Over the first two-thirds of 2022, sales of real estate in southeast parts of Florida were booming, although without huge deals characteristic for 2021. Apartment complexes were particularly popular among investors, and these properties also accounted for the largest transactions. Paige Rausch at Aslan Realty Advisors notes that eight largest purchase and sale contracts in Lee County were signed for multi-family houses.
This process began a year ago, when Drift at the Forum in Fort Myers was sold for $62.5 million, i.e., $322,000 per each of the 194 residential units. In late 2022, JBM received $87.25 million for the apartment complex Bonita Springs Versol (240 units $363,542 each). In March–May 2022, five complexes in Bonita Springs, Estero, and Fort Myers were sold for a total of $487.55 million. Specifically, the buyer paid $71.1 million for The Reserve, a complex of 180 apartments in Estero, i.e., $398,000 per unit, which set another record for Lee County.
Sales of land also showed a good performance. For instance, a 162,000 sq m land plot near the Punta Gorda Airport in Charlotte County was purchased for $4 million by S2A Modular that specializes in construction of modular houses. Pulte Homes paid $2.4 million for a parcel of about 70,000 sq m in the south of Forty Myers. It is planning to build a community of 52 homes worth upwards of $500,000, with a floor area of 150 to 316 sq m.
The luxury segment is going strong too. For example, a building with upscale residences and office premises with a total floor area of about 1,800 sq m was sold in Fifth Avenue South in Collier County for $27 million.
Experts are unanimous that multi-million transactions for apartment blocks, offices, industrial buildings, vacant land plots, and retail premises will set the pace in the market of Southwest Florida for years to come.