Updated October 2026
<p>Buying in Stonewater? We set the builder's remaining homes beside the recorded resales, explain the CDD line on the tax bill and list the documents to request before you write an offer. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873.</p>
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McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group, the #1 real estate team in Southwest Florida since 2012. Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008. Over $900 million in personal sales, and $2.5 Billion sold as Domain Realty Group.
Updated October 2026 · By Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, Domain Realty
This is our buyer's guide to Stonewater, the D.R. Horton community of single-family homes around five lakes at the southwest corner of Tropicana Parkway and Nelson Road in Cape Coral, Florida, ZIP code 33993. The history, lakes, amenities and governance are covered in our Stonewater community guide. What follows is the buyer's side: whether to buy one of the builder's remaining new homes or a resale, what the community development district line on the tax bill means and what to ask about it, what each path costs to buy and to own, how Stonewater compares with Coral Lakes, which documents you receive and when, and how a purchase runs in Lee County. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, see how we represent buyers, or read the full guide below.
Stonewater is a D.R. Horton community of 327 single-family lots on about 185 acres north of Pine Island Road in Cape Coral, with a community development district on the tax bill, association dues that are not published and 42 recorded sales in the 12 months to September 25, 2026. These ten points shape every offer we write here.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, the 12 months to September 25, 2026, county roll dated October 4, 2026, our analysis; Southwest Florida MLS (Matrix), pulled October 10, 2026, closings September 26, 2025 to September 25, 2026; Stonewater Community Development District documents and D.R. Horton's Stonewater page read October 15, 2026; FEMA and Lee County layers re-checked October 15, 2026).
This Stonewater buyer guide runs from the new-or-resale decision and the market, through the district, the association and the all-in cost of owning, to the documents you receive, the flood file, schools, negotiation and financing. Use the list below to jump to the question you need first, and call Marc if you would rather talk it through.
McGreevy and Comisar are the Stonewater buyer's agents who price a home against the builder's current list and the county's recorded sales, read the district's budget before you sign, and tell you which documents the association has not published. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar are Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008.
In Stonewater the expensive mistakes are rarely cosmetic. They are paying a builder's price without reading what the four recent resales and the 38 builder closings recorded at, treating the community development district line as if it were the association's dues, signing without the association's budget because it is not published, assuming tennis courts or a gate exist because a sales page lists them, or buying a lake lot without asking what the district knows about the bank behind it. Our job is to put those facts in front of you while you can still act on them.
If you are weighing us against other agents, our side-by-side look at the best real estate agents in Cape Coral sets out the yardsticks we think a buyer should use: verified production, years in the market, reviews you can read yourself, and whether the agent who tours with you is the agent who negotiates. In a community where the builder is still selling, add one more test: ask whether the agent will bring the county's recorded builder sales to the sales office and explain the district assessment before you sign the builder's contract.
These are the locked credentials we publish on every page we operate, stated exactly as awarded:
The team is the #5 real estate team in Florida (RealTrends 2026).
Jesse and Marc handle their own buyers, and the person who tours with you is the person who negotiates the contract. Marc leads buyer representation and negotiation; Jesse leads listing and seller strategy, which matters if you are selling one home to buy another. Jesse's direct line is (239) 898-6072 and Marc's is (239) 287-5873. Our headquarters is at 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101, Bonita Springs, FL 34134, and our Fort Myers office is at 8290 College Parkway, Unit 201, Fort Myers, FL 33919, serving Cape Coral. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072 for any Stonewater question about selling first.
Before writing this guide we tracked every recorded Stonewater sale in the 12 months to September 25, 2026, 42 in all, measured which of the 327 lots touch one of the five lakes on the county's parcel map, read the district's budgets and hearing notice, and matched 30 MLS closings to the community.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser roll dated October 4, 2026 and parcel map re-read October 15, 2026; Lee County recorded sales through September 25, 2026; Stonewater Community Development District budgets for fiscal years 2024 to 2027 and its September 14, 2026 hearing notice, read October 15, 2026; Southwest Florida MLS (Matrix), pulled October 10, 2026).
We tracked every recorded sale in Stonewater for the 12 months to September 25, 2026: 42 sales, 38 of them estimated builder-direct. We sorted them by street, by price band and by sale type, and we ran the same cuts for the 24, 36 and 60 month windows and for each calendar year since the first recorded home sale on July 14, 2022. Builder-direct is our estimate from the county record: a home's first sale soon after it was built.
We measured, on the Lee County Property Appraiser's parcel map, which Stonewater lots touch one of the five lake tracts (a lot polygon within 3 feet of a lake tract polygon, State Plane feet): 195 of the 327 lots do (L-3 81, L-2 40, L-4 30, L-1 23, L-5 21), 190 of them on the October 4, 2026 roll. We then ran the county sales for each group, which the market section below sets out with its limits.
We read the Stonewater Community Development District's budgets for fiscal years 2024 to 2027 and its September 14, 2026 hearing notice, its audit for the year ended September 30, 2025, its agenda packets of May 28 and June 11, 2026, and its minutes of June 4 and September 11, 2025. Those documents are where the assessment, the bonds and the lake bank repair are recorded, and every district figure in this guide comes from them.
We matched 30 MLS closings to the community for days on market and list-price ratios, using the MLS Development and Sub Condo fields, both STONEWATER. We use the county record for counts and prices and the MLS for pace, list-price ratios, active and pending listings and months of supply, and we never add the two together.
Before the first showing we pull five things for each home on your short list: the recorded sales on the same street and in the same plan size; the district's current and proposed assessment and the bill for the lot; the lake tract the lot touches, if any, and what the district has posted about that lake; the FEMA zone and the evacuation zone for the address; and the association documents the seller or builder can deliver. For a new home we add the builder's contract terms and the section 190.048 district disclosure. Those answers move price more than finishes do.
In Stonewater a buyer chooses between D.R. Horton's remaining new homes, listed on the builder's page as "Closing Out" with three one-story plans from $328,990, and a small but growing resale market: 4 recorded resales in the 12 months to September 25, 2026 at a $360,000 median. Each path changes the contract, the documents and the negotiation.
Data updated: October 2026 (D.R. Horton's Stonewater page and standard features sheet, builder marketing, read October 15, 2026; Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, the 12 months to September 25, 2026, county roll dated October 4, 2026, our analysis; Southwest Florida MLS (Matrix), pulled October 10, 2026).
D.R. Horton's Stonewater page, read October 15, 2026, lists three plans, all one story, each with a two-car garage. Prices are the builder's "starting in" figures and sizes are the builder's own, from its marketing.
| Plan | Size | Bedrooms | Bathrooms | Builder's starting price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | 1,816 sq ft | 3 | 2 | Starting in the $329s |
| Delray | 2,034 sq ft | 3 | 2 | $339s |
| Shelby | 2,221 sq ft | 3 | 2.5 | $379s |
We print no lot-level price, incentive or interest-rate offer, because those change week to week and belong on the builder's page on the day you shop. The builder's "starting in" prices and the recorded sale prices measure different things, so we never subtract one from the other.
"Closing Out" is the builder's label, not a date. The page does not say how many homes or lots remain or when the last closing will be. What the county shows is that 13 of the 327 lots have no recorded improved sale in the county file through September 25, 2026, and that D.R. Horton is still owner of record on lots in Stonewater on the parcel map read October 15, 2026. A lot with no recorded sale may be vacant, may hold a home that has not closed, or may hold a closing the county has not yet recorded. For a buyer, the practical meaning is that the choice of a new home and lot is narrow and shrinking.
The county record shows an estimated 38 builder-direct sales in the 12 months to September 25, 2026, at a median of $378,070 and a range of $324,999 to $496,515. That is the price a buyer actually paid at closing, with lot, options and any credits already in it. On the MLS, 16 of the 30 Stonewater closings in the same window carry the MLS New Construction status flag, which tells you builder homes also reach the open market through agents.
Only four recorded sales in the window were resales, and four is a count a buyer can hold in one hand. They sold at $390,000 and $330,000 in December 2025 on Stonewater Lake Terrace, both built in 2023 with 1,816 square feet of county heated area, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths; at $299,000 in March 2026 on Heather Lake Avenue, built in 2022 with 2,000 square feet; and at $425,000 in April 2026 on Spring Hill Lake Loop, built in 2023 with 2,794 square feet, 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. The two December sales were the same size, the same build year and the same street, 2 days apart, and $60,000 apart.
| Segment, 12 months to September 25, 2026 | Sales | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated builder-direct | 38 | $378,070 | $324,999 to $496,515 |
| Resales | 4 | $360,000 | $299,000 to $425,000 |
| All recorded home sales | 42 | $378,070 | $299,000 to $496,515 |
Source: Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, the 12 months to September 25, 2026 (county roll dated October 4, 2026), our analysis. Builder-direct is our estimate. The rows overlap and are not added together.
The $360,000 resale median is the average of the middle pair, $330,000 and $390,000, so it moves with every new resale. We price a resale against the builder's current list and against each other resale one at a time, not against a median.
The builder's standard features sheet, revision dated 12/3/2025 and read October 15, 2026 as builder marketing, lists "Steel reinforced concrete block construction", "Code approved hurricane storm panels", dimensional roof shingles with a 25-year manufacturer's warranty, double-pane low-emittance (Low-E) vinyl windows, a paver driveway, a 10-year Residential Warranty Corporation limited warranty and a one-year builder warranty. It lists storm panels, not impact windows, and we do not describe the homes as having impact windows.
A resale is a finished house you can inspect as it stands, on a lot whose landscaping, drainage and neighbors you can see. Its tax bill shows the district line and any other non-ad valorem charges for that exact lot. Its seller owes you the flood disclosure and the association's disclosure summary, and the association will issue an estoppel certificate that states what is owed. A resale may also include items a buyer would otherwise add after closing, such as window coverings or a screened lanai, which a seller's listing and the contract list item by item.
A new home comes with the builder's warranties, a lot and plan you choose from what remains, and, for a home not yet finished, a first tax bill that can reflect land only. Florida assesses property as of January 1, and an improvement that is not substantially completed on that date receives no value that year (section 192.042). It also comes with the builder's own contract, which is not the Florida Realtors and Florida Bar form, and with the bold section 190.048 disclosure about the district above your signature.
| Factor | A new D.R. Horton home | A Stonewater resale |
|---|---|---|
| Price evidence | 38 estimated builder-direct sales, $378,070 median, 12 months | 4 resales, $360,000 median, 12 months |
| Plans | Clifton, Delray and Shelby, one story, 1,816 to 2,221 sq ft (builder's page) | Those plans plus earlier ones up to about 2,794 sq ft of MLS living area |
| Contract | The builder's contract | Usually the Florida Realtors and Florida Bar form |
| District disclosure | Section 190.048 bold disclosure on the contract | The district line on the seller's tax bill |
| Warranty | Builder's one-year warranty and a 10-year limited warranty (features sheet) | Whatever transfers; the warranty booklet holds the terms |
| First tax bill | Can be land only if the home was not substantially complete on January 1 | Resets after the sale under the property tax disclosure |
| Association documents | From the builder, which controls the association on every record we read | Disclosure summary and estoppel certificate from the association |
| Inspection | Ask for one before closing and at the end of the warranty year | A full inspection inside the contract's inspection period |
For a new home, ask the builder for the contract, the plan's options sheet, the lot's survey and any lake or open-space tract it touches, the warranty booklet, the association's declaration and budget, and the district's current budget. For a resale, ask the seller for the tax bill, the wind mitigation form, the insurance declarations page, the warranty booklet and whether the warranty transfers, the storm panels and where they are stored, and the association's documents with the estoppel request.
Stonewater recorded 42 home sales in the 12 months to September 25, 2026 at a median of $378,070, from $299,000 to $496,515, and an estimated 38 of them were builder-direct. The MLS shows a 79.5-day median on market for the 30 closings it carries, so the market a buyer enters is mostly the builder's.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, the 12 months to September 25, 2026, county roll dated October 4, 2026, our analysis; Southwest Florida MLS (Matrix), pulled October 10, 2026, closings September 26, 2025 to September 25, 2026).
The 12-month window is the first with 10 or more sales, which is why it is the headline. Longer windows show how prices have moved since the first recorded sale on July 14, 2022.
| Window ending September 25, 2026 | Sales | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 12 months | 42 | $378,070 |
| 24 months | 110 | $379,850 |
| 36 months | 191 | $393,000 |
| 60 months and all history | 313 | $407,520 |
Source: Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, each window ending September 25, 2026 (county roll dated October 4, 2026), our analysis. The windows overlap and are never added together.
| Calendar year | Sales | Median | Estimated builder-direct |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 39 | $447,480 | 39 |
| 2023 | 111 | $424,999 | 110 |
| 2024 | 71 | $388,999 | 69 |
| 2025 | 63 | $374,999 | 53 |
| 2026, through September 25 | 29 | $384,999 | 27 |
Source: Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, calendar years through September 25, 2026 (county roll dated October 4, 2026), our analysis. 2026 is a part year.
The median fell from $447,480 in 2022 to $374,999 in 2025, and the 2026 part year sits at $384,999 on 29 sales. For a buyer that history matters in two ways: an appraiser will see the older, higher sales as well as the newer ones, and a resale seller who bought in 2022 or 2023 may be pricing against what they paid rather than against today's record.
| Price band | Sales, 12 months to September 25, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Under $200,000 | 0 |
| $200,000 to $300,000 | 1 |
| $300,000 to $400,000 | 26 |
| $400,000 to $500,000 | 15 |
| $500,000 and up | 0 |
Source: Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, the 12 months to September 25, 2026 (county roll dated October 4, 2026), our analysis.
Twenty-six of the 42 sales were between $300,000 and $400,000 and 15 between $400,000 and $500,000. The one sale in the $200,000 band was the $299,000 resale on Heather Lake Avenue.
Buying in Stonewater? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873 or book a Stonewater buyer consultation. The first session sets the builder's three plans beside the four recorded resales on your monthly number, explains the district line on the tax bill and gives you the document list for any address you name. Selling a home first? Get a free home valuation, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.
Spring Hill Lake Loop, the longest street with 168 of the 320 lots on the roll, had 30 sales at a $382,350 median. The other streets each had fewer than 10 sales, so we list every one of them with the date, price, type and street only.
| Street | Date | Price | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariners View Terrace | October 3, 2025 | $405,000 | Builder-direct |
| Mariners View Terrace | November 25, 2025 | $341,750 | Builder-direct |
| Mariners View Terrace | January 9, 2026 | $416,885 | Builder-direct |
| Mariners View Terrace | January 28, 2026 | $376,000 | Builder-direct |
| Mariners View Terrace | February 4, 2026 | $355,000 | Builder-direct |
| Mariners View Terrace | February 18, 2026 | $376,440 | Builder-direct |
| Mariners View Terrace | February 27, 2026 | $339,999 | Builder-direct |
| Stonewater Lake Terrace | December 16, 2025 | $390,000 | Resale |
| Stonewater Lake Terrace | December 18, 2025 | $330,000 | Resale |
| Stonewater Lake Terrace | August 14, 2026 | $426,975 | Builder-direct |
| Parkshore Lake Avenue | December 16, 2025 | $410,000 | Builder-direct |
| Heather Lake Avenue | March 31, 2026 | $299,000 | Resale |
Source: Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, the 12 months to September 25, 2026 (county roll dated October 4, 2026), our analysis. Coral Reef Place had no recorded sale in the window.
This is our own measurement, and we print the method with it. We measured, on the Lee County Property Appraiser's parcel map, which Stonewater lots touch one of the five lake tracts (a lot polygon within 3 feet of a lake tract polygon, State Plane feet): 195 of the 327 lots do (L-3 81, L-2 40, L-4 30, L-1 23, L-5 21), 190 of them on the October 4, 2026 roll.
| Group (our measurement) | Roll lots | Sales, 12 months | Median | Range | Estimated builder-direct | Resales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lots touching a lake tract | 190 | 16 | $407,500 | $330,000 to $496,515 | 14 at $417,500 | 2 at $360,000 |
| Lots not touching a lake tract | 130 | 26 | $365,390 | $299,000 to $447,280 | 24 at $365,390 | 2 at $362,000 |
Source: Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, the 12 months to September 25, 2026 (county roll dated October 4, 2026), joined to our lake-adjacency measurement on the Lee County Property Appraiser parcel map, read October 15, 2026, our analysis.
The two medians are two measurements, and they are not a lake premium. The groups differ in build year, plan mix and sale mix, and the sets are small. What the measurement tells a buyer is which comparison to make: a lot that touches a lake tract should be compared with other lots that touch one, plan for plan and date for date, and the lake bank repair is a reason to ask what the district knows about the particular lake behind it.
| Measure | Stonewater | ZIP 33993 | Six Cape Coral ZIP codes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLS closings, 12 months | 30 | 1,405 | 6,026 |
| Median sold price | $375,500 | $360,000 | $370,000 |
| Median days on market | 79.5 | 57 | 52 |
| Median percent of final list price | 97.2% | 98.3% | 97.3% |
| Active listings on October 10, 2026 | 12 | ||
| Pending on October 10, 2026 | 3 | ||
| Months of supply | 4.8 | ||
| Closings in the prior 12 months | 48 | ||
| Sale-to-original-list ratio | Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-07). | ||
| Cumulative days on market | Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-07). |
Source: Southwest Florida MLS (Matrix), pulled October 10, 2026, closings September 26, 2025 to September 25, 2026; the ZIP and city columns are all-residential figures for context. Months of supply: 12 / (30 / 12) = 4.8.
Closings fell from 48 in the prior 12 months to 30 in the latest 12 months on the MLS. A median of 79.5 days and 97.2 percent of final list price, against 57 days and 98.3 percent in ZIP 33993, is the room a buyer has to work with. The share of Stonewater purchases made in cash: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-07).
| Area, 12 months to September 25, 2026 | Sales | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Stonewater (single-family homes) | 42 | $378,070 |
| ZIP 33993, single-family homes | 1,287 | $360,000 |
| Six Cape Coral ZIP codes, single-family homes | 5,269 | $380,000 |
| Six Cape Coral ZIP codes, single-family homes and condominiums | 5,804 | $365,000 |
Source: Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, the 12 months to September 25, 2026 (county roll dated October 4, 2026), our analysis. The six ZIP codes are 33904, 33909, 33914, 33990, 33991 and 33993.
Stonewater's median is $1,930 below the six-ZIP single-family median ($380,000 less $378,070) and $18,070 above the ZIP 33993 single-family median ($378,070 less $360,000). Those gaps are reference points, not a valuation: an estimated 38 of the 42 Stonewater sales were a builder's first sale of a new home, while the ZIP and city figures cover single-family sales of every age. Our guide to buying a home in Cape Coral sets out the citywide buyer picture.
The county record counts every qualified deed recorded in the window, including builder sales that were not marketed on the MLS, so it shows 42 sales at $378,070 against the MLS's 30 closings at $375,500. There is a quirk inside the county file too: 22 of the 42 sales were on parcels the roll still coded vacant, because the roll lags new construction. That is an explanation, not two prices.
Owning a Stonewater home means county and city property tax, city charges of $1,062.68 on the bill, the district assessment of $1,869.96 for fiscal year 2026 with $2,166.99 proposed for 2027, and association dues that are not published. Our worked example totals $8,374.93 a year before dues, insurance and utilities.
Data updated: October 2026 (Stonewater Community Development District budgets and hearing notice, read October 15, 2026; Lee County Property Appraiser 2026 millage book, printed October 9, 2026; City of Cape Coral assessment and utility rates; Cape Coral Breeze report of August 26, 2026; Lee County recorded sales through September 25, 2026).
| Layer | Amount | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stonewater Community Development District | $1,869.96 per lot, fiscal year 2026 adopted (operations $619.07 plus debt service $1,250.89); $2,166.99 proposed for fiscal year 2027 | Fiscal year, on the county tax bill | District budget and hearing notice |
| Stonewater Homeowners' Association | Not published by the association | Not published | Ask for the budget and an estoppel certificate |
| County and city property tax | 15.3250 mills applied for 2026; worked example below | Calendar year, paid in arrears | Lee County Property Appraiser |
| City charges on the bill | $1,062.68 average single family, fiscal year 2027 (fire $515.43, stormwater $163, solid waste $384.25) | Fiscal year | City of Cape Coral; Cape Coral Breeze |
| Utilities Extension Project | Not shown on any record we read for a Stonewater lot; ask for the city's free payoff | Varies | City of Cape Coral |
| City water, sewer and irrigation | $163.04 a month at 5,000 gallons of water and 5,000 of wastewater (an illustration, not a bill) | Monthly | City rate schedule effective October 1, 2026 |
| Homeowners insurance | Not quoted; the Citizens Lee County HO3 average of $3,039 after the 2026 change is a county book, not a quote | Annual | Citizens Property Insurance Corporation |
| Flood insurance | Not quoted; 25 percent Community Rating System discount on every policy in Cape Coral | Annual | City of Cape Coral |
Four layers are published in dollars, one is a rate, two are unpublished and two are unquoted. The tax collector's bill carries the millage, the district line and the city charges; the association bills its own dues; the city's utility bill carries water, sewer and irrigation. The only way to a total for one lot is to collect each document in turn.
This example puts a homesteaded home at the 12-month median recorded sale, $378,070, and applies the 2026 millage. It is not a tax bill.
| Step | Inputs | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Non-school taxable value | $378,070 less $25,000 less $26,411 | $326,659 |
| Non-school tax | $326,659 x 10.0540 mills | $3,284.23 |
| School taxable value | $378,070 less $25,000 | $353,070 |
| School tax | $353,070 x 5.271 mills | $1,861.03 |
| Ad valorem total, homesteaded | $3,284.23 + $1,861.03 | $5,145.26 |
| Without homestead | $378,070 x 15.3250 mills | $5,793.92 |
The example uses the 2026 rates that the Property Appraiser's final millage book, printed October 9, 2026, applies to district 057: the city's 5.1471 mills, the School Board's 5.271 mills and the other lines, 15.3250 mills in all (10.0540 + 5.271 = 15.3250). The homestead exemption is worth $648.66 a year in this example ($5,793.92 less $5,145.26).
At the four-resale median of $360,000, the same arithmetic gives a non-school taxable value of $308,589 ($360,000 less $25,000 less $26,411), times 10.0540 mills, $3,102.55; a school taxable value of $335,000, times 5.271 mills, $1,765.79; and an ad valorem total of $4,868.34 with homestead. Without homestead, $360,000 times 15.3250 mills is $5,517.00. Both are illustrations from the same rates, not bills.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| City charges, fiscal year 2027 (fire $515.43 + stormwater $163 + solid waste $384.25) | $1,062.68 |
| Stonewater CDD, fiscal year 2026 adopted | $1,869.96 |
| Subtotal with the adopted district figure | $2,932.64 |
| Stonewater CDD, fiscal year 2027 proposed | $2,166.99 |
| Subtotal with the proposed district figure | $3,229.67 |
All in with the median property tax example and the proposed district figure: $5,145.26 + $3,229.67 = $8,374.93 a year, or about $698.22 a month ($8,374.93 divided by 12), before association dues, insurance and utilities. The fiscal year 2027 city rates are press-attributed, because the City's assessments page still showed fiscal year 2026 as its newest column when the rates were read.
Divided by 12, the district's adopted fiscal year 2026 assessment of $1,869.96 is about $155.83 a month, and the proposed fiscal year 2027 figure of $2,166.99 about $180.58 a month. The line is paid once a year on the tax bill, not monthly, unless your lender collects it through escrow with the property tax.
Every Stonewater parcel has city water, sewer and irrigation available. City rates effective October 1, 2026 for a 5/8 inch meter: water carries a $25.36 monthly capacity charge plus $5.44 per 1,000 gallons up to 5,000 gallons; wastewater a $32.83 capacity charge plus $12.85 per 1,000 gallons; irrigation a flat $13.40. At 5,000 gallons of water and 5,000 of wastewater that is $52.56, $97.08 and $13.40, which is $163.04 a month or $1,956.48 a year, an illustration and not a bill. A new account adds a $325.00 meter installation for a 5/8 inch meter, a $225.00 residential deposit and a $20.00 application fee.
We quote no homeowners or flood premium for a Stonewater home. A premium depends on the home's wind mitigation features, coverage amounts, deductible and carrier. The only dated figure we can print is context: Citizens Property Insurance Corporation's Lee County homeowners (HO3) average premium was $3,322 before and $3,039 after an approved change of minus 8.5 percent across 5,586 policies. It is a county book, not a quote and not an average for Stonewater.
The Stonewater Community Development District is a unit of local government that owns the five lakes and the stormwater system and charges every lot an assessment on the Lee County tax bill: $1,869.96 for fiscal year 2026, with $2,166.99 proposed for 2027. Part repays bonds that run to 2051; part funds operations, including a pending lake bank repair.
Data updated: October 2026 (Stonewater Community Development District adopted budgets for fiscal years 2024 to 2026, fiscal year 2027 hearing notice, audit and agenda packets, re-read October 15, 2026; Florida Statutes 2026 edition).
A community development district is a special-purpose government created under Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes to build and run community infrastructure, paid for by assessments on the land inside it. The City of Cape Coral established the Stonewater district on December 14, 2020 by Ordinance 79-20, covering about 185 acres, with special powers for parks and recreation, security, and waste collection. It is separate from the homeowners' association: the district owns the lakes and stormwater system, and the association owns the recreation tract and the main road. A buyer pays both.
| Fiscal year | Operations | Debt service | Total per unit | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $265.11 | $1,250.89 | $1,516.00 | Adopted |
| 2025 | $265.11 | $1,250.89 | $1,516.00 | Adopted |
| 2026 | $619.07 | $1,250.89 | $1,869.96 | Adopted |
| 2027 | $916.10 | $1,250.89 | $2,166.99 | Proposed in the hearing notice |
Source: Stonewater Community Development District budgets for fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026 and the notice for the September 14, 2026 hearing, read October 15, 2026. The district assesses 327 single-family units.
From fiscal year 2025 to 2026 the total rose $353.96 a unit, 23.3 percent. From 2026 to the 2027 proposal it would rise $297.03, 15.9 percent. The adopted fiscal year 2027 figure was not yet posted on October 15, 2026, so treat $1,869.96 as the last adopted amount and $2,166.99 as a proposal.
The district issued $7,020,000 of Special Assessment Revenue Bonds, Series 2021, on October 13, 2021, at fixed rates of 2.25 to 4 percent, with final maturity November 1, 2051. The balance was $6,565,000 at September 30, 2025 and $6,410,000 after the November 1, 2025 payment. The debt service part of each unit's assessment has been $1,250.89 in every year from fiscal year 2024 to the 2027 proposal, and the district's own explainer says debt service amounts are generally fixed for the term of the bonds. A buyer takes the lot with that line on it.
The operations part rose from $265.11 to $619.07 per unit for fiscal year 2026, and the fiscal year 2026 budget added a "Lake Erosion Repair" note repayment line of $109,000, the main reason. The district engineer told the board on September 11, 2025 that "lake bank erosion was identified primarily on the mining lakes, which do not meet the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) slope and vertical drop criteria. The new stormwater management system is in good shape." We attribute no other cause.
A Gulf Coast Business Bank term sheet dated May 4, 2026 describes a tax-exempt note of not more than $900,000, for up to 5 years, at a fixed 5.43 percent, secured by the operations assessments, and the term sheet says it is "not a formal commitment to lend". Proposals for lake bank restoration were due May 18, 2026, and the award and the note were on the June 11, 2026 agenda. Whether the note closed, who won the work and when it will be done were not posted when we read the district's site on October 15, 2026, so we call the repair pending.
The district's assessment is a non-ad valorem line on the Lee County tax bill, levied under the uniform method of section 197.3632, beside the city's own charges. Paying the bill early earns 4 percent in November, 3 percent in December, 2 percent in January and 1 percent in February. The hearing notice warns that failure to pay "will cause a tax certificate to be issued against the property". A buyer's property tax resets after a sale, but the district assessment follows the lot.
Section 190.048 of the Florida Statutes requires every contract for the initial sale of a parcel or home in a community development district to carry a disclosure in bold type directly above the buyer's signature. It states that the district may impose and levy taxes or assessments, or both, on the property, that the district board sets them each year, and that they are separate from county, local and other taxes. Read it before you sign the builder's contract, not at closing.
Each item is a document request, and each one closes a question this guide cannot answer for you:
The district's documents page posts agendas, budgets and minutes, and its next scheduled meeting after the September 14, 2026 hearing was October 22, 2026. A landowners' meeting for Seats 1, 2 and 5 is set for November 19, 2026 at 4:00 PM at the builder's Fort Myers office.
Stonewater's homeowners' association has not published its dues, budget or rules on any record we could read, and the builder has not turned the association over to owners on any record we could read. A Stonewater buyer learns the dues from the association's budget and an estoppel certificate, and should ask for both in writing.
Data updated: October 2026 (Florida Division of Corporations record read October 15, 2026; Stonewater Community Development District minutes and packets; Florida Statutes 2026 edition).
Stonewater Homeowners' Association, Inc. is a Florida not-for-profit corporation, document number N20000013746, filed December 14, 2020 and active, with annual reports for 2021 through 2026. Its registered agent is Tropical Isles Management Services, Inc., Fort Myers, changed April 2, 2026. A registered agent receives legal notices; that is not proof of who manages the community day to day. The association owns Tract A, the 2.20-acre recreation tract, the 12.84-acre main road tract and four open-space tracts.
The association has published no dues figure we could read. We found no association website or portal, and the recorded declaration at the Lee County Clerk was not reachable to us. Some listing sheets carry fee numbers typed in by listing offices; no association document confirms them, so we print none. The dues, any capital contribution and any transfer fee are questions for the budget, the declaration and the estoppel certificate.
An estoppel certificate is the association's written statement of what is owed on a lot. Under section 720.30851, as adjusted in 2022, the fee caps are $299, plus $119 for delivery within three business days and $179 where the account is delinquent. It is due within 10 business days of the request, is good for 30 days if delivered by hand or electronically (35 if mailed), and the fee is refunded if the closing does not happen. On a resale it is the document that tells you the dues.
Section 720.401 requires that a buyer of a home subject to association membership receive the association's disclosure summary before signing. Without it, the buyer may void the contract in writing within 3 days after receiving the summary or before closing, whichever comes first, and that right cannot be waived. On a builder sale, ask the builder for the summary with the contract.
The builder has not turned the homeowners' association over to owners on any record we could read. In the district's draft minutes of July 27, 2023, the board chair said the turnover "will be quite a while; construction of the second phase has yet to commence", and no record we read defines the second phase. Under section 720.307, owners other than the developer elect a board majority three months after 90 percent of the parcels in all phases are conveyed, or at an earlier event in the governing documents, and elect at least one director once 50 percent are conveyed. We do not predict when those tests are met.
Until turnover, the developer controls the association's board, budget and rules. At turnover, section 720.307 requires the developer to deliver the association's records and property to the new board within 90 days at most, and for associations incorporated after December 31, 2007 the financial statements from incorporation through turnover must be audited. A buyer cannot price that event, but can ask the association for its current reserve position and any capital plan.
The district's board is elected differently. Its audit for the year ended September 30, 2025 says "certain Board members are affiliated with D.R Horton, Inc." The district reported 418 registered voters inside its boundaries as of April 15, 2026, up from 349 a year earlier. Under section 190.006, after the sixth year and once a district reaches 250 qualified electors, the expiring seats are filled by qualified electors. Whether that applies to the November 2026 seats is for the district's counsel; we print the rule, not a prediction.
The recorded declaration, bylaws, amendments and rules decide the questions a buyer asks first: leasing limits, pets, vehicles, signs, fences, architectural review, fines, amenity hours, guest rules, lake use and the gate. Because the declaration was not available to us, we cannot tell you what Stonewater allows on any of those points. Make delivery of the declaration, bylaws and rules part of your contract and read them inside your inspection period.
Stonewater's amenities stand on a 2.20-acre recreation tract owned by the homeowners' association. A community pool, a fitness room, a playground and an amenity building are shown; tennis courts, pickleball courts and the gate are listed by the builder and confirmed by no other record we read. Hours, guest rules and fees are not published.
Data updated: October 2026 (D.R. Horton's Stonewater page, builder marketing, read October 15, 2026; Lee County Property Appraiser parcel map read October 15, 2026; Stonewater Community Development District minutes of September 11, 2025; City of Cape Coral park pages read October 15, 2026).
The builder's photographs and text show a community pool, a fitness room, a playground and the amenity building, and the district's minutes of September 11, 2025 name "the Fitness Center" as a possible meeting room. The county roll carries a building of about 1,500 square feet on the recreation tract, built in 2022. Pool size, heating, hours and the equipment list are not published.
Tennis courts, pickleball courts and the gate appear in the builder's amenity list and text, read October 15, 2026. We print each as "the builder lists", because we found no county, city or district document that states a court count, a surface, lighting, a schedule or how the gate operates and who staffs it. Ask the association in writing whether each item is built and how it runs before you count on it.
The five lakes are district stormwater lakes of about 97 acres, and the larger ones are former mining pits. The rules for fishing, kayaks, docks and swimming are not published on any record we read; the district's rules of procedure carry none. The Stonewater lakes have no connection to the city's canal system or the Gulf, and the tract list includes no dock tract, boat launch, golf course or marina.
The City of Cape Coral's wildlife layer records an active bald eagle nest inside Tract O-3, a 6.8-acre open-space tract owned by the association; the earlier nest tree was lost in Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022. The builder calls the area "a dedicated eagle preservation zone". If a lot sits near Tract O-3, ask for the lot's survey and any recorded restrictions.
Route miles from the lot nearest the center of the community, from a public routing engine run October 10, 2026: the city's BMX Boat Ramp (freshwater) is about 3.4, Burnt Store Boat Ramp (saltwater, to Matlacha Pass and the Gulf) about 4.9, Jim Jeffers Park about 4.6, Coral Oaks Golf Course (the city's 18-hole, par 72 course) about 5.5 and Joe Stonis Park about 5.7. Jim Jeffers Park and Joe Stonis Park list lighted tennis courts with pickleball lines on the city's pages. Trailer parking at the city's improved ramps is $15 a day or by resident decal.
Stonewater and Coral Lakes are two Cape Coral communities about 4.4 miles apart in a straight line, both with a builder still selling. Stonewater is single-family homes from 2022 with a district assessment; Coral Lakes mixes homes from 2006 with townhomes from 2022, has no district and a larger resale market. The table sets out each factor.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County recorded sales, DOR-qualified improved sales, the 12 months to September 25, 2026, county roll dated October 4, 2026, our analysis; Southwest Florida MLS (Matrix), pulled October 10, 2026; Florida Department of Commerce Official List of Special Districts read October 15, 2026; Coral Lakes Community Association and builder pages read October 15, 2026).
| Factor | Stonewater | Coral Lakes |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Southwest corner of Tropicana Parkway and Nelson Road, ZIP 33993 | ZIP 33909, about 4.4 miles northeast in a straight line, about 7.0 route miles |
| Size | 327 lots, about 185 acres | 766 parcels (710 residential lots), about 370 acres |
| Homes | Single-family only, built from 2022 | Single-family homes from 2006 plus Sawgrass at Coral Lakes townhomes from 2022 |
| Builder today | D.R. Horton, "Closing Out" (builder page, October 15, 2026) | Centex (PulteGroup) at Sawgrass at Coral Lakes, "Starting at the Mid $200's" (builder page, October 15, 2026) |
| County record, 12 months | 42 sales, $378,070; an estimated 38 builder-direct | 67 sales, $247,990; an estimated 45 builder-direct at $245,990 and 22 resales at $307,500 |
| MLS pace | 79.5 days, 97.2% of final list price, 4.8 months of supply | 48 days, 97.2% of final list price, 4.1 months of supply (two MLS Development values combined) |
| Community development district | Yes: $1,869.96 per lot, fiscal year 2026 | No district on the Florida Commerce list |
| HOA dues | Not published | Not published |
| Lakes | Five district lake tracts; use rules not published; bank repair pending | Association rules bar swimming and boating; catch-and-release fishing from an owner's own backyard |
| Amenities | Pool, fitness room, playground, amenity building; the builder lists tennis, pickleball and a gate | The association lists a clubhouse, two pools, fitness center, tennis, basketball, ballfields, playground and gated entry |
Sources: Lee County recorded sales, our analysis; Southwest Florida MLS (Matrix) pulled October 10, 2026; the Coral Lakes Community Association's site; builder marketing pages read October 15, 2026.
The county record for Coral Lakes shows 67 sales at a $247,990 median in the 12 months to September 25, 2026, ranging from $195,000 to $605,000. Stonewater shows 42 at $378,070. The $130,080 between the two medians ($378,070 less $247,990) reflects product and age as well as location, so it is not a like-for-like value difference.
Stonewater's district adds $1,869.96 per lot to the fiscal year 2026 tax bill, with $2,166.99 proposed for 2027 and bonds to 2051. Coral Lakes has no community development district on the Florida Department of Commerce's Official List of Special Districts, read October 15, 2026. Both associations' dues are unpublished, so a buyer comparing the two asks for both budgets and, for Stonewater, the district's budget.
Coral Lakes had an estimated 22 resales at a $307,500 median in the 12 months, and Stonewater had 4 at $360,000. On the MLS, Coral Lakes had 53 closings at a $247,000 median, 48 days on market and 18 active and 14 pending listings on October 10, 2026; Stonewater had 30 closings, 79.5 days, 12 active and 3 pending.
If the product is a single-family home built from 2022 at a price near $378,070, if one-story plans of 1,816 to 2,221 square feet fit, and if you are comfortable with a district line on the tax bill that you have read, the Stonewater record is where those sales are.
If the price band sits near $247,990, if a townhome or an older single-family home fits, if a larger resale market matters, or if you would rather not carry a district line, the Coral Lakes record is where those sales are. Neither community is ranked above the other here.
Put your monthly number beside each community's tax bill, district line where there is one, association budget and a quoted insurance premium for a specific house. Then read the recent recorded sales for the plan and the street. Our sibling guides to Sandoval, with its own Sandoval buyer's guide, and Entrada cover two more Cape Coral options with their own records.
A Stonewater buyer receives the section 190.048 district disclosure on a builder's contract, the association's disclosure summary before signing with a 3-day cancellation right, the seller's flood disclosure at or before signing on a resale, the property tax disclosure, and an estoppel certificate due within 10 business days of a request.
Data updated: October 2026 (Florida Statutes 2026 edition: sections 190.048, 720.401, 689.302, 689.261, 720.30851 and 553.79; read October 7 and 15, 2026).
| Document | Who gives it | When | Your right |
|---|---|---|---|
| District disclosure (s. 190.048) | Builder, on the initial sale | In the contract, above your signature | Read before signing |
| HOA disclosure summary (s. 720.401) | Seller or builder | Before you sign | Void in writing within 3 days after receipt, or before closing |
| Flood disclosure (s. 689.302) | Seller | At or before the contract is signed | Information; the statute holds no cancellation right |
| Property tax disclosure (s. 689.261) | In the contract | Before signing | Warns that your bill resets |
| Estoppel certificate (s. 720.30851) | Association | Within 10 business days of a request | Good for 30 days (35 if mailed) |
| Municipal payoff | City of Cape Coral, free on request | Before closing | Shows assessments, utility balances, code cases and permits |
On a new home, the builder's contract carries the bold section 190.048 disclosure directly above your signature. On a resale it does not, and the district shows instead on the seller's tax bill. Either way, ask for the current budget and the most recent bill.
The summary must reach you before you sign. Without it you may void the contract in writing within 3 days after you receive it or before closing, whichever comes first, and the right cannot be waived. Read it beside the budget and the declaration.
On a resale, the seller gives you the section 689.302 flood disclosure at or before the time the contract is signed. It covers known flooding during the seller's ownership, flood insurance claims, including National Flood Insurance Program claims, and flood assistance, including FEMA's. The statute holds no right for the buyer to cancel on it, so read it with the lender's flood determination and your insurance quotes.
A buyer must be given the property tax disclosure summary of section 689.261, which warns that the seller's tax bill is not a guide to the buyer's, because a change of ownership triggers reassessment. On a Stonewater resale, the seller's homestead and Save Our Homes cap do not carry to you.
Search the permit history of any resale on the city's EnerGov portal before you sign. Under section 553.79, an owner may close an open permit with the original contractor, another licensed contractor or as owner-builder, and an arm's-length buyer may not be penalized solely because a previous owner's permit was never closed. The city's free payoff request also lists open building permits for the parcel.
For every Stonewater address you are serious about, we want: the tax bill with the district line; the district's adopted budget; the association's budget, declaration and rules; the estoppel certificate; the flood disclosure or, on a new home, the builder's flood and elevation information; the wind mitigation form; the warranty booklet; and the city's payoff.
A Lee County purchase runs from a written buyer agreement before the first tour, through a contract, an inspection period, association and district documents and estoppels, to a closing that records the deed. On a Stonewater new home the builder's contract replaces the standard form; the contract sets the days either way.
Data updated: October 2026 (Florida Statutes 2026 edition and the National Association of REALTORS written buyer agreement guidance, read October 7, 2026).
| Step | Resale | New D.R. Horton home |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Buyer agreement | Signed before touring, stating compensation | Signed before touring, and your agent with you at the first sales-office visit |
| 2. Search | Shortlist by plan, street and lake position | Choose plan and lot from what remains |
| 3. Contract | Florida Realtors and Florida Bar form | The builder's contract with the s. 190.048 disclosure |
| 4. Inspection | Inside the contract's inspection period | Ask for inspections before drywall and before closing, where the contract allows |
| 5. Documents | Disclosure summary, flood disclosure, estoppel | Disclosure summary, district budget, warranty booklet |
| 6. Insurance and loan | Binding quotes, appraisal, underwriting | The same, plus any builder lender terms you choose |
| 7. Closing | Deed recorded, prorations settled | Deed recorded, prorations settled |
| 8. After closing | Homestead by March 1, utility account | Homestead by March 1, warranty calendar |
Since August 17, 2024, a buyer working with an agent who participates in a REALTOR-affiliated multiple listing service signs a written agreement "prior to touring a home, including both in-person and live virtual tours", stating the amount or rate of the agent's compensation and that "broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable". On a new home, bring your agent to the first visit: builders set their own rules on agent registration, so ask the sales office for its policy in writing.
For a resale we search by plan size first, then by street, then by lake position, and we read the recorded sales on the street before the first tour. For a new home we compare the builder's three plans on your monthly number and look at each remaining lot's position against the lakes, the open-space tracts and the commercial corner.
On a resale the offer sets price, deposit, financing terms and dates in the Florida Realtors and Florida Bar contract. On a new home the builder's own contract governs, and it is written by the builder. Contract timelines such as the inspection period, the financing period and the days to closing are set in the contract, and we print no default day count.
On a resale, a home inspection looks at structure and systems, and a wind mitigation inspection on the state's Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form records what an insurer reads. Stonewater homes were built from 2022, so Citizens' four-point rule for homes over 20 years old does not reach them. On a new home, ask whether the contract allows your inspector in before drywall and at a final walk-through, and plan a second inspection before the builder's one-year warranty ends.
Order the estoppel certificate at the start of the inspection period, and request the district's budget, the association's documents and the city's payoff in the same week. On a new home, ask the builder for the declaration, the association's budget and the warranty booklet before you sign.
Get binding insurance quotes for the exact home with its wind mitigation form inside the inspection period, because the premium decides whether the monthly number works. The lender orders the appraisal and the flood determination and counts the district assessment with the property tax.
In Lee County the seller customarily pays the deed stamps and the owner's title policy and chooses the closing agent; the buyer customarily pays to record the deed and all costs of a new mortgage. Those are customs, not law, and on a builder sale the builder's contract states who pays what. Florida property taxes are paid in arrears, so a closing prorates the year between seller and buyer.
File the homestead application with the Lee County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the year you qualify. Open the city utility account. On a new home, calendar the warranty dates and keep the builder's warranty booklet with the closing statement.
A Stonewater buyer's cash to close at a 20 percent down payment on the $378,070 median is about $77,296: $75,614 down, $1,058.75 in mortgage documentary stamps, $604.91 intangible tax and $18.50 to record a two-page deed, before inspections, insurance prepaids, lender fees and prorations.
Data updated: October 2026 (Florida Statutes sections 201.02, 201.08, 199.133 and 28.24, 2026 edition; Rule 69O-186.003; Lee County recorded sales through September 25, 2026; arithmetic shown).
A new mortgage carries documentary stamp tax of 35 cents per $100 of the debt (section 201.08) and a one-time intangible tax of 2 mills, $2 per $1,000 (section 199.133). Recording a deed costs $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each further page (section 28.24), so a two-page deed records for $18.50.
The table assumes a loan of 80 percent of each recorded median.
| Line | All sales, $378,070 | Resales, $360,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment, 20 percent | $75,614.00 | $72,000.00 |
| Loan amount | $302,456 | $288,000 |
| Mortgage documentary stamps, $0.35 per $100 or fraction | $1,058.75 | $1,008.00 |
| Intangible tax, $2 per $1,000 | $604.91 | $576.00 |
| Recording a two-page deed | $18.50 | $18.50 |
| Subtotal, before inspections, prepaids, lender fees and prorations | $77,296.16 | $73,602.50 |
Documentary stamp tax on a deed is 70 cents per $100, or fraction of $100, of the price (section 201.02), and in Lee County the seller customarily pays it along with the owner's title policy. At $378,070 the deed stamps are 3,781 units of $100 at $0.70, $2,646.70; at $360,000, $2,520.00. The owner's title premium on the state-set schedule, $5.75 per $1,000 up to $100,000 and $5.00 per $1,000 from $100,000 to $1,000,000, with any fraction of $100 counted as a full $100, is $575.00 plus $1,390.50 (278.1 units of $1,000), or $1,965.50, at $378,070, and $575.00 plus $1,300.00, or $1,875.00, at $360,000. Those are the rule's schedule before any credit a title company applies, and the contract controls who pays what.
The district assessment is collected on the tax bill, so it is prorated with the property tax for the year rather than paid separately at closing. The association may charge an estoppel fee of up to $299 (with the delivery and delinquency add-ons above), and any capital contribution or transfer fee would appear on the estoppel certificate; none is published for Stonewater.
| Down payment | At $378,070 (all sales) | At $360,000 (resales) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 percent | $11,342.10 | $10,800.00 |
| 5 percent | $18,903.50 | $18,000.00 |
| 10 percent | $37,807.00 | $36,000.00 |
| 20 percent | $75,614.00 | $72,000.00 |
We print no figure for a title search, a settlement or closing fee, a lien search, a lender's title policy or a commission rate, because no dated public document we read sets one. Ask the closing agent for a written estimate, and ask your lender for a Loan Estimate that itemizes its own charges.
Taxes are prorated for the calendar year, because Florida property taxes are paid in arrears: bills go out about November 1 and become delinquent April 1. On a new home whose first bill was land only, ask the closing agent how the proration treats the improvement, because the next bill will value the finished house.
After you buy a Stonewater home, your property tax resets toward the price you paid, the homestead exemption takes the first $25,000 off all taxes and up to $26,411 more off non-school taxes, and Save Our Homes caps later increases at 3 percent or inflation. The district line follows the lot and is not reduced by homestead.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser, General Exemption Info, tax year 2026, and 2026 millage book printed October 9, 2026; City of Cape Coral release of October 6, 2026; School District of Lee County release of September 9, 2026; Florida Department of Revenue Save Our Homes table; read October 7 and 15, 2026).
Every Stonewater parcel is in taxing district 057, City of Cape Coral. The last certified total millage is 15.3806 mills, the 2025 rate. For 2026 the City Council kept the city's operating millage at 5.1471 and the School Board adopted 5.271 mills; the Property Appraiser's final 2026 book, printed October 9, 2026, applies a total of 15.3250 mills to the tax roll for district 057, against 15.3882 proposed in August.
The homestead exemption takes the first $25,000 of assessed value off all property taxes and up to $26,411 more off assessed value over $50,000 for non-school taxes. Applications are due by March 1 of the year you qualify. Save Our Homes then limits the yearly rise in a homestead's assessed value to 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower; the cap for 2026 is 2.7 percent.
A change of ownership triggers reassessment, so the seller's tax bill is not a guide to yours. On a resale bought from an owner who homesteaded in 2022 or 2023, the gap between the seller's capped value and your price can be large.
Florida assesses property as of January 1 each year, and an improvement not substantially completed on that date receives no value that year (section 192.042). A new Stonewater home finished after January 1 is first taxed on its land, and the house is first valued the following January 1. Budget for the second bill, not the first.
A homestead owner may carry up to $500,000 of Save Our Homes benefit to a new Florida homestead. If you are selling a Florida homestead to buy in Stonewater, ask the Property Appraiser about portability when you file.
Non-homestead property has a 10 percent yearly assessment cap that does not apply to school taxes. In the median example above, a non-homestead owner would pay $5,793.92 in ad valorem tax against $5,145.26 with homestead.
Paying the bill early earns a discount of 4 percent in November, 3 percent in December, 2 percent in January and 1 percent in February, none in March. The discount applies to the whole bill, district line included.
Amendment 3 passed on November 3, 2026 with 61.99 percent yes on the Florida Division of Elections’ unofficial count (60 percent was needed; Florida Election Watch, Amendments). The state certifies the final count later in November. It raises the non-school homestead exemption to as much as $150,000 from January 1, 2027 and $250,000 from January 1, 2028, leaves only the first $25,000 exempt from school taxes, and cuts the non-homestead cap from 10 percent to 5 percent. We price every example on the 2026 rules, which govern bills until the 2027 tax year.
Stonewater sits in FEMA Zone X, an area of minimal flood hazard, at every lot and lake tract we tested on maps effective November 17, 2022, and in Lee County Evacuation Zone C. The builder's features sheet lists block construction and hurricane storm panels, not impact windows, and the permit sets a minimum floor of 13.00 feet NGVD 29.
Data updated: October 2026 (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer re-checked at the central lot October 15, 2026; Lee County Evacuation Zones layer re-checked October 15, 2026; City of Cape Coral flood protection and FEMA pages read October 15, 2026; D.R. Horton standard features sheet, builder marketing, read October 15, 2026; Florida Building Commission page read October 15, 2026; National Hurricane Center report on Hurricane Ian).
We queried FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer at ten points: the northernmost, southernmost, westernmost and easternmost lots, the lot nearest the center and the center of each lake tract. Every point returned Zone X, area of minimal flood hazard, on panels 12071C0242G and 12071C0261G, effective November 17, 2022. Zone X is a map class, not a promise that a home cannot flood, and the lender's flood determination answers it for one house.
Cape Coral holds a Community Rating System Class 5 rating. Under FEMA's current rating method the discount applies to the full-risk premium of every National Flood Insurance Program policy in a participating community, including policies outside the Special Flood Hazard Area, so a Stonewater flood policy in Zone X carries the 25 percent discount. It is a discount on a premium, not a premium.
Lee County's evacuation layer places Stonewater in Evacuation Zone C at every point tested. The county's Zone C sheet says "Zone C will be evacuated later than Zone A or Zone B" and "While the risk is less, Zone C is still vulnerable to potentially fatal levels of storm surge flooding". The evacuation zone and the FEMA flood zone are different maps with different jobs.
The builder's standard features sheet lists steel reinforced concrete block construction and "Code approved hurricane storm panels" with double-pane Low-E vinyl windows. Storm panels are put up before a storm; impact windows are not on the sheet. On a resale, ask where the panels are stored and whether the full set conveys.
The Florida Building Code edition follows the permit application date: the 7th Edition (2020) for applications from December 31, 2020 to December 30, 2023, which by our reading covers homes built in 2022 and 2023, and the 8th Edition (2023) after that. The city's residential design guideline states a basic wind speed of 160 mph. The permit for any one home names its edition.
The district's stormwater permit sets a minimum building floor elevation of 13.00 feet NGVD 29, about 11.8 feet NAVD 88 by NOAA's conversion, and a minimum road crown of 11.50 feet NGVD 29. No lot's actual floor elevation is published, so ask for the elevation certificate for the house; many Cape Coral properties keep one on the city's Forerunner portal.
No flood depth, wind speed or damage figure for Stonewater exists on any record we read; the community was under construction in September 2022. For the city, the National Hurricane Center's report says "maximum inundation levels of 6 to 9 ft AGL occurred in Pine Island, Cape Coral, and other communities" along the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River.
Look up the address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and the county's evacuation lookup, ask the lender for its flood determination, ask for the elevation certificate and the wind mitigation form, and get binding homeowners and flood quotes inside the inspection period.
Insurance for a Stonewater home is a homeowners policy that covers wind, an optional flood policy in Zone X unless your lender requires one, and credits that depend on how the house was built. No Stonewater premium is published, so quotes for a specific house come inside your inspection period.
Data updated: October 2026 (Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, 2026 approved rate changes by county; Florida Statutes sections 627.0629, 627.701, 627.711 and 215.5586, 2026 edition; read October 15, 2026).
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation's 2026 approved rate changes for Lee County show homeowners multiperil (HO3) policies at an average of $3,322 before and $3,039 after an approved change of minus 8.5 percent across 5,586 policies, and wind-only (HW2) policies at $4,550 before and $4,279 after a change of minus 5.9 percent across 1,219 policies. These are county book averages, not a quote for a Stonewater house.
Flood insurance is a separate policy. In Zone X it is optional unless a lender requires it, so ask yours. The 25 percent Class 5 discount applies to every National Flood Insurance Program policy in Cape Coral, and the elevation certificate tells an underwriter the most about a house.
Section 627.701 requires insurers to offer hurricane deductibles of $500, 2 percent, 5 percent and 10 percent of the dwelling limit, and the annual hurricane deductible applies to all covered hurricane losses in a calendar year. The deductible on a given policy is on its declarations page.
Section 627.0629 requires insurers' rate filings to include discounts for features that reduce windstorm loss, and section 627.711 requires an insurer to accept the state's uniform mitigation form from an authorized inspector. The form records the roof shape, roof-to-wall attachment and opening protection of one house; for a Stonewater home the opening protection is storm panels on the builder's sheet. We print no discount percentage.
The My Safe Florida Home grant requires a home built before January 1, 2008 (section 215.5586). Stonewater homes were built from 2022, so the grant's build-year test is not met.
A premium decides whether the monthly number works, so we ask for binding quotes for the exact address, with its wind mitigation form, before the inspection period ends.
For 2026/27, the School District of Lee County places every Stonewater parcel in elementary Proximity Zone A, middle Proximity Zone AA and high school West Zone sub-zone 2. Applicants rank schools inside a zone and the district runs a lottery, so a zone does not name one school for a Stonewater address. We print no school grades or ratings.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County School Enrollment Zones 2026/2027 layer and Student Enrollment Plan 2026 to 2027, Board approved December 1, 2025, read October 15, 2026; route miles from a public routing engine run October 10, 2026).
| School | Level | Role in the 2026/27 plan | Route miles from the center of Stonewater |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariner Middle | Middle | Proximity Zone AA | About 2.3 |
| Hector A. Cafferata Jr. K-8 | K-8 | Proximity Zones A and AA | About 2.8 |
| Challenger Middle | Middle | Proximity Zone AA | About 3.9 |
| Patriot Elementary | Elementary | Proximity Zone A | About 4.0 |
| Skyline Elementary | Elementary | Proximity Zone A | About 4.1 |
| Trafalgar Elementary | Elementary | Proximity Zone A | About 5.0 |
| Oasis Elementary North | Elementary, municipal charter | Open enrollment, subject to seats | About 4.7 |
| Mariner High | High | West Zone sub-zone 2 | About 2.1 |
| Cape Coral High | High | West Zone sub-zone 2 | About 4.7 |
| North Fort Myers High | High | West Zone sub-zone 2 | About 6.9 |
| Ida S. Baker High | High | West Zone sub-zone 2 | About 7.0 |
| Island Coast High | High | West Zone sub-zone 2 | About 8.5 |
The district assigns students through residential and choice zones and sub-zones under its Student Enrollment Plan for 2026 to 2027, and open enrollment for that year began online on January 20, 2026. West Zone sub-zone 2 also includes the schools of the contiguous sub-zones W1 and W3. Which school a given address attends depends on the ranking and the lottery.
Mariner High, at 701 Chiquita Boulevard North, is about 0.28 mile from the nearest Stonewater lot in a straight line, and Mariner Middle about 0.33 mile. Each is one choice within its zone, not an assignment.
The City of Cape Coral runs Oasis Charter Schools, with four campuses: Oasis Elementary North, Oasis Elementary South, Oasis Middle and Oasis High. The city's fiscal year 2027 budget dedicates $50.4 million to the system, and Oasis High's own page says students living in any Florida school district may seek enrollment under the state's open enrollment law, subject to seat capacity.
Use the district's school zones page for the specific address before you sign, and keep the confirmation with your contract file.
From the center of Stonewater, HCA Florida Cape Coral Emergency is about 1.8 route miles, the Northwest Regional Library about 2.2, Cape Coral City Hall about 4.1, downtown Fort Myers about 11.2 and Southwest Florida International Airport about 24.1. These are route miles from a public routing engine run October 10, 2026, with no drive times.
Data updated: October 2026 (route miles from a public routing engine run October 10, 2026 from the lot nearest the center of the community; HCA Florida Healthcare announcement of August 14, 2026, Lee Health and Lee County Library System pages read October 15, 2026; Lee County toll schedule read October 7, 2026).
| Destination | Route miles from the center of Stonewater |
|---|---|
| Walmart Neighborhood Market, SW Pine Island Road (from open map data; store page not read) | About 1.6 |
| HCA Florida Cape Coral Emergency | About 1.8 |
| Northwest Regional Library | About 2.2 |
| Publix, Santa Barbara Centre | About 2.3 |
| Sam's Club | About 2.3 |
| ALDI, SW Pine Island Road | About 2.8 |
| Cape Coral City Hall | About 4.1 |
| Lee Health Convenient Care, Pine Island Road | About 4.9 |
| Cape Coral Hospital | About 5.3 |
| Target and Sprouts, NE Pine Island Road | About 5.3 |
| Matlacha | About 7.3 |
| Downtown Fort Myers | About 11.2 |
| Sanibel Causeway at Punta Rassa | About 19.2 |
| Fort Myers Beach, Lynn Hall Memorial Park | About 20.0 |
| Punta Gorda | About 23.7 |
| Southwest Florida International Airport | About 24.1 |
| Sanibel Lighthouse Beach Park | About 24.9 |
| Naples | About 53.1 |
HCA Florida Cape Coral Emergency, at 322 SW Pine Island Road, is open 24 hours and operates as a campus of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital. On August 14, 2026, HCA Florida Healthcare and the City of Cape Coral announced a full-service hospital on that site: about $300 million, three stories and about 200,000 square feet, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and opening expected in 2029. These are announced plans, not a hospital that exists today. Cape Coral Hospital (Lee Health), at 636 Del Prado Boulevard, is about 5.3 route miles away.
The Northwest Regional Library, at 519 Chiquita Boulevard North, opened in 2009, and the Lee County Library System calls it "the newest, and largest, branch" of the system. It is about 0.33 mile in a straight line from the nearest Stonewater lot.
The drive from Cape Coral toward Fort Myers is not tolled. A return over the Cape Coral Bridge or the Midpoint Memorial Bridge costs $2.00 with a transponder or prepaid account, and the Sanibel Causeway is $6.00 with a transponder. Lee County's LeeWay unlimited-trip program is $330 a year, against $500 for 250 tolled returns at $2.00.
Near Stonewater, the city's records show a 15.57-acre commercial corner at Tropicana Parkway West and Nelson Road with a city case whose outcome we could not read, signal and sidewalk items on nearby roads, utility extensions east and west, the Star Farms district at the city's northern edge and HCA's announced hospital on Pine Island Road.
Data updated: October 2026 (City of Cape Coral Hearing Examiner and City Council agendas read October 15, 2026; Florida Department of Transportation project pages read October 15, 2026; City of Cape Coral Utilities Extension Project pages; City of Cape Coral and Lee County Property Appraiser zoning layers re-checked October 15, 2026).
A separate commercial parcel of 15.57 acres at the southwest corner of Tropicana Parkway West and Nelson Road, zoned Neighborhood Commercial, is not part of the 327-lot community. City case PDP23-000004 asked to modify "a condition requiring that a portion of the site be developed with nonresidential or compound uses". The Hearing Examiner heard the case on March 19, 2024 and recommended approval, and City Council held a public hearing on Ordinance 37-24 on May 15, 2024. The outcome was not readable to us, so we print no plan, unit count or density. If you are buying near the corner, the city's case file is where the answer will appear.
City council agendas show design of a signal at Tropicana Parkway and Chiquita Boulevard (Resolution 26-26, February 18, 2026), a contract for a signal at Tropicana Parkway and Santa Barbara Boulevard (Resolution 184-25, July 16, 2025) and a Nelson Road sidewalk with a turn lane at Nicholas Parkway (Resolution 35-25, February 5, 2025). The state finished resurfacing, turn lanes and signals on SR 78, Pine Island Road, from Chiquita Boulevard to Santa Barbara Boulevard on June 30, 2025, and a separate study of widening SR 78 from Veterans Parkway to west of US 41 is expected to finish in mid 2027.
The Utilities Extension Project area North 2, which includes Stonewater, is complete. North 1 East, about a mile east, has had construction since December 2025 with completion expected at the end of 2027, and North 3 is in design about 4 miles west.
A community development district of about 1,280 acres for Star Farms at Cape Coral was approved on July 22, 2026, at the city's northern edge, and a December 3, 2025 council item names "Hudson Creek Off-Site Utilities Agreement Segment 1, Tropicana Parkway". For the land deal behind the project, read Hudson Creek, Lee County's record-breaking land deal.
The zoning record is inconsistent: the Property Appraiser lists R1 on 341 of the 344 Stonewater features, while the city's zoning map shows a Neighborhood Commercial polygon over the north and east parts of the community. The Stonewater planned development ordinance governs, and its text was not readable to us. We do not say the homes are commercially zoned.
In plain words, Stonewater is in northwest Cape Coral, north of Pine Island Road. The city's named "Northwest Cape" planning area is bounded on the east by El Dorado Boulevard, about 1.4 miles west of Stonewater, so Stonewater is not inside that area.
We find you the right Stonewater home by starting with your monthly number, including the district line, then setting the builder's remaining homes beside the resales on the market, then reading the recorded sales for each plan and street before you tour. In a community with three current plans, the plan and the lot decide more than finishes.
We build the carrying cost first: the estimated property tax, the district assessment, the city charges, the utility illustration and a quoted insurance premium, with the association dues entered once the budget or estoppel arrives.
We compare the builder's current list and terms with the resales active on the market, using the county's recorded builder-direct and resale sales.
For each address we pull the lake tract it touches, if any, its position against the open-space tracts and the commercial corner, its FEMA and evacuation zones, and its tax bill.
We tour with the document list in hand, and we ask the seller or the sales office for whatever the file is missing before you write an offer.
We negotiate for you in Stonewater from the county record: 38 estimated builder-direct sales at a $378,070 median and 4 resales at $360,000 in the 12 months to September 25, 2026, against an MLS median of 79.5 days on market and 97.2 percent of final list price. With a builder and resellers selling at once, terms move as much as price.
The builder's list price is the starting point, not the record. We bring the recorded builder-direct sales for the same plan size to the sales office, ask in writing what is included and what is an option, and ask for any closing cost or option credit in the contract, not in a sales conversation. We print no builder incentive, because those change week to week.
A resale seller competes with the builder's remaining homes and with 12 active listings on October 10, 2026. We price an offer against the four recent resales one at a time, against the builder's current list for the same plan, and against the district line on the seller's tax bill.
If the inspection finds a defect, if the estoppel shows a capital contribution, or if the lot backs onto a lake the district has named for repair, we use it to ask for a price change, a credit or a repair. Where a document is missing, we ask for the contract to say what happens.
A listing well past the 79.5-day median is one where we ask the listing agent what has changed. We tell you which instrument each number came from.
The deposit is held under the contract's terms. On a builder contract, read what happens to the deposit if financing fails; on a resale, calendar the inspection, HOA summary and financing deadlines that return it.
Since August 17, 2024, a buyer working with an agent who participates in a REALTOR-affiliated multiple listing service signs a written agreement before touring, stating the agent's compensation and that broker commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable. That requirement comes from the industry settlement, not from Florida statute, and it applies in Stonewater too.
Since the same date, offers of compensation to a buyer's broker are not advertised on the multiple listing service. A seller may still choose to offer compensation off the service, and seller concessions may still be listed.
Chapter 475 does not require a buyer agreement before a showing. Florida presumes a licensee acts as a transaction broker unless a single agent or no brokerage relationship is set in writing, and a licensee may not act as a dual agent (section 475.278). We explain the choice in writing before you sign.
Compensation is negotiable and is set in the buyer agreement and the contract. On a builder sale, ask the sales office in writing what, if anything, the builder pays a buyer's broker; on a resale, ask the seller's agent. We state ours before the first tour and print no rate on this page.
Financing a Stonewater purchase turns on four inputs: the down payment, the lender's treatment of the district assessment with the property tax, the association dues once known, and the appraisal against a record of mostly builder sales. A 20 percent down payment at the $378,070 median is $75,614.
A lender counts property taxes, insurance and association dues in your monthly payment, and the district assessment sits on the tax bill. At the adopted fiscal year 2026 figure, the district adds about $155.83 a month to that number, and about $180.58 a month at the proposed fiscal year 2027 figure.
Because the dues are not published, a lender will ask for them from the association or the estoppel certificate. Order it early so underwriting is not waiting on it.
The builder's Stonewater page, read October 15, 2026, advertises incentive offers. We print none, because they change week to week; compare any offer with an outside Loan Estimate on the same day and read what the offer requires.
An appraiser values a resale from comparable recorded sales, and in Stonewater most of those are builder-direct. In a market where the calendar-year median fell from $447,480 in 2022 to $374,999 in 2025, an appraisal can come in below a contract price set from older sales. We bring the recent sales, plan for plan, to the appraiser.
The current mortgage rate belongs to your lender. Freddie Mac publishes its Primary Mortgage Market Survey weekly, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains the Loan Estimate. We print no rate on this page.
Stonewater's pros for a buyer are FEMA Zone X at every point tested, block homes built from 2022, lakes behind about 6 in 10 lots and a choice between new and resale; its cons are a rising district assessment, a pending lake bank repair, unpublished dues and a builder that still controls the association. These describe homes and records.
The flood, construction and lake items are facts you can verify in the records cited here. The district line, the pending note and the unpublished dues are costs and unknowns you can price by asking for documents before you sign. The weight you give each is yours.
If you are also selling a Florida home to buy in Stonewater, the two transactions need one plan: the sale funds the purchase, the closing dates must line up, and a Florida homestead may carry up to $500,000 of Save Our Homes benefit to a new Florida homestead. We run both sides so neither date surprises you.
If you are moving within the community, start with a free Stonewater home valuation built on the county's recorded sales and the builder's current list. When you are ready to list, our guide to selling your home in Stonewater explains how we price a resale against the builder. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.
On a builder home the closing date depends on construction; on a resale it is in the contract. We map both dates before you sign, including the estoppel clock and the inspection period on each side.
For a home in another Cape Coral neighborhood, start with a Cape Coral home valuation or read how we sell homes in Cape Coral. Our guide to new construction in Cape Coral covers what to ask any builder before signing.
If you own in Stonewater and are thinking of selling, the useful first step is a pricing read against the 38 estimated builder-direct sales and the 4 resales recorded in the 12 months to September 25, 2026, and against the builder's current list. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072 or get a free home valuation. We lead Domain Realty Group, the #1 real estate team in Southwest Florida since 2012.
Get a Free Valuation in 60 Seconds. Get a free Stonewater home valuation, read how we sell homes in Stonewater, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.
We start from the builder's current list for your plan and the recorded builder-direct sales for the same plan size, then adjust for your lot, your options and the condition of a lived-in home, so a buyer can see why a resale is worth its price.
Buyers read it on your tax bill, so we put the adopted $1,869.96 and the proposed $2,166.99 in your listing file with the district's budget before a buyer asks.
Yes, a buyer's closing agent will order one; it costs up to $299 under section 720.30851, plus $119 for delivery within three business days.
The section 689.302 flood disclosure, at or before the contract is signed, covering known flooding, flood insurance claims and flood assistance during your ownership.
On the MLS, the 30 Stonewater closings in the 12 months to September 25, 2026 had a median of 79.5 days on market and sold at 97.2 percent of final list price.
A custom Stonewater listing alert tells you about the right home the day it reaches the market. With 12 active and 3 pending listings on October 10, 2026 and only four recorded resales in 12 months, the buyers who see a correctly priced resale first are the ones who get to tour it and write the first offer.
Price and bedrooms are the least useful filters. The ones that matter are plan size, new or resale, street, whether the lot touches a lake tract, and the year built.
To see which Stonewater homes are for sale, browse our team's Cape Coral search on Domain Realty Group, or tell us your criteria and we will build the saved search and send you the link. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873.
The Stonewater buyer consultation is a working session, not a sales meeting: we take your monthly number with the district line in it, compare the builder's three plans with the resales on the market, flag the lots that touch a lake tract or sit near the commercial corner, and give you the document list for the addresses you like. There is no charge and no obligation.
A carrying-cost model with the district assessment separated from the mortgage; the recorded sales for the plan and street you are considering; the FEMA and evacuation zones for any address you name; the district and association documents to request; and an estimate of your cash to close from the state figures in this guide.
Your timing, whether you are financing, whether you want a new home or a resale, whether you intend to homestead, whether you are selling a Florida home and might have portability to carry, and which amenity and lake questions matter for your plans.
Use the Stonewater buyer consultation, see how we represent buyers across Southwest Florida, or call Marc Comisar at (239) 287-5873 or Jesse McGreevy direct at (239) 898-6072. You are working with Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008.
McGreevy and Comisar are a top-reviewed Southwest Florida buyer team on Google, and the quotes below are five-star Google reviews from clients we represented, reproduced word for word. They are not Stonewater transactions unless the client says so, and we do not display an aggregate rating.
★★★★★ "Marc has been a great help in securing a great price for our home during its build phase. Negotiated a much better deal from the builder." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "Marc is extremely knowledgeable, professional and a true pleasure to work with. He kept us informed throughout the process and went over and beyond our expectations to ensure an extremely smooth process." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "Marc's knowledge of the Southwest Florida real estate market is unmatched. He took the time to understand exactly what I was looking for in a home and quickly identified properties that checked all my boxes." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "Marc knows the market, works for his buyer and is attentive to his goals." Verified Google review
These are the Stonewater questions a buyer will ask that no public primary source we could read answered. We would rather name the gap and the document that closes it than print a number from a listing sheet, and each item below names who settles it.
The questions below are the ones Stonewater buyers ask us most, from where the community is and who builds it to the district line, the dues, the documents and how the purchase runs. Each answer draws on a source, and where a fact is not public the answer says so and names the document that holds it.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County recorded sales through September 25, 2026, county roll dated October 4, 2026; Southwest Florida MLS (Matrix) pulled October 10, 2026; Stonewater Community Development District documents and builder page read October 15, 2026; Florida Statutes 2026 edition).
Stonewater sits at the southwest corner of Tropicana Parkway and Nelson Road, east of the Mariner Middle and High School campus and north of Pine Island Road (SR 78), in ZIP 33993. It covers about 185 acres around five lakes. Our Stonewater community guide has the full history and map facts.
D.R. Horton. The builder's Stonewater page, read October 15, 2026, shows "Closing Out" and three one-story plans, and the county parcel map still shows D.R. Horton as owner of record on lots in the community. The first recorded home sale is dated July 14, 2022.
Stonewater has 327 platted single-family lots and 17 common tracts. The county roll dated October 4, 2026 lists 337 parcels, which includes the tracts, so 337 is a parcel count, not a count of homes. The district assesses 327 single-family units.
Yes. The builder's page, read October 15, 2026, lists Stonewater as "Closing Out" with homes "From $328,990", and 13 of the 327 lots have no recorded improved sale in the county file through September 25, 2026. We print no inventory count, because it changes daily.
The builder lists the Clifton at 1,816 square feet (3 bedrooms, 2 baths, starting in the $329s), the Delray at 2,034 square feet (3 bedrooms, 2 baths, $339s) and the Shelby at 2,221 square feet (3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, $379s), each one story with a two-car garage, on its page read October 15, 2026.
Lee County recorded 42 home sales in Stonewater in the 12 months to September 25, 2026 at a median of $378,070, from $299,000 to $496,515. An estimated 38 were builder-direct at $378,070, and 4 were resales at a median of $360,000 (our analysis).
Yes, though resales are still few: 4 recorded resales in the 12 months to September 25, 2026, from $299,000 to $425,000. On the MLS, 12 Stonewater listings were active and 3 pending on October 10, 2026, and 16 of the 30 MLS closings in the 12 months carried the New Construction flag.
The 30 Stonewater closings on the Southwest Florida MLS in the 12 months to September 25, 2026 had a median of 79.5 days on market and sold at a median 97.2 percent of final list price, against 57 days and 98.3 percent in ZIP 33993. Months of supply on October 10, 2026 was 4.8.
We cannot say they do. In our measurement, the 16 recorded sales on lots touching a lake tract had a median of $407,500 and the 26 on other lots $365,390 in the 12 months to September 25, 2026, but the groups differ in plans, build years and sale types, so this is not a lake premium.
Yes. The Stonewater Community Development District was established December 14, 2020 by the City of Cape Coral under Ordinance 79-20 and Chapter 190, Florida Statutes. It owns the five lakes and the stormwater system, and its assessment appears on the Lee County tax bill.
$1,869.96 per lot for fiscal year 2026, the last adopted figure (operations $619.07 plus debt service $1,250.89). The district's hearing notice for September 14, 2026 proposes $2,166.99 for fiscal year 2027, and the adopted figure was not yet posted on October 15, 2026.
Until November 1, 2051. The district issued $7,020,000 of Series 2021 bonds on October 13, 2021 at fixed rates of 2.25 to 4 percent, with $6,410,000 outstanding after the November 1, 2025 payment. The debt service part of each lot's assessment is $1,250.89 a year.
The operations part rose to fund lake bank erosion repair. The fiscal year 2026 budget added a "Lake Erosion Repair" note repayment line of $109,000, and the district engineer reported erosion "primarily on the mining lakes" on September 11, 2025. The total rose $353.96, or 23.3 percent, from 2025 to 2026.
Not on any record we read. A note of up to $900,000 and the repair contract were on the district's June 11, 2026 agenda, and whether the note closed, who was awarded the work and when it will be done were not posted on October 15, 2026. Ask for the minutes and the contract.
They are not published by the association. We found no association website, and the recorded declaration was not reachable to us, so we print no dues figure. Ask the seller or the builder for the association's budget, and ask for an estoppel certificate, which costs up to $299.
Not on any record we could read. In the district's draft minutes of July 27, 2023 the board chair said the turnover "will be quite a while", and section 720.307 sets the test at 90 percent of parcels in all phases conveyed or an earlier event in the governing documents.
We cannot say. Leasing rules, including any minimum term or approval step, sit in the recorded declaration and the association's rules, and neither is published. Make delivery of the declaration part of your contract and read its leasing section inside the inspection period.
The builder describes Stonewater as gated, and no county, city or district record we read confirms it or says how the gate works. The main road tract is owned by the homeowners' association. Ask the association in writing before you rely on a gate.
The builder lists them on its page, read October 15, 2026. No court count, surface, hours or guest rules are published, so confirm in writing before you count on them. Jim Jeffers Park and Joe Stonis Park, about 4.6 and 5.7 route miles away, list lighted tennis courts with pickleball lines.
A community pool, a fitness room, a playground and an amenity building on the 2.20-acre recreation tract owned by the association are shown by the builder, and the district's minutes name the fitness center. Hours, guest rules and fees are not published.
The rules are not published. The five lakes belong to the district, whose rules of procedure carry no lake use rules, and the lakes have no connection to the canals or the Gulf. The city's BMX Boat Ramp, a freshwater launch, is about 3.4 route miles away.
FEMA Zone X, an area of minimal flood hazard, at all ten points we tested, on maps effective November 17, 2022, re-checked at the central lot on October 15, 2026. Zone X is a map class and not a promise; check any address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center.
That is for your lender and your own risk decision. In Zone X a flood policy is optional unless the lender requires one, and Cape Coral's Community Rating System Class 5 takes 25 percent off the full-risk premium of every flood policy in the city, Zone X included.
Lee County Evacuation Zone C at every point tested. The county says Zone C "will be evacuated later than Zone A or Zone B" and is "still vulnerable to potentially fatal levels of storm surge flooding".
The builder's standard features sheet lists "Code approved hurricane storm panels" and double-pane Low-E vinyl windows, not impact windows. On a resale, ask where the panels are stored and whether the full set conveys.
For a homesteaded home assessed at the $378,070 median, we estimate $5,145.26 in 2026 ad valorem tax, plus city charges of $1,062.68 and the district's $1,869.96, or $2,166.99 as proposed for 2027. Your bill resets after a purchase, and the estimate is not a bill.
It can be. Florida assesses property as of January 1, and a home not substantially completed on that date is first taxed on its land; the house is valued the following January 1 (section 192.042). Budget for the second bill.
Yes, available to every parcel. Whether a Utilities Extension Project installment appears on a given lot's tax bill is not shown on any record we read, so ask the city for its free payoff before you close.
On an 80 percent loan at the $378,070 median, mortgage stamps are $1,058.75, intangible tax $604.91 and recording a two-page deed $18.50, or $1,682.16, before inspections, lender fees, insurance and prorations. Lee County custom has the seller pay the deed stamps and owner's title policy; the contract controls.
In Lee County the seller customarily pays the owner's title policy and the deed stamps and chooses the closing agent. That is custom, not law: the contract controls, and on a builder sale the builder's contract states who pays.
For 2026/27 every parcel is in elementary Proximity Zone A, middle Proximity Zone AA and high school West Zone sub-zone 2. Applicants rank schools in the zone and the district runs a lottery, so check your address with the district. We print no school grades.
HCA Florida Cape Coral Emergency, a 24-hour emergency room on Pine Island Road, is about 1.8 route miles away, and Cape Coral Hospital about 5.3. HCA and the City announced on August 14, 2026 plans for a full-service hospital on the emergency site, with opening expected in 2029.
About 24.1 route miles to Southwest Florida International Airport, 20.0 to Lynn Hall Memorial Park on Fort Myers Beach and 19.2 to the Sanibel Causeway, from a public routing engine run October 10, 2026. We print no drive times.
A 15.57-acre commercial parcel at Tropicana Parkway West and Nelson Road, not part of the community, has a city case, PDP23-000004, with hearings on March 19 and May 15, 2024 and an outcome we could not read. The Mariner campus is to the west.
No. Stonewater is in northwest Cape Coral in plain words, but the city's named "Northwest Cape" planning area is bounded on the east by El Dorado Boulevard, about 1.4 miles west of Stonewater.
Stonewater recorded 42 sales at $378,070 with a district line; Coral Lakes recorded 67 at $247,990 with no district, in the 12 months to September 25, 2026. Coral Lakes mixes older homes and townhomes; Stonewater is single-family homes from 2022.
Yes, if your agent participates in a REALTOR-affiliated MLS: since August 17, 2024 a written agreement is signed before touring, stating compensation and that commissions are negotiable. On a new home, bring your agent to the first visit and ask the builder about its registration policy.
You can ask, in writing, for price, options or closing cost credits in the contract. We bring the recorded builder-direct sales for the same plan size to the conversation; we print no incentive, because builder offers change week to week.
The builder's features sheet lists a one-year builder warranty and a 10-year Residential Warranty Corporation limited warranty; whether either transfers to a second owner is in the warranty booklet, which we did not read. Ask the seller for it.
Call Marc at (239) 287-5873 or book a Stonewater buyer consultation. The first conversation sets the builder's plans beside the resales on your monthly number, with the district line in it and the document list for any address you name.
Every document below links to the body that issues it rather than to a copy we host, so it stays current when the issuer updates it. A Stonewater buyer is handed several of these during a transaction, and reading them before the offer costs nothing.
| Document | Issuing body | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year 2026 adopted budget | Stonewater Community Development District | FY2026 budget |
| Fiscal year 2027 assessment hearing notice packet, September 14, 2026 | Stonewater Community Development District | Hearing packet |
| Fiscal year 2027 proposed budget | Stonewater Community Development District | FY2027 proposed budget |
| Agenda packet with the fiscal year 2025 audit, June 11, 2026 | Stonewater Community Development District | June 11, 2026 packet |
| Official List of Special Districts | Florida Department of Commerce | Official list |
| Stonewater standard features sheet (builder document) | D.R. Horton | Features sheet |
| Fla. Stat. 720.401, HOA disclosure summary | Florida Legislature | Section 720.401 |
| Fla. Stat. 190.048, district disclosure | Florida Legislature | Section 190.048 |
| Fla. Stat. 689.302, flood disclosure | Florida Senate | Section 689.302 |
| Fla. Stat. 720.30851, estoppel certificates | Florida Senate | Section 720.30851 |
| Evacuation Zone C sheet | Lee County Emergency Management | Zone C sheet |
| FEMA Flood Map Service Center | Federal Emergency Management Agency | FEMA flood maps |
| 2026 millage book | Lee County Property Appraiser | 2026 millage book |
| Water, wastewater and irrigation rates, October 1, 2026 | City of Cape Coral | Rate schedules |
| Student Enrollment Plan 2026 to 2027 | School District of Lee County | Enrollment plan |
| 2026 approved rate changes by county | Citizens Property Insurance Corporation | Citizens rates |
| Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form | Florida Division of Emergency Management | Wind mitigation form |
| Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Ian | National Hurricane Center | Hurricane Ian report |
Every source below was read or checked on the date in its line, and no competitor brokerage or listing portal appears, by policy; builder pages are labelled builder marketing. County sales figures are our analysis of the Lee County roll dated October 4, 2026 and recorded sales through September 25, 2026.
McGreevy and Comisar are the Southwest Florida team Stonewater buyers call when a purchase has to be priced against a builder's list and the county record and closed without surprises. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar have been Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 and lead the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012.
McGreevy and Comisar are a top-reviewed buyer team in Southwest Florida, and Stonewater buyers get the same partner-level representation our clients from Estero to Cape Coral get. If you are searching for the best buyer's agent in Stonewater, Cape Coral, Florida, McGreevy and Comisar represents homebuyers across Cape Coral, Lee County, Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples, Fort Myers, Collier County and Charlotte County. Whether you are relocating, snowbirding, buying your first home or upgrading, our team provides honest market guidance, partner-level negotiation and a clear plan to help you buy confidently.
Our Fort Myers office is at 8290 College Parkway, Unit 201, Fort Myers, FL 33919, serving Cape Coral. Jesse McGreevy (Sales Associate, SL3101296) and Marc Comisar (Broker Associate, BK3060671) are licensed Florida Realtors with Domain Realty, regulated by the Florida Real Estate Commission under Chapter 475, Florida Statutes. Meet Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, or read about McGreevy and Comisar.
The community guide for this purchase is our Stonewater neighborhood guide. Selling first? Read how we sell homes in Stonewater, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. Ready to buy? Start your Stonewater buyer consultation or call Marc at (239) 287-5873. Owners can also see what their Stonewater home is worth, and the other Cape Coral guides are in buying a home in Cape Coral.
McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group, a full-service Southwest Florida real estate team. Learn more at DomainRealtyGroup.com.
Lee County recorded sales analyzed October 2026 (county roll dated October 4, 2026). Market data from Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 10, 2026. Brokered by Domain Realty.