Recorded sales for manufactured and site-built homes, the 55+ board approval and the fee stack for Carousel Cove, from the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012.
Updated September 2026 · Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, Domain Realty · Prices from Lee County Property Appraiser recorded sales and roll, read September 29, 2026, and the Southwest Florida MLS, pulled September 29, 2026
McGreevy and Comisar are a Bonita Springs buyer’s team with our office on South Tamiami Trail, and this is our guide to buying in Carousel Cove at Bonita Fairways, the 106-home neighborhood of one-story homes inside the gated Bonita Fairways golf community in Bonita Springs. It covers what Carousel Cove homes have actually recorded at, which kind of home you are really choosing, what the two associations charge, what the board must approve before you close, and which documents to read before you sign. If you searched for Carousel Cove Bonita Springs, this is the residential neighborhood on Bonita Fairways Circle, Landfall Place and Sammoset Way, not a resort or a vacation club of a similar name.
Carousel Cove is a Chapter 720 homeowners’ association, not a condominium. Of its 106 homes, 56 are manufactured homes, often called mobile homes in a search box, built from 1992 to 1999, and 50 are site-built, built from 1997 to 2006 plus one dated 2017. Every home sits on a lot the owner owns in fee simple. Its recorded Declaration was restated in 2013 as an over-55 community, and every sale needs written board approval before closing. In the 24 months to September 29, 2026 the county recorded 11 qualified Carousel Cove sales, all resales, at a $360,000 median, from $260,000 to $475,000.
That record is small and it is uneven. A 1994 manufactured home of 1,192 square feet and a 2005 site-built home of 1,686 square feet share a gate and a streetlight, but not a construction standard, an insurance rule, a roof date or a price band. This guide walks through each difference before you write an offer, and it says plainly where the public record stops and which document answers the question.
To buy a Carousel Cove home in 2026, decide first between a manufactured and a site-built home, confirm you can document the household occupancy the Declaration requires, get the insurance quote and the roof date before you offer, budget the $1,100 master assessment and the $2,500 buyer contribution, and start the board approval package at least 20 days before closing.
The order matters because Carousel Cove is really two products behind one name and one gate. Over 60 months to September 29, 2026, 20 manufactured homes recorded a $304,000 median and 11 site-built homes a $480,000 median. We build that picture for your short list before you tour, and we read the recorded Declaration with you, clause by clause.
This guide covers the Carousel Cove market for buyers, which home fits which buyer, the fee stack and a worked monthly cost, the documents to check, leasing, pet and approval rules, the manufactured-home checks on financing, insurance and title, flood and insurance, permits, taxes and closing costs, buyer representation after the NAR settlement, schools and daily life, Carousel Cove against Natura and the rest of Bonita Fairways, pros and cons, seasonal buyers, and more than thirty-five buyer questions.
These are the facts a Carousel Cove buyer should know in September 2026, each drawn from the Lee County deed and parcel record, the recorded Declaration, the master association’s budget, the Southwest Florida MLS, or a state or federal source.
Buying in Carousel Cove: How Do I Buy a Home in Carousel Cove at Bonita Fairways in 2026? · Why Work With McGreevy and Comisar as Your Carousel Cove Buyer’s Agent?
The Market and the Homes: What Is the Carousel Cove Market Like for Buyers Right Now? · Which Carousel Cove Home Fits Which Buyer?
Costs and Documents: What Will I Pay to Own a Carousel Cove Home? · What Should I Check in the Carousel Cove Documents? · How Does the 55+ Board Approval Work for a Carousel Cove Buyer? · What Are the Rules on Leasing, Pets and Approvals?
Manufactured Homes, Flood and Permits: What Should a Buyer Check on a Carousel Cove Manufactured Home? · Is Carousel Cove in a Flood Zone, and What Will Insurance Cost? · What Do the City Permits Show About Carousel Cove Roofs and Windows?
Taxes, Closing and Representation: What Will My Property Taxes and Closing Costs Be in Carousel Cove? · How Does Buyer Representation Work in Florida After the NAR Settlement?
Schools and Daily Life: Which Schools Serve Carousel Cove? · What Is Daily Life Like in Carousel Cove?
Comparisons: Carousel Cove vs Natura: Which Should You Buy? · How Does Carousel Cove Compare With the Rest of Bonita Fairways? · What Are the Pros and Cons of Buying in Carousel Cove?
Searching and Seasonal Buyers: How Do I See Carousel Cove Homes for Sale? · How Do I Get a Personalized Carousel Cove Buyer Consultation? · Buying a Winter Home in Carousel Cove: What Seasonal Buyers Should Know
Answers and Local Expertise: What Carousel Cove Buyers Say About Working With Us · Frequently Asked Questions, Carousel Cove at Bonita Fairways Buyer Edition · Why Does a Carousel Cove Specialist Matter When You Buy? · Ready to Buy in Carousel Cove? Work With the #1 Team in Southwest Florida Since 2012 · Your Local Real Estate Experts · Sources and Authoritative References · Downloadable Documents
McGreevy and Comisar are a Bonita Springs team, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 and the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012, who represent Carousel Cove buyers with the same county-record data we use to price listings. We show you what homes of your kind recorded at, what the board will ask of you, and where the room to negotiate is.
If you’re searching for the best buyer’s agent in Carousel Cove at Bonita Fairways, McGreevy and Comisar represent homebuyers across Bonita Springs, Estero, Naples, Fort Myers and Lee and Collier Counties, whether you are buying a one-story home on a golf lot, a site-built three-bedroom, or a manufactured home priced under $300,000. With our Domain Realty Group team we have sold over $2.5 billion in real estate, and McGreevy and Comisar alone have over $900 million in personal sales. Our office is at 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101, Bonita Springs, FL 34134. For a side-by-side look at how to choose an agent in this city, see our guide to the best real estate agents in Bonita Springs.
Honors and recognition:
Marc Comisar leads our buyer representation and Jesse McGreevy leads our listings, so our buyers hear how Bonita Springs sellers think about price, timing and repairs from the people who advise sellers every week. For this guide we read the county file of every Carousel Cove sale since 1997, 122 in all, and the roll of all 106 homes. If you are buying here and also selling a home, our Carousel Cove seller guide explains the other side of the same transaction, and our Carousel Cove home valuation page shows how we price a home here.
For every Carousel Cove home on your short list we confirm the kind of home on the county roll, the year built and whether it falls before or after July 13, 1994, the HUD label for a manufactured home, the roof permit on the City of Bonita Springs record, the insurance quote, and the estoppel figures for the neighborhood and the master association. You tour fewer homes and offer with fewer surprises.
We will not tell you a home’s title was retired, its roof was replaced or the neighborhood fee is a given number unless a document says so; none of those is in the public record for individual homes today. We will not describe the people who live here or steer you toward or away from a home because of who you are. We describe the property and the recorded rules, and you decide.
In the last 12 months we tracked 4 county-recorded Carousel Cove sales (September 29, 2025 through February 13, 2026, the newest recording in the county file) at a $362,500 median, the mean of $360,000 and $365,000, and 3 Southwest Florida MLS sales in the 12 months to September 29, 2026 at a $360,000 median. Domain Realty, our brokerage, closed 671 transaction sides in Bonita Springs in the 60 months to October 5, 2026, $399.7 million in volume counted by side, per the Southwest Florida MLS pulled that day. McGreevy and Comisar are the #5 real estate team in Florida and the #1 real estate team in Bonita Springs in the 2026 RealTrends rankings. What we bring is the county record read deed by deed, the Declaration read clause by clause, and the negotiating practice of a team that represents buyers and sellers across Bonita Springs every week.
The Carousel Cove market in 2026 is small and priced home by home. The county recorded 11 qualified resales at a $360,000 median in the 24 months to September 29, 2026, the first window with ten or more sales, and the MLS showed 2 active listings and none pending on that day, so a buyer negotiates from the full record of each kind of home, not from the last sale.
Data updated: September 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser recorded sales and Southwest Florida MLS, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
The yardstick is the county’s own record: deeds the Lee County Property Appraiser marks as qualified, arm’s-length sales of improved parcels, read from the sales file built on September 29, 2026. Recorded sales reach that file with a lag, and the newest Carousel Cove recording in it is February 13, 2026, so the “12-month” window below really covers about September 29, 2025 to February 13, 2026. There were no builder-direct sales in any window: every recorded Carousel Cove sale is a resale, so a buyer here never negotiates with a developer.
The county file holds 122 Carousel Cove home sales from 1997 to February 2026, although only two predate 2009. Every figure in the table names its window and its count, and an even count uses the mean of the middle pair.
Window (Lee County recorded sales) | Sales (n) | Median price | Range | Median $ per heated sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
12 months (about Sep 29, 2025 to Feb 13, 2026) | 4 | $362,500 (mean of $360,000 and $365,000) | $290,000 to $460,000 | $243.49 |
24 months (first window with 10 or more sales) | 11 | $360,000 | $260,000 to $475,000 | $233.33 |
36 months | 17 | $360,000 | $235,000 to $500,000 | $237.81 |
60 months | 31 | $360,000 | $195,000 to $675,000 | $237.81 |
All recorded history (1997 to Feb 2026) | 122 | $227,000 (mean of $225,000 and $229,000) | $80,000 to $675,000 | $150.61 |
Dollar volume was $1,475,000 in the 12-month window, $3,932,900 in the 24-month window and $11,693,574 in the 60-month window. The median of $360,000 is the same at 24, 36 and 60 months, which is a steadier signal than any single window. Price per square foot divides each price by the county’s heated (air-conditioned) area on the roll, which leaves out garages and lanais, so a listing’s “total” square footage will be larger.
The Southwest Florida MLS pull of September 29, 2026 adds what the county file cannot: days on market and how close to the final list price homes sold. The sale-to-list ratio is sold price divided by final list price, so it does not capture price cuts taken before the last list price.
Window (Southwest Florida MLS, to Sep 29, 2026) | Sales (n) | Median sold price | Median days on market | Median sale-to-list | Median $ per MLS sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 months | 3 | $360,000 | 13 | 96.1% | $230 |
24 months | 11 | $315,000 | 15 | 96.0% | $232 |
36 months | 15 | $350,000 | 46 | 96.1% | $233 |
60 months | 27 | $360,000 | 13 | 96.3% | $238 |
Read together, the two sources say the same thing in different words: a Carousel Cove home priced correctly sells in about two weeks at about 96 cents on the dollar of the final list price, at roughly $230 to $240 per square foot. The county and MLS 24-month counts are both 11 but the medians differ ($360,000 county, $315,000 MLS), so they are not the same 11 sales, and we did not reconcile them row by row. Nineteen MLS sales in Bonita Fairways are filed under the community name and not under any neighborhood, so they sit in no Carousel Cove figure here.
On September 29, 2026 the MLS showed 2 active Carousel Cove listings at $299,000 and $349,500, a median asking price of $324,250, and no pending sales. Our own arithmetic, not an MLS statistic, puts that at about 4.4 months of supply against the 11 MLS sales of the last 24 months and 8.0 months against the 3 sales of the last 12. The MLS export gives asking prices only, so it does not tell us the kind or size of either home; ask us for the listing and we pull the county roll card for it.
Two listings in a 106-home neighborhood is about 2% of homes for sale. That leaves a buyer with little choice at any one moment, which is why a saved search and a buyer’s agent who knows the record matter more here than in a large subdivision. Across all of Bonita Fairways the MLS showed 20 active listings that day, 10 of them in Botanika.
Because the 24-month window is small enough to read in full, here is every sale in it, by street and never by house number. All 11 occurred on Bonita Fairways Circle and Sammoset Way. The last four rows are the 12-month window.
Recorded | Street | Year built | Type | Heated sq ft | Bed/bath | Price | $ per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 17, 2024 | Sammoset Way | 1996 | Manufactured | 1,177 | 2/2 | $279,900 | $237.81 |
Nov 4, 2024 | Sammoset Way | 1995 | Manufactured | 1,572 | 2/1 | $365,000 | $232.19 |
Dec 6, 2024 | Bonita Fairways Circle | 1994 | Manufactured | 1,192 | 2/2 | $260,000 | $218.12 |
Jan 30, 2025 | Bonita Fairways Circle | 2005 | Site-built | 1,686 | 3/2 | $468,000 | $277.58 |
Feb 10, 2025 | Sammoset Way | 1995 | Manufactured | 2,179 | 2/1 | $475,000 | $217.99 |
Feb 18, 2025 | Sammoset Way | 1999 | Manufactured | 1,350 | 2/2 | $315,000 | $233.33 |
Mar 10, 2025 | Bonita Fairways Circle | 1995 | Manufactured | 865 | 2/2 | $295,000 | $341.04 |
Dec 17, 2025 | Bonita Fairways Circle | 1992 | Manufactured | 1,627 | 2/2 | $365,000 | $224.34 |
Dec 30, 2025 | Bonita Fairways Circle | 1994 | Manufactured | 1,563 | 2/2 | $360,000 | $230.33 |
Feb 5, 2026 | Bonita Fairways Circle | 2003 | Site-built | 1,526 | 2/2 | $460,000 | $301.44 |
Feb 13, 2026 | Sammoset Way | 1995 | Manufactured | 1,130 | 2/2 | $290,000 | $256.64 |
The 2,179 square foot manufactured home at $475,000 is the top of the window and the 1,192 square foot 1994 home at $260,000 the bottom. Only two of the 11 were site-built, and the smallest home, 865 square feet, has the highest price per foot, which is why we compare price per foot only between homes of similar size and kind.
This is the split that matters most in Carousel Cove. The county codes 56 parcels as manufactured homes and 50 as site-built, and the two kinds sell at different prices per square foot as well as different prices.
County window | Manufactured homes | Site-built homes |
|---|---|---|
12 months | 3 sales, median $360,000 | 1 sale, $460,000 |
24 months | 9 sales, median $315,000, $232.19 per sq ft | 2 sales, median $464,000 (mean of $460,000 and $468,000), $289.51 per sq ft |
36 months | 13 sales, median $315,000 | 4 sales, median $464,000 |
60 months | 20 sales, median $304,000 (mean of $295,000 and $313,000), $225.45 per sq ft | 11 sales, median $480,000, $308.42 per sq ft |
All history | 69 sales, median $180,000 | 53 sales, median $275,000 |
Over 60 months, site-built homes sold for about $176,000 more at the median than manufactured homes and about $83 more per square foot. The gap reflects size, land, age and, for the pre-1994 manufactured homes, the insurance and financing differences covered below.
In the 60-month window of 31 sales, 10 closed under $300,000 (all manufactured), 9 between $300,000 and $399,999 (all manufactured), 7 between $400,000 and $499,999 (6 site-built and 1 manufactured) and 5 at $500,000 or more (all site-built). In the 24-month window of 11 sales, 4 were under $300,000, 4 were $300,000 to $399,999, 3 were $400,000 to $499,999 and none reached $500,000. A buyer with $350,000 has therefore been choosing among manufactured homes, and a buyer with $470,000 among site-built homes and the largest manufactured home in the window.
Two-bedroom homes dominate: in the 24-month window 10 of 11 sales were two-bedroom homes at a median of $337,500 (mean of $315,000 and $360,000), and the single three-bedroom sale was $468,000. Over 60 months, 24 two-bedroom sales had a median of $314,500 and 7 three-bedroom sales a median of $468,000. On the roll, 52 of 56 manufactured homes have two bedrooms and 26 of 50 site-built homes have three.
Size bands from the 60-month window show the step up: 6 sales under 1,200 heated square feet had a median of $284,950; 6 sales of 1,200 to 1,499 had $314,000; 17 sales of 1,500 to 1,799 had $437,500; and 2 sales of 1,800 and up had $457,500. Heated area across the 106 homes runs from 736 to 2,179 square feet with a median of 1,528.5; the manufactured median is 1,311.5 and the site-built median 1,599.5.
Year built matters most for the manufactured homes. Over 60 months, 4 manufactured homes built before 1994 sold at a $339,500 median, 16 built from 1994 to 1999 at $292,500, and 10 site-built homes built from 2000 to 2006 at $474,000. The oldest manufactured homes did not sell below the newer ones, so the year on the tax roll alone did not set the price; size, roof, condition and upgrades did. That is exactly why the insurance quote and the roof record come before the offer, not after it.
Year | All sales (n) | Median | Manufactured median (n) | Site-built median (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 6 | $362,500 | $270,750 (2) | $377,950 (4) |
2022 | 6 | $362,500 | $270,000 (3) | $480,000 (3) |
2023 | 9 | $326,000 | $313,000 (5) | $510,000 (4) |
2024 | 7 | $350,000 | $314,950 (6) | $500,000 (1) |
2025 | 6 | $362,500 | $360,000 (5) | $468,000 (1) |
2026 (to Feb 13) | 2 | $375,000 | $290,000 (1) | $460,000 (1) |
The manufactured-home median rose from $270,750 in 2021 to $360,000 in 2025, about 33%, while the yearly count stayed between 2 and 6. Yearly medians on 1 to 6 sales are directional only. The site-built figures fell from a $510,000 median in 2023 to $460,000 to $468,000 on the two most recent sales, but with one sale a year that is a data point, not a trend.
The county file lets us pair a home’s earlier and later sales. We found 45 pairs held longer than one year, with a median annual appreciation of 8.43%, a median hold of 4.85 years and a median total gain of 45.7%. Of the 24 pairs whose second sale came in the 60 months to September 29, 2026, all 24 sold above the earlier price, at a median 9.66% a year over a 5.18-year hold and a median gain of $151,250. One pair over the whole history lost money, a manufactured home bought for $150,000 in October 2009 and sold for $125,000 in September 2012. These are gross price changes before improvements, closing costs and carrying costs, and they describe the past rather than promise anything.
One recorded sale shows how a buyer should read the record: a 2005 site-built three-bedroom, two-bath home of 1,686 heated square feet on Bonita Fairways Circle that recorded $220,000 on May 2, 2011 and $468,000 on January 30, 2025. It is a public record, and we name only the street, the year built and the size.
Data updated: September 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser recorded sales and 2026 roll, read September 29, 2026).
What the record tells a buyer. First, the 2025 buyer paid $277.58 per heated square foot, and the only other site-built sale in the 24-month window, a 2003 two-bedroom of 1,526 square feet on the same street, recorded $460,000 on February 5, 2026 at $301.44, so the per-foot figure moved with size, not with time. Second, $468,000 is $248,000 above the 2011 price, a gain of 112.7% over 13.75 years, or about 5.6% a year, which is slower than the 8.43% median because it is a long hold. Third, the county’s 2026 just value for the home is $427,251, or 91% of the 2025 price, and a buyer’s tax bill does not start from that number: it resets to the purchase price on the January 1 after closing.
Fourth, the timetable. Section 11 requires the buyer’s notice at least 20 days before closing, so a January 30 closing needed a complete package with the board no later than January 10, before the lender’s appraisal was likely in. At the 2026 proposed millage a $468,000 purchase without homestead would carry about $6,001 a year in property tax ($468,000 times 12.8217 mills) and about $5,481 with the exemptions the roll typically shows, or roughly $500 and $457 a month, before the $1,100 master assessment. That is the file we assemble for every home you consider, before you offer.
The MLS median sale-to-list ratio was 96.0% on 11 sales in 24 months and 96.1% on 3 sales in 12 months. As an illustration, a home that closed at exactly 96.0% of its final list price and sold for $360,000 was last listed near $375,000, a gap of about $15,000. That is a median, not a rule: homes priced sharply for their kind sell near list, and homes priced off a Bonita Fairways average sit. The ratio is measured against the final list price, so it says nothing about earlier reductions, and the export has no figures for expired or withdrawn listings, so we make no claim about how often Carousel Cove listings fail to sell.
Of the 31 county sales in the 60 months to September 29, 2026, 20 closed from February through June, 9 in November and December, one each in January and October, and none from July through September. Since 2015 the busiest months by count have been April (16), February and March (13 each) and December (11) and the quietest August (2), July and October (3 each). These are recording dates, so contracts were written earlier, while seasonal owners were in town. A buyer who can tour and write in late summer meets few competing buyers, and a seller who has carried a home through the summer has a reason to talk.
We do not have the MLS remarks, concessions or furnishings on any sale, re-roof permit dates, the neighborhood assessment, or the title status of any home, and the MLS export has no expired or withdrawn listings. Turnover is about 8.4 recorded sales a year from 2015 through 2025, roughly 7.9% of 106 homes, which the association’s March 2026 minutes describe as about 10% a year. County recording can also run a few weeks behind the deed.
With two active listings, a 96% sale-to-list median and two price bands that barely overlap, the Carousel Cove buyer who arrives with the insurance quote, the roof permit and the board application already in hand negotiates from strength. Start your Carousel Cove buyer consultation with the form on this page, or read how we represent buyers across Southwest Florida. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873. Selling a home first? Get a free Carousel Cove home valuation and Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.
The Carousel Cove home that fits depends on five property facts: manufactured or site-built, built before or after July 13, 1994, heated size, lot position and budget. A manufactured home of 1,100 to 1,600 square feet has recorded $260,000 to $365,000; a site-built home of 1,500 to 1,700 square feet has recorded $460,000 to $468,000.
We describe homes here, not people, and we match each home to the features a buyer says matter. The county roll and the recorded documents give us the following map.
The manufactured homes under 1,200 heated square feet are the entry point: 6 sales in 60 months had a $284,950 median, and the 24-month window includes $260,000 for a 1,192 square foot home built in 1994 and $279,900 for a 1,177 square foot home built in 1996. Three manufactured homes on the roll are under 1,000 square feet. Price them per foot only against each other, since the 865 square foot home recorded $341.04 a foot.
The trade-off is age. A home built in 1994 is right at the wind-standard line, and the HUD data plate decides which side of July 13, 1994 it sits on. Ask for the plate photo and an insurance quote before you fall for the price.
The larger manufactured homes, 1,500 to 1,800 heated square feet, recorded $360,000 to $365,000 in the 24-month window, and one 2,179 square foot home recorded $475,000 in February 2025. On the roll, 52 of the 56 manufactured homes have two bedrooms and only 4 have three, so a third bedroom is rare in this product. If three bedrooms matter, the site-built homes are where they are: 26 of the 50 have them.
The 50 site-built homes were built from 1997 to 2006, plus one dated 2017, with a median heated area of 1,599.5 square feet and a median county just value of $417,313. In 60 months, 11 sold at a $480,000 median from $437,500 to $675,000, and the two most recent sales, $468,000 and $460,000, are both under $470,000. Ten of the 11 were built from 2000 to 2006, so they are built to a Florida Building Code edition, and they qualify for the wind-mitigation credits that Citizens does not extend to mobile homes. Their roofs are still 20 to 26 years old if never replaced, so the roof record matters here too.
The county codes 82 of 106 parcels as land on the golf course, so most homes are golf-course lots and the code alone does not separate them. Over 60 months, 13 manufactured homes on golf lots sold at a $313,000 median against $295,000 on 7 that are not, a gap of $18,000 on small counts, and we do not claim a golf premium from that. Section 7 of the Declaration warns that errant golf balls are a risk of living beside the course, so look at the fairway line, not the label. Golf membership is optional: the course is owned by the master association and open to the public.
Six homes on the roll have a pool, and pools and cages need architectural review board approval. The three pool homes that sold over 60 months had a $547,500 median, but they are site-built homes, so the number reflects the kind of home, not the pool. Ask any seller for the ARB approval and the pool permit.
If the insurance quote is your deciding number, sort your short list by year built and kind before price: the 10 manufactured homes built in 1992 or 1993 are the ones Citizens settles at actual cash value, the 46 built from 1994 to 1999 sit on the replacement-cost side of the 1994 line, and the 50 site-built homes qualify for wind-mitigation credits. Private insurers set their own rules and some decline older manufactured homes, so the quote outranks the label.
Carousel Cove is a leasing setting of limits: whole-home written leases of 30 days to one year, no more than four a calendar year, a tenant household with an occupant aged 55 or older, board approval, and no owner use of the recreation facilities during a lease. It is not a vacation-rental setting, and we do not project rents because none are recorded in the sources we used.
If your priority is | Look first at | Recorded price signal | Check before you offer |
|---|---|---|---|
Lowest entry price | Manufactured homes under 1,200 sq ft | 6 sales in 60 months, $284,950 median | Year built vs July 13, 1994; insurance quote |
More room, one story | Manufactured homes of 1,500 to 1,800 sq ft | $360,000 to $365,000 in 24 months | HUD label, title retirement, roof date |
Three bedrooms | Site-built homes | 7 three-bedroom sales in 60 months, $468,000 median | Roof permit, wind-mitigation report |
Newest construction on the roll | Site-built homes of 2000 to 2006 | 10 sales in 60 months, $474,000 median | Roof date; ARB approvals for additions |
Most negotiating room on price | Any home listed in late summer | 0 county closings July to September in 60 months | Seller’s carrying costs, approval timing |
Owning a Carousel Cove home costs a master assessment of $1,100 for 2026, a neighborhood assessment the association does not publish, property tax, insurance and, at closing, a $2,500 master contribution on most resales plus a $100 approval fee and $42 per person for the background check. The estoppel certificate is where the neighborhood figure appears.
Data updated: September 2026 (Bonita Fairways 2026 budget and recorded amendments, Carousel Cove Declaration, Bylaws and forms, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
Charge | Amount | Who charges it, and the source |
|---|---|---|
Carousel Cove neighborhood regular assessment | Not published | Billed quarterly in advance (Bylaws 6.5); the amount comes from the estoppel certificate, the annual budget (Bylaws 6.3) or the quarterly notice |
Master association assessment, 2026 | $1,100 per home ($964 operating plus $136 reserve), billed $550 twice a year; about $91.67 a month | Bonita Fairways master association, 2026 budget |
Master assessment, earlier years | $932 in 2025; $1,000 in 2023 and 2024 | Master budgets and presentations |
Master resale capital contribution | $2,500, paid by the buyer at closing on most resales | Certificate of Amendment, Instrument 2024000069667, recorded Mar 12, 2024 |
Carousel Cove sale approval fee | $100 to the association plus $42 per person for the background check ($84 for two) | Re-Sale Form Application and Background Check Form |
Carousel Cove lease approval fee | $100 plus $42 per adult; no fee to renew with the same lessee | Lease form, Rev 8-2023 |
Estoppel certificate | Declaration 3.10 says up to $150 within 15 days; Florida Statutes 720.30851 sets 10 business days and a $250 base fee, which our cost reference shows as $299 after inflation adjustment; the statute controls | Declaration 3.10; F.S. 720.30851 |
Mortgagee questionnaire response | Up to $150 plus attorney fees | Association documents |
Extra gate vehicle registration | $30 each for single-family homes | Master gate directory |
Fines | Up to $2,500 for a continuing violation; over $1,000 secured by a lien; 14 days’ hearing notice | Bylaws 8.1 |
We looked for the Carousel Cove regular assessment in the association’s website, posted minutes, forms and welcome packet, and it is not stated in any of them. We do not estimate it. Three documents give the real figure: the estoppel certificate, the annual budget the board approves under Bylaws 6.3, and the quarterly assessment notice. Ask the seller for the latest notice and order the estoppel as soon as you have a contract. Each lot pays an equal 1/109 share under the governing documents, and how the association bills a combined lot is also not published, so put that question in the estoppel request if your home is one of the three combined pairs.
The grounds schedule covers weekly mowing in the growing season and every other week otherwise, edging, weed-free beds, pest control, palms and ornamental trees up to 12 feet, yard lights and mailbox structures, the common area, insurance and storm reserves. You pay for the home, its roof and windows, the driveway, any pool and cage, the air conditioning, plumbing and any trees over 12 feet. The March 11, 2026 minutes report about $31,423.53 in the operating account and $9,341.61 in reserves, which is the scale of a small association. Assessments are delinquent after 10 days and accrue interest after 15. We found no neighborhood special assessment in the posted minutes from 2022 to 2026 and no neighborhood-level capital contribution, but the board may impose one under Bylaws 6.6, so ask in writing.
The master association’s March 2024 amendment requires a $2,500 contribution from the buyer of a home in Bonita Fairways. The recorded notice exempts a spouse or co-owner, an inheritance, an estate-planning trust, a foreclosure by the lender or the association, an owner who sells one Bonita Fairways home and buys another within a year, and a first purchase directly from Home Dynamics or Cedar Green Homes. The builder exemption does not reach Carousel Cove, because the county file shows no builder-direct sales here. A typical resale buyer therefore pays it, and we write the payment into the offer so it is never a surprise at the table.
This is an illustration, not a quote. It uses the $360,000 county median for the 24 months to September 29, 2026, a 20% down payment, a 30-year fixed loan at three illustrative rates that are not today’s rate, the 2026 proposed millage and the $1,100 master assessment. Check Freddie Mac’s weekly survey and your lender for the actual rate.
Line at a $360,000 purchase | Monthly amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
Principal and interest on a $288,000 loan at 6.0% | $1,726.71 | Standard amortization, 360 payments |
Principal and interest at 6.5% | $1,820.36 | Same loan |
Principal and interest at 7.0% | $1,916.07 | Same loan |
Property tax with homestead | $341.32 | $4,095.85 a year, guide example below |
Property tax without homestead | $384.65 | $4,615.81 a year |
Master assessment | $91.67 | $1,100 a year |
Neighborhood assessment | Not published | Estoppel, budget or quarterly notice |
Homeowner and wind insurance | Get a written quote | Depends on kind, year built and roof |
Flood insurance | Optional in Zone X unless a lender requires it | Get a quote |
The lines we can price add up to $2,253.35 a month at 6.5% with homestead ($1,820.36 plus $341.32 plus $91.67) and $2,296.68 without it ($1,820.36 plus $384.65 plus $91.67). The neighborhood assessment, insurance, utilities and maintenance come on top, and the insurance line can be the largest swing for a manufactured home built before 1994. We do not print an insurance premium because none is recorded in the sources we used.
Check the Amended and Restated Declaration recorded May 10, 2013, the Bylaws and Articles, the 2006 and 2008 amendments, the plat, the master Declaration, the estoppel certificate, the latest quarterly notice, the minutes and the ARB form. Carousel Cove is a homeowners’ association, so Florida Statutes 720.401 requires the seller to give you the governing documents and a disclosure summary before you are bound.
Data updated: September 2026 (Lee County Clerk records, Carousel Cove association website and Florida Statutes 720.401, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
Section 720.401 requires a resale contract in a homeowners’ association to say, in conspicuous type, that it is voidable by the buyer if the disclosure summary was not provided before signing. The buyer may cancel by written notice within 3 days after receiving the summary or before closing, whichever comes first, and the right cannot be waived. We did not confirm whether the recorded Declaration restates this duty, and the statute applies either way. We check the package the moment it arrives, so the three days never run out by accident.
Instrument | Record | What it does |
|---|---|---|
Original Declaration | O.R. Book 2872, Page 2961 (recorded Sept 30, 1997) | Creates the neighborhood; not posted online |
Master Declaration | O.R. Book 2872, Page 2887 | Bonita Fairways master covenants |
Plat | Plat Book 60, pages 13 to 15 | 104 lots |
Certificate of Amendment | Instrument 2006000456178 (Dec 7, 2006) | 2006 amendment |
Amendment | Instrument 2008000078237 (Mar 25, 2008) | Lots 104 to 109; five parcels annexed; 23.24 acres |
Amended and Restated Declaration “(An Over 55 Community)” | Instrument 2013000110712 (adopted Apr 26, 2013; recorded May 10, 2013; 61 pages) | Current governing text, including Section 8.15 |
Restated Articles | Filed May 15, 2013 | Corporate charter |
Special Warranty Deed, entrance tract | Instrument 2017000188205 (Aug 31, 2017) | Entrance parcel belongs to the master association |
The file the association posts as “Declaration 1997” is in fact the restated 2013 text. The association’s Rules and Regulations page is empty and the board says the rules are being updated. The March 2025 minutes mention a possible reduction of the board from five to three members, and the March 2026 minutes a re-recording of the Declaration under Florida’s Marketable Record Title Act; the Declaration’s own renewal date is January 1, 2043.
Under Section 8.7 a home must have at least 1,000 square feet of living area and be a single story, and any roof repair or replacement needs ARB approval, in architectural shingle, metal or tile. Under 8.10(G) no fences are allowed. Driveways must be at least 16 feet wide (12 feet for a one-car garage) under 8.12. Window and wall air-conditioning units are barred, and new split units are allowed only on rear lanais under 8.13. The Declaration has no shutter clause. Boats, ATVs, golf carts, trailers, RVs and commercial vehicles may not stay outside a garage more than 24 hours, two vehicles may be in the driveway, and there is no overnight street parking. Owners may post two For Sale, For Rent or Open House signs of 4 square feet each.
Under Section 9 the owner insures the home “including all risk, flood, liability,” and the association does not insure homes. After a casualty, rebuilding must start within 90 days and finish within nine months (9.3 and 9.4). A lender and an insurer both need to respect that clock, and it is one reason the insurance quote comes before the offer.
The estoppel is the association’s written statement of what is owed on the home and what has been levied. The seller customarily pays for it in Lee County, but you should read it. Ask it to show the neighborhood assessment and its billing date, any unpaid balance, any special assessment levied or under discussion, any fines or violations on the home, and how a combined lot is billed. The estoppel lists only what has been levied, so ask the board separately, in writing, whether a special assessment is being discussed.
A lender asks for the estoppel, the association’s budget and, for a manufactured home, the HUD data plate or label photos and proof the home is real property. An insurer asks for the roof date first, then a wind-mitigation report and a four-point inspection. Ordering these in the first days of the contract is the difference between a smooth closing and a scramble against the board’s 20-day clock.
Every Carousel Cove buyer needs the board’s written approval before closing under Section 11 of the Declaration, and the buyer household must document the occupancy the recorded Declaration requires: at least one occupant aged 55 or older, with age verification. The buyer gives at least 20 days’ notice, and the board decides within 20 days of a complete package.
Data updated: September 2026 (Amended and Restated Declaration Sections 8.15 and 11, Re-Sale Form Application Rev 12-2022, 24 CFR 100.304 and Florida Statutes 760.29, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
Section 8.15 of the Amended and Restated Declaration, titled “An Over 55 Community,” invokes the Fair Housing Act of 1988, the Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995 and 24 CFR 100.304. As recorded, it sets these rules:
We state the rule the way the Declaration states it, and we describe the home and the recorded rule, not the people. Federal law exempts qualifying housing for older persons from the familial-status rules at 24 CFR 100.304 to 100.307, and Florida Statutes 760.29(4) carries the exemption into state law. A buyer who has a question about a particular household should read Section 8.15 and put the question to the association in writing before writing an offer.
Because notice is due 20 days before closing and the board may take 20 days from a complete package, a closing in under three weeks is not practical unless the board acts early. We write an approval contingency into the offer so you can reset without penalty if the board disapproves, and we set the closing date around the approval window, not the other way around. A cash buyer skips the lender’s appraisal and insurance steps but not the board’s.
The Declaration permits ownership by one natural person, spouses, co-owners with a designated primary occupant, trusts and entities with a designated primary occupant, and a life estate. It exists to bar short-term transient accommodations and fractional ownership. If you plan to buy in a trust or an entity, tell us at the start so the designated occupant is named correctly in the application.
Registration is due within 5 days under 8.15(J), and additional occupants must be 55 or older or exempt under 8.15(K). An owner must notify the association of an absence longer than six months under 8.15(L). Relatives and guests may stay 15 consecutive days or 30 days a year when the occupant is present, or 15 consecutive days or 60 days a year when the occupant is absent, with registration. The printed Guest Form shows only the 15-day limit, so confirm a long stay with the office. The remedies in 8.15(I) are an injunction and eviction, with attorney’s fees to the association if it prevails, so the rule should not be treated as a technicality.
Carousel Cove allows leasing only under Section 10: a written whole-home lease of 30 days to one year to a natural person, no more than four a calendar year, a tenant household with an occupant aged 55 or older, and board approval on 20 days’ notice. It allows up to three pets, at most two dogs, with no weight or breed limit in the Declaration.
Data updated: September 2026 (Carousel Cove Declaration Sections 8.3 and 10, Lease Form Rev 8-2023 and master rules, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
Rule | What the Declaration and lease form say |
|---|---|
Form of lease | Written, whole home, natural-person tenant |
Length | Minimum 30 days, maximum 1 year |
Number per year | No more than 4 leases per calendar year |
Spacing | At least 30 days between the first days of consecutive leases |
Renewal and sublease | No renewal option, no sublease |
Hardship | One hardship lease per year |
Occupancy | At least one tenant aged 55 or older |
Notice | At least 20 days before occupancy |
Board decision | 10 days; silence is approval; disapproval needs a majority of the whole board on 11 listed grounds |
Fees | $100 plus $42 per adult; none to renew with the same lessee |
Guests in a leased home | 2 persons for 10 days, once per lease |
Pets | One dog or cat if the lease allows |
An owner may not use the recreation or parking facilities during a lease (10.6), the association may collect rent directly from the tenant if the owner is delinquent (10.10), and an unapproved lease is void (10.9). The master association’s rules also set a 30-day minimum and prohibit short-term rentals, so the two layers agree.
Section 8.3 allows no more than three pets in a home, at most two of them dogs, and fish in reasonable numbers. Pets must be carried or leashed outdoors, and reptiles, monkeys, rodents, amphibians, poultry, swine, rabbits, ferrets and livestock are not allowed. Breeding or boarding animals for money is not allowed. Pets are barred from the golf course. The parent Bonita Fairways guidance that pets are not allowed in leased homes does not describe Carousel Cove, whose lease form allows one dog or cat if the lease allows it.
No fences are allowed under Section 8.10(G). A pool, cage or enclosure needs ARB approval, and the ARB has 30 days to review a request and approved work must be finished within 180 days. Golf carts may not stay outside a garage more than 24 hours, so a buyer with a cart needs the garage space, and the Declaration sizes garages for up to three cars.
A buyer should check five things on a Carousel Cove manufactured home before offering: the HUD data plate and year built, whether the title was retired into the land, what a lender will finance, what insurance costs and pays, and the roof record. Fifty-six of the 106 homes are manufactured, and each answer changes the price you should pay.
Data updated: September 2026 (Florida Statutes, HUD, Fannie Mae, Citizens Property Insurance and the Lee County Property Appraiser roll, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
The county codes 56 Carousel Cove parcels as manufactured homes and 50 as site-built. All 56 were built from 1992 to 1999 to the federal HUD Code, 24 CFR Part 3280, not the Florida Building Code, and each sits on a lot the owner owns outright. Price them against manufactured sales, which recorded a $315,000 median on 9 sales in the 24 months, not against the site-built homes.
Lee County is in HUD Wind Zone III, designed for 110 mph under 24 CFR 3280.305, and Florida’s rule at Fla. Admin. Code 15C-1.01031 sets the standard for homes built after July 13, 1994. In Carousel Cove, 10 manufactured homes were built in 1992 or 1993, 8 in 1994 and 38 from 1995 to 1999. The HUD data plate inside the home settles which side of the line a 1994 home is on.
Florida Statutes 319.261 lets an owner retire a manufactured home’s motor-vehicle-style title so the home passes by deed with the land. We did not check title status home by home, so the title agent should confirm it was retired and that the deed and mortgage cover both, because a home still carrying its own title is financed and insured differently.
FHA guidance requires a permanent foundation, the HUD label and a mortgage that includes the site, and Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide B2-3-02 asks for photos of the data plate or certification label. Lender overlays on year built and size vary, and we did not research individual programs, so we do not say any loan is available. Ask your lender about the year and the label before you offer.
Citizens’ mobile-home form settles pre-1994 homes at actual cash value, which is replacement cost less depreciation, and gives 1994 and later homes replacement cost on the building. Citizens offers no wind-mitigation credits for mobile homes. The price record shows no age discount to offset it: manufactured homes built before 1994 recorded a $339,500 median on 4 sales in the 60 months, against $292,500 on 16 sales for 1994 and later, so the cost of an older home shows up in the insurance, not the price. Private insurers set their own rules, and some decline older homes, so get a written quote first.
Fla. Admin. Code 15C-2.0081 treats a roof-over as an addition that must be free-standing unless engineered otherwise, and Declaration Section 8.7 requires ARB approval for any roof work. Ask the seller for:
Carousel Cove is almost entirely in FEMA Zone X: 101 of 102 emergency-address points fall in Zone X and one in coastal Zone AE, and every Bonita Fairways address is in Lee County evacuation Zone A. We do not quote a premium, because none of our sources publishes one for a Carousel Cove home, so the quotes below are yours to collect.
Data updated: September 2026 (FEMA flood map service, Lee County GIS, National Hurricane Center and USGS, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
The community is on FEMA panel 12071C0656G, effective November 17, 2022. At building level, 100 of 101 platted homes are centered in Zone X and nine footprints touch the AE edge, and about 4.1% of the neighborhood polygon is coastal AE. The one address point in Zone AE sits on Bonita Fairways Circle with a base flood elevation of 9 feet NAVD88.
Evacuation zones follow storm surge risk, not FEMA flood zones, so a home can be in Zone X and evacuation Zone A at once, as Carousel Cove is. The National Hurricane Center’s surge planning maps show no surge at 65 of the 101 buildings and under 3 feet at 36 in a Category 1 storm, more than 3 feet in Category 2, more than 6 feet in Category 3 and more than 9 feet in Category 4 or 5. Those are worst-case planning scenarios, not forecasts.
County LiDAR gives a 10.26-foot median ground elevation across 395 points, and the National Hurricane Center puts Ian’s inundation at 8 to 12 feet above ground in Bonita Springs. USGS high-water marks near the neighborhood run from 8.7 to 9.0 feet NAVD88. A point mark does not settle what reached one home, and we found no association-specific Ian impact record.
Get a wind quote and a flood quote on each home you like. A Zone X home has no federal mortgage flood requirement, yet Ian showed that surge ignores map lines, the Declaration tells owners to insure against flood, and the City of Bonita Springs takes part in FEMA’s Community Rating System. Wind price turns on the roof year, and a 1992 to 1997 roof, if never replaced, is 29 to 34 years old.
The City of Bonita Springs issues Carousel Cove building permits, and the permit record is where a roof date, an air-conditioning change-out or a window replacement is proven. We did not query the city’s permit portal for this edition, so we state no permit counts or dates for any home, and we show you how to pull them.
Insurers ask for the roof date first, and 65 of the 106 homes predate the 2002 Florida Building Code. The permit record is the fastest way to separate a replaced roof from an original one. The ARB form still names the Lee County Building Department, which is out of date because the City, incorporated December 31, 1999, now governs permitting.
Search the city’s permit self-service portal by address. Ask the seller for the permit numbers and dates of the roof, air conditioner, water heater and any windows or enclosures, then confirm each on the portal. We pull the record for any home you are considering, and a free valuation request starts that conversation.
Exterior work needs the association’s approval first, and work must finish within 180 days of approval. A seller who did work without ARB approval should sort that out before listing.
Carousel Cove is in Bonita Springs tax district 017, where the 2026 proposed millage is 12.8217. At the $360,000 median that is about $4,616 a year without homestead and $4,096 with it, before the $1,100 master assessment, the unpublished neighborhood fee and insurance. Your bill will differ from the seller’s, because purchase resets the assessed value.
Data updated: September 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser 2026 proposed millage for tax district 017, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
This illustration sets taxable value equal to price, uses the typical $51,411 exemption on the non-school portion and $25,000 on the school portion, and takes the 24-month county medians for manufactured, all homes and site-built.
Line | $315,000 | $360,000 | $464,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
Tax without homestead, at 12.8217 mills | $4,038.84 | $4,615.81 | $5,949.27 |
Tax with homestead | $3,518.87 | $4,095.85 | $5,429.30 |
Homestead tax per month | $293.24 | $341.32 | $452.44 |
Homestead tax plus $1,100 master assessment | $4,618.87 | $5,195.85 | $6,529.30 |
By Lee County custom the seller pays the deed’s documentary stamps, which are $2,520 on a $360,000 sale at $0.70 per $100, plus the owner’s title policy and the estoppel. The buyer pays the recording fee, the lender’s policy and, on a $288,000 loan (80% of $360,000), $1,008 in note and mortgage stamps at $0.35 per $100 and $576 in intangible tax at $0.002 per dollar. Add the $2,500 master contribution unless exempt, the $100 approval fee and $42 per adult for the background check.
The county’s assessed value of a long-held homestead is capped and usually well below market. Your taxes reset to market value on January 1 of the year after purchase, and about half the neighborhood’s owners carry an exemption, so expect a jump from the seller’s bill. File with the Lee County Property Appraiser by March 1 if this is your permanent home. A statewide homestead amendment is on the November 3, 2026 ballot, so watch the result.
Since August 17, 2024, a Florida buyer working with an agent signs a written agreement before touring a home, and the agreement states the agent’s pay, which is negotiable and not set by law. A Carousel Cove seller may still offer a concession toward your costs, but not through the MLS, and we ask on every home.
Data updated: September 2026 (National Association of REALTORS settlement guidance and Florida Realtors contract forms, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
The NAR guide to written buyer agreements requires the compensation to be stated as an objectively ascertainable amount, and offers of compensation can no longer appear on the MLS, per the NAR settlement FAQs. We explain the agreement in plain words before you sign, and we negotiate any seller contribution inside the offer.
Most Southwest Florida purchases use the Florida Realtors and Florida Bar AS IS contract, which lets buyer and seller allocate each closing cost and sets the inspection period. In Carousel Cove that period is where an original roof, a pre-1994 data plate or a missing ARB approval gets priced.
Every Carousel Cove address is in the School District of Lee County’s South Zone 3, with elementary Zone Q and middle Zone GG. Families rank schools on a choice application and are placed by lottery, so the zone mainly sets which schools come with bus service. Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts is about two minutes from the clubhouse.
Data updated: September 2026 (School District of Lee County 2026-27 school locator and Florida Department of Education school grades, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
We tested ten points across Bonita Fairways in the district’s own locator, and every point returned the same zones. Call Student Enrollment at (239) 337-8247 before you rely on a listing’s school fields, which are often ZIP-level. Who may live in a home is a Section 8.15 question, covered in the 55+ section above.
School | Level | 2026 state grade | Approx. drive from the clubhouse |
|---|---|---|---|
Bonita Springs Elementary | Elementary | C | 2.0 mi, about 6 min |
Spring Creek Elementary | Elementary | B | 2.9 mi, about 7 min |
Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts | Middle | B | 0.7 mi, about 2 min |
Three Oaks Middle | Middle | A | 11.7 mi, about 20 min |
Bonita Springs High | High | B | 5.1 mi, about 11 min |
Estero High | High | B | 7.7 mi, about 15 min |
Drive times are approximate free-flow figures on OpenStreetMap roads from the clubhouse area on Sammoset Way, and they run longer in season.
Daily life in Carousel Cove runs through an unmanned gate with an RFID sticker and a call box, a one-way loop on Bonita Fairways Circle, Landfall Place and Sammoset Way, Tuesday trash pickup and a two-vehicle driveway rule. Downtown Bonita Springs, Publix and Interstate 75 are 4 to 9 minutes from the clubhouse area.
Data updated: September 2026 (Carousel Cove Welcome Packet of May 2026, gate documents and OpenStreetMap routing, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
Owners use an RFID headlight sticker and visitors use the call box; single-family homes may register additional vehicles at $30 each. A May 2026 board letter calls the counterclockwise one-way scheme “completed and approved,” and an 8-foot walkway runs beside it, but a November 2022 minute records that the City had earlier “revoked approval for one-way street,” so ask about the history. Two vehicles may park in the driveway, there is no overnight street parking, and boats, trailers, RVs and golf carts may not stay outside a garage more than 24 hours.
Destination | Approx. distance | Approx. drive |
|---|---|---|
Riverside Park and the Old 41 downtown | 1.4 mi | 4 min |
Publix, Bonita Bay Plaza | 1.3 mi | 4 min |
Interstate 75, Exit 116 | 3.8 mi | 9 min |
Bonita Beach Park | 5.1 mi | 11 min |
Coconut Point, Estero | 5.7 mi | 11 min |
Downtown Naples | 15.9 mi | 29 min |
Season traffic from December to April can add 20 to 50 percent.
The nearest full-service hospital is NCH North Hospital in North Naples, about 15 minutes away. Closer emergency care is at the NCH freestanding emergency department on South Tamiami Trail, about 9 minutes, and Lee Health Coconut Point, about 11 minutes.
Carousel Cove and Natura are the two single-family neighborhoods in Bonita Fairways, and they differ on age, price, occupancy rules, flood exposure and control. Carousel Cove is older, with a $360,000 county median on 11 sales in 24 months and a 55+ Declaration, while Natura is newer, with a $486,250 12-month median on 10 sales.
Data updated: September 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser, Southwest Florida MLS and recorded documents, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
Criterion | Carousel Cove | Natura |
|---|---|---|
Product | 106 one-story homes, 56 manufactured and 50 site-built | 329 single-family patio homes and villas |
Year built | 1992 to 2006, plus one 2017 | 2016 to 2025; roofs 1 to 10 years old |
County median | $360,000 (24 months, 11 sales) | $486,250 (12 months, 10 sales) |
MLS days on market and sale-to-list | 15 days and 96.0% (24 months, 11 sales) | 144 days and 97.9% (24 months, 17 sales) |
County price per sq ft | $243.49 (12 months, 4 sales) | $234.97 (12 months, 10 sales) |
Occupancy rule | 55+ Declaration, Section 8.15 | No age restriction found in the documents reviewed |
Governance | Resident board of five | Developer-controlled HOA |
Flood exposure | 100 of 101 platted homes centered in Zone X | 152 of 222 footprints in riverine Zone AE |
Construction | 56 HUD Code homes; 50 built to the code of their permit year | Florida Building Code, 2014 to 2023 editions |
Sale approval | Board approval of every sale and lease | Not found in the sources we used |
On the 12-month county windows the price per square foot is close, so the roughly $123,750 gap in medians is mostly a size and age gap.
Choose Carousel Cove to spend about $125,000 less at the median on a one-story home with lawn care included, if you accept the 55+ rule and a board that approves every sale and are ready to insure and inspect a 1990s or 2000s home. Choose Natura for a newer roof and code, no age rule in the documents we reviewed and a larger home, if you accept a developer-controlled association and a flood-map footprint that touches Zone AE. Read the Natura buyer page and the Natura neighborhood guide, then call Marc at (239) 287-5873 if you are undecided.
Carousel Cove is the only age-restricted, one-story, fee-simple neighborhood of the six inside the Bonita Fairways gate. At a $360,000 county median on 11 sales in 24 months it sits between the condominiums, which start near $300,000, and Natura at $486,250, and each neighborhood below is linked to its own guide.
Data updated: September 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser recorded sales and Southwest Florida MLS, retrieved 29 Sep 2026).
Neighborhood | Product | County window, sales, median | MLS 24 months: sales, median |
|---|---|---|---|
Carousel Cove (this page) | 106 one-story homes, 55+ | 24 months, 11 sales, $360,000 | 11 sales, $315,000 |
Natura | 329 patio homes and villas | 12 months, 10 sales, $486,250 | 17 sales, $472,500 |
142 two-bedroom condominiums | 24 months, 15 sales, $312,500 | 12 sales, $323,750 | |
134 two-bedroom condominiums | 24 months, 12 sales, $327,450 | 13 sales, $325,000 | |
75 condominium units, built 2024 | 24 months, 55 sales, $399,420 | 27 sales, $411,860 | |
68 two-story condominium units | 36 months, 10 sales, $358,750 | 6 sales, $342,000 |
Each county window is the first one with ten or more sales, and Botanika’s 55 sales include 48 builder-direct closings, so its resales alone ($320,000 on 7 sales) are the fairer read. A condominium, a patio home and a manufactured home are different products, so read the rows as a map, not a ranking.
For the whole gate, read the Bonita Fairways neighborhood guide and the Bonita Fairways buyer page. For the wider city, see our Bonita Springs buyer page and, for another gated Bonita Springs golf community, our Hunters Ridge guide.
Buying in Carousel Cove offers a one-story home on your own lot with lawn care included and a $360,000 county median, at the cost of board approval on every sale, a 55+ occupancy rule, older roofs and manufactured-home insurance questions. Here is the honest list, drawn from the record and not from a brochure.
To see Carousel Cove homes for sale, search current listings on our site or on DomainRealtyGroup.com, then send us your favorites; we pull the county roll card, the insurance and title questions and the board file before you tour, the way Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 work a thin market. On September 29, 2026 the MLS showed 2 active listings at $299,000 and $349,500 and none pending.
Save a Carousel Cove search for alerts and ask us for the MLS read on each home: in the 24 months to September 29, 2026, 11 MLS sales had a 15-day median on the market and a 96.0% sale-to-list ratio. With so few listings, an alert is how you see the next home first, and our Carousel Cove neighborhood guide holds the background for each one.
You get a personalized Carousel Cove buyer consultation from McGreevy and Comisar, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, by using the buyer form on this page or by calling Marc Comisar at (239) 287-5873. Tell us your budget, timing and whether a manufactured or site-built home suits you, and we send the homes that fit with their recorded sales and the documents to request.
We start with the home kind, the year built and the roof, because those decide most of the price and the insurance. Then we map your budget to the 11 recorded sales, check that you can meet the 55+ rule and the board application, and list the documents your lender and insurer will ask for.
Start your Carousel Cove buyer consultation with the form on this page, or read how we represent buyers. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or talk to Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.
If you need to sell to buy, read how we sell Carousel Cove homes and get a free Carousel Cove home valuation, so the sale and purchase line up. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.
Seasonal buyers in Carousel Cove should plan for a home left empty for months: the neighborhood association mows the lawns, but you own the roof, air conditioning and everything inside, the gate is unmanned, and leasing is allowed only to board-approved 55+ tenants for 30 days to a year, four times a year at most.
Every home has an attached garage for a car or golf cart left behind, and carts may not sit outside it more than 24 hours. Before you leave, set a water shut-off routine, a humidity plan and a caretaker who is registered at the gate, and ask how the association handles storm prep for homes whose owners are away.
In the 60 months to September 29, 2026 the county recorded no Carousel Cove sale from July through September, and 9 of 31 sales closed in February, so a summer buyer meets fewer rivals and a winter buyer meets more. Read the leverage months in the market section above.
Florida title companies routinely close by remote online notarization or mail-away signing; confirm wire instructions by phone, never from an email alone. The board application and the age verification still apply to you. A Canadian or other foreign buyer should plan ownership with a cross-border tax adviser, since a later sale generally faces FIRPTA withholding unless an exemption or certificate applies.
Marc Comisar is a top-reviewed Carousel Cove buyer’s agent and Jesse McGreevy is a top-reviewed Bonita Springs realtor; every review below is copied from our Google Business Profile. They are how Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 are measured in practice: by the clients who closed with us.
★★★★★ “He was quick to respond with any questions about the purchase of our new home and made sure everything went smoothly! We highly recommend him as an agent!” Verified Google review
★★★★★ “Jesse listened to what we were looking for and found us exactly what we wanted. Jesse was always available to answer any questions and helped us through the entire process.” Verified Google review
★★★★★ “So knowledgeable! You can tell they truly have a high level of expertise and were incredibly professional from start to finish.” Verified Google review
★★★★★ “Their attention to detail communication and dedication was known the moment we spoke. Would highly recommend.” Verified Google review
Carousel Cove is a 106-home neighborhood of one-story homes inside the gated Bonita Fairways golf community in Bonita Springs. It is a Chapter 720 homeowners’ association, not a condominium, and each owner holds fee-simple title to the lot. Its Declaration, restated in 2013, makes it an over-55 community.
There are 106 homes: 56 manufactured homes built from 1992 to 1999 and 50 site-built homes built from 1997 to 2006, plus one dated 2017. The plat lists 109 lots, so the two counts differ, and you should confirm any lot you are considering.
Both. Fifty-six are manufactured to the federal HUD Code and 50 are site-built to the Florida Building Code of their permit year. They sell in different bands: in the last 24 months manufactured homes recorded a $315,000 median on 9 sales and site-built homes $464,000 on 2.
Yes. Section 8.15 of the recorded Declaration requires at least one occupant aged 55 or older, with age verification, and limits additional occupants. We describe the recorded rule, not the people, and a question about a particular household belongs with the association, in writing.
Yes. Section 11 requires the board’s written approval before closing. You give at least 20 days’ notice, submit the application with the $100 fee and the background check, and the board decides within 20 days of a complete package. We write an approval contingency into the offer.
Plan on at least three weeks. Notice is due 20 days before closing, and the board has 20 days from a complete package, capped at 60 days from notice, so a closing in under three weeks is not practical unless the board acts early.
In the 24 months to September 29, 2026 the county recorded 11 sales from $260,000 to $475,000 at a $360,000 median. Manufactured homes had a $315,000 median on 9 sales and site-built homes $464,000 on 2. Two homes are listed now, at $299,000 and $349,500.
The MLS shows a 15-day median on the market and a 96.0% sale-to-list ratio for 11 sales in 24 months, and 13 days at 96.1% for 3 sales in 12 months. Those are small counts, so treat them as a guide and not a forecast.
The master Bonita Fairways assessment is $1,100 for 2026. The Carousel Cove neighborhood assessment, which pays for lawn care and grounds, is not published in the sources we found, so ask for the budget and the estoppel before you offer. The buyer also pays a $2,500 master contribution unless exempt.
The master association’s March 2024 amendment charges the buyer of a Bonita Fairways home $2,500. It exempts a spouse or co-owner, an inheritance, an estate-planning trust, a foreclosure, and an owner who sells one Bonita Fairways home and buys another within a year. A typical resale buyer pays it.
Yes. Under Florida Statutes 720.401 a buyer may cancel within 3 days of receiving the disclosure summary or before closing, whichever comes first, and the right cannot be waived. A resale contract must say so in conspicuous type.
Almost entirely Zone X: 101 of 102 emergency-address points are in Zone X and one is in coastal Zone AE. At building level 100 of 101 platted homes are centered in Zone X and nine footprints touch the AE edge. Get a flood quote anyway, since Hurricane Ian ignored map lines.
Yes. All Bonita Fairways addresses are in Lee County evacuation Zone A, the first zone told to leave. Evacuation zones follow storm surge risk, not FEMA flood zones, so a home can be in Zone X and Zone A at once.
Get a written quote before you offer. Citizens settles pre-1994 mobile homes at actual cash value, not replacement cost, and offers no wind-mitigation credits for mobile homes. Ten Carousel Cove homes were built in 1992 or 1993. We quote no premium because none is published.
Possibly, and it depends on the lender. FHA and Fannie Mae both require the HUD label or data plate and treat the home as real estate on its site. Lender overlays on year built and size vary and we did not research programs, so ask a lender about the year first.
Usually, once the owner retires the home’s title under Florida Statutes 319.261 so the home passes by deed with the land. We did not check title status home by home, so have the title agent confirm the retirement and that the deed and mortgage cover both.
Homes built after July 13, 1994 meet Florida’s stronger HUD wind standard. Ten Carousel Cove manufactured homes were built in 1992 or 1993, 8 in 1994 and 38 from 1995 to 1999. The HUD data plate shows which side of the line a 1994 home falls on.
Within limits. Leases must be written, from 30 days to one year, no more than four a calendar year, to a household with an occupant aged 55 or older, with board approval. Short-term rentals are not allowed, and an unapproved lease is void.
Section 8.3 allows no more than three pets, at most two of them dogs, and pets must be leashed or carried outdoors. Reptiles, monkeys, rodents, poultry, swine, rabbits, ferrets and livestock are not allowed, and pets are barred from the golf course.
No fences are allowed under Section 8.10(G). A pool, cage or enclosure needs ARB approval, which the ARB decides within 30 days, and approved work must be finished within 180 days.
Yes, if you have garage space. Carts may not stay outside a garage more than 24 hours, and the Declaration sizes garages for up to three cars. Two vehicles may park in the driveway, and there is no overnight street parking.
Golf is optional. Master-association membership gives you the clubhouse, pool and courts, and owners get 10% off the daily golf rate. The county codes 82 of 106 parcels as land on the golf course, and Section 7 of the Declaration warns about errant golf balls.
At the 2026 proposed millage of 12.8217, a home bought at $360,000 owes about $4,616 a year without homestead and $4,096 with it. Add the $1,100 master assessment, the unpublished neighborhood fee and insurance.
Yes. Your assessed value resets to market on January 1 of the year after purchase, so expect a jump from the seller’s bill if the seller held a long-term homestead. File with the Lee County Property Appraiser by March 1 if this is your permanent home.
Beyond the down payment, budget the $2,500 contribution, the $100 board fee, $42 per adult for the background check and, on a $288,000 loan, $1,008 in mortgage stamps and $576 in intangible tax. By local custom the seller pays deed stamps and the owner’s title policy.
It is negotiable. Since August 17, 2024 Florida buyers sign a written agreement stating the agent’s pay, and offers of compensation can no longer appear on the MLS. A seller may still offer a concession toward your costs, and we ask on every home.
Yes, before you tour a home with an agent. The agreement must state the compensation as an objectively ascertainable amount. We explain it in plain words first, and you can call Marc at (239) 287-5873 before you sign anything.
All addresses are in South Zone 3, elementary Zone Q and middle Zone GG, and families rank schools on a choice application. Bonita Springs Middle Center for the Arts is about two minutes away. Call Student Enrollment at (239) 337-8247 for placement.
Bonita Beach Park is 5.1 miles and about 11 minutes away, and Coconut Point is 5.7 miles and about 11 minutes. Season traffic from December to April can add 20 to 50 percent.
Southwest Florida International Airport is about 18 to 21 miles and about 30 minutes away, and Interstate 75 at Exit 116 is 3.8 miles and about 9 minutes away.
NCH North Hospital in North Naples is the nearest full-service hospital, about 15 minutes away. Closer emergency care is at the NCH freestanding emergency department on South Tamiami Trail, about 9 minutes, and Lee Health Coconut Point, about 11 minutes.
Natura is newer, larger and pricier: a $486,250 12-month county median on 10 sales, against $360,000 on 11 sales in 24 months for Carousel Cove. Natura shows no age rule in the documents we reviewed and has a developer-controlled HOA. The decision table above sets them side by side.
Yes, with planning. The association mows the lawns, but you own the roof, air conditioning and interior, and the gate is unmanned. Set a water shut-off routine, register a caretaker at the gate, and remember the board application and age verification apply to you.
What we do is read the Declaration, price manufactured and site-built homes separately from the county record, and walk the board application with you.
No. There is no community development district, so the 12.8217 millage in tax district 017 is the whole ad valorem levy. The master and neighborhood assessments are billed separately.
Use the buyer form on this page or call Marc at (239) 287-5873. If you need to sell first, call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. We send the homes that fit, with their recorded sales and the documents to request.
A Carousel Cove specialist knows which homes are manufactured, which side of the 1994 line each falls on, what the two associations charge, how the board approves a sale and what the recorded sales say about your kind of home. That knowledge turns a Carousel Cove list price into a fair offer.
Our office is at 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101 in Bonita Springs, a short drive from the Bonita Fairways gate. McGreevy and Comisar, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, bring the same county-record discipline to every purchase we negotiate.
Our guides to selling a Carousel Cove home and what your Carousel Cove home is worth explain how we time a sale and a purchase together. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. The Carousel Cove neighborhood guide covers the history and documents in depth.
If you are searching for the best buyer’s agent in Carousel Cove at Bonita Fairways, McGreevy and Comisar, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, represent buyers across Southwest Florida. As the leaders of Domain Realty Group, our team has closed over $2.5 billion in real estate, and McGreevy and Comisar alone have over $900 million in personal sales.
Carousel Cove record, last 24 months: the county recorded 11 qualified resales at a $360,000 median, per Lee County Property Appraiser sales data read September 29, 2026.
Use the buyer form on this page, return to the Carousel Cove buyer consultation section, or read how we represent buyers. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or talk to Jesse direct: (239) 898-6072. Selling first? Get your free Carousel Cove home valuation.
Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar of McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group from 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101 in Bonita Springs, and they read the Carousel Cove Declaration, the county roll and every recorded sale first. Meet Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, or read about McGreevy and Comisar.
Jesse McGreevy (Sales Associate) and Marc Comisar (Broker Associate) are licensed Florida REALTORS with Domain Realty; licensure is regulated by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC). Florida DBPR license numbers: Jesse McGreevy SL3101296, Marc Comisar BK3060671. Verify a license with the Florida DBPR license search.
Follow our Southwest Florida sales on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group, a full-service Southwest Florida real estate team; learn more at DomainRealtyGroup.com. See how we represent buyers or contact us.
Every figure on this page traces to the primary sources below: county, city, state and federal records, recorded Carousel Cove instruments and the associations’ own documents. We read them between 24 and 29 September 2026, and we cite no brokerage or listing site.
These are the recorded documents, forms and statutes a Carousel Cove buyer is most likely to need, each linked to the source that issues it.
Document | Issued by | What it covers | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
Amended and Restated Declaration, An Over 55 Community (recorded May 10, 2013) | Carousel Cove Homeowners Association | Section 8.15 occupancy, Section 10 leasing, Section 11 sales, pets, architecture | |
Re-Sale Form Application (Rev 12-2022) | Carousel Cove Homeowners Association | Buyer application, age verification, $100 fee | |
Carousel Cove Lease Form (Rev 8-2023) | Carousel Cove Homeowners Association | Lease terms, 55+ tenant, fees, pets | |
Architectural Review Board form (2026) | Carousel Cove Homeowners Association | Roof, paint, driveway, pool and enclosure approvals | |
Carousel Cove Welcome Packet (May 2026) | Carousel Cove Homeowners Association | Gate, trash, traffic and daily rules | |
Certificate of Amendment, Resale Capital Contribution (recorded March 12, 2024) | Bonita Fairways Community Association | The $2,500 buyer contribution and exemptions | |
Bonita Fairways 2026 Master Budget | Bonita Fairways Community Association | The $1,100 master assessment, operating and reserve | |
Florida Statutes 319.261 | Florida Senate | Retiring a manufactured home’s title into the real estate | |
Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form OIR-B1-1802 | Florida Office of Insurance Regulation | Wind-mitigation credits, roof and opening protection | |
Evacuation Zone vs. Flood Zone | Lee County Development Services | Why Zone A and Zone X both apply |
The Carousel Cove neighborhood budget and any post-2013 amendments are not posted online. They come with the estoppel certificate and the closing package, and recorded instruments can be requested from the Lee County Clerk.
Market data from Southwest Florida MLS, pulled September 2026, and Lee County Property Appraiser recorded sales. Brokered by Domain Realty. Jesse McGreevy, FL Lic. SL3101296 · Marc Comisar, FL Lic. BK3060671.