunity, probably a better opportunity, to grow.”

The latest issue of U.S. Housing Markets magazine shows Lee as No. 1 in the country for “Market Hotness.”

It was the first time that Lee County has surpassed Collier.

Naples is running out of places to build and seeing tremendous run-ups in price.

And residents are flocking to Florida more than any other state – 103,000 moved to Lee between 1995 and 2000.

It’s not just the real estate industry reaping the rewards. Steve Kirchoff, president of Kitchens and Baths by Ambiance, agreed. His business has benefited from the increasing home values. One client spent $375,000 just in cabinets.
“They just keep coming”, he said