We like privacy, peace, freedom, fun, respect for the land and nature.

This Golden Gate Estates blog is way past due. I mentioned in the Naples December 2023 Housing Market Update that I would soon be writing a piece on Golden Gate Estates, but life gets busy, you get your gallbladder taken out etc… For the past couple of years, my main focus for the Naples housing market updates has been the downtown area of Naples, just because that happens to be where my office is located. First at Bayfront, then as of last summer, the 1100 5th Ave S building next to Tin City. Success is all about momentum, so to ride that Google endorsement that I get from my physical location, I put a lot of effort into providing consistent, current and relevant information for 34102 & 34103. I guy has got to eat, right? I am also out at my in-law’s and friend’s houses in Golden Gate Estates weekly, and since selling a beautiful 2.73 acre property off 16 Ave NE a little while ago, my attention has turned to also serving the biggest subdivision in America, Golden Gate Estates. A place I intend to call my forever neighborhood soon.

Over the years, I have peppered in Golden Gate Estates housing market news because of the waves 34117 & 34120 have been making in sales statistics. Often leading in price appreciation percentage and powering through with lower days on market than many other ZIP codes in the area. Those strong numbers are indicative of not just the median sales price being more in line with what a majority of people can afford, but the way of life that has been cherished by the thousands of folks who call Golden Gate Estates home for years. This “Golden Gates Estates of Mind”. However, the fairly recent spike in population, pricing and development growth in Naples hasn’t received much accolade from the Golden Gate Estates community. There are always exceptions, but by and large, acceptance of the increased traffic and development in eastern Collier County has been met with cold disdain, in my observation. Can’t blame the frustration that people feel who bought houses way out of town for peace and quiet only to have the hustle and bustle chase them down. It’s a total bummer to see the urban crawl, but also inevitable when there is high value and demand.

South Florida Climate Zone | USDA Map

Living Rural

My wife’s parents own a home out in the Estates where they have a pretty impressive food forest and chicken coop. As many of us know, the soil, heat and humidity in Collier County only allow certain things to grow. The USDA says that coastal Naples is Zone 10B while Golden Gate Estates is Zone 10A. I’m not a farmer, but my wife can very well be on her way alongside of doing hair and makeup for weddings and events. She seriously is very good, look her up. She has probably planted 100 fruit trees over the last few years and has this operation of picking up screened dirt at the Collier Recycling Plant and having mulch delivered to the house every couple of months. This helps keep the ground fertile. There are other things, but this blog isn’t meant to be a farm blog. Lol. My knowledge of compost bins, irrigation and fertilization techniques is far more limited than my real estate abilities.

One of the features my family loves about Golden Gate Estates is how much space you get from your neighbor. That’s not to say we don’t like the neighbors, just that we value space. Can you relate? The ability to build a guest house or workshop on your property, if you meet the Collier County size requirements, the fact that you still can (as of June 2024) shoot guns on your property are all currency in the economy of joy for red-blooded Americans. It is always funny to read through the comments on the Golden Gate Estates Facebook Groups when a (probably new) homeowner starts complaining about the gunshots they are hearing. It is not uncommon to see stray cows walking the streets or to catch a bear or a panther on a ring camera. Lots of lost dogs, sadly, and frequent “what is this animal” posts. I respect the rules of these Golden Gate Estates Facebook groups, so I won’t be posting this article there. I won’t be mad if a friendly supporter or two will, though.

The Golden Gate Estates forums are quite different from the forums I see “in town”. It is almost like two different towns. I don’t know if I would go as far to say that the world views of the two areas are massively different, but there is a difference. Seeing a lifted 4×4 driving down 5th Ave with an American flag in the bed is quite awesome, I must say. Could Golden Gate Estates incorporate at some point? I have heard mumblings. I also have an email from a county official stating that half of the Everglades Blvd interchange will be done by 2028. Right, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” I know what you are thinking.

Randall at Orangetree | Photo: Tim Aten

Mixed Bag

“The Randall At Orangetree“ & “Town of Big Cypress“ have been met with pushback from many folks. Jobs are good, more traffic, bad. These communities alone are bringing close to 12,000 new residences and over 6000 new jobs according to local reporting. That’s not counting the other developments in the works. Why do you think the roads out “in the middle of nowhere” were built so wide? You better believe that there are easements for future street widening too. Who I really feel bad for, are all of those people who had to give up their lovely Golden Gate Estates land per eminent domain for the Vanderbilt Beach Rd extension. Who would have thought that would have come to pass 5 years ago. I spent some time researching when this project was first announced and the earliest I can find is summer 2020. Anyone know an earlier date? Tell you what, I probably would have sold my home right then, or honestly, a year later to take advantage of the Covid price spike. Yahtzee!

So we have all of this urban crawl, traffic becoming unbearable, commercial stores swallowing up Mom & Pop shops, exorbitant home prices (as compared to income) and all of the panthers are going to die. Bleak outlook my friends. At least during off-season the roads are fairly normal, but then again, I am not out there commuting to work during those rush hours. So maybe they are still bad. I don’t know. I just see a lot of frustration in the words of my Golden Gate Estates neighbors. I know that some blame the Realtors for all the growth. But Realtors can’t take all of the blame. If anything, I think the Covid and big government’s reaction to Covid can be blamed, at least in part.

When I look at the real estate graphs, it’s absolutely stunning to see the spike in prices starting in April 2020. Total anomaly. Now that we are approaching historically normal housing inventory levels, we at some point should see prices soften, shouldn’t we? But there are still 1,000 people moving to Florida per day. With the at least 12,000 residences coming available over the next few years to, will you lose any equity at all? You see, there are just so many variables. What would have happened if the Feds didn’t pump nearly $9 Trillion into the economy from 2020-2022? What if, what if, what if.

But I am most interested in what YOU have to say about all of this. Give me a ring or shoot me an email if you would like to talk about either buying or selling Golden Gate Estate real estate.

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