photo mosaic of Naples, Florida pier, Bayfront, Bayside, dolphin jumping, magenta orchid, water birds silhouetted against the sunset
What’s the diff between SW Florida’s Rivergrass & the River of Grass?

What’s the diff between SW Florida’s Rivergrass & the River of Grass?

Phil Fernandez | Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News

Key Points

  • New housing communities are emerging across Southwest Florida, including in Naples, Estero, Cape Coral and Fort Myers.
  • Rivergrass development in Collier County has begun construction on more than 1,000 homes.
  • In Cape Coral, the $100 million Bimini Square project is debuting apartments, dining and healthcare services.
  • Estero’s Coconut Point is adding new businesses, including proposed apartments, restaurants and retail stores.

As Southwest Florida’s frosty February chill prevailed, new and proposed housing communities continued to emerge in Naples, Estero, Cape Coral and Fort Myers.

A landmark Collier County endeavor was among them.

Here’s what to know.

There’s Collier County’s Rivergrass, and then there’s River of Grass
Impact on the economy and perhaps traffic will come in the form of Rivergrass, different in shape but similar in name to the somewhat adjacent River of Grass, as author Marjory Stone Douglas dubbed the Everglades eight decades ago.

With Lennar leading the way, construction just kicked into high gear on more than 1,000 homes, where the address is 5063 Oil Well Road, Immokalee. The target is to have the first of the housing as early as autumn, according to Lennar.

What’s maximum number of homes allowed in Big Cypress area?
The path was paved by Collier Enterprises, which has been finalizing federal, state and local permits for three villages including Rivergrass and a town known as Big Cypress in eastern Collier that have been years in the making with opposition from environmentalists and other folks against urban sprawl.

The maximum number of homes permitted for all of it at this point is nearly 9,700. The combined commercial is slated to reach close to 1.6 million square feet.

Read the full article and get the scoop on Bimini Square in Cape Coral and Estero’s Coconut Point.

Are you looking for a home in the thriving Southwest Florida area? Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

An $85M home sale in Naples broke a record in 2025, it didn’t last long

An $85M home sale in Naples broke a record in 2025, it didn’t last long

Laura Layden | Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News

In 2025, entrepreneur and billionaire David Hoffman bought a newly built estate in Port Royal for $85 million.

It set a new all-time record for a residential sale in Naples.

The record didn’t last long, however, eclipsed by the sale of a larger legacy compound that fetched $225 million in the same month — and in the same exclusive neighborhood, which has long been a magnet for Fortune 500 CEOs, business moguls and other notables of wealth and influence.

The mega deal, involving three adjacent waterfront properties all on Gordon Drive, didn’t just break a local record. It marked the largest home sale in Florida — and one of the largest in the country.

As for David Hoffman and his wife, Jerri, his high school sweetheart, they weren’t exactly out to break any records. They just wanted a big enough home to accommodate their big circle of family and friends.

The couple relocated from Illinois to Naples in 2015. Headquartered in Naples, the business is now run by their two sons, with families of their own.

With three married children, the family matriarch and patriarch have 13 grandkids. Hence, the need for lots of room for hosting and entertaining.

The Hoffmanns’ new estate — at 575 Admiralty Parade West — spans more than 17,000 square feet. It offers wide water views, sitting on nearly 2 1/4 lots, with 250 feet of frontage on Naples Bay. It has six bedrooms and 10 1/2 bathrooms.

Read all the details about this property and more luxury property sales in Naples, Florida on naplesnews.com.

Ready to explore the most exceptional properties of Southwest Florida? Contact me today to begin your journey. Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

An $85M home sale in Naples broke a record in 2025, it didn’t last long

Donahue family’s record-setting compound back on the market in Naples

Laura Layden | Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News

Once the most expensive residential listing in America, Gordon Pointe is back on the market.

When the Port Royal beachfront compound hit the market in February 2024, it made national headlines — at a then-record price of $295 million.

In January 2025, the rare piece of Naples real estate saw a price adjustment. The price tag dropped by $85 million to $210 million, mostly due to a decision by the sellers to keep pieces of the property they had originally included in their listing for themselves.

In August, the modified listing — with an address of 100 Bay Road — was quietly removed from the SWFLMLS (Multiple Listing Service).

On Feb. 2, Gulf Coast International Properties in Naples announced the property is once again on the market, and it’s now the company representing the sellers.

The new listing price was not disclosed.

Read the full article on naplesnews.com.

Ready to explore the most exceptional properties of Southwest Florida? Contact David today to begin your journey. Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

Naples Winter Wine Fest auction raises millions for Collier children

Naples Winter Wine Fest auction raises millions for Collier children

Kendall Little | Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News

Money can’t buy sunny skies in Naples, but it can buy an all-inclusive luxury wine trip to Italy during the Naples Winter Wine Festival live auction.

Though skies were gloomy and rainy, hundreds gathered at the Ritz-Carlton Tiburon on Saturday, Jan. 31, to place competitive bids on luxury experiences during the annual live charity auction.

After an overnight call to move the Festival indoors due to weather, attendees used the cold conditions as an excuse to break out designer coats and scarves. Inside the Ritz-Carlton were dozens of tables full of both savory and sweet options for attendees to sample. Desserts were the most eye-catching items, with macarons that looked like burgers, smoked candied bacon-wrapped Oreos, and hibiscus cola creations.

The Grand Tasting room featured not only savory bites, but also tables lined with rare and vintage wines, many that aren’t otherwise accessible to the general public. Guests mingled and sipped wine throughout the afternoon leading up to the live auction.

Festival goers dressed to impress with sparkling designer tops, skirts, bags, jackets and of course, shoes. I mean, what else would you wear to bid hundreds of thousands of dollars on once-in-a-lifetime experiences?

This year’s auction lots were impressive to say the least. From wine excursions in Napa Valley to VIP experiences in France and Italy, there were over 50 luxury lots to bid on. The auction took place under an iconic white tent decorated with sparkly chandeliers and multi-colored lights.

“Every dollar on this day under that tent stays in Collier County,” NWWF public relations consultant Clay Cone said.

More about this year’s Naples Winter Wine Festival with photos on naplesnews.com.

NABOR Market Report | December 2025

NABOR Market Report | December 2025

Naples Area Board of REALTORS®

December Home Sales Shows Market Confidence & Stability

Naples, Fla. (January 23, 2026) – Overall closed sales in Naples during December increased 28.8 percent to 773 closed sales from 600 closed sales in December 2024. Broker analysts reviewing the December 2025 Market Report by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), have been watching closed sales improve for seven months consistently. They believe the increase in sales is largely due to sellers being more willing to negotiate. Adjustments in prices – as a result of seller flexibility – effected a 2.5 percent decrease in the overall median closed price in 2025; and a 5 percent decrease in December to $570,000 from $600,000 in December 2024. With 8.3 months of inventory available to buyers heading into 2026, broker analysts are cautiously optimistic that closed sales will continue to increase as our transition to a more balanced market is ideal for homes sales in Naples.

Paradise Preferred

Sales in the Naples luxury home market – $1.5 million+ – continue to outpace closed sales activity in other price categories. Most remarkable, the December report showed closed sales of properties over $5 million increased 16.6 percent during 2025.

According to the report, overall pending sales increased 12.5 percent in December to 704 pending sales from 626 pending sales in December 2024.

“We had almost the exact number of pending sales in 2025 as we did in 2024 [10,178 vs. 10,090],” said Mike Hughes, Vice President and General Manager for Downing-Frye Realty, Inc. “But if you look at the number of pendings [10,178] compared to closings [8,249] in 2025, you can see that there were still a considerable number of sales that fell through. Sellers need to be aware of this because if a buyer comes back with a request, it may be in the seller’s favor to address their request and negotiate rather than allow the deal to fall through.”

Overall inventory during December decreased 3.8 percent to 5,714 properties from 5,938 properties in December 2024. Inventory in December decreased the most in the 34116 zip code, 30.1 percent. This area also reported the highest closed sales for the month, a 155.6 percent increase.

Condo Grab

While the number of properties available under $300,000 has slowly declined in the last few years, the December Market Report showed the inventory of condominiums under $300,000 has been on the rise, leading to a 28.4 percent increase in closed sales of condominiums in this price category for December. Overall inventory in the condominium market in December increased 1.2 percent to 3,088 condominiums from 3,050 condominiums. An increase in condominium sales is anticipated in the first quarter of 2026 because condominium inventory under $300,000 increased 47.5 percent in December.

The NABOR® December 2025 Market Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. NABOR® sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings for 2025:

NABOR Market Report December 2025 chart

New Conversations

According to several broker analysts reviewing the December report, conversations in 2026 will look much different than in previous years because last year proved hurricanes are not an annual threat, insurance rates are now more competitive – Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, a not-for-profit insurer of last resort that was created by the Florida Legislature in 2002, just lowered its rates – and mortgage rates hovering around 6 percent are increasingly considered the new normal and will likely remain for the immediate future.

Are you seeking a home in the Bonita Springs – Naples, Florida area? Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

How long does it take to sell a house in Naples, FL? What to know for buyers and seller

How long does it take to sell a house in Naples, FL? What to know for buyers and seller

USA TODAY Network

The median home in Collier County listed for $729,725 in December, up 1.2% from the previous month’s $722,900, an analysis of data from Realtor.com shows.

Compared to December 2024, the median home list price decreased 5.8% from $775,000.

The statistics in this article only pertain to houses listed for sale in Collier County, not houses that were sold. Information on your local housing market, along with other useful community data, is available at data.naplesnews.com.

Collier County’s median home was 1,816 square feet, listed at $415 per square foot. The price per square foot of homes for sale is down 5.5% from December 2024.

Learn more on naplesnews.com.