We price your Carolands home from the nearest bay or canal sales and have the flood, permit and dock file ready before a buyer asks.
Updated October 2026 · Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, Domain Realty · Market data from Lee County Property Appraiser recorded sales and parcel roll, through September 25, 2026, and Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 27, 2026
McGreevy and Comisar are the Bonita Springs listing team whose office sits on South Tamiami Trail, and this is our seller’s guide to Carolands, the 80-parcel neighborhood of bay and canal homes on McLaughlin Boulevard and Carol Court on the Estero Bay side of Little Hickory Island, described in full in our Carolands guide. It is Carolands in the Bonita Beach area of Bonita Springs, Florida, and not the Carolands chateau in Hillsborough, California, which dominates search suggestions for the bare name.
If you own one of the 68 houses or 12 vacant lots in Carolands, this page gives you the recorded sales of the last 60 months, the repeat sales of the same houses since 2009, the flood, insurance and water questions a buyer will ask, the papers Florida law makes you deliver, and what a sale costs and nets. Our Little Hickory Island seller’s guide covers the whole island around it.
The Lee County Property Appraiser and the Florida Department of Revenue record 6 qualified Carolands house sales in the 60 months to September 25, 2026, from $1,600,000 to $7,700,000, and only 1 in the last 12 months, at $2,862,500. The Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 27, 2026, shows 9 closings in the 60 months to that date, from $1,600,000 to $8,650,000, and 2 active listings that day, at $3,995,000 and $6,195,000. With fewer than ten sales in every window, we list the sales instead of quoting a market median, because a median of six is not a market.
To sell a Carolands home in 2026, price it from the few recorded sales of its own water position, bay or canal, its flood zone and elevation and its age, then have the elevation certificate, wind report and seawall and dock permits ready before the first showing, because a buyer’s insurer and lender read those papers before they read your price.
Carolands is not one product. Twenty-nine of its 80 parcels face open Estero Bay and 51 sit on dead-end canals; the bay front lies mostly in FEMA’s VE coastal high hazard zone and the canals in the AE zone; the houses run from 1966 to 2024; and the county roll’s heated areas run from 632 to 11,451 square feet. A seller who prices from the neighborhood’s headline numbers prices every house wrongly.
Every Carolands parcel touches water, so a buyer is not choosing whether to buy waterfront but which kind. The bay front offers open views west over Estero Bay and the long-view prices; the canals offer protected dockage and a gentler flood zone. Buyers and their agents ask for the seawall report, the dock and lift permits, the bridge clearance on the route to the Gulf and the elevation certificate before they ask about granite counters.
This page is the seller’s side of our Carolands guide. The buyer’s view is in our guide to buying in Carolands, and the pricing method for a house you may not sell yet is in our Carolands home valuation guide.
These are the ten facts about selling a Carolands home that matter most in October 2026, each drawn from the Lee County recorded sales, the Southwest Florida MLS pull of October 27, 2026, the county roll, FEMA’s flood layers and Florida law.
This seller’s guide runs from the recorded market to the pricing method, the insurance, flood and disclosure questions buyers ask, two net sheets and the answers owners ask most. Each link jumps to its section.
The Market and the Record: How Do I Sell My Carolands Home in 2026? · Why List Your Carolands Home With McGreevy and Comisar? · What Is the Carolands Market Doing for Sellers Right Now? · What Did Carolands Homes Sell For? · Have Carolands Owners Sold for More Than They Paid? · A Carolands Sale Worked Through
Pricing, Fees and Insurance: How Do We Price a Carolands Home? · What Moves the Price of a Carolands Home Most? · Is Your Carolands Home Worth More as a House or a Lot? · What Will a Buyer Pay Each Year to Own a Carolands Home? · Who Insures a Carolands Home, and What Will a Buyer’s Insurer and Lender Ask?
Documents, Disclosures, Rules and Timing: What Must a Carolands Seller Deliver and Disclose Under Florida Law? · What Will Buyers Ask About Flood, Storms and Permits at a Carolands Home? · Which Rules Affect a Carolands Home Sale? · What Should a Carolands Seller Know About Docks, Seawalls and the Route to the Gulf? · When Is the Best Time to Sell a Carolands Home?
Marketing, Negotiation and Your Options: How Do We Market a Carolands Home? · How Do We Negotiate a Carolands Home Contract? · Carolands vs Kinleyland: Which Will Your Home Buyer Choose? · What Does It Cost to Sell a Carolands Home? · Do I Pay Capital Gains Tax When I Sell My Carolands Home? · Should I List, Sell for Cash or Sell by Owner? · How Do You Get a Free Carolands Home Valuation?
Answers and Local Expertise: What Sellers Say About Working With Us · Frequently Asked Questions, Carolands, Bonita Beach Seller Edition · Why Does a Bonita Beach Waterfront Specialist Matter When You Sell? · Thinking of Selling Your Carolands Home? List With the #1 Team in Southwest Florida Since 2012 · Your Local Real Estate Experts · Sources and Authoritative References · Downloadable Documents
McGreevy and Comisar are a two-partner listing team based in Bonita Springs, ranked Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 and the #1 Team in Southwest Florida since 2012. Carolands owners hire us because we price from the recorded sales of their own water position, assemble the flood and permit file before a buyer asks, and negotiate every offer ourselves.
If you are searching for the best realtor to sell your Carolands home, or thinking, “I need a listing agent who knows what a VE flood zone does to a bay-front sale,” this is how we work. We lead Domain Realty Group, whose team has sold over $2.5 billion in real estate, with McGreevy and Comisar alone accounting for over $900 million in personal sales. Our office is at 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101, Bonita Springs, FL 34134, in the same city as Carolands. Before you interview agents, read our comparison of the best real estate agents in Bonita Beach and our best real estate agents in Bonita Springs, and read more about McGreevy and Comisar.
We tracked every one of the 47 qualified Carolands house sales the county file holds from 2009 on. We tracked every one of the 6 in the last 60 months and every one of the 9 MLS closings in the same window, and we read each of the 80 parcels on the county roll, the 1978 deed that created the roadway easements, and FEMA’s flood layer at all 80 parcels. It is why our first question to an owner is bay or canal, then what the elevation certificate says.
This page does not state or imply that we have sold, listed or represented anyone in Carolands. Our case rests on the public record we have read for you and how we would run your sale.
The Carolands market in October 2026 is thin and high-priced: 1 qualified county sale in the 12 months to September 25, 2026, 9 Southwest Florida MLS closings in 60 months, 2 houses for sale on October 27 and none pending. With sales this few, the sellers who price against the right comparables are the ones who close.
Data updated: October 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 27, 2026; Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales through September 25, 2026)
The Southwest Florida MLS pull of October 27, 2026 covers every residential closing filed under the Carolands subdivision name. Each row below is the median or range of those closings only, and with fewer than ten in every window the medians describe the sales listed, not a market.
| Window to October 27, 2026 | Closed | Median price | Range | Median days on market | Median sale to final list | Median per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months | 1 | $2,862,500 | $2,862,500 | 79 (1 sale) | 81.81% | $809 |
| 24 months | 3 | $7,700,000 | $2,862,500 to $8,650,000 | 44.5 (2 sales) | 89.5% | $1,500 |
| 60 months | 9 | $2,862,500 | $1,600,000 to $8,650,000 | 26 (8 sales) | 90.12% | $951 |
Days on market and sale-to-list are computed on the sales that report market time. One closing in the 24 and 60-month windows, the new house of November 2024, was entered after closing and reports none, so it counts in the prices and not in those two columns. All 9 closings in 60 months were above $1 million, 2 were above $5 million, and together they total $33,612,500. The median per square foot uses the MLS living area, which differs from the county’s heated area.
The county file lists the deeds the state codes as qualified arm’s-length sales of improved property, and its windows end on the newest sale in the file, September 25, 2026.
| Window to September 25, 2026 | Qualified house sales | Range |
|---|---|---|
| 12 months | 1 | $2,862,500 |
| 24 months | 2 | $2,862,500 and $7,700,000 |
| 36 months | 2 | $2,862,500 and $7,700,000 |
| 60 months | 6 | $1,600,000 to $7,700,000 |
No window up to 60 months reaches ten sales, so the next section lists the sales themselves. The county file holds 105 qualified house sales in all recorded history, but the record is complete only from 2009, so that count is a count of what the file holds, not a claim of every sale ever.
On October 27, 2026 two Carolands houses were active in the MLS and none was pending. One was a McLaughlin Boulevard house of 4 bedrooms plus a den and 3,757 square feet, asking $3,995,000 after 244 days on the market, or $1,063 per square foot. The other was a McLaughlin Boulevard house of 5 bedrooms and 5,015 square feet, asking $6,195,000 after 5 days, or $1,235 per square foot.
Two active listings against one MLS closing in the last 12 months is 24.0 months of supply, and against the 60-month pace of 9 closings it is 13.3 months. Neither figure is a forecast, because one sale is not a pace, but both say the same thing: a Carolands buyer today chooses from two houses and sees few recent sales to judge them by.
Across Little Hickory Island’s single-family houses the same MLS pull shows 19 closings in the 12 months to October 27, 2026, at a $2,600,000 median, a 93.02 percent median sold-to-list and 79 median days on market, on the basis stated in our Little Hickory Island seller’s guide. Carolands supplied 1 of those 19 closings. Its houses change hands less often and are more often owner-occupied, with 45 of 68 homesteaded, about two in three, against 44.5 percent across the island’s houses, which is why a Carolands house needs its own comparables.
The county counted 4 qualified Carolands house sales in 2016, 4 in 2017, 6 in 2018, 6 in 2019, 8 in 2020 and 6 in 2021, then 2 in 2022, 1 in 2023, 1 in 2024, none in 2025 and 1 so far in 2026. The record does not give a reason for the drop after 2021 or for any one sale, and a long hold is also what a neighborhood with 45 homesteaded houses out of 68 looks like.
The MLS carries three Carolands closings that the county file does not count as qualified house sales in the same window: February 2022 at $2,900,000, July 2024 at $2,200,000 and May 2025 at $8,650,000. A deed can be coded unqualified for reasons unrelated to price, such as a sale between related entities. We read both records and tell your buyer’s agent which sales we are using and why.
The MLS pull covered residential closings, so Carolands lot closings are not in it: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-10). The county recorded 2 Carolands lot sales in the 60 months, at $1,100,000 and $1,600,000, and none in the 36 months to September 25, 2026. Dock, lift and Gulf-access details per closing: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-10).
Carolands houses sold for $1,600,000 to $7,700,000 in the county record of the last 60 months and $1,600,000 to $8,650,000 in the MLS, with five of the six county sales on the bay. The tables below list every sale in both records, by month, so you can find the ones that look like your house.
Data updated: October 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 27, 2026; Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales through September 25, 2026)
| Month | Price | Water | Year built | County heated sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2021 | $2,675,000 | bay | 1987 | 2,760 |
| March 2022 | $1,850,000 | canal | 1991 | 1,791 |
| April 2022 | $3,175,000 | bay | 1971 | 2,652 |
| September 2023 | $1,600,000 | bay | 1980 | 2,728 |
| November 2024 | $7,700,000 | bay | 2024 | 5,152 |
| June 2026 | $2,862,500 | bay | 1988 | 3,293 |
Five of the six were bay-front houses. The November 2024 sale was the first sale of a house completed in 2024, and it is the largest and the highest on the county record for the window. All six sold on McLaughlin Boulevard; the street and the water, not a house number, are what we show.
| Month | Sold price | List price | Sale to list | Days on market | Beds | Living area sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2021 | $2,675,000 | $2,900,000 | 92.2% | 42 | 6 or more | 2,760 |
| February 2022 | $2,900,000 | $3,100,000 | 93.5% | 31 | 3 | 3,639 |
| March 2022 | $1,850,000 | $1,999,900 | 92.5% | 21 | 3 | 1,890 |
| April 2022 | $3,175,000 | $3,695,000 | 85.9% | 10 | 4 plus den | 3,338 |
| September 2023 | $1,600,000 | $1,950,000 | 82.1% | 8 | 4 | 2,728 |
| July 2024 | $2,200,000 | $2,500,000 | 88.0% | 242 | 4 | 3,100 |
| November 2024 | $7,700,000 | $7,700,000 | 100.0% | not reported | 6 baths | 5,133 |
| May 2025 | $8,650,000 | $8,900,000 | 97.2% | 10 | 6 or more | 5,028 |
| June 2026 | $2,862,500 | $3,499,000 | 81.8% | 79 | 3 | 3,540 |
Sale-to-list ran from 81.8 percent to 100 percent, and days on market from 8 to 242 for the eight closings that report it. By price, 2 closings were under $2 million, 4 were from $2 million to under $3 million, 1 was from $3 million to under $5 million and 2 were above $5 million.
The county roll’s 2026 just value is the Property Appraiser’s assessment, not a price, but it shows how the neighborhood is layered.
| Group | Houses | Median 2026 just value |
|---|---|---|
| All Carolands houses | 68 | $1,642,631 |
| McLaughlin Blvd | 63 | $1,691,335 |
| Carol Ct | 5 | $1,050,252 |
The roll’s quartiles run from $1,062,663 to $2,625,371. In the June 2026 sale a buyer paid $2,862,500 for a 1988 bay-front house, 74.3 percent above the all-house median just value, which is why a roll value is a starting question and not an answer. Request a free Carolands home valuation for a price built on your own house.
Mostly yes. Of 11 Carolands houses that sold twice in the county record since 2009, 9 sold for more than the previous recorded sale and 2 for less, and the median dollar change of the 9 gains was $865,000. Six of the nine gains were recorded from August 2020 to April 2022, the years the neighborhood was selling most.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales through September 25, 2026)
A repeat sale here means the same parcel appears twice in the county’s qualified house sales from 2009 on, matched on the parcel in the county roll and sale files, with the house standing at the first sale. The record is complete from 2009 and partial before, so an owner who bought in the 1990s does not appear. Prices are recorded prices before selling costs, improvements or taxes.
| First sale | Second sale | Water | Year built | Heated sq ft | First price | Second price | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2009 | November 2018 | canal | 2001 | 4,433 | $1,800,000 | $2,450,000 | +$650,000 | +36.1% |
| January 2011 | August 2020 | canal | 1970 | 2,944 | $571,000 | $1,285,000 | +$714,000 | +125.0% |
| April 2011 | June 2026 | bay | 1988 | 3,293 | $1,050,000 | $2,862,500 | +$1,812,500 | +172.6% |
| June 2016 | April 2018 | canal | 1990 | 2,503 | $925,000 | $2,100,000 | +$1,175,000 | +127.0% |
| November 2017 | August 2020 | canal | 2004 | 3,618 | $1,925,000 | $2,125,000 | +$200,000 | +10.4% |
| December 2017 | July 2020 | canal | 2000 | 2,221 | $1,225,000 | $1,125,000 | -$100,000 | -8.2% |
| April 2018 | March 2022 | canal | 1991 | 1,791 | $995,000 | $1,850,000 | +$855,000 | +85.9% |
| May 2019 | February 2021 | bay | 1987 | 3,052 | $1,010,000 | $1,875,000 | +$865,000 | +85.6% |
| May 2019 | August 2021 | canal | 2017 | 4,427 | $2,850,000 | $4,150,000 | +$1,300,000 | +45.6% |
| March 2020 | July 2020 | canal | 1985 | 3,137 | $1,375,000 | $1,200,000 | -$175,000 | -12.7% |
| March 2021 | April 2022 | bay | 1971 | 2,652 | $1,595,000 | $3,175,000 | +$1,580,000 | +99.1% |
Eight of the nine gains exceeded $250,000, which matters for the tax question later on this page. The two losses were $100,000 and $175,000, and both second sales closed in July 2020. The longest hold in the table is 15 years, from April 2011 to June 2026, and the shortest is just over three months, from March to July 2020.
The table also shows that the highest sale outside the last 60 months, $4,150,000 in August 2021, was a 2017 house on a canal, not on the bay. Bay frontage leads the recent record, but a new house on a canal has sold higher than an old house on the bay.
A pair of prices is not a profit. Gain is measured from your basis, which includes your purchase costs and improvements, and a recorded price says nothing about what the buyer spent on the house afterward. The pairs are a record of what the market paid, not advice on what yours will.
Carolands has 46 homesteaded parcels out of 80, the highest share of any Little Hickory Island section, and a long hold is the neighborhood’s pattern. Many Carolands sellers are full-time owners leaving a home they have lived in, and a buyer sees few houses to choose from, which is why preparation matters.
The June 2026 sale of a 1988 bay-front house on McLaughlin Boulevard shows how a Carolands sale reads in the record: a list price of $3,499,000, 79 days on the market, a closing at $2,862,500, and a prior recorded sale in 2011 at $1,050,000. It is a public-record sale, and it is not ours.
Data updated: October 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 27, 2026; Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales through September 25, 2026)
The house is a three-bedroom bay-front house built in 1988, with 3,293 square feet of county heated area and 3,540 square feet of MLS living area. It listed at $3,499,000, spent 79 days on the market and closed in June 2026 at $2,862,500, which is 81.8 percent of the list price and $636,500, or 18.2 percent, below it. That is $809 per square foot of MLS living area, or $869 per square foot of county heated area.
The county file holds four recorded sales of this house: March 1999 and April 2000, each at $695,000, which sit in the part of the record that is partial before 2009, then April 2011 at $1,050,000 and June 2026 at $2,862,500. From 2011 to 2026 the recorded price rose $1,812,500, or 172.6 percent, over a hold of 15 years and 2 months.
The list price sat $636,500 above what a buyer eventually paid, and the house spent 79 days finding that buyer, three times the eight-closing median of 26 days. Of the eight closings that report market time, only the 242-day sale of July 2024 sat longer. The June 2026 sale is also the only closing in the last 12 months, so a buyer’s agent checking comparables saw one recent sale and older ones behind it. The record does not tell us what was negotiated, and we do not guess.
We price a Carolands home by sorting it into its own group, bay or canal, VE or AE, older or rebuilt, then anchoring to the nearest recorded sales of that group, adjusting for size, elevation and condition, and testing the number against the two active listings and the rest of Little Hickory Island. We do not price from a median of six sales.
Data updated: October 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 27, 2026; Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales through September 25, 2026)
The first cut is water, because the record separates the groups: five of the six county sales in 60 months were bay-front, and the one canal sale was $1,850,000. The second cut is flood zone and elevation, because 19 bay-front parcels are in VE 12 and the other parcels are in AE at 10 or 11 feet. The third is age, because the roll dates 15 houses from 2010 or later and 10 from the 1970s.
The anchors are the sales in the tables above. Three bay-front houses of 2,652 to 2,760 square feet sold in 60 months at $1,600,000, $2,675,000 and $3,175,000, a spread of $1,575,000 between houses of nearly the same size, so age, condition and timing matter more than square footage. A small canal house has one sale, at $1,850,000, and a new bay-front house has one, at $7,700,000. With so few, we widen the net to the county’s earlier years and to the island’s other bay and canal sections, and we say so.
We adjust for size, lot, lowest floor against the base flood elevation, roof and opening protection, seawall and dock condition, and the route to the Gulf. We adjust from closed sales, not from asking prices, and we show the buyer’s agent the adjustments.
On October 27, 2026 the competition was two houses, at $3,995,000 and $6,195,000, with 244 and 5 days on the market. A price between a stale listing and a fresh one is a decision we make with you, not a default.
The closings with the shortest market time, 8 days in September 2023 and 10 days in April 2022 and May 2025, sold at 82.1, 85.9 and 97.2 percent of list, while the longest, 242 days in July 2024, sold at 88.0 percent. Days and discount do not move together in a record this small, so we set the strategy with you from your house and your timeline, not from a rule.
The roll’s just value is a county assessment. The median Carolands house just value is $1,642,631 and the June 2026 sale was 74.3 percent above it, so a seller who anchors to the assessment leaves money on the table, and a seller who anchors to the single $7,700,000 sale asks for what only a new bay-front house has earned.
Six things move a Carolands price most: bay or canal, the flood zone and lowest floor, the age of the house or whether it is new, the size of the house and lot, the street, and the condition of the seawall and the route to the Gulf. The sales record shows the first three clearly and the others only in pieces.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser roll of October 2026 and recorded sales through September 25, 2026; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, queried October 17, 2026)
Every Carolands parcel is on the water, but the bay front and the canals are different purchases. The 29 bay-front parcels look west over open Estero Bay toward the mangrove islands and carry the record’s long views; the 51 canal parcels sit on dead-end canals with protected dockage and a gentler flood zone.
| Item | Bay front | Canal |
|---|---|---|
| Parcels | 29 (28 houses, 1 lot) | 51 (40 houses, 11 lots) |
| Flood zone, most parcels | VE 12 | AE 11 or AE 10 |
| County-qualified sales, 60 months | 5 | 1 |
A canal seller should not be discouraged by that 5 to 1 count. It reflects who has sold, not what a canal house is worth, and the canal pairs in the repeat-sale table include a 2017 house that sold for $4,150,000 in August 2021.
FEMA’s layer puts all 80 Carolands parcels in a special flood hazard area: AE on 61 parcels, at a base flood elevation of 11 feet on 37 and 10 feet on 24, and VE 12 on 19, every one of them on the bay front. A buyer’s insurer prices the building’s own lowest floor against that line, so a house with a current elevation certificate showing the lowest floor above the base flood elevation sells with fewer questions than one without.
The roll dates one Carolands house to the 1960s, 10 to the 1970s, 17 to the 1980s, 12 to the 1990s, 12 to the 2000s, 8 to the 2010s and 7 to the 2020s, and one more new building appears on the 2025 roll with 4,918 square feet of heated area. The 1980s were the peak building decade. The November 2024 sale at $7,700,000 was the first sale of a 5,152 square foot house completed in 2024, and it is the number a builder works back from.
Sometimes a Carolands lot is worth more than the house on it, and sometimes the reverse. The record gives the test: the two county lot sales of the last 60 months were $1,100,000 and $1,600,000, and the two lowest house sales were $1,600,000 and $1,850,000, so the existing house must beat the lot by more than a buyer’s cost to rebuild.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser roll of October 2026 and recorded sales through September 25, 2026)
Twelve of the 80 parcels are vacant, 11 of them on canals and 1 on the bay, with a median 2026 just value of $709,130. The county recorded 2 lot sales in the 60 months, at $1,100,000 and $1,600,000, and none in the 36 months to September 25, 2026. Two sales are not a market, but they show a lot can trade within a few hundred thousand dollars of an older canal or bay house.
No production builder sells in Carolands. New houses are custom or semi-custom builds on lots bought individually or on teardowns, and the roll does not name builders; the City permit record does, by address. On a VE bay-front lot a new house stands on piles or columns, and on an AE canal lot fill, stem walls or piles can work. A buyer pricing a teardown subtracts demolition, the flood-compliant foundation and the permit path from the lot value, and we show your buyer’s agent that arithmetic with your lot and the 50 percent rule in mind.
We compare three numbers: what your house is likely to sell for as it stands, from the nearest bay or canal sales; what a comparable lot has sold for; and what the next owner would pay to rebuild. If the first number does not clear the second by a margin a buyer needs, we market the lot and the plans as much as the house. Request a free Carolands home valuation and we will run the three numbers for your parcel.
A Carolands buyer pays no association fee, because the Florida Division of Corporations has no association on record for Carolands, but pays property tax, flood and wind insurance, and the upkeep of the seawall and dock. Those three lines vary more from house to house than a planned community’s dues, so a buyer will ask you for the actual bills.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser 2025 and 2026 tax schedule, read October 17, 2026; Florida Division of Corporations, checked October 17, 2026)
Carolands sits in Lee County tax district 017, City of Bonita Springs and Bonita Springs Fire, at a rate of 12.7970 mills for 2025 and a proposed 12.8217 mills for 2026. The tax bills we read in that district add a $50 City stormwater fee and a $358.45 Lee County solid waste charge for a single-family house. As an illustration only, the median house just value of $1,642,631 at the 2025 rate is about $21,021 of ad valorem tax before exemptions and assessment limits; a real bill depends on the assessed value and homestead.
The seller’s bill is not the buyer’s bill. The assessment resets to just value in the year after a sale, and a buyer who makes the house a permanent residence files for homestead with the Lee County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the year after purchase. With 45 of 68 houses homesteaded, many Carolands sellers carry a bill well below what their buyer will pay, and a buyer will ask us for an estimate on the purchase price.
Every parcel is in a FEMA special flood hazard area, so a lender requires flood insurance. FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0 prices a policy on the building’s own features, including elevation, replacement cost and distance to water, and the premium does not carry over from the seller. Wind design speed is 170 mph, and a buyer’s insurer prices wind on the roof’s age and shape and the opening protection, so the wind mitigation report is worth ordering before listing.
With 57 seawalls on the roll and no association, each owner carries the seawall, dock and lift. A seawall cap, a new panel run or a lift motor are the common repairs; ask for the seawall and dock permits rather than relying on the roll flags.
A Carolands buyer’s insurer and lender will ask for the elevation certificate, a wind mitigation inspection, a four-point inspection, the roof’s age and the flood policy’s price, because every parcel is in a FEMA flood zone and a 170 mph wind zone. Having those documents ready before the first showing is the fastest way to protect your price.
Data updated: October 2026 (FEMA Risk Rating 2.0; Citizens Property Insurance flood requirement; ASCE Hazard Tool, read October 2026)
A lender’s appraiser needs comparable sales, and a Carolands appraiser has few. We hand the appraiser the frontage-matched county and MLS sales, the island’s bay and canal sales, and the adjustments for flood zone, age and size. We also tell you when a number is at risk, because an appraisal that comes in below the contract price is a negotiation we would rather prepare for than discover at the end.
We assemble the elevation certificate, the wind mitigation and four-point reports, the roof date, the flood policy and any claim history, the permit file since Hurricane Ian and the seawall and dock permits, so the buyer’s insurer has answers on the day of the contract. We do not quote premiums, because they are priced on each house.
A Carolands seller has no association package to order, so the disclosure duty rests on the seller personally: the flood disclosure, the property tax disclosure summary and any known defect a buyer cannot see. A title commitment and the 1978 easements sit beside those. This is information, not legal advice, and your closing agent or attorney confirms the form.
Data updated: October 2026 (Florida Statutes 689.302, 689.261 and 720.401, read October 2026; Florida Division of Corporations, checked October 17, 2026; Lee County Official Records)
A single-family sale outside an association is simpler on paper than a condominium resale, but it puts the questions on you.
A seller of residential property gives the buyer a flood disclosure at or before the contract. Since October 1, 2025 it asks about known flood damage, flood insurance claims and federal flood assistance during your ownership, and it states that homeowners’ policies do not cover flood. Every Carolands parcel is in a FEMA special flood hazard area and Hurricane Ian’s surge crossed the island in September 2022, so answer from your own records and permits, not from the zone.
Section 689.261 requires a property tax disclosure summary at or before the contract, warning the buyer not to rely on your current taxes. In Carolands the warning matters more than usual, because 45 of the 68 houses carry a homestead exemption and the assessment resets to just value in the year after a sale.
Under Johnson v. Davis a seller who knows of facts that materially affect the value of the home and that a buyer cannot readily see must disclose them, and an as-is clause does not remove that duty for a known latent defect. On a waterfront house the usual candidates are water intrusion, a failed seawall panel, a lift or dock problem and repairs made after Ian without a permit.
Section 720.401 requires a disclosure summary when a parcel is subject to a mandatory homeowners’ association. We found no association of any kind for Carolands on the Florida Division of Corporations record, so the summary does not apply on that record. Your title commitment settles it, and we ask the title company to confirm in writing.
Under Lee County custom the seller pays the owner’s title policy and chooses the closing agent, and the contract controls. The key recorded document we read is a 1978 deed from Carlos Corporation that reserves roadway easements 80 and 50 feet wide and a 15-foot utility easement. Carolands is an unrecorded subdivision, so there is no plat to read, and each parcel’s own deed and title search say what binds it.
No. An estoppel letter comes from an association, and Carolands has none, so the net sheets below carry no estoppel line. Neither is there a buyer approval, a transfer fee or a leasing application. The closing items that remain are the title commitment, the payoff of any mortgage, and the permit and seawall file a buyer’s lender or insurer asks for.
Carolands buyers ask whether the lowest floor sits above the base flood elevation, whether water entered in Hurricane Ian, what was permitted after the storm and what a flood policy costs. The answers sit in your elevation certificate, your permit file and your insurance history, and having them on day one is the strongest price protection you have.
Data updated: October 2026 (FEMA flood map panel 12071C0651G, effective November 17, 2022, and National Flood Hazard Layer queried October 17, 2026; USGS 3DEP elevation service; Lee County Emergency Management; ASCE Hazard Tool)
The current map is panel 12071C0651G, effective November 17, 2022. We tested all 80 parcels against FEMA’s own layer on October 17, 2026: AE on 61 (base flood elevation 11 feet on 37 and 10 feet on 24) and VE 12 on 19, every VE parcel on the bay front. FEMA’s map-revision and map-amendment layers show no change inside Carolands. A parcel center is a screening point, not a footprint, so the elevation certificate settles a specific house.
| Group | Parcels | Zone and base flood elevation |
|---|---|---|
| Bay front | 29 | VE 12 on 19; AE 11 on 8; AE 10 on 2 |
| Canal | 51 | AE 11 on 29; AE 10 on 22 |
The USGS 3DEP elevation service read ground elevations of 4.5 to 7.3 feet at sample points across Carolands, below the 10 to 12 foot base flood elevations. Older houses built near grade can have a lowest floor below the base flood elevation, which is why the certificate matters to your buyer’s insurer.
In a flood zone, a renovation or repair that costs 50 percent or more of the building’s market value is a substantial improvement, and the house must then be brought up to the current flood rules. The City tracks improvement costs against the building’s value. If you renovated after Ian, hand over the permits and any substantial damage letter before the buyer asks.
Lee County places Carolands in evacuation Zone A, the first zone ordered out for a storm surge threat. The ASCE wind design speed for the parcels we read is 170 mph. A buyer will want the roof’s age, the opening protection and the wind mitigation report, and an agent who answers those in the listing keeps the first showing on the house.
We gather the elevation certificate if you have one, the permits pulled after Ian, the roof and window dates, your current flood and wind declarations and any damage letters. If there is no elevation certificate, we tell you what one costs through a licensed surveyor and whether it is likely to help your price. We do not guess elevations.
No association rules limit a Carolands sale, because we found no association, but the City of Bonita Springs, the 1978 deed and the state do. The rules that matter to a seller are zoning and the City’s building rules, who maintains your street, and the state and City rules for docks, lifts and seawalls.
Data updated: October 2026 (City of Bonita Springs Land Development Code and maintained-road list; Lee County Property Appraiser roll of October 2026; Florida Department of Environmental Protection, read October 2026)
The City zones 76 parcels RS-1, residential single-family, and 4 parcels TFC-2, two-family conservation. RS-1 allows one single-family house per lot with the setbacks, height limit and lot coverage the Land Development Code sets. Check a TFC-2 parcel against the permitted-use table before you market it as a duplex site.
The City maintains McLaughlin Boulevard on a 50-foot right of way, and Carol Court is not on the City’s maintained-road list. A buyer on Carol Court will ask who plows, repairs and drains it, and the deed and title search answer that, so we raise it before the buyer does.
Docks and seawalls on Estero Bay touch state sovereign submerged lands and the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, so larger dock projects may need a Florida Department of Environmental Protection authorization in addition to the City permit. A buyer who wants a longer dock or a larger lift will ask what yours is permitted for.
A boat buyer in Carolands asks three things about your dock: what the permit allows, what shape the seawall and pilings are in, and which pass a boat reaches the Gulf through. Big Hickory Pass sits under a bridge listed at 10 feet of clearance, New Pass at 30 feet and Big Carlos Pass at 60 feet.
Data updated: October 2026 (NOAA Coast Pilot bridge clearances; Lee County Property Appraiser roll of October 2026; Florida Department of Environmental Protection, read October 2026)
The roll shows a seawall on 57 parcels, a pool on 59, a garage on 65 and a dock field filled on only 4, which undercounts the docks you can see from the water. Ask for the dock permit, not the roll flag. A buyer’s agent will do the same.
All three Gulf passes a Carolands boat uses lie north of the neighborhood. Big Hickory Pass is the nearest, at the north end of Little Hickory Island, and its Hickory Boulevard bridge is listed at 10 feet of vertical clearance, so only smaller boats run it. New Pass has a bridge clearance of 30 feet, and Lee County’s new Big Carlos Pass bridge was built with 60 feet. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection adopted an inlet management plan for Big Hickory Pass in June 2026.
The county record points to spring: of the 47 qualified Carolands house sales recorded since 2009, 23 were recorded from March through June, and only 1 in October. Listing in late fall or early winter puts a house in front of buyers before that season, since a deed recorded in April usually follows a contract signed weeks earlier.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales, through September 25, 2026; recording months, qualified house sales since 2009)
We use recording month, which is when the deed was recorded and not when the buyer and seller agreed. Monthly counts are small, so we publish counts and not monthly medians.
| Recording month | Qualified sales | Recording month | Qualified sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1 | July | 3 |
| February | 2 | August | 5 |
| March | 7 | September | 3 |
| April | 5 | October | 1 |
| May | 7 | November | 4 |
| June | 4 | December | 5 |
The Southwest Florida MLS gives the days a Carolands home takes to sell, and its 60-month median is 26 days across the 8 closings that report days on market. Eight closings are a small base, and the one 2026 closing took 79 days, so we promise no timeline. As a plan, a house listed in November is in front of buyers when the winter season opens, ahead of the March to June window in the record.
We market a Carolands home by building the file first and the photographs second: the elevation certificate, the dock and seawall permits, the post-Ian permit file and the flood and wind documents are ready before the photographer arrives. Then we place the home on the Southwest Florida MLS and our own sites, beside our Carolands guide.
Data updated: October 2026 (NAR practice changes effective August 17, 2024; Southwest Florida MLS listing standards; Lee County Property Appraiser roll of October 2026)
Carolands buyers ask about the water first, so a listing answers it before the first showing.
The package holds the street and heated size, the year built, the flood zone and base flood elevation, the dock, lift and seawall permits, the roof and window dates, the flood and wind declarations, a list of what conveys, and a one-page comparison to the nearest bay or canal sales. We link the listing to our Carolands, Bonita Beach neighborhood guide so a buyer searching the neighborhood finds your home in context.
Since the NAR settlement practice changes took effect on August 17, 2024, offers of buyer-broker compensation cannot be advertised on the MLS and any you offer is negotiated off it. Commissions are negotiable, and you may still offer MLS concessions such as a closing-cost credit. We put the choices and their effect on your net on paper before you decide.
We negotiate a Carolands contract at the partner level, with Jesse or Marc on every offer, counter, inspection response and appraisal question. Four issues decide a Carolands contract: price against the nearest bay or canal sales, the inspection and insurance quotes, the appraisal, and the closing date.
Data updated: October 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 27, 2026; Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales through September 25, 2026; NAR practice changes effective August 17, 2024)
Negotiation begins with the record. The 60-month MLS median sale-to-final-list ratio is 90.12% across the 8 closings that report it, and the one 2026 closing sold 18.2% below its list price after 79 days. Eight closings are a thin base, so we use them as a range and not as a promise.
We answer an offer with the comparable that supports our number, and we weigh price against terms: closing date, financing, contingencies and credits. An offer $10,000 lower with a cash close can net more than a higher offer that fails at the appraisal. With so few sales, an appraiser has little to work from, so we give the appraiser the nearest bay or canal sales before the appraisal, with a note on what the county record does not show.
Buyers commonly order an inspection and ask for flood and wind quotes in the inspection period. If a quote comes in high, the elevation certificate, the wind mitigation report and your declarations answer it. We reply in writing, item by item, and decline what the record does not support.
We state in the offer what conveys, what the permits show for the dock and seawall, and what the title commitment says about the 1978 easements. We ask the buyer to accept the dock and seawall as they stand or to name the repair, and we price the answer before we reply.
A buyer choosing between Carolands and Kinleyland is choosing between an 80-parcel bayside neighborhood with a 60-month county range of $1,600,000 to $7,700,000 and a 30-parcel recorded plat of bay and canal lots with a range of $1,800,000 to $2,100,000. Both sit on Little Hickory Island, and the difference is mainly size, flood zone and price tier.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser roll of October 2026 and recorded sales through September 25, 2026; Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 27, 2026; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, queried October 17, 2026)
Kinleyland is the closest comparable on the island’s bay side. If you own there instead, read our Kinleyland seller’s guide. The last column says what each difference means for your Carolands listing.
| What a buyer weighs | Carolands | Kinleyland | What it means for your Carolands listing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | 80 parcels: 68 houses, 12 lots | 30 parcels: 27 houses, 3 lots | Carolands is the larger neighborhood |
| Water | 29 bay front, 51 canal | 15 bay, 15 canal | Carolands has more bay frontage |
| Built | 1966 to 2024, median 1991 | 1974 to 2019, median 1987 | Carolands has the newest houses |
| Heated area, median | 2,749 sq ft | 2,221 sq ft | Carolands houses are larger |
| County sales, 60 months | 6, from $1,600,000 to $7,700,000 | 6, from $1,800,000 to $2,100,000 | Carolands spans a far wider range |
| MLS closings, 60 months | 9, $33,612,500 in volume; latest $2,862,500 in June 2026 | 6, from $1,800,000 to $2,195,000; latest $1,937,500 in January 2026 after 30 days | Kinleyland’s range is tight; yours is not |
| Active listings | 2 ($3,995,000 and $6,195,000) | None | Your buyer sees two asking prices above Kinleyland’s range |
| Flood | AE on 61, VE 12 on 19; panel 12071C0651G | AE, base flood elevation 10; panel 12071C0654G | Bay-front VE adds exposure Kinleyland does not have |
| Seawalls | 57 | 25 | Both owners carry their own |
| Homesteaded | 45 of 68 houses | 12 of 27 houses | More Carolands owners hold a homestead that resets on a sale |
| Recorded plat | Unrecorded subdivision | Plat Book 29, Page 91 | Title work differs |
Kinleyland wins for a buyer who wants a smaller, recorded subdivision with a tight price range and a recent sale record in the low $2 million range. Carolands wins for a buyer who wants open bay frontage, a larger house or a new custom build. Do not price a Carolands house from Kinleyland sales; do use them to understand a buyer’s alternative, and show the buyer what your bay or canal frontage adds. Our Carolands neighborhood guide carries the same comparison from the buyer’s side, and buyers can call Marc at (239) 287-5873 or see how we represent buyers.
The island context helps a seller place both. The island has had 19 MLS closings in 12 months at a $2,600,000 median, and our Little Hickory Island seller’s guide and Little Hickory Island guide cover it. Other buyers on the beach side compare these streets with Bonita Beach homes, the Bonita Beach mobile home villas and Little Hickory Bay.
Selling a Carolands home costs roughly 3.85 to 6.43 percent of the price, depending mostly on the commission you negotiate and whether you offer buyer-agent compensation. On a $1,850,000 sale that is about $72,625 to $118,875, and on a $2,862,500 sale about $110,088 to $181,651, before property tax and any mortgage payoff.
Data updated: October 2026 (Florida Department of Revenue documentary stamp tax rate, Florida title insurance rate schedule, NAR practice changes of August 17, 2024; Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 27, 2026; Lee County recorded sales through September 25, 2026)
The figures are estimates, not a settlement statement. We show a 2.75 percent listing commission and an optional 2.5 percent for buyer-agent compensation; commission is negotiable, so replace either with your own number. $1,850,000 is the one canal sale in the 60-month county record and $2,862,500 is the 60-month MLS median and the June 2026 sale. Florida charges documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100, and the owner’s title premium is $575 for the first $100,000, plus $5.00 per $1,000 up to $1,000,000, plus $2.50 per $1,000 from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000. In Lee County the seller customarily pays both, though the contract controls. Every line is rounded to the dollar.
This sheet assumes a mortgage-free seller. It leaves out property tax proration, because we do not know your tax bill: multiply your latest annual bill by the days you owned the year and divide by 365.
| Item | Estimate | Arithmetic |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $1,850,000 | Canal sale of March 2022 |
| Listing commission, 2.75% | -$50,875 | 2.75% of $1,850,000, rounded to the dollar |
| Buyer-agent compensation, 2.5%, if offered | -$46,250 | 2.5% of $1,850,000, rounded to the dollar |
| Deed documentary stamp tax | -$12,950 | 18,500 units of $100 at $0.70 |
| Owner’s title policy | -$7,200 | $575, plus $4,500 on the next $900,000, plus $2,125 on the $850,000 above $1,000,000 |
| Title search and settlement | -$1,400 | Estimate |
| Municipal lien search | -$200 | Estimate |
| Estimated total costs, with buyer-agent compensation | -$118,875 | 6.43% of price |
| Estimated net before payoff, with buyer-agent compensation | $1,731,125 | $1,850,000 minus $118,875 |
| Estimated total costs, without buyer-agent compensation | -$72,625 | 3.93% of price |
| Estimated net before payoff, without buyer-agent compensation | $1,777,375 | $1,850,000 minus $72,625 |
The same assumptions apply, at the 60-month MLS median of 9 closings.
| Item | Estimate | Arithmetic |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $2,862,500 | 60-month MLS median, 9 closings |
| Listing commission, 2.75% | -$78,719 | 2.75% of $2,862,500, rounded to the dollar |
| Buyer-agent compensation, 2.5%, if offered | -$71,563 | 2.5% of $2,862,500, rounded to the dollar |
| Deed documentary stamp tax | -$20,038 | 28,625 units of $100 at $0.70 |
| Owner’s title policy | -$9,731 | $575, plus $4,500, plus $2.50 per $1,000 on the $1,862,500 above $1,000,000 |
| Title search and settlement | -$1,400 | Estimate |
| Municipal lien search | -$200 | Estimate |
| Estimated total costs, with buyer-agent compensation | -$181,651 | 6.35% of price |
| Estimated net before payoff, with buyer-agent compensation | $2,680,849 | $2,862,500 minus $181,651 |
| Estimated total costs, without buyer-agent compensation | -$110,088 | 3.85% of price |
| Estimated net before payoff, without buyer-agent compensation | $2,752,412 | $2,862,500 minus $110,088 |
Your mortgage payoff, the property tax proration, any repairs or concessions, any dock or seawall work you agree to, and any homeowner’s association fee. There is no estoppel line because Carolands has no association.
Possibly not. Under Section 121, as the IRS explains in Topic 701, a seller can exclude up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, on a main home owned and used as a main home for at least 2 of the 5 years before the sale. Florida has no state income tax.
Data updated: October 2026 (Internal Revenue Service Topic 701 and Publication 523, read October 2026; Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales through September 25, 2026)
The record shows why the exclusion may not cover a Carolands seller’s gain. Of the 11 same-parcel repeat pairs since 2009, 9 gained and 2 lost, the median gain of the 9 was $865,000 and 8 of the 9 gains exceeded $250,000, all before selling costs. Gain is measured from your basis, which includes your purchase price, certain closing costs and improvements, less your selling costs, so your own number differs from the difference between two recorded prices.
The exclusion is for a main home, and a second home or rental does not qualify the same way; depreciation you took or could have taken on a rental is taxed when you sell, and you may not claim the exclusion again within two years of claiming it on another home. A foreign seller faces withholding under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act. IRS Publication 523 says a loss on the sale of your main home is not deductible, which matters to the 2 owners in the record who sold below their purchase price. We are real estate agents, not tax advisers, and this is general information, so ask a tax adviser before you list.
List if your home is in marketable condition and you can be live for the fall to spring season; take an investor cash offer only when the home needs work a buyer’s insurer or lender would not accept or you need to close in days; sell by owner only if you already have a buyer and know Florida’s disclosure duties.
Data updated: October 2026 (Florida Statutes 689.302 and 689.261; NAR practice changes of August 17, 2024; Lee County recorded sales through September 25, 2026)
Carolands has features that change the comparison: a thin record of 6 county sales in 60 months, a flood zone on every parcel and a dock and seawall a buyer will inspect. A buyer who is paying cash still wants those answered. Our Bonita Springs seller’s guide covers the city-wide picture, and we run the net proceeds side by side at no cost.
| Path | Price you can expect | What you pay | Main risk | When it fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full listing | Highest, tested by the market | Commission, stamp tax, title and prorations | A price that ignores the last 12 months sits | A home in marketable condition with time |
| Investor cash offer | Below a well-priced listing; get it in writing | Often fewer repairs and fees, but a lower price | The discount can exceed the commission you save | A home needing work or a fast close |
| Sale by owner | Untested unless you have a buyer | No listing commission, but your own disclosures and any negotiated buyer-agent compensation | Missed Section 689.302 or 689.261 duties | A known buyer and a legal review |
You get a free Carolands home valuation by requesting one online or calling Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. We send a value built from the recorded bay and canal sales nearest your house, adjusted for water, flood zone, age, size and condition, with a net sheet at that price, and there is no obligation to list.
Data updated: October 2026 (Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales through September 25, 2026; Southwest Florida MLS, pulled October 27, 2026)
McGreevy and Comisar, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 and the #1 Team in Southwest Florida since 2012, prepare every valuation personally: the sales we priced from, the 12, 24, 36 and 60-month windows, the document list your buyer will ask for and a net sheet at the price the record supports.
Get your free Carolands, Bonita Beach home valuation and we will send a value built from recorded Carolands sales near your house, not a ZIP-wide estimate, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. Confidential conversations are welcome. If you are also buying, call Marc at (239) 287-5873 or read our guide to buying in Carolands. Our Carolands neighborhood guide shows what a buyer sees.
Jesse McGreevy is a top-reviewed Bonita Springs listing agent and Marc Comisar is a top-reviewed Bonita Springs realtor; every review below is copied from our Google Business Profile. We claim no Carolands sale, and none of these is offered as a Carolands review. The words are the reviewers’ own.
★★★★★ “Marc was extremely helpful in the sale of our old home and getting our new home to the condition that we wanted it to make it ours. He has been available to us for every step of our journey, even after the transaction closed.” Verified Google review
★★★★★ “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
★★★★★ “Jesse and Marc are extremely knowledgeable about Southwest Florida real estate! If you are looking to buy or sell property, look no further than Domain Realty and their amazing team!” Verified Google review
★★★★★ “Their knowledge of the Southwest Florida market really stood out, and you can tell they genuinely care about their clients and getting the best results possible. They were always available to answer questions, kept us informed every step of the way, and paid attention to every detail.” Verified Google review
These are the questions Carolands owners ask before they list, answered from the Lee County sale record, the Southwest Florida MLS and Florida law. The neighborhood background is in our Carolands, Bonita Beach neighborhood guide. For your own home, call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.
Price it from the nearest bay or canal sales, assemble the elevation certificate and the dock and seawall permits, complete the flood disclosure, and list in the fall or winter. Carolands has no association, so there is no estoppel or document package to order.
Choose the agent with the strongest pricing evidence and file plan. McGreevy and Comisar are Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, and we tracked every qualified Carolands house sale for this page. We claim no Carolands closing.
Six county-qualified sales in 60 months ran $1,600,000 to $7,700,000, and the nine MLS closings in the same window had a median of $2,862,500. Bay or canal, size, age, elevation and condition decide where you land. Request a free valuation.
One home. The county recorded a single qualified sale in the 12 months to September 25, 2026, and the Southwest Florida MLS shows one closing at $2,862,500 after 79 days. One sale is an example, not a market.
The record is too thin to say. The 12-month window holds one sale and the 24-month county window holds two, and the MLS 24-month median of $7,700,000 rests on three closings. The June 2026 sale closed 18.2 percent below its list price.
The MLS 60-month median is 26 days across the 8 closings that report days on market, and the one 2026 closing took 79 days. The two active listings show 244 and 5 days on market. Eight closings are a small base, so we do not promise a timeline.
Of 47 qualified house sales since 2009, 23 were recorded from March through June, so a fall or winter listing is live before that season. At the 60-month pace there are 13.3 months of supply, so a well-priced and well-documented home matters more than the month.
Start from the five bay-front county sales in 60 months, adjust for size, age, flood zone and condition, and test the result against the two active asking prices. A VE 12 lot carries a different insurance profile from an AE one, which a buyer prices in.
The record holds one canal sale in 60 months, $1,850,000 in March 2022, so we price canal homes from the nearest canal sales on the island, labeled as another neighborhood’s sales, and show the buyer’s agent the adjustments.
Compare what your house is likely to sell for as it stands with a comparable lot and a buyer’s rebuild cost. The county recorded lot sales of $1,100,000 and $1,600,000 in 60 months, and the lowest house sales were $1,600,000 and $1,850,000.
We found none on the Florida Division of Corporations record, in the deeds we read or on the county roll. There is no monthly fee, no buyer approval and no architectural review, and each owner maintains their own seawall and dock.
Under Lee County custom the seller pays the documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100 and the owner’s title policy and chooses the closing agent, though the contract controls. At $2,862,500 that is $20,038 and $9,731.
The flood disclosure under Section 689.302 and the property tax disclosure summary under Section 689.261 at or before the contract, plus disclosure of any known latent defect. Beyond the law, we hand a buyer the elevation certificate, permits and the dock and seawall file.
Yes. Since October 1, 2025 the Section 689.302 form asks about known flood damage, flood insurance claims and federal flood assistance during your ownership. Answer from your records, because every Carolands parcel is in a FEMA special flood hazard area and Hurricane Ian’s surge crossed the island in September 2022.
Yes, if you know of it and a buyer cannot readily see it. Under Johnson v. Davis, an as-is clause does not remove the duty to disclose a known latent defect that materially affects value, such as water intrusion or an unpermitted repair.
AE on 61 parcels and VE 12 on 19, every VE parcel on the bay front. The base flood elevation is 11 feet on 37 AE parcels and 10 feet on 24, on panel 12071C0651G effective November 17, 2022.
No law requires one to sell, but a buyer’s insurer prices the lowest floor against the base flood elevation, and ground elevations of 4.5 to 7.3 feet at sample points sit below the 10 to 12 foot base flood elevations. A certificate answers the question before it costs you a price reduction.
Yes. Ian’s surge crossed Little Hickory Island in September 2022, and a buyer will ask whether water entered the house, what was repaired and under which permit. Keep the permits and any substantial damage letter together.
In a flood zone, a repair or renovation costing 50 percent or more of the building’s market value is a substantial improvement, and the house must then be brought up to current flood rules. It matters most to a buyer who plans to renovate an older house.
No association approves a buyer. Your title commitment and the 1978 easements are the documents a buyer’s attorney reads, and we ask the title company to confirm that no mandatory association applies under Section 720.401.
With no association, no private rule limits rentals that we could find. The limits that apply come from the City and the State of Florida, which licenses and taxes short stays, so a buyer who plans to rent confirms them before closing.
The contract should list what conveys, so name the dock and lift in it. The roll flags a dock on only 4 parcels and a seawall on 57, so the permits, not the roll, show what you own. Per-closing dock and lift detail: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-10).
All three passes lie north: Big Hickory Pass under a bridge listed at 10 feet of clearance, New Pass at 30 feet and Big Carlos Pass at 60 feet. Estero Bay is shallow outside the marked channels, so draft and tide decide.
The City maintains McLaughlin Boulevard on a 50-foot right of way. Carol Court is not on the City’s maintained-road list, so ask your title company who is responsible before a Carol Court buyer asks.
Not what you pay. The assessment resets to just value in the year after a sale, and at the 2025 rate the median just value of $1,642,631 illustrates to about $21,021 before exemptions. A buyer files for homestead by March 1 of the year after purchase.
Fix what a buyer’s inspector, insurer or lender will cite: the roof, openings and the wind mitigation items, seawall caps and dock pilings, and any open permit. Order the wind mitigation and four-point reports and decide on an elevation certificate before photographs.
At the $2,862,500 60-month MLS median, closing costs are about $181,651 (6.35 percent) with 2.5 percent buyer-agent compensation and $110,088 (3.85 percent) without. Commission is negotiable, and the figures exclude any mortgage payoff.
About $2,680,849 with buyer-agent compensation or $2,752,412 without, before payoff, at $2,862,500. At $1,850,000 it is $1,731,125 or $1,777,375. Your own sheet needs your tax bill and payoff.
Possibly not on a main home owned and used for 2 of the last 5 years: the exclusion is $250,000, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly. Of the 11 repeat pairs in the record, 9 gained and 8 of those gained more than $250,000, so ask a tax adviser.
With few sales, an appraiser has little to work from, so we give the appraiser the nearest bay or canal sales before the appraisal. If it still comes in low, you can negotiate price, a credit or the terms, and we put the choices on paper.
Call Marc at (239) 287-5873 or read our guide to buying in Carolands. We can line up the sale and the purchase and size the net sheet to your next down payment.
Carolands is larger, with 80 parcels, more bay frontage and sales from $1,600,000 to $7,700,000, while Kinleyland has 30 parcels and county sales of $1,800,000 to $2,100,000. Our Kinleyland seller’s guide covers that side.
No. This is a neighborhood of 80 parcels on the bay side of Little Hickory Island in Bonita Springs, Florida, and the name is shared with an estate in Hillsborough, California.
McGreevy and Comisar, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 and the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012, price from the record and answer the buyer’s flood, insurance and water questions first.
The commission is negotiable and set in the listing agreement. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072 and we will prepare a net sheet at your price before you sign.
A Bonita Beach waterfront specialist knows which sales are true comparables for a bay or canal house, what the flood map means parcel by parcel, how a dock and seawall file reads to a buyer’s lender and insurer, and which passes a boat can use. Buyers pay for that clarity, and a listing that explains a Carolands home holds its price through the inspection.
We have seen small facts cost sellers contracts: a bay-front house priced off a canal sale, a roll flag used as proof that a dock exists, a flood answer taken from the zone and not from the records, and an elevation question left for the buyer’s insurer to raise. As Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, we build the listing so none of those reach the inspection period.
Our Bonita Beach community guide covers the island and the strip, our Little Hickory Island guide covers the island’s streets, and our Carolands guide covers the sales, the flood map and the boating route. Neighbors on the island’s bay side include Hickory Bay West and Glen Manor and Bonita Shores.
If you are thinking of selling a Carolands home, call the team that prices from the recorded sales nearest your house, assembles the flood, permit and dock file the day you list, and answers the buyer’s insurance and storm questions first. We have represented Bonita Springs sellers since 2008.
If you are thinking, “I need someone to sell my home in Carolands, Bonita Beach, Florida,” McGreevy and Comisar helps homeowners price, market, negotiate and sell across Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples, Fort Myers, Lee County, Collier County and Babcock Ranch, whether you are selling in Carolands, Kinleyland, Hickory Bay West or Little Hickory Bay.
As the leaders of Domain Realty Group, our team has closed over $2.5 billion in real estate, and McGreevy and Comisar alone have over $900 million in personal sales.
Carolands sold record, last 60 months: 6 county-qualified house sales from $1,600,000 to $7,700,000, and 9 Southwest Florida MLS closings at a $2,862,500 median, per Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales through September 25, 2026 and the MLS pull of October 27, 2026. Few Carolands homes come up for sale in any year, so make us your first call before you list.
Request your free Carolands, Bonita Beach home valuation and we will send a value built from the recorded bay and canal sales nearest your house, or jump to the valuation section on this page. Talk to Jesse direct: Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072, text or call. Confidential conversations welcome.
Jesse McGreevy is a top-reviewed Bonita Springs realtor and Marc Comisar is a top-reviewed Southwest Florida buyer’s agent; you can read every review on our Google Business Profile. McGreevy and Comisar are based in Bonita Springs, in the same city as Carolands, and are Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008.
The neighborhood background is in our Carolands, Bonita Beach neighborhood guide.
Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008
5 Star Award for Customer Satisfaction for 21 Straight Years. Only 5 out of 21k+ Licensees (Gulfshore Life Magazine)
#1 Team in Southwest Florida since 2012
McGreevy and Comisar and their Domain Realty Group team have sold over $2.5 Billion in Real Estate
McGreevy and Comisar alone have over $900 million in Sales
Nationally Recognized Top Producing Realtors
Platinum Sales Production Award Winners
Jesse McGreevy: (239) 898-6072 · [email protected]
Marc Comisar: (239) 287-5873
Office: 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101, Bonita Springs, FL 34134
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) within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Florida license numbers: Jesse McGreevy SL3101296, Marc Comisar BK3060671.
Selling a Carolands home? Get a free Carolands home valuation, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. Buying one? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read our guide to buying in Carolands.
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McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group, a full-service Southwest Florida real estate team. Learn more about our team at DomainRealtyGroup.com. Read more about McGreevy and Comisar, see how we represent buyers, or contact us.
Every figure on this page traces to a primary source below: county, city, state and federal records and the statutes that set the seller’s duties. Carolands sale figures are from the Lee County Property Appraiser sales file and roll and Florida Department of Revenue recorded sales through September 25, 2026, and Southwest Florida MLS figures are from the pull of October 27, 2026. We do not cite brokerage or listing sites. Links were opened on October 17, 2026 where the publisher allows automated access.
These official documents are the ones a Carolands seller should have in hand before listing and a buyer’s agent will ask to see. Each link opens the issuing authority’s own copy.
| Document | Issued by | Date | Why a Carolands seller needs it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Statute 689.302 | Florida Legislature | Current statute | The flood disclosure a seller completes at or before the contract |
| Florida Statute 689.261 | Florida Legislature | Current statute | The property tax disclosure summary |
| FEMA Flood Map Service Center | Federal Emergency Management Agency | Panel 12071C0651G, effective November 17, 2022 | The flood zone and base flood elevation for your parcel |
| Homestead application DR-501 | Florida Department of Revenue | Current form | What your buyer files by March 1 of the year after purchase |
| Big Hickory Pass inlet management plan | Florida Department of Environmental Protection | June 2026 | The pass a Carolands boat uses to reach the Gulf |
| IRS Topic 701 | Internal Revenue Service | Current posting | The home-sale exclusion of $250,000 or $500,000 |
Carolands sale figures are Lee County Property Appraiser and Florida DOR recorded sales through September 25, 2026, and Southwest Florida MLS figures are from the pull of October 27, 2026. McGreevy and Comisar, sell your Carolands home with the #1 Team in Southwest Florida since 2012. Brokered by Domain Realty. Jesse McGreevy, FL Lic. SL3101296 · Marc Comisar, FL Lic. BK3060671.