Buckingham
Buckingham is a rural Census place east of Fort Myers in ZIP 33905: about 1,672 homes, most on an acre or more, horses allowed on many lots, plus new builds at Bentley Crossing. Sell or buy with McGreevy and Comisar.
Buckingham is a rural Census place east of Fort Myers in ZIP 33905: about 1,672 homes, most on an acre or more, horses allowed on many lots, plus new builds at Bentley Crossing. Sell or buy with McGreevy and Comisar.
By Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, McGreevy and Comisar, Domain Realty Group. Updated November 2026.
McGreevy and Comisar are the best realtor for Buckingham because Buckingham is an area, not a single subdivision: roughly 3,200 parcels of rural lots, older platted streets and a few new-build pockets east of Fort Myers, and each kind of property prices differently. If you are comparing agents, our guide to the best real estate agents in Fort Myers sets local agents side by side on the public record.
Data updated: November 2026 (Lee County parcel layer and recorded sales, 12 months to mid-September 2026, our analysis).
If you're searching for the best realtor for Buckingham in Fort Myers, whether you're ready to sell your Buckingham home or buy your next one, McGreevy and Comisar is the team that delivers. We lead Domain Realty Group, the #1 real estate team in Southwest Florida since 2012, Top 1% Nationally since 2008, with over $2.5 billion sold as a team and $900 million in personal sales between Jesse and Marc. Our Domain Realty Group team is also the #5 real estate team in Florida (RealTrends 2026).
Recent Buckingham market (Lee County recorded, DOR-qualified sales, 12 months to mid-September 2026): 80 single-family sales · median $410,000 · median $253 per heated square foot · prices from $166,500 to $1,800,000.
These are county recorded sales, which include sales the MLS never sees, and every figure is a market total across all brokerages.
Honors and recognition:
Selling your Buckingham home? Get a free home valuation at mcgreevyandcomisar.com/home-valuation, read our guide to selling a home in Fort Myers, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. Our guide to home values in Fort Myers goes deeper on pricing, costs and disclosure.
Buying a home in Buckingham? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873 for a personalized buyer consultation, and see how we represent buyers. Our guide to buying a home in Fort Myers covers offers, inspections, insurance and closing costs.
Buckingham is a rural, large-lot community east of Fort Myers where the median home sits on about one acre and the newest homes are builder-direct sales in a gated pocket. These ten facts are the spine of the page, and each is expanded, dated and sourced below.
Data updated: November 2026 (sources named in each bullet and in the sections below).
Buckingham, Florida is an unincorporated rural community in northeast Lee County, east of Fort Myers, with a Fort Myers mailing address and large lots instead of a city grid. It is bordered by Fort Myers on the southwest and by unincorporated Lehigh Acres on the south and east (Wikipedia, citing the Census Bureau).
Data updated: October 2026 (U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb and Lee County parcel layer, October 28, 2026).
Buckingham is neither a city nor part of the City of Fort Myers. The Census Bureau defines a census designated place as a concentration of population identifiable by name but not legally incorporated (Census glossary), and Buckingham is one of those, with no mayor, council or city tax. It sits in unincorporated Lee County, in County Commission District 5 and Lee County School Board District 5 on the county's 2026 layers. The postal city is Fort Myers, which is why a Buckingham address reads "Fort Myers, FL" even though the property is outside city limits.
Buckingham is also a recorded subdivision family inside this area ("Buckingham Park," "Buckingham Estates," "Buckingham Air Park East") and a Lee Plan planning name (the Buckingham Community Plan). It is not the Buckingham in Virginia, Pennsylvania or England. The nearby community of Tice is a separate place, and the Riverdale library area near 2421 Buckingham Rd is south of State Road 80 and outside the Census boundary.
Buckingham's main ZIP code is 33905 (Fort Myers), and a smaller southern and eastern edge uses 33971 (Lehigh Acres). We counted all 3,229 Lee County parcels whose center falls inside the Census boundary on October 28, 2026:
ZIP code | Parcels | Share | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
33905 (Fort Myers) | 2,752 | 85.2 percent | Most of Buckingham, including Bentley Crossing and Horse Creek |
33971 (Lehigh Acres) | 332 | 10.3 percent | Southern and eastern edge, including Unice Avenue Townhomes and part of the Buckingham Park South section |
The county roll leaves the remaining parcels blank or carries a data-entry code on the Orange River Boulevard streets, so those are not additional ZIP codes. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are generalized shapes for mail delivery and are not community boundaries (Census Bureau). ZIP 33905 is much larger than Buckingham and also covers Tice and other east Fort Myers areas, so ZIP-wide figures should not be read as Buckingham figures. In plain terms: Buckingham mail is delivered under Fort Myers 33905, and the southern edge near Lehigh Acres uses 33971. Fire service follows the same split, with the Tice Fire District covering 2,570 of the parcels and the Lehigh Acres Fire District covering 470.
Buckingham covers 18.0 square miles of land (46,632,506 square meters) plus a small amount of water in the Census boundary, centered near 26.661 degrees north and 81.740 degrees west (TIGERweb, GEOID 1209350). The Census boundary is a statistical line, not a legal one, so some plats continue past it: Fort Myers Suburban Truck Farms, Colvins and Town and Country Estates each straddle the edge.
Lee County's own planning map is the better guide to how locals use the name. The Lee Plan treats "Buckingham" as planning community 20 and describes it as the Buckingham Rural Community Preserve, with a commercial node at the intersection of Orange River Boulevard and Buckingham Road. Neighbors that touch the boundary but are not Buckingham include Verandah, Portico, Valencia Harbor and the Lehigh Park lots that make up much of Lehigh Acres.
By our arithmetic, 3,229 parcels over 18.0 square miles is about 179 parcels per square mile, a fraction of a typical suburban subdivision.
The Census Bureau counted 4,443 people in Buckingham in 2020, up from 4,036 in 2010 and 3,742 in 2000. Between 2010 and 2020 the count rose by 407 people, or 10.1 percent. The 2020 count included 1,684 households and 1,834 housing units, of which 8.2 percent were vacant (Census 2020 as summarized by Wikipedia).
The Census five-year survey for 2020 to 2024 estimates 4,311 people (margin of error 807) and 1,969 housing units (margin of error 308) (Census Reporter). Survey estimates carry sampling error, and the decennial count is the firmer number. By our arithmetic, 4,443 people over 18.0 square miles is about 247 people per square mile.
Search the street address or the STRAP number at the Lee County Property Appraiser, then read the legal description. A legal description that names "BUCKINGHAM PARK," "HORSE CREEK," "BENTLEY CROSSING" or a section, township and range tells you which plat or tract the parcel belongs to. Plats and recorded documents are searchable at the Lee County Clerk's official records.
Three examples show how the roll reads. The vacant commercial parcel at 4901 Buckingham Rd (STRAP 05442600000283000) is 3.276 acres zoned C-1A in the Tice Fire District. The Buckingham Trails Preserve parcel at 8790 Buckingham Rd (STRAP 20442600000010000) is 131.2 acres zoned AG-2. The Buckingham Community Center at 4940 Buckingham Rd is county-owned. Check the zoning code, the acreage and the fire district before you assume anything else about a parcel.
Living in Buckingham means a detached home on a lot that is usually an acre or more, with no city services, a drive to shopping and a quiet road network. The county plan was written to keep it that way: the Lee Plan states the goal of preserving "the existing rural and agricultural land use pattern" and the area's "historic and rural character."
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County parcel layer, October 28, 2026; Lee Plan Buckingham chapter).
Buckingham lots are large and varied. The county roll shows that of 1,672 improved single-family parcels, 606 sit on 1 to 2.5 acres, 290 on 2.5 to 5 acres and 143 on 5 to 10 acres. Only 239 homes sit on under a quarter acre, almost all in the Buckingham Park plat and Bentley Crossing. The 10th to 90th percentile of lot size runs from under a quarter acre to roughly 5 acres.
Streets reflect that. Buckingham Rd and Orange River Blvd are the main routes. Lee Plan Policy 20.2.1 limits multi-lane expansion to four-laning of Buckingham Road, keeps other roads two-lane and bars new east-west collector roads in the Preserve. The plan also prohibits residential project walls and allows only undulating berms, so new communities do not wall themselves off along the road. About 602 improved single-family parcels (36 percent) carry a pool.
Yes, Buckingham is zoned for it on most parcels. AG-2, Lee County's agricultural district, covers 2,084 parcels (64.5 percent), and Lee Plan Objective 20.6 protects tree farms, citrus, stables, cattle, goats and other livestock. Commercial boarding stables may give lessons and clinics where otherwise lawful, and feed-and-tack type uses are allowed in agricultural districts with zoning approval. The county has also committed to work with the community on an interconnected park, hiking and horse trail system (Policy 20.5.1).
The Buckingham Trails Preserve at 8790 Buckingham Rd has 572 acres and more than 7 miles of trails, of which 4.8 miles are shared horse and hiking trails. For horse structures, Lee's land development code sets setbacks in Section 34-1292, and Florida Statute 604.50 governs nonresidential farm buildings. County and state sources do not set a single animals-per-acre figure, so confirm the permitted use, structure setbacks and lot size for the exact parcel with Lee County zoning staff before you buy.
Some parcels also carry the county's agricultural classification (the greenbelt tax treatment under Florida Statute 193.461): 319 parcels show an agricultural classification amount. That treatment follows bona fide agricultural use rather than the parcel, so confirm it survives a sale.
Mostly no. Lee County's neighborhood layer flags only two Buckingham plats as gated: Bentley Crossing (235 parcels) and Horse Creek (136 parcels). Everything else is ungated. We found no 55+ community, no community development district and no golf or club membership inside the boundary. Buckingham is not a 55+ community.
Mandatory association details are covered in the zoning and governance section below, because the entity names, fees and rules for Bentley Crossing and Horse Creek must come from the recorded declarations and the state's corporate filings, not from a summary.
Daily services in Buckingham come from Lee County and special districts instead of a city. Garbage collection is county garbage district 004 on all 3,229 parcels. Fire protection is the Tice Fire Protection and Rescue District for most parcels, created by the legislature and approved by referendum in September 1976, and the Lehigh Acres Fire District for the southern edge. The Tice district reports that its rating improved to Public Protection Class 2 in 2016 within five road miles of its Tice or Buckingham station (Tice Fire District history).
Water and sewer deserve a direct question at every address. The Lee Plan does not extend central sewer into the Preserve except in mapped service areas, and central water may be extended along roads at the owner's request and cost, on a voluntary basis. Availability of water or sewer is never a reason for more density. Public places include the county-owned Buckingham Community Center at 4940 Buckingham Rd, in the historic Buckingham School building, and the Buckingham Trails Preserve.
Buckingham's name comes from local tradition, and its best-documented history is the Army airfield that trained gunners here in World War II. A local newspaper account says the community was settled by people of British ancestry who named it after Buckingham Palace, and that the Orange River was once called "12 Miles Creek" until it was dredged in 1902 (East Lee County News). That is a single local source, so treat it as tradition rather than verified history. We could not find a recorded date for the first Buckingham Park plat or for the post office name.
Data updated: October 2026 (Museum of Florida History, Lee County Mosquito Control District, National Park Service, Lee County GIS).
Buckingham Army Airfield was a World War II flexible gunnery school of the Army Air Forces Training Command, activated in July 1942 as Buckingham Field. The Museum of Florida History says local Fort Myers officials acquired 6,500 acres in Buckingham and leased it to the Army in early 1942, that 483 buildings went up (including seven mess halls, one hangar, 228 barracks and 24 hospital buildings), and that about 50,000 airmen trained as aircrew gunners on B-17 and B-24 aircraft (Museum of Florida History).
The Lee County Mosquito Control District gives somewhat different figures: over 48,000 airmen, a $10 million cost, 7,000 acres drained by canals, six runways at the peak, more than 16,000 men and women and about 700 buildings (Lee County Mosquito Control District). So the honest range is about 48,000 to 50,000 airmen on 6,500 to 7,000 acres. A Central Instructors School was added in December 1942, and shore ranges on the Gulf coast and on Marco and Sanibel islands served as gunnery targets.
The field closed on September 30, 1945, and the land was returned to the City of Fort Myers. The Mosquito Control District says the barracks served as classrooms for Edison College until 1948, and that the District moved its operations to the site in 1968. By then the six runways and most buildings were gone, the site had shrunk to about 250 acres and one original building remained. The District still operates it as a private airfield, FL59 Buckingham Field, labeled "Lehigh West Airport" on some aeronautical maps. A historical marker was erected on July 5, 2002, for the 60th anniversary.
The wartime land is now a patchwork. Lehigh Acres' roughly 61,000-acre boundary includes the former runways (Wikipedia, Lehigh Acres), and the county neighborhood layer still shows a 10-parcel "Buckingham Airfield" polygon. The Buckingham Trails Preserve, 572 acres, preserves trap-shooting bunkers and two ground-moving target ranges from the training program. A memorial to Buckingham and Page Army Airfields stands in the Fort Myers River District (ArtsWFL).
Buckingham grew slowly and then stayed deliberately rural. The Census counted 3,742 people in 2000, 4,036 in 2010 and 4,443 in 2020. The county roll's year-built field shows the pace of homebuilding: 44 surviving single-family homes from the 1950s, 70 from the 1960s, 193 from the 1970s, 293 from the 1980s, 308 from the 1990s and 346 from the 2000s.
The defining event was the Rural Community Preserve. According to the community's own account, resident Don Blackburn initiated the Buckingham Community Rural Preserve in 1990 (East Lee County News), and Lee County amended its comprehensive plan on January 25, 1991 (Ordinance 91-19) to designate protective provisions within the Rural Community Preserve category (Lee County staff report CPA2002-11). The chapter began as Goal 17 and is now Goal 20. The Tice Fire Protection and Rescue District followed a separate path, created in 1976 after earlier ratings of ISO Class 10 for Buckingham.
The Preserve has been tested repeatedly. Developers sought more homes on about 130 acres at Orange River Boulevard and Staley Road, where the Orange River Estates RPD was approved in 2005 for up to 213 homes. On February 7, 2024, Lee commissioners voted 3 to 0 to allow 259 homes after two earlier rejections, with 34 residents speaking in opposition (Gulfshore Business). On April 1, 2025, commissioners voted unanimously to buy the 129.56 acres for $10.5 million for Conservation 20/20 (East Lee County News).
Buckingham has one National Register property and six more local designations. The Buckingham School, also known as the Twelve Mile Stream, Orange Creek or Orange River School, stands at Buckingham and Cemetery Roads, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 17, 1989 (reference 89000011) and now houses the county's Buckingham Community Center at 4940 Buckingham Rd (National Park Service record).
Lee County's historic layer lists these designations in Buckingham:
Designation | Local reference |
|---|---|
Buckingham School (district) | HD1990-03-01 |
Orange River Home | HD1991-02-01 |
Cox House | HD1995-06-02 |
Buckingham Store | HD1995-10-01 |
Wooten | HD2002-04-02 |
Peace House | HD2004-07-01 |
Idylwild Farm (local landmark) | 2007 |
A historic designation can affect what you may change on a parcel, so ask the county about the exact address before planning an addition.
Buckingham is governed by unincorporated Lee County and zoned mostly AG-2 agricultural, with the Lee Plan's Buckingham Community Plan capping density at one home per acre. Those two layers explain why the lots are large and why a rezoning request here draws crowds to the county meeting.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee Plan Buckingham chapter and Lee County parcel layer, October 28, 2026).
The Buckingham Community Plan is Goal 20 of the Lee Plan, the county's comprehensive plan, and it sets the rules for the Buckingham Rural Community Preserve. Lee Plan Policy 1.4.3 states that these lands "are not to be converted to future urban or suburban areas; rather, they are to remain permanently rural," with low-density residential on minimum lot sizes, agricultural uses and minimal non-residential uses. Other rules in the chapter include:
Status check before you rely on the plan: the county's Lee Plan overhaul (amendment CPA2026-00005) proposes deleting Goal 20 and moving three policies into Policy 1.4.3, stating that the Rural Community Preserves category "will continue to control the development in this area" and that no Future Land Use Map change is proposed. Gulfshore Business reports the overhaul would eliminate 17 community plans, including rural Buckingham, and that the Local Planning Agency voted 4 to 2 to send it back to commissioners (Gulfshore Business; Gulf Coast News). We checked this on October 28, 2026 and found nothing adopted, so verify the current status with Lee County before you buy acreage on the strength of these rules.
Buckingham's Rural Community Preserve allows a maximum of one dwelling unit per acre, and bonus density is not allowed. The minimum lot area is 43,560 square feet (one acre), computed without road right-of-way, easements, water management areas and natural water bodies, unless the lot is clustered. Clustering requires residential planned development (RPD) zoning, a site of at least 10 acres and buildings set back 100 feet from the RPD boundary (Policies 20.1.3 to 20.1.5).
Not every parcel follows that pattern. The roll shows 239 improved single-family homes on under a quarter acre, in the Buckingham Park plat and in Bentley Crossing, which is a planned development. How the preserve rules treat a particular small lot is an address-level question for Lee County zoning staff.
AG-2 covers nearly two-thirds of Buckingham parcels. The county parcel layer shows these districts for the 3,229 parcels inside the boundary:
Zoning district | Parcels | What it is on the ground |
|---|---|---|
AG-2 | 2,084 (64.5 percent) | Lee's agricultural district: acreage tracts, ranchettes, Horse Creek and the river-lane plats |
RS-1 | 518 | Residential single-family, the Buckingham Park plats |
RPD | 318 | Residential planned development, including Unice Avenue Townhomes |
MPD | 237 | Mixed-use planned development, Bentley Crossing |
RS-2 | 26 | Residential single-family |
C-1A | 8 | Commercial, including the vacant parcel at 4901 Buckingham Rd |
CF | 5 | Community facilities |
RVPD | 5 | Recreational vehicle planned development (Cypress Trail and Cypress Woods RV resorts) |
AG | 4 | Agricultural |
The remaining parcels fall in categories with single-digit counts each. The county sections that govern agricultural districts are Sections 34-652 to 34-654 of the land development code (Lee County agenda attachment).
Subdividing is limited by the one-acre rules above. A parcel can be split into lots of at least one acre each (computed as described), and a cluster layout needs RPD zoning on at least 10 acres. Because water and sewer availability never justifies extra density in the Preserve, you cannot buy your way past the cap by connecting to utilities.
We did not find a plain-language county rule on guest houses, accessory dwellings or a second home on one parcel in the county and state sources we checked, so we will not describe one. Ask Lee County zoning staff in writing about the specific parcel, its zoning district and any existing home before you plan a second dwelling or a split, and check whether a recorded declaration adds its own limits.
Most Buckingham plats are ungated, and the county record shows no mandatory association for them. Bentley Crossing and Horse Creek are the two gated plats on the county layer. Association names, fees and rules for both: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-28); ask for the association's governing documents and fee schedule before you write an offer. D.R. Horton's community page lists "HOA" as a line in its payment estimate with no dollar amount.
Before you rely on anything about an association, pull the active entity at the state's corporate search and the recorded declaration from the Lee County Clerk. That declaration is where fees, rental, pet and exterior rules live. The Buckingham Community Association and the earlier Buckingham Conservancy are volunteer civic groups that work on preserving the Rural Community Preserve; they are not mandatory homeowner associations.
Buckingham is made of more than 30 platted subdivisions plus about 966 acreage tracts, led by Buckingham Park, which has 751 parcels. The table below uses Lee County's own neighborhood layer for parcel and home counts and the property roll for typical lot size, all pulled October 28, 2026.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County neighborhood layer, parcel layer and Property Appraiser roll, October 28, 2026).
Subdivision or plat | Parcels | Homes (county layer) | Typical lot (median roll acres) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Buckingham Park (all sections) | 751 | 495 | 0.24 in the main plat, 0.59 in the N E Section | RS-1 and AG-2, built 1960 to 2024, ungated |
Bentley Crossing | 235 | 60 | 0.15 | Gated, D.R. Horton, MPD, 2024 builds |
Horse Creek | 136 | 104 | 1.06 | Gated, AG-2, built 2006 to 2023 |
Buckingham Estates (county layer: Remington Oaks) | 76 | 62 | 1.02 | AG-2, built 2007 to 2023 |
Mackaboy Farms | 68 | 63 | 2.45 | AG-2, built 1954 to 2013 |
Citrus River Estates | 66 | 63 | 1.27 | AG-2, river-lane plat |
Orange River Ranchettes | 65 | 63 (17 manufactured) | 5.00 | AG-2 five-acre lots |
River Grove Estates | 64 | 58 | 1.12 to 1.52 | AG-2, built 1980 to 2020 |
Westwood Acres | 39 | 40 (11 manufactured) | 5.00 | AG-2 five-acre lots |
Eastwood Acres | 38 | 32 (10 manufactured) | 5.00 | AG-2 five-acre lots |
Fort Myers Suburban Truck Farms | 37 | 34 | 2.5 to 4.0 | Historic farm tracts |
Town and Country Estates | 32 | 31 | 0.34 to 1.16 | AG-2 |
Colvins Town and Country | 30 | 21 | 0.84 | AG-2 |
Rancho Eighty | 25 | 20 | 4.24 | AG-2 |
Briarwood Shores | 25 | 19 | 0.51 | RS-1 |
Shady River Park | 20 | 20 | 0.41 | AG-2, built 1956 to 1978 |
Unice Avenue Townhomes | 337 | 0 | 0.06 | ZIP 33971, no improved parcels on the roll |
Smaller plats include Willis Subdivision (20 parcels), Johnson and Parnell (17), Lazy Acres Ranchettes (14), Coyles (12), Orange River Park (12), Rahaman's Estates (11), Orange River Oaks (8), Swaying Oaks (8), Hunts (8) and Venture Estates (7). Homes counted by the county layer include manufactured units.
Buckingham Park is the largest platted area in Buckingham, with 751 parcels and 495 homes on the county layer, mostly on quarter-acre to half-acre lots. The main plat has 486 parcels (315 improved) on a median lot of 0.24 acre, zoned RS-1, with homes built from 1960 to 2024, a median of 1,777 heated square feet and a median roll value of $306,935. The North East Section has 220 parcels (148 improved) on a median 0.59 acre, with a median of 1,851 heated square feet and a roll value of $468,024.
The roll references Plat Book 9, pages 59 to 98, and a replat at Plat Book 27, pages 190 to 192. Another 53 Buckingham Park parcels sit on the Lehigh Acres side. In the 12 months to mid-September 2026, Lee County recorded 32 qualified Buckingham Park sales at a median $360,500, or $217 per heated square foot.
Bentley Crossing is Buckingham's new-build pocket: 233 platted lots (235 parcels on the county layer), gated, zoned MPD, in ZIP 33905. D.R. Horton markets the Express and Tradition series there with 2 to 5 bedrooms, 2 to 3 baths, a 2-car garage and plans from 1,614 square feet, with prices from $299,999 (builder page, October 28, 2026). The roll showed 44 improved lots, all built in 2024, with a median of 1,616 heated square feet and a roll value of $279,718.
Because sales are builder-direct, the county record shows 52 qualified Bentley Crossing sales in the 12 months to mid-September 2026 at a median $315,270 and $192 per heated square foot. The builder's payment estimate includes HOA dues, but it publishes no dollar fee, so ask for the declaration.
Horse Creek is Buckingham's gated acre-lot community, with 136 parcels, 104 homes, AG-2 zoning and a median lot of 1.06 acres. Homes were built from 2006 to 2023, the median home has 2,618 heated square feet and the median roll value is $837,904, the highest of any large plat. A Buckingham Conservancy letter in the county record says Horse Creek was selling one-acre lots under the Preserve rules (Lee County record).
The Orange River plats are the river-lane streets the county groups with the river. River Grove Estates has 64 parcels and 58 homes on lots of roughly one to one and a half acres, built 1980 to 2020, with a median of about 2,100 heated square feet. Citrus River Estates has 66 parcels and 63 homes on a median 1.27 acres, built 1976 to 1998 in its main phase. Mackaboy Farms has 68 parcels and a median lot of 2.45 acres. Briarwood Shores (RS-1, 0.51 acre) and Shady River Park (0.41 acre) are smaller-lot river streets, and Orange River Ranchettes and Orange River Oaks add five-acre and one-acre options.
Lee Plan Policy 20.1.7 requires a 50 foot setback from the Orange River, so check what fits on a river lot before you plan a dock, pool or addition.
Buckingham Estates is a 76-parcel, one-acre plat of newer homes. The property roll's legal text reads "Buckingham Estates," while the county's neighborhood map labels the same footprint "Remington Oaks Subdivision," so confirm the name against the recorded plat before using either. Homes were built from 2007 to 2023, with a median of 2,885 heated square feet, a median lot of 1.02 acres and a median roll value of $633,450.
Buckingham Air Park East is a small plat of 12 parcels, 4 of them improved, on a median 1.00 acre, with 2006 to 2010 homes among the largest in Buckingham (median 3,025 heated square feet, median roll value $914,053). With so few homes, treat these figures as a snapshot rather than a trend.
Westwood Acres and Eastwood Acres are five-acre ranchette plats of 38 or 39 parcels each, zoned AG-2. Westwood Acres has 35 improved parcels built from 1925 to 2024, a median of 1,776 heated square feet and a median roll value of $392,247. Eastwood Acres has 31 improved parcels built from 1972 to 2024, a median of 1,440 heated square feet and a median roll value of $349,893. Each plat includes manufactured homes (11 in Westwood, 10 in Eastwood), and Eastwood has one parcel zoned C-1.
Rancho Eighty (25 parcels, median 4.24 acres) and Lazy Acres Ranchettes (about 13 parcels, median 4.68 acres) follow the same ranchette pattern.
About 966 Buckingham parcels are not in a named plat and are described by section and metes and bounds, which is the largest single group on the roll. Of those, 727 are improved, 913 are zoned AG-2 and the median tract is 3.58 acres. Homes there date from 1892 to 2024, with a median of 1,867 heated square feet and a median roll value of $398,438.
The largest holdings are public or agricultural: parcels of 574 acres, 501 acres and 294 acres appear on the roll under agricultural, institutional and county-owned use codes. Single-family homes on 2.5 acres or more sold 12 times in the 12 months to mid-September 2026 at a median $680,000, or $301 per heated square foot. Vacant residential land sold 22 times in the same period at a median $120,000.
Buckingham has about 1,672 improved single-family homes, a median of 1,910 heated square feet, built in a median year of 1996. The counts below come from the Lee County parcel layer read on October 28, 2026, restricted to the 3,229 parcels inside the Census boundary.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County parcel layer and Property Appraiser roll, October 28, 2026; Census ACS 2020 to 2024).
Buckingham lots are bigger than most of Lee County. The median improved single-family lot is about 1 acre. Here is the distribution:
Lot size (GIS acres) | All parcels | Improved single-family homes | Share of homes |
|---|---|---|---|
Under 0.25 | 873 | 239 | 14.3 percent |
0.25 to 0.5 | 318 | 206 | 12.3 percent |
0.5 to 1 | 241 | 168 | 10.0 percent |
1 to 2.5 | 787 | 606 | 36.2 percent |
2.5 to 5 | 503 | 290 | 17.3 percent |
5 to 10 | 360 | 143 | 8.6 percent |
10 to 20 | 98 | 19 | 1.1 percent |
20 and over | 49 | 1 | 0.1 percent |
The 873 parcels under a quarter acre are mostly vacant lots, which is why the vacant-land count is so close to that row. By the table, 1,059 homes (63 percent) sit on an acre or more.
The typical Buckingham home was built in the 1990s. The median year built is 1996, with the 10th percentile at 1971 and the 90th at 2019. The roll shows these counts by decade of construction:
Decade built | Single-family homes |
|---|---|
Before 1950 | 26 |
1950s | 44 |
1960s | 70 |
1970s | 193 |
1980s | 293 |
1990s | 308 |
2000s | 346 |
2010s | 175 |
2020s | 153 |
Those rows add to 1,608 homes with a recorded year built; the rest lack the field. About 40 percent of homes (674) were built since 2000. The Census survey agrees on the broad shape: 87 homes built in 2020 or later, 103 from 2010 to 2019, 518 from 2000 to 2009 and 392 from 1990 to 1999, each with a margin of error.
The median Buckingham home has 1,910 heated square feet, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The 10th percentile is 1,196 heated square feet and the 90th is 2,927, and the 90th percentile home has 4 bedrooms and 3 baths.
Heated square feet | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
Under 1,000 | 148 | 8.9 percent |
1,000 to 1,500 | 289 | 17.3 percent |
1,500 to 2,000 | 522 | 31.2 percent |
2,000 to 2,500 | 374 | 22.4 percent |
2,500 to 3,000 | 195 | 11.7 percent |
3,000 to 4,000 | 103 | 6.2 percent |
4,000 and over | 41 | 2.5 percent |
Heated area is the roll's own field and is not an appraisal, and older outbuildings and cottages can pull the smallest bucket down.
Yes to all three, in small numbers except for vacant lots. The roll codes 84 parcels as mobile homes (use code 02), and the county's neighborhood layer counts manufactured units in Orange River Ranchettes (17), Westwood Acres (11), Eastwood Acres (10) and Town and Country Estates (6). The Census survey, which counts structures as respondents report them, estimates only 7 mobile homes with a margin of error of 9, so the two counts do not match. The roll also carries 51 parcels in the small multifamily use code (08), while the Census survey estimates no two to four unit structures (margin of error 15).
Vacant residential land is the big category: 873 parcels, plus 22 vacant-land sales in the 12 months to mid-September 2026 at a median $120,000. The RV resorts Cypress Trail and Cypress Woods sit on the edge of the boundary under RVPD and MHPD zoning, and the Lee Plan bars new RVPD rezonings in Buckingham. The Census survey estimates 1,884 detached single-family homes among 1,969 housing units.
The Lee County Property Appraiser's just value for the median Buckingham single-family home is $376,676, with the middle half running from $291,826 to $518,970. Land value has a median of $121,933 and building value $227,469. Just value is the appraiser's roll figure, not a sale price, and it lags the market.
By comparison, the 12-month median recorded sale of $410,000 is higher than the median roll value, and the Census survey estimates a median owner-occupied home value of $431,100 (margin of error $35,644) for 2020 to 2024. The roll shows 1,528 parcels with a homestead exemption, about 91 percent of the improved single-family count, so homestead and Save Our Homes assessment limits matter when you price a home. Prices run widest by lot size and gated plat: Horse Creek's median roll value is $837,904, Buckingham Estates' is $633,450, Buckingham Park's main plat is $306,935 and Bentley Crossing's is $279,718.
Buckingham sold 80 single-family homes at a median of $410,000, or $253 per heated square foot, in the 12 months to mid-September 2026, using Lee County recorded, DOR-qualified sales. That median sits about 9 percent under the 60-month median of $450,000, and the gap comes mostly from how many small new-build homes in Bentley Crossing now sit beside the large-lot acreage sales.
Southwest Florida MLS figures for Buckingham: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-11-01). The sales below are Lee County recorded, DOR-qualified sales, which include sales the MLS never sees. In the last 12 months we tracked all 80 single-family sales and all 22 vacant-land sales recorded on Buckingham parcels, across every brokerage and every private sale.
Data updated: November 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser sales file and parcel layer, newest Buckingham sale September 16, 2026; county sales index rebuilt November 1, 2026).
Method: we counted every qualified sale on the 3,229 parcels whose center falls inside the Census Bureau's Buckingham boundary, so a sale counts by where the parcel sits and not by what the plat is called. Qualified means the state's sale codes 01 and 02, meaning an arm's-length sale at a price the county accepts as market. Windows are 12, 24, 36 and 60 months back from September 16, 2026.
Buckingham had 146 qualified sales of every property type in the 12 months since September 16, 2025, and 80 of them were improved single-family homes. The first table counts every qualified sale in the Buckingham boundary, including vacant land, farm parcels and mobile homes.
Window | Qualified sales | Median price | Mean price | Median per heated sq ft | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Last 12 months (since Sept 16, 2025) | 146 | $346,938 | $439,364 | $254 | $35,900 | $1,800,000 |
Last 24 months (since Sept 16, 2024) | 279 | $354,655 | $445,559 | $262 | $25,000 | $1,955,000 |
Last 36 months (since Sept 17, 2023) | 390 | $354,644 | $426,351 | $262 | $25,000 | $1,955,000 |
Last 60 months (since Sept 16, 2021) | 700 | $375,225 | $426,492 | $253 | $25,000 | $2,700,000 |
The single-family table is the one to read for house prices, because it leaves out land, farm and other use codes.
Window | Single-family sales | Median price | Mean price | Median per heated sq ft | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Last 12 months (since Sept 16, 2025) | 80 | $410,000 | $535,128 | $253 | $166,500 | $1,800,000 |
Last 24 months (since Sept 16, 2024) | 184 | $420,000 | $511,929 | $257 | $93,000 | $1,955,000 |
Last 36 months (since Sept 17, 2023) | 246 | $427,750 | $508,900 | $260 | $93,000 | $1,955,000 |
Last 60 months (since Sept 16, 2021) | 460 | $450,000 | $501,680 | $249 | $27,000 | $2,700,000 |
The mean runs well above the median in every window, which tells you a handful of large acreage and Horse Creek sales pull the average up. The median is the better guide to a typical sale.
Buckingham's median price per heated square foot was $253 across the 80 single-family sales in the last 12 months. The figure changes sharply with lot size, because acreage homes sell for more per square foot of house than homes on small lots.
Lot size (single-family, last 12 months) | Sales | Median price | Median per heated sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
Under 1 acre | 46 | $339,750 | $216 |
1 to 2.5 acres | 22 | $781,250 | $304 |
2.5 acres or more | 12 | $680,000 | $301 |
All single-family | 80 | $410,000 | $253 |
Per square foot is an improved-home measure, so we print it only where the county roll carries a heated area. Twenty of the 80 sales are Bentley Crossing homes, and most of those show no heated area in the county file because the new building had not yet reached the roll.
Buckingham's median single-family price peaked in 2022 at $499,000 on 111 sales, and the latest 12-month median of $410,000 is about 18 percent below that calendar-year figure. The 60-month window starts in September 2021, so it still contains the run-up, and each shorter window shows a lower median than the one before.
Single-family window | Sales | Median price | Change from the 60-month median | Median per heated sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Last 60 months (since Sept 16, 2021) | 460 | $450,000 | baseline | $249 |
Last 36 months (since Sept 17, 2023) | 246 | $427,750 | down 4.9 percent | $260 |
Last 24 months (since Sept 16, 2024) | 184 | $420,000 | down 6.7 percent | $257 |
Last 12 months (since Sept 16, 2025) | 80 | $410,000 | down 8.9 percent | $253 |
The calendar-year view shows the same arc from a lower start.
Year | All qualified sales | Median | Single-family sales | Single-family median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | 120 | $263,000 | 98 | $265,000 |
2020 | 146 | $249,450 | 108 | $290,667 |
2021 | 192 | $292,500 | 137 | $330,000 |
2022 | 157 | $430,000 | 111 | $499,000 |
2023 | 128 | $385,500 | 81 | $450,000 |
2024 | 102 | $404,750 | 59 | $475,900 |
2025 | 153 | $350,000 | 116 | $373,932 |
2026 (to Sept 16) | 104 | $349,500 | 51 | $495,000 |
Read the price per square foot beside the price. The median price per heated square foot moved only from $249 in the 60-month window to $253 in the 12-month window, so the median price fell because the mix changed, not because the same house sells for 9 percent less. The 2026 single-family median of $495,000 on 51 sales is higher than 2025 because more of this year's sales so far are acreage and Horse Creek homes. We do not attribute any price change to a storm or to a rate change, because the county file shows what sold and not why.
Builder-direct new homes in the Buckingham area sold at a median near $322,500 in the 12 months since November 2025, while resales sold near $389,900 on a broad set of plats and near $560,000 on a tight set of core plats. Builder-direct means the first sale of a new home, nearly all of it Bentley Crossing.
We re-ran the county sales file by plat name on the index built November 1, 2026, at 11:35 a.m. Eastern. Lee's recorded-sales file carries sales only into late September 2026, so these name-based counts cover the 12 months since November 2025 and differ slightly from the boundary-based tables above, which remain the current county view.
Plat set (12 months since Nov 2025) | Category | Sales | Median price |
|---|---|---|---|
Broad set, every plat that appears inside Buckingham | All | 220 | $349,949 |
Broad set | Builder-direct | 91 | $322,500 |
Broad set | Resale | 129 | $389,900 |
Core plats found only in Buckingham | All | 81 | $348,875 |
Core plats | Builder-direct | 46 | $318,079 |
Core plats | Resale | 35 | $560,000 |
The broad set is an upper bound, because some plats such as Fort Myers Suburban Truck Farms, Colvins and Town and Country Estates continue past the Buckingham line. The core-plat set is the tighter view, and it shows the split plainly: a new Bentley Crossing house sells at about $318,000, while a resale in the older large-lot plats sells at about $560,000. Both views agree that new construction in Buckingham is the entry price point and acreage resales are the upper tier.
Buckingham's highest single-family sale in the last 12 months was $1,800,000 for a 2003 home on 2 acres at 6720 Cadet Ave, and the lowest was $166,500 for a 968 square foot 1961 home. These are the eight highest and six lowest of the 80 sales.
Sale date | Address | Price | Heated sq ft | Lot acres | Built | Price per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 10, 2026 | 6720 Cadet Ave | $1,800,000 | 3,073 | 2.00 | 2003 | $586 |
January 6, 2026 | 4030 Horse Creek Blvd | $1,250,000 | 3,179 | 1.05 | 2009 | $393 |
October 9, 2025 | 4610 Pine Level Way | $1,230,000 | 2,398 | 2.02 | 2015 | $513 |
August 12, 2026 | 4140 Horse Creek Blvd | $1,180,000 | 3,162 | 1.19 | 2007 | $373 |
June 1, 2026 | 14041 River Rd | $950,000 | 3,085 | 2.43 | 1997 | $308 |
October 22, 2025 | 5751 Jackson Rd | $950,000 | 4,038 | 6.44 | 2020 | $235 |
April 2, 2026 | 6261 Greenbriar Farms Rd | $949,000 | 2,344 | 5.04 | 1983 | $405 |
June 9, 2026 | 11130 Long Rd | $885,000 | 2,559 | 2.44 | 2022 | $346 |
Sale date | Address | Price | Heated sq ft | Lot acres | Built | Price per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 30, 2025 | 12531 Orange River Blvd | $166,500 | 968 | 0.29 | 1961 | $172 |
December 30, 2025 | 12531 Orange River Blvd | $238,000 | 968 | 0.29 | 1961 | $246 |
August 21, 2026 | 1168 Brooklands Dr (Bentley Crossing) | $274,999 | not on roll | 0.12 | new build | not available |
September 4, 2026 | 14200 Carlotta St | $275,000 | 1,502 | 0.26 | 1997 | $183 |
August 26, 2026 | 6201 Industry Ave | $282,000 | 1,274 | 1.46 | 1973 | $221 |
April 28, 2026 | 4051 Buckingham Rd | $282,500 | 936 | 2.10 | 1946 | $302 |
The same 1961 house at 12531 Orange River Blvd appears twice, at $166,500 and again at $238,000 three months later. The county file does not say why the price rose, so we draw no conclusion beyond the two recorded prices.
Buckingham is several markets in one boundary, so the headline median describes none of them well. A buyer shopping a new Bentley Crossing home is in the low $300,000s, a buyer of an older Buckingham Park house on a quarter acre is in the mid $300,000s to $400,000s, and a buyer of a home on one acre or more is in the $700,000s and up. A seller should be priced against the group the home belongs to, by lot size and plat, not against the community median.
The recorded sales also run behind the market by weeks, since a sale appears in the county file only after it closes and records, and the county file for Lee currently ends in late September 2026. If you are thinking about selling, our home valuation page and seller guide show how we price a specific property. If you are buying, start at our Fort Myers buyer page or our buying overview, or contact us for a walk through of the plats that fit your budget.
Buckingham acreage prices climb with lot size up to about two and a half acres and then flatten, and in the last 12 months a single-family home on one acre or more sold at a median of $680,000 to $781,250. The Lee Plan holds most of Buckingham to one home per acre, which is why so many parcels are large.
Data updated: November 2026 (Lee County recorded, DOR-qualified sales to September 16, 2026; Lee County Property Appraiser parcel layer, October 28, 2026).
Across the 1,672 improved single-family parcels on the county roll, the median lot is about 1 acre. The roll counts 606 homes on 1 to 2.5 acres, 290 on 2.5 to 5 acres and 143 on 5 to 10 acres, and only 239 homes on under a quarter acre, which are the Buckingham Park plat and Bentley Crossing.
Buckingham homes on 1 to 2.5 acres sold at a median of $781,250 in the last 12 months, on 22 sales at $304 per heated square foot.
Window | Sales | Median price | Mean price | Median per heated sq ft | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Last 12 months | 22 | $781,250 | $805,955 | $304 | $282,000 | $1,800,000 |
Last 24 months | 53 | $705,000 | $716,992 | $290 | $219,900 | $1,955,000 |
Last 36 months | 77 | $670,350 | $667,876 | $282 | $146,500 | $1,955,000 |
Last 60 months | 160 | $585,000 | $610,411 | $266 | $79,500 | $1,955,000 |
This is the one acreage tier where the median has risen in every shorter window, from $585,000 over 60 months to $781,250 over 12. The range is wide, from $282,000 for a 1,274 square foot 1973 house on 1.46 acres to the $1,800,000 sale at 6720 Cadet Ave.
Buckingham homes on 2.5 acres or more sold at a median of $680,000 in the last 12 months, on only 12 sales at $301 per heated square foot.
Window | Sales | Median price | Mean price | Median per heated sq ft | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Last 12 months | 12 | $680,000 | $679,312 | $301 | $300,000 | $950,000 |
Last 24 months | 31 | $649,000 | $630,827 | $300 | $125,000 | $1,030,000 |
Last 36 months | 45 | $625,000 | $603,602 | $297 | $125,000 | $1,030,000 |
Last 60 months | 88 | $624,000 | $649,431 | $289 | $125,000 | $2,700,000 |
Twelve sales is a thin sample, so one or two sales can move the median. The $2,700,000 high is in the 60-month window only.
Buckingham homes on under an acre sold at a median of $339,750 in the last 12 months, on 46 sales at $216 per heated square foot. This tier holds Buckingham Park and Bentley Crossing, the two places where lots are quarter-acre or smaller.
Window | Sales | Median price | Mean price | Median per heated sq ft | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Last 12 months | 46 | $339,750 | $367,990 | $216 | $166,500 | $758,800 |
Last 24 months | 100 | $341,250 | $366,388 | $217 | $93,000 | $758,800 |
Last 36 months | 124 | $345,000 | $375,813 | $220 | $93,000 | $1,063,000 |
Last 60 months | 212 | $348,495 | $358,288 | $217 | $27,000 | $1,063,000 |
This tier is the most stable in the county data, with a median that has stayed between $339,750 and $348,495 across all four windows. For one plat of this kind, Buckingham Park (all sections) had 32 qualified sales in the last 12 months at a median of $360,500 and $217 per heated square foot, and 120 sales over 36 months at a median of $336,000.
Buckingham vacant residential land sold at a median of $120,000 on 22 qualified sales in the last 12 months, with prices from $35,900 to $640,000. Land prices swing with lot size, flood zone and road access, so the median describes the mix of lots that happened to sell.
Window | Vacant residential sales | Median price | Mean price | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Last 12 months | 22 | $120,000 | $175,536 | $35,900 | $640,000 |
Last 24 months | 39 | $80,000 | $149,877 | $25,000 | $640,000 |
Last 36 months | 69 | $65,000 | $133,659 | $25,000 | $815,000 |
Last 60 months | 122 | $75,000 | $137,606 | $25,000 | $815,000 |
Farm-use parcels, which carry county use codes 60 to 69, form a separate small group.
Window | Farm-use sales | Median price | Mean price | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Last 12 months | 5 | $750,000 | $888,000 | $440,000 | $1,610,000 |
Last 24 months | 9 | $750,000 | $836,111 | $440,000 | $1,610,000 |
Last 36 months | 14 | $662,500 | $689,320 | $250,480 | $1,610,000 |
Last 60 months | 28 | $597,500 | $611,951 | $148,155 | $1,610,000 |
The roll shows 873 vacant residential parcels and about 306 farm-use parcels in the Buckingham boundary. Of those, 319 parcels carry a Lee County agricultural classification, the greenbelt treatment under Florida Statute 193.461. That classification is tied to bona fide agricultural use and not to the parcel automatically, so a buyer of acreage should confirm with the Lee County Property Appraiser that it survives a sale.
Buckingham's new construction is concentrated in Bentley Crossing, a gated D.R. Horton community of 233 platted lots, with a smaller pocket of newer custom homes on acreage in Buckingham Estates and Horse Creek. The county roll shows 153 homes built in the 2020s and 175 in the 2010s, against 346 from the 2000s.
Data updated: November 2026 (Lee County recorded, DOR-qualified sales to September 16, 2026; D.R. Horton community page, read October 28, 2026; Lee County Property Appraiser parcel layer, October 28, 2026).
Bentley Crossing is a gated, master-planned community of 233 lots on about 96 acres, zoned as a mixed planned development and first approved by Lee County in 2016. D.R. Horton is the builder, the first homes were built in 2024, and the county neighborhood layer counted 60 single-family homes there at the layer date. The county roll shows a median lot of 0.15 acres, a median of 1,616 heated square feet and a median just value of $279,718 for the 44 homes then on the roll.
D.R. Horton's community page, read October 28, 2026, lists "Express" and "Tradition" series homes from $299,999, with 2 to 5 bedrooms, 2 to 3 baths, a 2-car garage and homes from 1,614 square feet. Its monthly payment estimate includes an HOA line but prints no dollar figure for the fee. The builder page also advertised a limited-time financing offer on certain homes (contract on or after August 19, 2026, close by December 15, 2026), so ask the builder what is current. See the D.R. Horton Bentley Crossing page for floor plans and availability.
Window | Qualified sales | Median price | Mean price | Median per heated sq ft | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Last 12 months (since Sept 16, 2025) | 52 | $315,270 | $321,497 | $192 | $255,999 | $389,000 |
Last 24 months (since Sept 16, 2024) | 74 | $316,752 | $320,651 | $183 | $255,999 | $389,000 |
Last 36 months (since Sept 17, 2023) | 74 | $316,752 | $320,651 | $183 | $255,999 | $389,000 |
Last 60 months (since Sept 16, 2021) | 74 | $316,752 | $320,651 | $183 | $255,999 | $389,000 |
All 74 recorded sales are inside the last 24 months, which matches the 2024 start of home sales, and 52 of them closed in the most recent 12. The single-family table above counts 20 Bentley Crossing sales among its 80, while this table counts 52 qualified sales on Bentley parcels, a wider cut, so the two should not be added together. The most recent Bentley Crossing sales in the county file:
Sale date | Address | Price |
|---|---|---|
August 21, 2026 | 1168 Brooklands Dr | $274,999 |
March 25, 2026 | 1298 Brumfield Xing | $328,999 |
March 25, 2026 | 1286 Brumfield Xing | $310,000 |
February 26, 2026 | 1297 Brumfield Xing | $319,999 |
February 10, 2026 | 1291 Brumfield Xing | $330,000 |
January 9, 2026 | 1180 Brooklands Dr | $301,999 |
December 29, 2025 | 1292 Brumfield Xing | $329,999 |
December 22, 2025 | 1279 Brumfield Xing | $330,000 |
Builder prices include whatever incentives the builder applied, and the county file shows only the recorded price. Bentley Crossing is not a 55+ community and sits outside any flood hazard area in our parcel screen: none of its 44 improved homes screened as Zone AE (see the flood section below).
Yes, on a lot that meets the Lee Plan, but Buckingham's rules are stricter than most of Lee County and a buyer should confirm every lot with the county before closing. Buckingham sits in the Rural Community Preserve, where the Lee Plan allows a maximum of one home per acre, no bonus density, and a minimum lot area of 43,560 square feet (one acre), counted without road right-of-way, easements, water-management areas or natural water bodies.
What the county plan and zoning say, in plain terms:
Building permit history by address sits in the Lee County permit portal, which blocked our scripted lookups, so we publish no permit counts or timelines. The Lee Plan's Buckingham chapter is also under review: Lee County's CPA2026-00005 overhaul proposes deleting the stand-alone Buckingham goal and moving three of its policies into the Rural Community Preserve policy, and says the Rural Community Preserve category "will continue to control the development in this area" with no Future Land Use Map change proposed. We have not confirmed that the county adopted it, so check the current Lee Plan text before relying on any single policy. The county's Buckingham chapter comparison shows the proposed changes.
Buckingham property taxes depend on the county's taxing districts for each parcel, and the one district rate we could confirm is Tice Fire's 3.75 mills for fiscal year 2025 to 2026. We do not print a countywide millage, a school rate or a total bill, because we did not retrieve the Lee County Tax Collector's rate table for a Buckingham parcel.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser parcel layer, October 28, 2026; Tice Fire Protection and Rescue Service District budget resolutions of September 2025).
Buckingham parcels pay into the Tice Fire Protection and Rescue Service District or, along the southern edge, the Lehigh Acres Fire District. The county parcel layer lists the fire district on all 3,229 Buckingham parcels.
Fire district on the parcel | Parcels |
|---|---|
Tice Fire District | 2,570 |
Lehigh Acres Fire District | 470 |
None listed | 189 |
The roll also shows 2,394 parcels in the tax district coded Tice Fire, 490 in Lehigh Acres Fire and 338 in a combined Tice Fire and Lehigh Acres Light district. Every one of the 3,229 parcels sits in Lee County's garbage district 004. We found no community development district for any Buckingham plat, and Buckingham has no municipal services improvement district of its own, so there is no CDD assessment line to expect. The Tice district was created by the Florida Legislature in Chapter 2000-438, Laws of Florida, and states that it may levy ad valorem taxes, impact fees, user charges and non-ad valorem assessments. Its published district notice says it levies up to 3.75 mills, and the board adopted a final operating rate of 3.75 mills for the year beginning October 1, 2025 at its September 30, 2025 hearing, with a final budget of $9,384,114.
A full Buckingham bill adds the county, school, water management and other levies to the fire district, and we can only show the fire district part from our sources. A mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, so 3.75 mills is $3.75 per $1,000.
Taxable value of the home | Tice Fire levy at 3.75 mills |
|---|---|
$200,000 | $750 |
$300,000 | $1,125 |
$410,000 | $1,537.50 |
That table is arithmetic on one rate, not a tax bill. Taxable value is the appraiser's assessed value less exemptions, and it usually differs from the sale price. Two Florida rules decide how far apart those two numbers sit.
The county's just value runs below the market price: the median improved single-family just value on the roll is $376,676, and the 25th to 75th percentile runs from $291,826 to $518,970. For an actual bill, use the Lee County Tax Collector at the county's tax collector website or call 239-533-6000, which posted that 2026 tax bills would be released over the weekend of October 30, 2026. Ask your agent to pull the current bill for any specific parcel, since the sale triggers a reassessment.
Most of Buckingham has no HOA, and the county layer flags only two Buckingham communities as gated: Bentley Crossing (235 parcels) and Horse Creek (136 parcels, 104 homes). Association names and fee schedules for both: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-28), so we publish no dollar figure.
Whatever the association, Florida's HOA law gives a buyer a path to the numbers. See Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes for the association's obligations, and request the governing documents and a statement of account before you write an offer.
Some of Buckingham is and most of it is not, and the split follows the Orange River. In our October 28, 2026 screen of the FEMA flood map at the center of each of 1,756 improved homes, 1,247 (71.0 percent) fell in Zone X and 505 (28.8 percent) in Zone AE, a Special Flood Hazard Area; 4 returned no answer.
Data updated: October 2026 (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, queried October 28, 2026; Lee County evacuation layer, October 28, 2026).
Zone X means the point is outside the mapped Special Flood Hazard Area, and the sampled Zone X points include some shaded as a 0.2 percent annual chance flood hazard. Zone AE means the point is inside the 1 percent annual chance floodplain with an established base flood elevation, and the points we sampled in River Grove Estates and Briarwood Shores returned a base flood elevation of 10 feet. These are centroid screens, meaning one point per parcel, not a flood determination for any address.
Plat or group | Improved homes | In Zone AE | Share in AE | Evacuation zones present |
|---|---|---|---|---|
River Grove Estates | 44 | 43 | 98% | A |
Mackaboy Farms | 42 | 41 | 98% | A |
Citrus River Est (county spelling variant) | 30 | 30 | 100% | A |
Citrus River Estates | 25 | 22 | 88% | A |
Briarwood Shores | 19 | 19 | 100% | A |
Shady River Park | 17 | 17 | 100% | A |
Coyles Subd | 10 | 10 | 100% | A |
Horse Creek | 104 | 37 | 36% | A |
Acreage parcels described by section | 557 | 211 | 38% | A, B, C, D |
Buckingham Estates | 62 | 12 | 19% | B |
Buckingham Park NE Section | 145 | 17 | 12% | B, C, D |
Buckingham Park | 315 | 2 | 1% | C, D |
Bentley Crossing | 44 | 0 | 0% | D |
Orange River Ranchettes | 38 | 0 | 0% | D |
Westwood Acres | 30 | 0 | 0% | D |
Eastwood Acres | 28 | 0 | 0% | D |
Town and Country Estates | 21 | 0 | 0% | D |
Colvins | 17 | 0 | 0% | D |
The pattern is clear. The platted river lots along the Orange River sit almost entirely in Zone AE, the large Buckingham Park core is almost entirely Zone X, and the acreage parcels split about 38 percent AE. A neighbor's zone is not your zone, so use FEMA's Map Service Center and the property's own elevation certificate.
The map panels are not all the same age. Panels 12071C0313F and 12071C0314F, which cover the Buckingham Park area and 583 of the homes we screened, carry an effective date of August 28, 2008. Most of the other panels (12071C0292G, 0311G, 0312G, 0284G, 0291G, 0303G) carry November 17, 2022, and panel 0295G carries December 7, 2018.
Lee County evacuation zone | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
A | 512 | 29.2% |
B | 191 | 10.9% |
C | 103 | 5.9% |
D | 940 | 53.5% |
E | 10 | 0.6% |
Zone A, the first zone evacuated for storm surge, is the Orange River plats and Horse Creek, and zone D covers most of Buckingham Park and the new-build areas. Confirm your zone at Lee County's Know Your Zone page or the state's Know Your Zone tool.
A home in Zone AE with a federally backed mortgage must carry flood insurance, and the lender will ask for an elevation certificate. A cash buyer is not forced to buy it, but the same flood risk exists. A home in Zone X can still flood and may still have flood insurance, usually at a lower cost, and some buyers choose it for that reason.
Buckingham flooded from storm surge pushed up the Orange River during all three storms, and the damage we found reported was on river frontage and low-lying roads like Coyle Road. Not every plat was affected: our flood screen shows the Buckingham Park core and the new-build areas outside the mapped floodplain.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Department of Natural Resources statement carried by Gulf Coast News, October 15, 2024; East Lee County News, November 18, 2024; Wikipedia storm summaries).
Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa on September 28, 2022 as a Category 4 storm, with a coastal surge of 10 to 15 feet that did most of its damage in Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Pine Island. Buckingham is inland, but Orange River frontage homes flooded, and one Coyle Road homeowner told Gulf Coast News in October 2024 that her home was still "ripped apart from Ian" and that she had only just received her first insurance check, shortly before Helene. Lee County's Department of Natural Resources said Ian, Helene and Milton "were all storm surge events that produced the three highest recorded elevations on the Caloosahatchee River."
A county gauge placed on the Orange River Boulevard bridge on September 11, 2024 recorded the Orange River at 5.7 feet during Helene and 6.1 feet during Milton, about 3 to 4 feet above normal. The county's statement said the rain gauge at the waste-to-energy plant recorded 1.44 inches during Helene and 1.81 inches during Milton, "neither event produced unusually high rainfall totals," and that "during surge events, the river will not allow the surrounding areas to drain as they would under normal conditions." In plain terms, the water in Buckingham's creeks and ditches could not leave, so it ponded.
Residents on Coyle Road told Gulf Coast News their homes flooded at least three times in 2024 and that drainage ditches and culverts were never installed along parts of the road. Neighbors had raised a home nearly four feet. That is residents' account and the county's reply is that the creeks and drainageways are on private property and their maintenance is the owners' responsibility. See the Gulf Coast News report for both sides.
East Lee County News reported in November 2024 that Buckingham has no municipal services improvement district, so drainage depends on the county, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District and the South Florida Water Management District, and that the writer saw poor coordination among them. The same article says the river was once called "12 Miles Creek" until it was dredged in 1902. Treat this as a local opinion piece, and read it at East Lee County News. The Irma flood of 2017 also hit Buckingham, and the News-Press published a photo gallery on the losses.
Ask for the home's own history, not the plat's. Request any past flood claims, the elevation certificate, repair permits, and photos from the storms, and compare the property to the zone and evacuation tables above. The county response so far includes the 2024 river gauge and a debris-removal effort listed by the Water Atlas, and county leaders weighed a $713,000 state funding request to reduce chronic Orange River flooding, though we read only a headline and clip on that.
Yes, Buckingham carries a documented wildfire risk, and Lee County's Community Wildfire Protection Plan rates the Tice community, the fire district that covers most Buckingham parcels, "High" at 63 percent overall. The plan, prepared by SWCA in 2025, scored the area as extreme for fuels, defensible space and historic fire occurrence; for comparison it rated Lehigh Acres "High" at 64 percent and Fort Myers Shores "Moderate" at 58 percent.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Community Wildfire Protection Plan communities layer; Lee County NFIRS wildfire layer, October 28, 2026; Tice Fire District).
The county's wildfire incident layer holds 22 vegetation-fire records inside the Buckingham boundary, all answered by Tice Fire. They run from January 2023 to December 2024 and include natural-vegetation, grass, brush and woods fires. Tice crews also fought a brush fire in the Buckingham Trails Preserve area.
What that means for an owner of a large lot: keep grass and brush trimmed back from the house, store firewood and propane away from structures, and check whether burn restrictions apply before you burn. The Florida Forest Service publishes wildfire mitigation and prevention guidance, and the county's project page for the plan is at SWCA. Florida's Right to Farm Act (Florida Statute 823.14) protects lawful farm operations from nuisance claims, so a buyer near a working farm should expect farm noise, dust, early equipment and seasonal burn smoke.
Buckingham homeowners need wind coverage under a homeowners policy and separate flood coverage, and the fire district, flood zone and roof all change the price. We quote no premiums because none of our sources gave a quote for a Buckingham address, and rates depend on the individual property.
Data updated: October 2026 (FEMA; Florida Statutes; Tice Fire District; WGCU, November 21, 2024).
Unincorporated Lee County, which includes Buckingham, kept its Community Rating System discount of 25 percent on National Flood Insurance Program premiums after FEMA reversed a proposed downgrade on November 21, 2024. County Manager Dave Harner said FEMA found the county's corrective action plan "exceeded expectations." The county's rating was reported as Class 5 by one outlet, and we recommend you confirm the current class and discount at Lee County's flood program page before relying on it. FEMA's Floodsmart site is where a policy is quoted and bought.
Yes. The Tice Fire District's 2016 Insurance Services Office review produced a Class 2/10 rating. A property within 5 road miles of the Tice or Buckingham fire station and within 1,000 feet of a hydrant or alternate water supply gets Class 2, and a property more than 5 road miles from a station gets Class 10. Many large Buckingham lots rely on wells and are far from hydrants, so the 2 versus 10 split matters. The district's history page says a letter for your insurance company is available. Ask the insurer which class it uses for the specific address.
Florida law requires insurers to accept the uniform mitigation verification form, signed by an authorized inspector, for wind insurance discounts under Florida Statute 627.711. With the median Buckingham home built in 1996 and 153 built in the 2020s, a mitigation inspection is worth ordering on an older roof, since roof age and shutters or opening protection can change the discount. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is Florida's insurer of last resort under Florida Statute 627.351; its eligibility and rates are at Citizens. Building-code rules for roofs and openings are in Florida Statute 553.73 and Florida Statute 553.844.
Buckingham addresses are assigned a school by the School District of Lee County based on the exact address, and we cannot state an assignment for any Buckingham address because the district's address lookup could not be queried by script. Check your address with the district's school zone tools before you rely on any school.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County School_Locations layer; National Center for Education Statistics directory, 2025 to 2026 school year; Lee County Commission and School Board district layers, October 28, 2026).
The district itself is the source of record. Use the School District of Lee County site to look up a home's schools, and note that capacity limits at a campus can change which school a student attends. We do not use a listing's school field, because it is not an assignment. Florida's school grades are published by the Florida Department of Education, and we did not retrieve a grade for any specific school this edition.
Public school sites in or beside the Buckingham boundary, per Lee County's school-location layer and the federal school directory:
School | Type | Address |
|---|---|---|
Harns Marsh Elementary | District elementary | 1800 N Unice Ave, Lehigh Acres |
Harns Marsh Middle | District middle | 1820 N Unice Ave, Lehigh Acres |
Orange River Elementary | District elementary (listed by the federal directory with a Fort Myers 33905 address) | 4501 Underwood Dr, Fort Myers |
Buckingham Exceptional Student Center | District exceptional student education center | 3291 Buckingham Rd, Fort Myers |
FGCU Buckingham Complex | Special center | 5850 Buckingham Rd |
Gunnery Road Christian Academy | Private, kindergarten through 12th grade | 1880 N Gunnery Rd |
A school's name or location is not an attendance zone, so none of these is a statement that a Buckingham address is assigned to it. The southern edge of Buckingham touches Lehigh Acres at ZIP 33971, where Harns Marsh Elementary and Middle sit, and the rest of the boundary is ZIP 33905.
Buckingham falls in Lee County Commission District 5 and in Lee County School Board District 5, both shown on the county's district layers. The old Buckingham School building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, now houses the community center. For a home you are considering, ask the district for the current assignment in writing and confirm it again close to closing.
Buckingham has three Lee County recreation sites inside the Census line (a community center, a community park with a dog park, and a large trail preserve), plus several conservation lands at its edges, and no golf course or public boat ramp. Lee County's open-data layers list Buckingham Community Center, Buckingham Park, Barkingham Dog Park, Buckingham Trails Preserve, Hickory Swamp Preserve and West Marsh Preserve as the recreation points inside the Buckingham boundary.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County open-data layers queried October 28, 2026; Lee Parks and Recreation; Conservation 20/20 news, 2025 and 2026).
Buckingham Community Center at 4940 Buckingham Rd, Fort Myers 33905, is county-operated and sits on the historic Buckingham School parcel. The county's historic-district layer lists Buckingham School under its 1990 designation, and the school is also on the National Register of Historic Places (reference 89000011, National Park Service). The county's own page for the building is on leefl.gov. The county has also used the center for public meetings, including a land-management plan meeting for Hickory Swamp Preserve.
Buckingham Park and Barkingham Dog Park share one county facility page at 9800 Buckingham Rd, Fort Myers 33905, and both are county-operated (Lee County facility page). Lee County press releases from 2000 and 2001 announced the dog park (county news archive). Check the county page for current hours and rules before you go.
Buckingham Trails Preserve at 8790 Buckingham Rd is a 572-acre Conservation 20/20 preserve of pine flatwoods and open scrub, with 2.3 miles of hiking-only trail and 4.8 miles of shared horse and hiking trail, more than 7 miles in all (Lee County Parks and Recreation trail announcement). The land was part of Buckingham Army Air Field between 1943 and 1945, and four trap-shooting bunkers, two jeep tracks and an elevated berm from the military supply railroad remain (preserve description on Waymarking). The county paid $12.584 million for the 572 acres in November 2008, against an asking price of $34.32 million (FLGuide, 2008).
Other public lands touch the same boundary:
The Lee County Mosquito Control District keeps its airfield (Buckingham Field) on Homestead Rd (district page), and the Lee County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit and gun range are on Felix Romano Ave. Neither is a public amenity.
Buckingham's horse infrastructure is private land plus one public preserve. The public piece is the 4.8 miles of shared horse and hiking trail at Buckingham Trails Preserve. The private piece is zoning: 2,084 of the 3,229 parcels inside the Census line (64.5 percent) are zoned AG-2, Lee's agricultural district, and the county's Buckingham plan names stables, cattle, goats, tree farms and citrus as protected agricultural uses (Objective 20.6). The same plan lets commercial boarding stables give lessons and clinics where otherwise lawful, allows feed-and-tack type uses with zoning approval, and commits the county to work with the community on an interconnected park, hiking and horse trail system (Policy 20.5.1), all in Lee County's Buckingham plan text.
Lot size matters if you keep horses. The five-acre ranchette plats, Orange River Ranchettes (65 parcels), Westwood Acres (38), Eastwood Acres (38) and Rancho Eighty (25), have median lots of about 5 acres, and the one-acre plats such as Horse Creek and Buckingham Estates sit near 1 acre. Lee's land development code carries separate setbacks for stables and roofed structures for horses (Sec. 34-1292), so confirm the setbacks for your parcel before you build.
Buckingham has no golf course inside it. The county's golf-course layer returned none inside the boundary, and no golf or club membership was found in any Buckingham plat.
Boat access is private. The state's FWC ramp inventory lists two ramps inside Buckingham, both closed to the public: one for residents of the Little Creek Drive community association and one at a single-family residence on River Grove Circle. The Orange River itself runs along the Orange River plats (River Grove Estates, Mackaboy Farms, Citrus River Estates, Briarwood Shores, Shady River Park and Coyles), and the county plan requires a 50-foot setback from the river, measured from mean high water or top of bank, with docks exempt (Policy 20.1.7). A public ramp and golf course were not found in the county data, so confirm the nearest ones by address.
Utilities in Buckingham depend on the address, because several providers overlap inside the boundary.
From the Buckingham Rd and Orange River Blvd commercial node, the drive is about 17 minutes to downtown Fort Myers, 23 to Southwest Florida International Airport, 21 to Gulf Coast Medical Center and 39 to Fort Myers Beach, in free-flow conditions. Drives from the middle of Buckingham Park or from Bentley Crossing run longer, by roughly 5 to 10 minutes.
Data updated: October 2026 (OSRM public routing on OpenStreetMap, Census geocoder, October 28, 2026).
Method: OSRM driving routes from Lee County Property Appraiser parcel points to Census-geocoded destination addresses, free-flow with no traffic model, rounded to the nearest minute. Treat every figure as "about." Real peak-hour drives on State Road 80 and Interstate 75 run longer.
Destination | From Buckingham Rd and Orange River Blvd | From Bentley Crossing | From the middle of Buckingham Park |
|---|---|---|---|
Downtown Fort Myers, 2120 Main St | 8.5 miles, about 17 minutes | 10.3 miles, about 22 minutes | 14.0 miles, about 27 minutes |
Southwest Florida International Airport, 11000 Terminal Access Rd | 14.9 miles, about 23 minutes | 14.5 miles, about 25 minutes | 16.2 miles, about 29 minutes |
Lee Memorial Hospital, 2776 Cleveland Ave | 9.5 miles, about 19 minutes | 11.4 miles, about 24 minutes | 15.0 miles, about 29 minutes |
Gulf Coast Medical Center, 13681 Doctors Way | 11.6 miles, about 21 minutes | 14.4 miles, about 25 minutes | 16.0 miles, about 29 minutes |
HealthPark Medical Center area, 9981 S HealthPark Dr | 16.8 miles, about 30 minutes | 19.6 miles, about 34 minutes | 21.3 miles, about 38 minutes |
Colonial Blvd retail corridor, 4500 Colonial Blvd | 6.2 miles, about 11 minutes | 9.1 miles, about 16 minutes | 10.7 miles, about 20 minutes |
College Pkwy, 8099 College Pkwy | 13.0 miles, about 24 minutes | 15.9 miles, about 28 minutes | 17.6 miles, about 32 minutes |
North Fort Myers, 1200 N Tamiami Trl | 10.0 miles, about 19 minutes | 11.9 miles, about 24 minutes | 13.3 miles, about 28 minutes |
Cape Coral, 3401 Del Prado Blvd S | 15.9 miles, about 28 minutes | 18.9 miles, about 33 minutes | 20.5 miles, about 37 minutes |
Fort Myers Beach, 1100 Estero Blvd | 21.9 miles, about 39 minutes | 24.6 miles, about 43 minutes | 26.3 miles, about 47 minutes |
From the Census center point of the area, downtown Fort Myers is about 29 minutes, the airport about 32 and Fort Myers Beach about 50. Routes to Sanibel, Gulf Coast Town Center, Interstate 75 interchanges, Florida Gulf Coast University, Alva and Bonita Springs did not geocode, so we do not print a time for them. Ask us for the drive from a specific address.
Buckingham Road is the north-south spine of the area, running from State Road 80 toward Lehigh Acres. The Lee Plan allows multi-lane expansion only for Buckingham Road, and it bars most new road extensions, so most of the area's roads stay two lanes. Local TV and newspaper reports describe Buckingham Rd and Orange River Blvd as two-lane rural roads that carry farm, school-bus and commuter traffic, with crash and closure coverage by Fox 4. The bridge over the Orange River is a federal National Bridge Inventory structure.
State Road 80, called Palm Beach Boulevard through Tice, lies southwest of the Buckingham line. Before the late 1940s, State Road 80 followed what are now Old Olga Road, Buckingham Road and Orange River Boulevard; the current alignment was completed between Tice and Olga in the late 1940s (State Road 80 history). FDOT finished resurfacing State Road 80 from Buckingham Road to the Hendry County line, with shoulder widening and turnouts (FDOT project 446292-1).
Orange River Boulevard runs east and west and meets Buckingham Road at the area's commercial node. The county is adding a sidewalk along Orange River Boulevard from Palm Beach Boulevard to beyond Palm Lane with a water main replacement, and in March 2025 commissioners approved about $748,000 for construction inspection on the project (SW Florida Business Today).
Luckett Road marks Buckingham's northern edge. The Lee Plan treats the Luckett Road Extension portion of Buckingham Road separately from the four-laning exception it allows for the rest of Buckingham Road.
Gunnery Road is the Lehigh Acres side road that meets Buckingham Road at a roundabout, expected to open in March 2026, beside four schools. Lee County reports a ranking of No. 2 for a roundabout in the Metropolitan Planning Organization's intersection safety study, and WINK reported about 70 crashes in three years there, two of them fatal (WINK, January 28, 2020).
Shopping inside Buckingham is limited. The Lee Plan sets the commercial node at the southeast and northeast quadrants of Orange River Boulevard and Buckingham Road, and county zoning records show a 2016 approval for a Dollar General store with a driveway-spacing deviation on Buckingham Road. Local print names a roadhouse bar on Buckingham Road. Everything else is a drive: the Colonial Boulevard retail corridor is about 11 minutes from the Buckingham Road and Orange River Boulevard node, and Lehigh Acres and Tice (Palm Beach Boulevard) are the other nearest commercial strips. Our sources do not list a specific supermarket, so we do not name one.
No hospital or county EMS station sits inside Buckingham, according to the county's hospital and EMS layers. From the Buckingham Rd and Orange River Blvd node, Lee Memorial Hospital on Cleveland Avenue is about 19 minutes, Gulf Coast Medical Center on Doctors Way about 21 and the HealthPark area about 30, free-flow. Tice Fire Station 203 on Buckingham Rd is inside the area (Tice Fire Protection and Rescue District; headquarters 9351 Workmen Way, 239-694-2380). The district's 2016 ISO review gave a Class 2/10 rating, with a Property Protection Class of 2 for properties within 5 road miles of the Tice or Buckingham station. The Lee County Sheriff's Office patrols Buckingham, because the area is unincorporated.
Buckingham's near-term projects are road and drainage work and county land purchases, while its largest planned subdivision is already built out in phases and its biggest rezoning fight ended with a county purchase. The two live questions are the Lee Plan overhaul and how fast the Lehigh Acres-side townhome plat fills in.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County DOT and FDOT notices; Gulfshore Business; East Lee County News; Lee County open-data layers, October 28, 2026).
Lee County commissioners voted 3 to 0 on February 7, 2024 to allow 258 homes on 130 acres between Staley Road, Homestead Lane and Orange River Boulevard, a project then called Orange River 130, over the objections of 34 residents who spoke (Gulfshore Business). The developer, Pinnacle Development Group, had paid $1.23 million for the land in 2014. The county then bought 129.56 acres for Conservation 20/20 at $10.5 million on April 1, 2025, which ended the plan (East Lee County News).
Lee County's Lee Plan overhaul, CPA2026-00005, proposes deleting Buckingham's Goal 20 and moving three policies into Policy 1.4.3. County staff state that the Rural Community Preserves category "will continue to control the development in this area" and that no Future Land Use Map change is proposed. Gulfshore Business reports the overhaul eliminates 17 community plans, including rural Buckingham, and that the Local Planning Agency voted 4 to 2 after its August 31 hearing to send it back to commissioners (Gulfshore Business). We have not confirmed final adoption as of October 28, 2026. The county's CPA2026-00005 document is the place to check.
Lee County's zoning case dataset and Development Activity map show pending rezonings and permits. The county's public-information-meeting requirement for rezonings with access to Buckingham Road (Policy 20.1.8) is part of the Buckingham plan text proposed for deletion.
Buckingham fits buyers who want an acre or more, agricultural zoning and few neighbors, and Lehigh Acres fits buyers who want a quarter-acre lot at a lower price on a platted grid with far more services. Buckingham's median home sits on 1.0 acre and costs more per square foot, while Lehigh Acres is a 114,287-person place spread over 92.7 square miles. Our Lehigh Acres page covers that market in full.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County parcel layer and sales index, FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, Census 2020 and ACS 2020 to 2024, October 28, 2026).
Yardstick | Buckingham | Lehigh Acres |
|---|---|---|
Population (2020 Census) | 4,443 | 114,287 |
Land area | 18.0 square miles | 92.7 square miles |
Median lot, improved single-family | 1.0 acre | 0.25 acre |
Median heated square feet | 1,910 | 1,558 |
Median year built | 1996 | 2006 |
Median county just value | $376,676 | $252,496 |
Most common zoning | AG-2 on 2,084 of 3,229 parcels | RS-1 on 109,231 of 127,144 parcels |
Qualified single-family sales, 12 months | 80, median $410,000 | 2,983, median $303,000 |
Median price per heated sq ft | $253 | $180 |
Flood screen | 505 of 1,756 sampled homes (28.8 percent) in Zone AE | Not screened on this yardstick |
Association | Two gated plats (Bentley Crossing, Horse Creek); the rest ungated | Not measured |
New construction | Bentley Crossing, 52 sales at a $315,270 median in 12 months | 2,013 homes built 2020 or later (ACS) |
Distance | Southern edge touches Lehigh Acres (ZIP 33971) | The adjacent unincorporated community |
Buckingham's median improved single-family lot is 1.0 acre, and 606 of its 1,672 improved homes sit on 1 to 2.5 acres, 290 on 2.5 to 5 acres and 143 on 5 to 10 acres. The Lee Plan sets Buckingham's density cap at one home per acre. Lehigh Acres' median is 0.25 acre on an RS-1 platted grid.
Buckingham's single-family median over 12 months is $410,000 on 80 recorded sales, compared with $303,000 on 2,983 in Lehigh Acres, and the price per heated square foot is $253 against $180. Buckingham's county-recorded sales (DOR-qualified, 12 months to mid-September 2026) are a much thinner pool, so a single large sale moves its median. The Census estimate of median home value is $431,100 in Buckingham and $292,400 in Lehigh Acres.
In a FEMA screen of 1,756 improved homes, 505 fell in Zone AE and 1,247 in Zone X. The AE homes cluster on the Orange River plats, where River Grove Estates, Mackaboy Farms, Briarwood Shores, Shady River Park and Coyles run 98 to 100 percent AE, while the large Buckingham Park platted core is only 1 percent AE. Lehigh Acres has a different canal profile that we did not screen parcel by parcel, so get a flood quote for the exact address in either place.
Two Buckingham plats are gated, Bentley Crossing and Horse Creek, and every other platted area is ungated. We did not verify the HOA entity or fee for either gated plat, so ask for the declaration and the budget before you write an offer.
Buckingham's new-home option is Bentley Crossing (D.R. Horton, from $299,999), and Unice Avenue Townhomes is platted but unbuilt. Lehigh Acres has by far the larger new-build supply, since ACS counts 2,013 homes built 2020 or later.
Buckingham's commercial node is small, so groceries and most shopping mean a drive. Lee County's school layer places Harns Marsh Elementary and Middle, on N Unice Ave, at the Buckingham edge on the Lehigh Acres side.
Buckingham is the middle price of three nearby ways to buy: Alva is the closest rural twin at higher prices, Tice is the small-lot, lower-priced neighbor in the same ZIP, and Verandah is the gated master-planned neighbor on the boundary. All parcel figures were pulled the same way for each place, and all sales are county-recorded and DOR-qualified for the 12 months to mid-September 2026.
Data updated: October 2026 (Census 2020 and ACS 2020 to 2024; Lee County parcel layer and sales index, October 28, 2026).
Yardstick | Buckingham | Alva | Tice | Verandah |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Population (2020 Census) | 4,443 | 2,725 | 4,853 | Not measured |
Housing units (2020 Census) | 1,834 | 1,269 | 1,605 | 1,239 homes counted by the county |
Land area | 18.0 square miles | 17.5 square miles | 1.2 square miles | Gated community mostly outside the Buckingham line |
Parcels | 3,229 | 1,978 | 1,683 | Not measured |
Improved single-family homes | 1,672 | 921 | 1,095 | Not measured |
Median lot, improved single-family | 1.0 acre | 1.12 acres | 0.24 acre | Not measured |
Median heated square feet | 1,910 | 1,897 | 1,096 | Not measured |
Median year built | 1996 | 1992 | 1957 | Not measured |
Median county just value | $376,676 | $411,420 | $150,795 | Not measured |
Qualified single-family sales, 12 months | 80 | 45 | 34 | Not measured |
Median sale price | $410,000 | $540,000 | $210,000 | Not measured |
Median price per heated sq ft | $253 | $248 | $161 | Not measured |
Agricultural-classified parcels | 319 | 330 | 2 | Not measured |
Alva is the closest like-for-like rural rival, with a 12-month median sale of $540,000 at $248 per heated square foot, against Buckingham's $410,000 at $253. The two share one-acre-plus AG-2 lots, and Alva has 330 agricultural-classified parcels to Buckingham's 319. Both fight growth. Commissioners approved Neal Communities' 1,100-home rezoning in Alva on March 5, 2025 (WGCU), while the county bought Buckingham's 129.56 acres for conservation on April 1, 2025.
Tice shares Buckingham's 33905 ZIP but is a different product: 0.24-acre median lots, a 1957 median build year, 1,096 median heated square feet and a $210,000 median sale at $161 per square foot. Buckingham's median home is newer (1996), larger (1,910 square feet) and sits on about four times the land. Tice sits on Palm Beach Boulevard with commercial and industrial frontage, and its median roll value is $150,795 against Buckingham's $376,676.
Verandah is a gated master-planned community on the Buckingham boundary, with 1,239 homes counted in the county's neighborhood layer. Portico (1,408 counted homes) and Valencia Harbor (157) are its gated neighbors, also mostly outside the Census line. That is the choice a buyer weighs against Buckingham's acreage: a managed community with an association, or a parcel with fewer shared rules. Our Verandah page gives the full record, and we have not measured Verandah on the parcel yardsticks above.
The honest case for Buckingham is land: an acre or more, agricultural zoning, trails and a county plan built to keep it rural. The honest cost is flood exposure along the Orange River, wells and septic, longer drives and few services.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County parcel layer, FEMA, Lee Plan text and OSRM routing, October 28, 2026).
Buckingham sellers do best when the price is built on acreage, heated size and flood zone, because a one-acre home and a quarter-acre home trade at very different levels, and when the well, septic and flood answers are ready before a buyer asks. McGreevy and Comisar build every Buckingham listing around those steps.
Data updated: November 2026 (Lee County parcel layer, recorded sales to mid-September 2026, our analysis).
If you're searching for a Buckingham listing agent, or thinking, "I need someone to sell my Buckingham home...", you are choosing between a team that reads the market from a portal and a team that reads it from the record. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar price Buckingham homes against every county-recorded sale in your acreage band, separate the platted Buckingham Park lots from the one-acre and five-acre tracts, and put the flood map, the well and septic facts and the agricultural classification in front of a buyer before the buyer has to ask.
Data updated: November 2026 (Lee County recorded, DOR-qualified sales, 12 months to mid-September 2026, our analysis).
In the 12 months to mid-September 2026 the county recorded 80 single-family sales in Buckingham at a median of $410,000, or $253 per heated square foot. Homes on 1 to 2.5 acres sold at a median of $781,250 (22 sales), homes on 2.5 acres or more at $680,000 (12 sales), and homes on under an acre at $339,750 (46 sales). Your acreage band is the first comparison we make.
Buckingham buyers ask the same questions before they write: how many acres, is the home in Zone AE or Zone X, is it on a well and septic, is the land agriculturally classified, and what will insurance cost. A seller who has the flood disclosure answered, the well and septic facts in hand, a current wind mitigation form and a roof age shortens the deal. Florida requires three flood disclosures at or before contract (section 689.302).
FEMA mapped about 71 percent of Buckingham's improved homes in Zone X and about 29 percent in Zone AE at the parcel center point, with the Orange River plats mostly AE and the Buckingham Park core almost entirely X, so your parcel's own zone matters more than the average. Most large-lot homes use a private well and septic system because the Lee Plan does not extend central sewer into the Rural Community Preserve. About 319 Buckingham parcels carry an agricultural classification under section 193.461, and a buyer of acreage will want to know whether it continues after the sale.
In Lee County the seller customarily pays the documentary stamp tax on the deed at $0.70 per $100 (section 201.02) and the owner's title policy; the contract controls. If your home sits in a platted gated community, ask for the association's papers early.
Start with our free home valuation, and we will follow up with a number built on the county's recorded sales, adjusted for acreage, heated size, pool, street and flood zone. Our Fort Myers home valuation page explains how we price across the city.
Talk to Jesse direct: (239) 898-6072, text or call. For the full process, read our guide to selling a home in Fort Myers.
Looking at the other side of the table? Our guide to buying a home in Fort Myers and our buyer page cover how Marc Comisar represents buyers of acreage and new construction.
The six questions Buckingham sellers ask us first, answered from the record.
Acreage and size drive it: single-family homes on under an acre sold at a median of $339,750, on 1 to 2.5 acres at $781,250 and on 2.5 acres or more at $680,000 in the 12 months to mid-September 2026.
Days on market is a Southwest Florida MLS figure we did not pull for this edition; the county shows 80 recorded single-family sales in the last 12 months.
The flood disclosure, and for a gated community the association's governing documents.
About 29 percent of Buckingham's improved homes test in Zone AE and most of the rest in Zone X, so your parcel's own zone matters more than the average.
The sale of similar acreage and heated size, with the sale type checked first.
Yes, under section 689.302.
Buckingham owners call McGreevy and Comisar when a home or a piece of land has to be priced on the record and sold without surprises. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar have been Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, lead the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012.
As the leaders of Domain Realty Group our team has closed over $2.5 billion in real estate, and McGreevy and Comisar alone have over $900 million in Sales. Read more about our team.
Meet Jesse McGreevy, who leads the team's listing and seller strategy, and Marc Comisar, who leads buyer representation and negotiation. Selling a Buckingham home? Get a free home valuation or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. Buying in Buckingham? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read about buying a home in Fort Myers.
Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar are top-reviewed Buckingham realtors, and the reviews on the team's Google Business Profile describe what a Buckingham seller or buyer needs most: honest advice, steady communication and a team that sells.
★★★★★ "Jesse was very professional, helpful and kept in touch with ideas and suggestions which developed into a sale. Highly recommend his company for their excellent follow through." Verified Google review
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Jesse McGreevy (Sales Associate) and Marc Comisar (Broker Associate) are licensed Florida REALTORS® with Domain Realty; Florida real estate licensure is regulated by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC).
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Buckingham buyers ask what the ZIP code is, whether the land floods, whether horses are allowed, how far the airport is and what an acre costs. Each answer draws on a county record, a statute, a Census table or our own analysis, and where a fact is not published we say so.
Data updated: November 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser parcel layer and recorded sales to mid-September 2026; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, October 28, 2026; U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2020 to 2024).
Most of Buckingham is delivered under ZIP code 33905 (Fort Myers), which covers 2,752 of the area's 3,229 parcels, or 85.2 percent. The southern and eastern edge near Lehigh Acres uses 33971, which covers 332 parcels, or 10.3 percent. ZIP codes are mail delivery areas, not community boundaries (Census ZCTA guidance).
Buckingham is in Lee County, Florida, in the northeast part of the county east of Fort Myers. It is an unincorporated Census Designated Place, so it has no city government of its own and falls under the Lee County Board of County Commissioners, District 5.
No, not legally. Buckingham mail carries a Fort Myers address, but the community is unincorporated Lee County and the Census Bureau lists it as its own Census Designated Place, bordered by Fort Myers to the southwest and by Lehigh Acres to the south and east.
From the Buckingham Road and Orange River Boulevard commercial node, downtown Fort Myers (2120 Main Street) is about 8.5 miles and 17 minutes, free-flow with no traffic. From the middle of the Buckingham Park platted area it is about 14.0 miles and 27 minutes.
It depends on what you want from the land. Buckingham offers a median improved lot of about 1 acre, a median home of 1,910 heated square feet built in 1996, and a county plan that keeps the area rural, with the tradeoffs of well and septic service, river flooding on some plats and drives of 17 minutes or more to downtown. We can show you the sub-areas side by side.
Buckingham is neither. It is a Census Designated Place, a statistical entity the Census Bureau defines as a concentration of population identifiable by name but not legally incorporated (Census glossary).
The Census Bureau lists Buckingham at 18.0 square miles of land. The Lee County parcel layer shows 3,229 parcels inside the boundary, of which 1,672 are improved single-family homes and 873 are vacant residential parcels.
The 2020 Census counted 4,443 people and 1,834 housing units in Buckingham. The American Community Survey five-year estimate for 2020 to 2024 is 4,311 people, with a margin of error of plus or minus 807.
Buckingham is the Census place with GEOID 1209350, centered near 26.66 north, 81.74 west, and the county's own planning community number 20 covers the Buckingham plan area. We can send a parcel-level map for any address you are considering.
Often yes. About 2,084 of Buckingham's 3,229 parcels are zoned AG-2, Lee County's agricultural district, and the Lee Plan protects stables, cattle, goats and tree farms. Stable and horse structure setbacks are set by Lee County Land Development Code section 34-1292, so confirm the rules for the exact parcel before you buy.
Yes. Buckingham Trails Preserve at 8790 Buckingham Road has 2.3 miles of hiking-only trail and 4.8 miles of shared horse and hiking trail, more than 7 miles in all, on 572 acres of pine flatwoods and scrub.
The median improved single-family lot is about 1 acre. Of 1,672 improved homes, 606 sit on 1 to 2.5 acres, 290 on 2.5 to 5 acres, 143 on 5 to 10 acres and 239 on under a quarter acre, mostly in Buckingham Park and Bentley Crossing.
In the Rural Community Preserve the Lee Plan sets a maximum of one home per acre and a minimum lot area of 43,560 square feet, one acre, computed without road right-of-way, easements or water bodies. Clustering needs residential planned development zoning on a site of at least 10 acres. Older platted lots in Buckingham Park, with a median of about a quarter acre, predate that rule.
The county recorded 80 single-family sales in the 12 months to mid-September 2026, at a median of $410,000, a mean of $535,128 and $253 per heated square foot, with prices from $166,500 to $1,800,000. These are county recorded, DOR-qualified sales.
In the 12 months to mid-September 2026, homes on 1 to 2.5 acres sold at a median of $781,250 across 22 sales, and homes on 2.5 acres or more at $680,000 across 12 sales. Homes on under an acre sold at $339,750 across 46 sales.
Vacant residential parcels recorded 22 qualified sales in the last 12 months at a median of $120,000, from $35,900 to $640,000. Over 36 months the median was $65,000 across 69 sales, so the recent figure sits well above the longer view.
Yes. D.R. Horton is building Bentley Crossing, a gated community of 233 lots whose first homes were built in 2024, with 2 to 5 bedrooms from 1,614 square feet and prices listed from $299,999 on the builder's page. The county recorded 52 Bentley Crossing sales in the last 12 months at a median of $315,270.
Bentley Crossing is a D.R. Horton community on the Buckingham ZIP 33905 side, zoned MPD, with 233 lots and a county count of 60 homes at the layer date. Its homes carry a 2024 build year, and the builder's payment estimate includes an HOA line without a published dollar amount.
Unice Avenue Townhomes is a newly platted townhome community of 309 lots on the southern edge of Buckingham, zoned RPD, with ZIP code 33971 and Lehigh Acres Fire District service. It had no improved parcels on the county roll when we pulled it, so it is not yet a resale market.
Horse Creek is a gated community of 136 parcels and 104 homes on lots of about 1 acre, built from 2006 to 2023. The median home has about 2,618 heated square feet and a county just value near $837,904, which is a roll value and not a sale price.
Some of it is. FEMA's flood hazard layer, checked at the center point of 1,756 improved residential parcels, put 1,247 (71.0 percent) in Zone X and 505 (28.8 percent) in Zone AE, a Special Flood Hazard Area. These are screening results, not flood determinations, so check the exact address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
The Orange River plats carry most of the Zone AE homes: 98 percent of River Grove Estates, 98 percent of Mackaboy Farms and 100 percent of Briarwood Shores and Shady River Park. The large Buckingham Park core is about 1 percent AE, and Bentley Crossing, Orange River Ranchettes, Westwood Acres and Eastwood Acres are 0 percent AE.
Orange River frontage homes flooded after Hurricane Ian in 2022. Lee County staff said a gauge installed on the Orange River Boulevard bridge in September 2024 read 5.7 feet during Helene and just over 6 feet during Milton, and that during surge events the river will not allow surrounding areas to drain (Gulf Coast News).
Buckingham spans zones A to E. Of the 1,756 improved homes screened, 512 (29.2 percent) are in Zone A, 191 (10.9 percent) in B, 103 (5.9 percent) in C, 940 (53.5 percent) in D and 10 in E. Look up your address on the state's Know Your Zone tool.
Whether you need it depends on your lender and your parcel's zone, and Zone AE homes sit in a Special Flood Hazard Area. Unincorporated Lee County, which includes Buckingham, kept its Community Rating System Class 5 rating and the 25 percent premium discount on federal flood policies after FEMA reversed a proposed downgrade on November 21, 2024 (WGCU). Confirm the current class with the county before you rely on it.
It is a documented risk. The Lee County Community Wildfire Protection Plan rates the adjoining Tice community "High" at 63 percent overall, and the county's fire incident layer holds 22 vegetation-fire records inside Buckingham, all handled by Tice Fire. Ask an insurer how it rates a specific address.
The Tice Fire Protection and Rescue District serves most of Buckingham, with Station 203 at 5850 Buckingham Road, and the Lehigh Acres Fire District serves the southern 33971 edge. Tice's 2016 insurance review produced Class 2 for properties within 5 road miles of the Tice or Buckingham station with a hydrant or alternate water supply within 1,000 feet, and Class 10 beyond 5 road miles.
School assignment depends on the exact address, so check it with the School District of Lee County before you buy. Harns Marsh Elementary and Harns Marsh Middle sit at the Lehigh Acres edge on North Unice Avenue, and Gunnery Road Christian Academy, a private school, is at 1880 North Gunnery Road. We do not state a zone for any address.
Most of Buckingham is ungated, but Horse Creek and Bentley Crossing are gated communities. We did not verify the association names, fees or rules for either, so request the recorded declaration and the fee schedule before you write an offer. The Buckingham Community Association is a volunteer civic group, not a mandatory homeowner association.
No. We found no 55+ community, no golf or club membership community and no community development district inside Buckingham.
Buckingham sits in unincorporated Lee County in the Tice Fire District, and the southern edge in the Lehigh Acres Fire District, and all 3,229 parcels carry solid waste district 004. We did not pull a millage rate, so check an address on the Lee County Property Appraiser and the Lee County Tax Collector.
Yes, on some parcels. 319 Buckingham parcels carry a county agricultural classification amount under section 193.461, and about 306 parcels use agricultural land use codes. The classification depends on bona fide agricultural use, so a buyer should confirm it with the Property Appraiser.
For large-lot homes, usually yes. The Lee Plan does not extend central sewer into the Rural Community Preserve outside mapped service areas, and central water extends only on owner request at owner cost, so most large-lot homes use private wells and septic. Verify each address with Lee County Utilities and the Florida Department of Health in Lee County.
Both Florida Power and Light and Lee County Electric Cooperative territories intersect Buckingham, so check the address on the provider's own map before you buy.
County routes touching Buckingham show Waste Pro with Thursday and Friday pickup in Solid Waste Area 4. Residents can also self-haul to the Lee County Resource Recovery Facility at 10500 Buckingham Road.
From the Buckingham Road and Orange River Boulevard node, Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is about 14.9 miles and 23 minutes, free-flow with no traffic. From the middle of Buckingham Park it is about 16.2 miles and 29 minutes.
From the Buckingham Road and Orange River Boulevard node, Fort Myers Beach is about 21.9 miles and 39 minutes, free-flow with no traffic. From the middle of Buckingham Park it is about 26.3 miles and 47 minutes.
From the commercial node, Lee Memorial at 2776 Cleveland Avenue is about 9.5 miles and 19 minutes, Gulf Coast Medical Center about 11.6 miles and 21 minutes, and the Colonial Boulevard retail corridor about 6.2 miles and 11 minutes. Times from the middle of Buckingham Park add roughly 5 to 10 minutes.
Very little. The Lee Plan designates a commercial node at Buckingham Road and Orange River Boulevard, and everything else is a drive to Lehigh Acres, Tice on Palm Beach Boulevard or Colonial Boulevard.
Buckingham Park and the Barkingham Dog Park are county-operated at 9800 Buckingham Road, the county-run Buckingham Community Center is at 4940 Buckingham Road, and Buckingham Trails Preserve is at 8790 Buckingham Road. Lee County also holds 129.56 acres bought in April 2025 for $10.5 million at Orange River Boulevard and Staley Road.
It is a county-operated facility at 4940 Buckingham Road in the historic Buckingham School building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (reference 89000011).
There is no branch inside Buckingham. The nearest are the Riverdale Branch Library at 2421 Buckingham Road, just south of State Road 80, and the East Lee County Regional Library at 881 Gunnery Road in Lehigh Acres.
It was a World War II flexible gunnery school activated in July 1942. The Museum of Florida History says about 50,000 airmen trained there, on 6,500 acres leased to the Army, and the Lee County Mosquito Control District gives about 48,000 airmen and 7,000 acres. The field returned to the City of Fort Myers in September 1945.
The median year built is 1996. By decade the roll shows 193 homes from the 1970s, 293 from the 1980s, 308 from the 1990s, 346 from the 2000s, 175 from the 2010s and 153 from the 2020s.
The median improved single-family home has 1,910 heated square feet, with the 10th to 90th percentile running from 1,196 to 2,927. About 602 improved single-family parcels, 36 percent, carry a pool flag.
Yes. The roll shows 84 mobile home parcels, and the county neighborhood layer counts manufactured units in Orange River Ranchettes (17), Westwood Acres (11), Eastwood Acres (10) and Town and Country Estates (6). The Lee Plan bars new RV planned development rezonings in the Buckingham plan area.
Most homes are owner-occupied. The Census estimates 1,709 owner-occupied and 90 renter-occupied homes, and the median gross rent is $2,196 per month, with a margin of error of $227.
The Lee Plan's Rural Community Preserve says the area is "to remain permanently rural," and Lee County bought 129.56 acres at Orange River Boulevard and Staley Road for conservation after a 30-year fight over density. Lee County's CPA2026-00005 overhaul proposes moving the Buckingham policies into Policy 1.4.3 with no Future Land Use Map change, and its status should be re-checked before you rely on it.
Yes. A roundabout at Buckingham Road and Gunnery Road, on the Lehigh Acres side next to four schools, drew about $4.6 million in state and federal funding, and WGCU reported on March 23, 2026 that it was expected to open that week.
Section 823.14 protects lawful farm operations from nuisance claims. Near Buckingham farms expect equipment noise, dust, early starts and burn-season smoke.
Buckingham has a median improved lot of about 1 acre against about 0.25 acre in Lehigh Acres, and a median recorded sale of $410,000 at $253 per heated square foot against $303,000 at $180 in Lehigh Acres, on the same county yardsticks. Lehigh Acres is a 92.7 square mile volume market on a platted lot grid, and Buckingham is an 18.0 square mile rural area.
Alva is the closest rural match, with a 12-month median sale of $540,000 at $248 per heated square foot on 1.12-acre median lots. Tice shares ZIP 33905 but has quarter-acre lots, a median build year of 1957 and a 12-month median sale of $210,000.
We do not publish a crime statistic for Buckingham because we did not find a sourced rate for the area. The Lee County Sheriff's Office serves unincorporated Lee County, so ask the Sheriff's Office for current figures on any address you are considering.
A small one. Eight parcels carry C-1A commercial zoning, including 4901 Buckingham Road, a 3.28-acre vacant commercial parcel, and Cypress Trail and Cypress Woods RV resorts sit on the edge under RVPD zoning.
Buckingham sellers ask what an acre is worth, how a flood zone and a septic system change the sale, and what the agricultural classification means. Each answer draws on a county record, a statute or our own analysis of recorded sales.
Data updated: November 2026 (Lee County parcel layer and recorded sales to mid-September 2026, our analysis; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, October 28, 2026; 2025 Florida Statutes).
McGreevy and Comisar, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, start with a pricing read on your acreage band and your plat, answer the flood and septic questions, and then list. Pricing uses the acreage tables because a quarter-acre Buckingham Park lot and a five-acre tract trade at very different levels. Call Jesse at (239) 898-6072, text or call, to start.
In the 12 months to mid-September 2026, single-family homes on under an acre sold at a median of $339,750, on 1 to 2.5 acres at $781,250 and on 2.5 acres or more at $680,000. Your number depends on acreage, heated size, pool, street, condition and flood zone, and our free home valuation applies those to your address.
The county recorded 80 single-family sales in the 12 months to mid-September 2026 at a median of $410,000, or $253 per heated square foot. Over 24 months the median was $420,000 across 184 sales, and over 36 months $427,750 across 246 sales.
For homes with land, the 2.5-acre-plus band sold at a median of $680,000 across 12 sales and the 1 to 2.5 acre band at $781,250 across 22 sales in the last 12 months. For agricultural-use properties, 5 sales sold at a median of $750,000. Sale counts this small move with each sale, so we compare your acreage with the closest sold property.
Buckingham Park, the platted core of quarter-acre to half-acre lots, recorded 32 sales in the last 12 months at a median of $360,500 and $217 per heated square foot. Over 36 months the median was $336,000 across 120 sales.
Horse Creek is a gated community of 136 parcels and 104 homes built from 2006 to 2023 on lots of about 1 acre, with a median of about 2,618 heated square feet and a county just value near $837,904. The just value is a roll figure and not a price, so we price from the sold homes of similar size on one acre, which is the 1 to 2.5 acre band at a $781,250 median.
Your competition is the builder: D.R. Horton lists new Bentley Crossing homes from $299,999, and the county recorded 52 sales in the last 12 months at a median of $315,270. A resale needs a clear reason a buyer should pay more or choose it over a new build, such as a larger lot, a pool or finished extras.
Vacant residential parcels recorded 22 sales in the last 12 months at a median of $120,000, from $35,900 to $640,000. The county roll's median land value for improved single-family parcels is $121,933.
Days on market is a Southwest Florida MLS figure that we did not pull for this edition. The county record shows 80 single-family sales in the last 12 months and 116 in 2025, which tells you how many comparable sales your price will be measured against.
The county record by calendar year shows single-family medians of $499,000 in 2022, $450,000 in 2023, $475,900 in 2024, $373,932 in 2025 and $495,000 for the 51 sales through mid-September 2026. The mix of homes changes the median, since Bentley Crossing's builder-direct sales began in 2024, so we compare your home with sold homes of the same acreage and size.
We did not measure month-by-month sales for Buckingham, so we do not quote a best month. Call Jesse at (239) 898-6072 and we will tell you what the current recorded sales show for your acreage band.
Yes. Florida requires a seller to complete and provide the flood disclosure to a purchaser of residential real property at or before the time the sales contract is executed (section 689.302).
Section 689.302 sets a form that says homeowners' insurance does not cover floods and asks whether the seller has or has no knowledge of flooding that damaged the property, has or has not filed a flood claim, and has or has not received flood assistance such as FEMA aid.
Look up the address on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. In our screen of 1,756 improved Buckingham parcels, 71.0 percent tested Zone X and 28.8 percent Zone AE, and the Orange River plats were mostly AE. A center-point screen is not a flood determination for your home.
We did not calculate a Zone AE price discount for Buckingham and will not guess one. Zone AE affects value mainly through the flood insurance quote and the buyer's lender, so we compare your home with sold homes in the same plat and bring real insurance quotes to the listing.
Section 689.302 does not mention one, and we did not find a requirement to provide one in the county and state sources we checked. A buyer or an insurer may ask for it, so ask your insurer whether one would help a quote on your home.
It can help a buyer's quote. Unincorporated Lee County kept its Community Rating System Class 5 rating and the 25 percent discount on federal flood policies after FEMA reversed a proposed downgrade on November 21, 2024, and the county's flood insurance page shows the current class.
Most large-lot Buckingham homes use a private well and septic system, because the Lee Plan does not extend central sewer into the Rural Community Preserve. Gather what you have, such as permits, pump-out or repair records and the location of the tank and drain field, and ask the Florida Department of Health in Lee County what records exist.
We found no statute that requires a seller to have one, and whether a buyer orders an inspection is set by the contract. Onsite sewage systems are regulated under section 381.0065, so a buyer who orders one should use a licensed inspector.
The system's condition becomes a disclosure and negotiation item, and repairs are handled under section 381.0065 and the Florida Department of Health in Lee County. Talk to us before you list so we can confirm the repair path.
We did not find a requirement for a seller to test a private well in the county and state sources we checked. A buyer may ask for a water test as part of the contract, so have the well's age and any past test results ready.
The classification is tied to bona fide agricultural use under section 193.461, not to the parcel automatically, so a buyer must confirm that the use continues. About 319 Buckingham parcels carry an agricultural classification amount, and the Property Appraiser's agricultural page explains how it is administered.
Search your parcel on the Lee County Property Appraiser and look for the agricultural classification amount on the tax roll. If it shows, tell us early so we can describe the use and the continuing-use question to buyers.
In the Rural Community Preserve the Lee Plan allows one home per acre with a minimum lot area of one acre, so a split must still meet that rule, and clustering needs residential planned development zoning on at least 10 acres. Ask Lee County zoning before you promise a buyer a division.
Only within the Lee Plan limits for the Rural Community Preserve: a maximum of one home per acre and a minimum lot area of 43,560 square feet, excluding road right-of-way, easements and water bodies. We check the rule for your parcel with the county before we advise on a split.
The record shows different markets: 22 vacant residential sales in the last 12 months at a median of $120,000, against 80 single-family sales at a median of $410,000. We price each against its own sold set.
Yes. The Lee Plan protects stables, cattle, goats and tree farms, commercial boarding stables may give lessons and clinics if lawful, and Buckingham Trails Preserve has 4.8 miles of shared horse and hiking trails nearby. Buyers will ask about AG-2 zoning, fencing, barn setbacks under Land Development Code section 34-1292 and well and septic.
Section 823.14 protects lawful farm operations from nuisance claims. A buyer from outside the area should expect farm noise, dust, early equipment and burn-season smoke, so we describe the setting honestly in the listing.
Not by law, but section 627.711 governs the uniform mitigation verification form that supports wind discounts, so a current form helps a buyer's quote on a home built before 2010.
It can, for insurance. The Tice Fire District's 2016 review produced Class 2 within 5 road miles of the Tice or Buckingham station with a hydrant or alternate water supply within 1,000 feet, and Class 10 beyond 5 road miles. Many large-lot homes are on wells and not near hydrants, so ask your insurer how it rates your address.
Get your own quotes before you list and bring the mitigation form. A buyer who sees a real quote at the start is less likely to renegotiate late, and the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation rules are at section 627.351.
Section 689.302 asks whether you have knowledge of flooding that damaged the property, whether you filed a flood claim and whether you received flood assistance, so keep your repair records and permits. Orange River frontage homes flooded after Hurricane Ian in 2022, and one Coyle Road owner lifted a home nearly four feet.
Expect buyers to ask about flood zone, evacuation zone and repairs. The Orange River plats mostly test Zone AE and sit in evacuation Zone A, and the Lee Plan requires a 50-foot setback from the river measured from mean high water or top of bank, with docks exempt.
The flood disclosure, a survey or plat reference, the roof age, a wind mitigation form, any septic and well records, the agricultural classification record if there is one, and for Horse Creek or Bentley Crossing the association's governing documents and fee schedule. Collect them before you list.
The documentary stamp tax on the deed is $0.70 per $100 of consideration under section 201.02, customarily paid by the seller. On a $400,000 sale that is $2,800, our arithmetic.
In Lee County the seller customarily pays the owner's title policy, and the contract controls.
A listing agent's fee is set by a written listing agreement and is negotiable. As Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, we explain ours at the listing consultation, so call Jesse at (239) 898-6072.
Search the address at the Lee County Property Appraiser. The parcel page shows the owner of record, the mailing address, the legal description and recent sales.
Use the parcel's STRAP or folio number at the Lee County Property Appraiser, then the Clerk's official records for the deed itself.
The county's median just value for an improved Buckingham single-family home is $376,676, with a 25th to 75th percentile of $291,826 to $518,970, while the median recorded sale in the last 12 months is $410,000. A just value is the appraiser's estimate and a recorded sale is a price a buyer paid, so use the roll as a cross-check and not as an offer.
The county recorded 116 single-family sales in 2025 and 51 through mid-September 2026. Over the last 12 months it recorded 80, with a median of $410,000.
Use a sale of similar acreage, heated size and age in the same plat or acreage band, and confirm it is a qualified sale. A quarter-acre Buckingham Park lot, a one-acre Horse Creek lot and a five-acre ranchette are different comparable sets.
The county's CPA2026-00005 overhaul proposes deleting Goal 20 and moving three Buckingham policies into Policy 1.4.3, with no Future Land Use Map change proposed. Its status should be re-checked before you advertise anything as adopted, and we will tell you where it stands when we list.
Yes, unless a recorded declaration limits leasing, which only applies to a gated community such as Horse Creek or Bentley Crossing. Ask the association for the leasing section first, because an investor buyer will. Most Buckingham homes are owner-occupied, with 1,709 owner-occupied and 90 renter-occupied homes in the Census estimate.
Fix what an inspector and an insurer will flag: roof age, opening protection, septic and well condition and aging mechanical systems. We walk through the property with you and rank the repairs by what a buyer will price.
Yes. The county roll shows 84 mobile home parcels, and manufactured units are counted in Orange River Ranchettes, Westwood Acres, Eastwood Acres and Town and Country Estates. Call Jesse at (239) 898-6072 and we will walk through the financing and insurance questions a buyer will raise.
These are original records behind this guide, each linked at the office that issues it: the county staff report on the Buckingham Community Plan, a community letter on the Rural Community Preserve, the school enrollment plan, the official storm reports for two hurricanes that shaped flood and insurance rules in Buckingham, and the federal agriculture profile for Lee County.
# | Document | Issuer | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lee County Department of Community Development | The county staff review of the Buckingham Community Plan that became the Rural Community Preserve policies | |
2 | Buckingham Conservancy letter on the Rural Community Preserve (PDF) | Lee County public record | A community letter on the Preserve and its one-acre minimum lots |
3 | School District of Lee County | How school assignment works for a Lee County address | |
4 | National Hurricane Center | The official storm report for the 2022 landfall | |
5 | National Hurricane Center | The official storm report for the 2017 storm that flooded parts of Buckingham | |
6 | USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service | Farm counts and land in farms for Lee County |
County sales data from the Lee County Property Appraiser, pulled October 2026; recorded sales to mid-September 2026. McGreevy and Comisar, Best Realtor for Buckingham. Brokered by Domain Realty. Jesse McGreevy, FL Lic. SL3101296 · Marc Comisar, FL Lic. BK3060671.
4,311 people live in Buckingham, where the median age is 52.8 and the average individual income is $45,600. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Population Density Population Density This is the number of people per square mile in a neighborhood.
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There's plenty to do around Buckingham, including shopping, dining, nightlife, parks, and more. Data provided by Walk Score and Yelp.
Explore popular things to do in the area, including Amazingly Natural Baked Goods, Kuntry Kubbard, and Dollar General.
| Name | Category | Distance | Reviews |
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| Dining | 0.89 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Dining | 0.93 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Dining | 1.01 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Dining | 1.06 miles | 1 review | 5/5 stars | |
| Dining | 1.11 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Dining | 2.19 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 2.13 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 2.47 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Active | 2.71 miles | 0 reviews | 0/5 stars | |
| Beauty | 1.08 miles | 1 review | 5/5 stars | |
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Buckingham has 1,799 households, with an average household size of 2.39. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Here’s what the people living in Buckingham do for work — and how long it takes them to get there. Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. 4,311 people call Buckingham home. The population density is 239 and the largest age group is Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Total Population
Population Density Population Density This is the number of people per square mile in a neighborhood.
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Thinking about buying or selling in Southwest Florida? Tell us what you are trying to do and we will tell you honestly what it will take. McGreevy and Comisar, Domain Realty Group.
