After undergoing a "remarkable" renovation, a waterfront estate on Marco Island fetched nearly $11.4 million, making it the highest home sale of the year on the island.
The more than 6,200-square-foot home, with open views of Caxambas Bay, sold for $11.375 million.
Three of its best features? Sunset views, privacy and direct access to the water, said Devin Sweazy, with Premier Sotheby's International Realty, who represented the buyers.
"Above all else, they were looking for privacy," she said of her clients.
The home – in the Estates area – sits at the end of a court on a street with little traffic, and few neighbors, on a more than half-acre lot.
"You have no homes behind it. It's nature at its best," Sweazy said.
The highest-ever price paid for a single-family home on Marco is $14.8 million, a record set in 2022, for a custom waterfront European Palazzo estate, stretching more than 11,600 square feet under air.
The search for the right home for Sweazy's out-of-town buyers took about seven months. It included a few flights and a few tours of off-market properties whose owners showed a willingness to hear offers after approached by Premier's network of agents.
In the end, the right home was found on the Naples MLS, or multiple listing service.
Luckily, it didn't get as much exposure or attention since it wasn't on Marco's MLS, leaving room for negotiations with the buyers, Sweazy said.
The property at 1599 S. Barfield Court was listed at $12.995 million. It had been on the market since June.
The buyers wanted a large home, where they could host family, including 13 grandchildren.
"We needed to have a significant amount of space for the family," Sweazy said. "They tend to travel together. They like to vacation together."
And:These buyers didn't have to ask: Top home sales of 2022 in SWFL
Luxury market going strong
While the inventory of homes for sale on the island has grown, with a slowing of the housing market in general across Southwest Florida, listings like this one, in a location like this one, are more of a rarity, she said.
"That luxury market is where we are seeing the most turnover," Sweazy said.
In the upper-crust market, she pointed out that most buyers are paying cash, so their decisions aren't based on interest rates, or influenced as much by economic or market conditions.
On Marco about 70% of homes are purchased with cash, Sweazy said.
That was the case for her recent eye-popping sale.
The "extraordinary remodel" was never lived in after the previous owners changed their mind about relocating to Marco and making it their "forever home," Sweazy said.
She noted the home's finishes, from the waterworks to the woodwork, are second to none.
"There was just such a luxury appeal to the overall cohesiveness of the remodel," Sweazy said. "It was very seamless from room to room."
County records show the previous owners Leslie and Mark Alberti purchased the property for $4.1 million in 2020.
According to the listing, the house, built in 2000, has five bedrooms, with seven full and two half-bathrooms. Other features include a three-car garage.
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Renovated estate 'pretty remarkable'
Chris Resop, a luxury specialist with The Agency in Naples, represented the sellers.
"The house was basically gutted," he said. "All of the cabinets in the home were hand carved from Costa Rica. It had really, super high-end finishes throughout, some of which I've never seen in Southwest Florida."
The property offers views "as far south as the eye can see," out to the Gulf of Mexico, with 106 feet of frontage on the water, Resop said.
"The photos don't do it justice," he said. "I think when you're down there, it's pretty remarkable."
The home turned out to be a very smart investment for the sellers, going for $1,832 a square foot, compared to the roughly $1,270 paid for the most expensive estate ever sold on the island, illustrating how values have risen in just a few years.
Next door, a rare over-sized single-family lot went for a record $11 million last year, selling within hours of hitting the market, pushing up the comps around it.
That 0.79-acre lot, located at 1071 S. Barfield Drive, offered 265 feet of frontage on the water, with a new seawall, boat dock and lift.
In the market area, the previous high paid for a lot was $6.4 million on Caxambas Island, off the coast of Marco.
"Those with money still have it and are looking for places to put it. We are approaching buildout, and some locations may only come available once in a lifetime," said Jim Prange, a long-time Realtor with Premier Sotheby's on Marco.
The second highest price paid for a single-family home on the island this year was $8.2 million. It's also waterfront and located in the Estates.
This year, the $8 million and up market has been "very strong," Resop said, with his personal business up in that segment of the market over last year.
There are several pending sales that fall in that category on the island.
Until 2020, the island had only seen three homes bring $8 million or more. Since then, there have been more than a dozen changing hands at that level, Prange said.
"Newer or improved homes with prime locations are in demand," he said. "We have very little new product in the upper end of the market. If you look at the number of sales per year, last year was the worst year since 2010 and this year is looking about the same. It is not stopping us from seeing record sales."
The island saw 954 total sales in 2022 and 834 in 2023, including condos and lots. That compared to a high of 1,862 in 2021.
While sales are down, prices aren't.
"It's amazing," Prange said. "There's still a lot of people with money finding Marco Island."
Top Home Sales on Marco Island
Here are the Top 5 home sales of all time on the island, including a recent sale:
- 1549 Heights Court, $14.8 million, sold on Aug. 2, 2022.
- 1589 S. Barfield Court, $12.1 million, sold on June 27, 2023.
- 202 South Beach Drive, $11.875 million, sold on March 22, 2022.
- 1599 S. Barfield Court, $11.375 million, sold on April 19, 2024.
- 820 S. Barfield Drive, $10.9 million, sold on July 19, 2023.
Source: Jim Prange, long time Marco Realtor, with Premier Sotheby's International Realty.
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