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What's Your Home in The Forest Worth?

What's Your Home in The Forest Worth?

Your Home Valuation

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By Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, McGreevy and Comisar, Domain Realty Group. Updated September 2026.

If you own a home in The Forest and you are thinking about selling, this page is the plan we would put in front of you at the kitchen table. The Forest is a gated, non-bundled golf community of 789 residences inside the master-planned community of The Forest in Fort Myers, Florida, in unincorporated Lee County between US 41 and Island Park Road. Our complete guide to living there, every neighborhood, the club, the fee stack and the flood maps, is the The Forest community guide; this page is the seller's side of the same record.

The short version is simple. In the 12 months to September 23, 2026 we tracked 45 closings in The Forest in the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix: 15 single-family homes at a median of $685,000 and 30 condominiums and villas at a median of $286,500, a median of 76 days on market and a median of 94.59% of list price. On September 23, 2026, 29 homes were for sale, about 7.7 months of supply. That is a market where the first price decides the outcome, the association paperwork decides the timeline, and the answer to one question, "do I have to join the club?", decides how many buyers will look at your home at all. McGreevy and Comisar are Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012, with over $900 million in personal sales, and we sell The Forest from the record, not from a brochure.

Sell Your Home in The Forest With the #1 Team in Southwest Florida Since 2012

Selling a home in The Forest, Fort Myers, means pricing one of 19 recorded neighborhoods against its own sales, answering the non-bundled club question in the club's own words, clearing up to three association estoppels, and marketing to a buyer pool that doubles in season. McGreevy and Comisar build every Forest listing around those four facts.

Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

The Forest is not one market. A 1,161-square-foot walk-up condominium at Partridge Place and a 3,286-square-foot home in The Oaks share a gate, a master association and a ZIP code, 33908, and almost nothing else. Over the last four years the neighborhood medians inside the gates ran from about $165,000 to more than $900,000. So the first job on any Forest listing is to decide which market your home is actually in, and the second is to price it against the homes a buyer will see the same week. Everything on this page, from the neighborhood price guide to the cost-of-selling table, is built to do those two jobs for your home.

If you are asking yourself, "I need someone to sell my house in The Forest," or searching for the best listing agent in Fort Myers for a gated golf community, here is what you get with us: a price built from your own neighborhood's closings, a documents file ordered on day one so no association layer stalls your closing, a flood and insurance packet ready before a buyer's lender asks for it, showings registered at the gate so no buyer is turned away, and marketing that reaches golfers and non-golfers alike, because at The Forest club membership is optional.

Selling your home in The Forest? Get a free home valuation for your home in The Forest, or Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. Confidential conversations are welcome.

Buying in The Forest instead? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

Why McGreevy and Comisar Are the Best Realtor for The Forest

McGreevy and Comisar are the best realtor to sell a home in The Forest because the case is on the record: Top 1% nationally since 2008, the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012, over $900 million in personal sales, and a Forest market read built from every MLS closing, the county roll, the club's filings and FEMA's maps.

If you're searching for the best realtor for The Forest, whether you're ready to sell your home in The Forest 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. That is also why we can be measured: if you want to see how agents in this market compare on licence dates, reviews and production, our roundup of the best real estate agents in Fort Myers lays it out, compared on the public record.

Recent The Forest track record, from the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix. In the last 12 months we tracked 45 The Forest closings in the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026, covering closings dated September 24, 2025 to September 23, 2026: 15 single-family homes and 30 condominiums or villas, for $20,135,000 in closed volume. The median sold price was $375,000 (n=45, odd, so the median is an observed sale). The median time on market was 76 days, the median sold-to-list ratio was 94.59%, and 4 of the 45 sales closed at or above asking. The highest sale was $1,250,000, a home in The Oaks that closed at its full list price in October 2025, and the fastest recorded 0 days on market, a Waters Edge condominium that closed at full price in May 2026.

What we do differently on a Forest listing. We order the estoppel certificates, budgets and governing documents from every association layer on the first day, because none of those layers publishes its assessment. We explain the club in the words of the club and the master association, because buyers ask that question before they ask about the kitchen. We put your neighborhood's flood panel and ground elevation in the file, because every home here is in FEMA Zone AE. And we register every showing with the gate through the association's visitor system, so no buyer is stopped on the way in.

Honors and recognition:

  • 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

McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group, a full-service Southwest Florida real estate team. Learn more about our team at DomainRealtyGroup.com.

Selling your home in The Forest? Get a free home valuation, or Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.

Buying a home in The Forest? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873 for a personalized buyer consultation, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

Office: 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101, Bonita Springs, FL 34134 · Jesse McGreevy: (239) 898-6072 · [email protected] · Marc Comisar: (239) 287-5873

Key Takeaways

  • The Forest is 19 neighborhoods, not one market. Neighborhood medians run from $165,000 at Partridge Place (24-month window) to $902,500 in The Oaks (48-month window), per the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026. We price every home from its own neighborhood's sales.
  • 45 closings in the last 12 months. Fifteen single-family homes at a median of $685,000 and 30 condominiums and villas at a median of $286,500 (the middle pair $265,000 and $308,000), with a median of 76 days on market and 94.59% of list.
  • About 7.7 months of supply. Twenty-nine active listings on September 23, 2026 against 45 closings in the prior year, which leans toward buyers and makes the first price the most important decision you make.
  • Club membership is optional, and that is a selling point. The Forest is non-bundled, per the club's membership page and the master association's resident portal, so your home can be marketed to golfers and non-golfers alike. A membership should not be assumed to transfer with the home.
  • No association layer publishes its fees. The master association, each neighborhood association and the Heron Master publish no assessment; the amounts come from the estoppel certificate, which Florida caps at $250 plus $100 for delivery within three business days when nothing is delinquent (s. 720.30851; s. 718.116).
  • Condominium and homeowners' association sellers owe different disclosures. A condominium seller delivers the resale documents in s. 718.503; a homeowners' association seller presents the disclosure summary in s. 720.401 before the buyer signs. Every seller gives the flood disclosure in s. 689.302.
  • Every home is in FEMA Zone AE, base flood elevation 11 feet. The panels are 12071C0438H and 12071C0576H, effective November 17, 2022, per FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer. An elevation certificate belongs in the listing file on day one.
  • Only Sparrowood falls under the milestone and reserve-study laws. Its three buildings are the only three-story residential buildings in The Forest on the Lee County parcel roll, so a Sparrowood seller gathers the milestone inspection summary and the structural integrity reserve study before listing.
  • February is the peak. February 2026 alone carried 13 of the 45 closings, and the master association estimates the population roughly doubles in season, from about 1,000 to about 2,000, per its 2022 Emergency Preparedness Plan.

Table of Contents

What Is The Forest Real Estate Market Doing for Sellers Right Now?

The Forest recorded 45 closings in the 12 months to September 23, 2026: 15 single-family homes at a median of $685,000 and 30 condominiums and villas at a median of $286,500. Sellers closed at a median 94.59% of list after 76 days, and 29 homes were listed, about 7.7 months of supply, per the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix.

Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

Our stats window follows one rule: we use the trailing 12 months when a group has at least 10 closings in that window, and widen to 24, 36 and then 48 months only when it does not. The Forest as a whole, and both of its segments, clear that bar in the trailing 12 months, so every community-level figure below is a 12-month figure, named as such. Individual neighborhoods are thinner, and the price guide further down widens the window for each one and says which window it used.

The Forest Seller Snapshot, Trailing 12 Months

Measure (09/24/2025 to 09/23/2026)

All homes (n=45)

Single-family (n=15)

Condo or villa (n=30)

Median sold price

$375,000 (observed sale)

$685,000 (observed sale)

$286,500 (middle pair $265,000 and $308,000)

Median sold price per sq ft of MLS living area

$175.63

$232.39

$148.88

Median sold-to-list ratio

94.59%

94.59%

94.61%

Median days on market

76

71

81

Closed at or above list

4 of 45

2 of 15

2 of 30

Closed volume

$20,135,000

$10,778,500

$9,356,500

Active listings on 09/23/2026

29

11

18

Months of supply

7.7

8.8

7.2

Source: Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026. When n is even the median is the mean of the middle pair, shown beside it. Price per square foot is the median of each sale's own ratio of sold price to MLS living area. Months of supply is active listings divided by the average monthly closings of the prior 12 months.

What Those Numbers Mean for a Forest Seller

Three things stand out. First, both segments negotiated off list at almost the same rate, about 94.6%, so a Forest seller should expect a buyer to negotiate and should price with that room already considered, not add it on top. Second, only 4 of 45 homes reached their asking price, and those four were priced at or very near their neighborhood's recent sales from the first day. Third, the spread in days on market is enormous: inside the same condominium segment, one Waters Edge unit closed with 0 days on market at full price while a Sparrowood unit waited 633 days and closed at 88.63% of list. That spread is a pricing story, not a neighborhood story, and it is the single most useful thing a Forest seller can know before choosing a list price.

How the Last 12 Months Compare With the 12 Before

Period

All closings

All median

Single-family (n, median, per sq ft)

Condo or villa (n, median, per sq ft)

09/24/2024 to 09/23/2025

42

$375,000 (middle pair $370,000 and $380,000)

18, $585,000, $222.69

24, $294,500, $165.81

09/24/2025 to 09/23/2026

45

$375,000

15, $685,000, $232.39

30, $286,500, $148.88

Source: Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026, the same pull the The Forest community guide publishes.

Closings rose from 42 to 45 and the community median did not move. The single-family median rose from $585,000 to $685,000, about 17%, while single-family price per square foot of living area rose only about 4%, from $222.69 to $232.39, so most of the higher median reflects larger homes selling in a 15-sale sample rather than homes gaining value. The condominium and villa figure fell from $165.81 to $148.88 per square foot, partly because larger units sold this year. Days on market shortened in both segments, from 90.5 to 71 days for single-family homes and from 130 to 81 for condominiums and villas. For a seller, the honest reading is a steady market, softer on the condominium side, that rewards accurate pricing and punishes optimism.

What You Are Competing Against Today

On September 23, 2026 the 11 single-family listings in The Forest asked a median of $1,150,000, against a median single-family sale of $685,000 in the prior 12 months. The active set leans toward large Unit One, Unit Three and Oaks homes, so part of that gap is mix, but it also means the top of The Forest is being tested by asking prices that closed sales have not yet confirmed: only one closing in the past year reached $1,250,000. The 18 condominium and villa listings asked a median of $287,000 (the middle pair $285,000 and $289,000), close to the $286,500 condominium median of the last 12 months, and the median active listing across both segments had been on the market 110 days. A new listing priced above that aging inventory makes it look like a bargain. A new listing priced at the closed-sale level is the one buyers see first.

Thinking of Selling Your Home in The Forest? Talk to Jesse Before You Set a Price

With 29 homes for sale and a median active listing at 110 days, the first two weeks of your listing decide whether you are the home buyers race to see or the one they use to negotiate against. McGreevy and Comisar are Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, and we will show you, from the closed sales in your own neighborhood and floor plan, where that first price should sit. Start with a free home valuation for your home in The Forest, or Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. If you are also buying your next home, Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

Which Recent The Forest Sales Should Every Seller Study?

The Forest sales that teach a seller the most are the extremes: the Waters Edge condominium that closed at full price with 0 days on market, the Oaks home that closed at its $1,250,000 list price, and the Sparrowood and Quail Cove units that waited more than a year and closed at 84% to 89% of list.

Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

These twelve closings from the last 12 months cover every price level and most neighborhoods inside the gates. Beds and baths are as entered on the MLS; living area is MLS living area. We describe homes by neighborhood and floor plan rather than by address.

Closed

Neighborhood

Home

Living area

List price

Sold price

Sold-to-list

Days on market

October 2025

The Oaks

Single-family, 3 + den / 3.5

3,247 sq ft

$1,250,000

$1,250,000

100.00%

71

June 2026

The Forest Unit Three

Single-family, 5 + den / 4.5

5,292 sq ft

$1,275,000

$1,162,500

91.18%

140

June 2026

The Forest Unit Three

Single-family, 6 or more / 5.5

4,646 sq ft

$1,100,000

$1,025,000

93.18%

5

December 2025

The Forest Unit One

Single-family, 4 / 2

1,835 sq ft

$525,000

$525,000

100.00%

24

May 2026

Eagle's Landing

Villa home, 3 + den / 3.5

2,410 sq ft

$535,000

$505,000

94.39%

77

February 2026

Heron Coach House Villas

Land condominium villa, 4 / 2.5

3,005 sq ft

$619,000

$570,000

92.08%

61

May 2026

Waters Edge

Condominium, 3 / 2.5

2,222 sq ft

$425,000

$425,000

100.00%

0

February 2026

Fairway Woods II

Condominium, 4 / 2.5

2,962 sq ft

$410,000

$395,000

96.34%

34

May 2026

Fairway Woods I

Condominium, 2 / 2

1,782 sq ft

$268,000

$262,000

97.76%

4

December 2025

Sparrowood

Condominium, 2 / 2

1,758 sq ft

$299,000

$265,000

88.63%

633

January 2026

Quail Cove

Condominium, 2 + den / 2

1,381 sq ft

$225,000

$190,000

84.44%

405

October 2025

Partridge Place

Condominium, 2 / 2

1,200 sq ft

$159,900

$145,000

90.68%

157

Source: Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026. Sold-to-list ratios are computed from the list and sold prices shown.

The Waters Edge Sale That Never Sat

The fastest sale of the year in The Forest was a three-bedroom Waters Edge condominium of 2,222 square feet that closed in May 2026 at its $425,000 list price with 0 days on market. Waters Edge is the condominium with the highest median 2026 just value in the community on the Lee County parcel roll, $300,820, and its three sales of the last 12 months closed at a median 99.05% of list. The lesson is not that Waters Edge is magic. It is that a unit priced at what its own neighborhood had been closing at, in a product buyers already understood, met a buyer who was waiting for it. That is the pattern a pricing plan tries to recreate.

The Sparrowood and Quail Cove Sales That Waited

At the other end, a two-bedroom Sparrowood unit listed at $299,000 closed at $265,000 in December 2025 after 633 days, and a Quail Cove unit listed at $225,000 closed at $190,000 in January 2026 after 405 days. Both ended far below list, and the longer each sat, the more a buyer could argue about it. Sparrowood also carries a diligence question no other building group in The Forest carries, the milestone inspection and the structural integrity reserve study, which is addressed below. The pattern across both is the one every Forest seller should avoid: an opening price above the neighborhood's recent closings, followed by months of reductions that end below where a correct first price would have landed.

The Oaks Home That Closed at Full Price

The highest sale of the last 12 months, a 3,247-square-foot Oaks home, closed at its full $1,250,000 list price in October 2025 after 71 days. It stands alone: no other single-family home in The Forest closed at or above $1,250,000 in the window, while several active listings on September 23, 2026 asked more. For an owner in The Oaks or the larger Unit Three homes, that one sale is the ceiling the market has actually confirmed, and a list price above it needs a reason a buyer can see.

Is Now a Good Time to Sell a Home in The Forest?

For most Forest owners, the best time to sell is the next season, listed by early January: February 2026 alone carried 13 of the 45 closings. The market leans toward buyers at about 7.7 months of supply, so timing helps, but price and preparation decide the outcome more than the calendar does.

Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

We do not forecast prices, for The Forest or anywhere else. What we can show you is how the market has behaved and what the calendar looks like from the closings themselves.

The Forest Season Calendar, From 221 Closings

Over the four years to September 23, 2026 the Southwest Florida MLS recorded 221 closings in The Forest. By month of closing, May (27), February (26) and April (24) were the busiest, and October (10), August (11) and September (12) the quietest, so August through October carried 33 closings while February through May carried 96. The master association's 2022 Emergency Preparedness Plan estimates about 1,000 year-round residents and about 2,000 in peak season, which is why so many buyers are walking the streets in winter. A closing lags its contract by several weeks, so a Forest home that is priced, photographed and documented by early January meets the largest pool of in-season buyers.

Reading Supply: Why 7.7 Months Matters

By the usual rule of thumb, fewer than about six months of supply favors sellers and more than six favors buyers. The Forest sat at about 7.7 months on September 23, 2026, with single-family homes at about 8.8 and condominiums and villas at about 7.2. That does not mean homes are not selling: 45 did in the last year, and days on market shortened in both segments. It means buyers have choices, so the listing that wins is the one that is priced where the closed sales are and documented so a buyer's questions have answers before they are asked.

Signals That Favor Listing Now

Three facts point toward acting rather than waiting. Days on market fell in both segments against the prior 12 months. The Bear course reopened on December 1, 2025 after a full renovation, per the club's membership page, so the golf product buyers see this season is the newest it has been in years. And the proposed cell tower on the golf property is still undecided: Lee County cases SEZ2026-00001 and VAR2026-00001 were In Review as of September 23, 2026, with no hearing scheduled and no decision made. Buyers may ask about it; we show them the county record.

When Waiting Can Make Sense

If your home needs a roof, has an old wind-mitigation report or sits at Sparrowood without the association's milestone and reserve-study documents in hand, a few weeks spent fixing the file usually earns more than listing a month earlier. The same is true if you are a seasonal owner who can list in person in January rather than remotely in October. We will tell you which applies to you. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072, or start with a free home valuation; if you are buying as well, Call Marc at (239) 287-5873 or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

What Does Each Neighborhood in The Forest Sell For? The Forest Neighborhood Price Guide

The Forest neighborhood price guide ranks every recorded neighborhood inside the gates by its own closed sales, using the first window with at least 10 closings. Medians run from $165,000 at Partridge Place (24 months) to $902,500 in The Oaks (48 months); neighborhoods that never reach 10 sales are listed sale by sale.

Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

This is the table we start every Forest pricing conversation with. Each row uses the narrowest window that holds at least 10 closings: the trailing 12 months, then 24, 36 or 48 months (the full 48-month pull, the widest we hold). The window is named in every row, beside the trailing-12-month count so you can see how thin the recent record is. Where a neighborhood never reaches 10 closings in 48 months, we do not print a median, because a median of three is not a market; we list the sales instead, in the sections below the table.

Neighborhood

Home type

Window used

Closings in window

Median sold

Median per sq ft (MLS living area)

Median sold-to-list

Median days on market

Closings, last 12 months

Active 09/23/2026

The Oaks (Phase IV)

Single-family

48 months

10

$902,500 (middle pair $850,000 and $955,000)

$256.15

96.34%

86

1

4 + 1 pending

The Forest Unit Two (Phase II)

Single-family

48 months

13

$750,000

$247.75

97.06%

46

2

1

The Forest Unit Three (Phase III)

Single-family

36 months

18

$757,500 (middle pair $740,000 and $775,000)

$256.25

93.57%

54.5

5

3

The Forest Unit One (Phase I)

Single-family

24 months

11

$525,000

$212.69

93.75%

76

5

4

Waters Edge

Condominium

48 months

11

$425,000

$202.91

97.94%

11

3

1

The Heron (Coach Houses and Coach House Villas)

Condominium and land condominium

36 months

13

$375,000

$197.69

95.27%

40

6

2

Fairway Woods (Sections I, II and III)

Condominium

24 months

12

$365,000 (middle pair $360,000 and $370,000)

$135.08

95.13%

58.5

9

5

Dove Hollow

Condominium

48 months

10

$297,500 (middle pair $290,000 and $305,000)

$209.80

96.41%

60.5

3

2

Dove's Nest

Condominium

48 months

10

$279,500 (middle pair $260,000 and $299,000)

$196.96

96.07%

83

2

2

Partridge Place

Condominium

24 months

11

$165,000

$142.12

94.34%

101

2

2

Quail Cove

Condominium

under 10 in 48 months

9

listed below

listed below

listed below

listed below

2

2

Partridge Court

Condominium

under 10 in 48 months

9

listed below

listed below

listed below

listed below

0

0

Sparrowood

Condominium

under 10 in 48 months

8

listed below

listed below

listed below

listed below

3

2

Eagle's Landing

Fee-simple villa homes

under 10 in 48 months

4

listed below

listed below

listed below

listed below

1

0

Pheasant Court Villas

Fee-simple villas

under 10 in 48 months

3

listed below

listed below

listed below

listed below

0

0

Falcon Crest One

Small-lot single-family

under 10 in 48 months

2

listed below

listed below

listed below

listed below

1

0

Source: Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026; windows end September 23, 2026. When n is even the median is the mean of the middle pair, shown beside it. Per-square-foot figures are medians of each sale's own ratio on MLS living area, never the county's heated area. The Heron and Fairway Woods rows combine their recorded sections, as the MLS does.

Two readings matter for a seller. On the single-family side, price per square foot of living area clusters between about $213 and $256 across the four platted phases, so size, lot and condition explain most of the difference between a $525,000 Unit One sale and a $900,000 Unit Three sale. On the condominium side the spread is wider and more product-driven: the large Fairway Woods units trade near $135 per square foot while Dove Hollow and Waters Edge trade above $200, which is why a condominium in The Forest has to be priced against its own building type, not against a community average.

Fairway Woods: The Largest Condominium Market

Fairway Woods is the busiest attached market in The Forest: 118 units in three recorded sections, nine closings in the last 12 months and 12 in the last 24, at a median of $365,000 and $135.08 per square foot of living area over 24 months. Units run from 1,782 to 2,962 square feet, and the big four-bedroom plans sell at some of the lowest prices per square foot in the community, which is the value case a buyer will hear and the pricing risk a seller has to manage. Remember that the first digit of a Fairway Woods unit number is the building, not the floor. Our full neighborhood breakdown, with every sale, is the Fairway Woods at The Forest guide.

The Heron: Coach Houses and Coach House Villas

The Heron combines the Heron Coach Houses, 48 condominium coach homes, and the Heron Coach House Villas, 15 one-story villas held as a land condominium. Together they closed 13 homes in the last 36 months at a median of $375,000 and $197.69 per square foot, with a median of 40 days on market, among the fastest in The Forest. The Heron is the one place in the community with three association layers, so a Heron sale needs three estoppel certificates. The detail, including both products' sales, is in the The Heron at The Forest guide.

Waters Edge: Closest to Asking

Waters Edge, 36 units built from 1984 to 1991, closed 11 homes in the full 48-month pull at a median of $425,000, $202.91 per square foot and 97.94% of list, with a median of only 11 days on market. Its three sales of the last 12 months included the fastest sale in the community. Waters Edge sellers usually have the strongest hand in the condominium half of The Forest, and the best way to keep it is to price at the recent closings rather than above them. See the Waters Edge at The Forest guide for every sale.

Dove Hollow

Dove Hollow, 48 units in six buildings built in 1981 and 1982, closed 10 homes in the full 48-month pull at a median of $297,500 (the middle pair $290,000 and $305,000) and $209.80 per square foot. The last 12 months were softer, three sales at a median of $230,000 after 105 days, which is exactly why we widen the window rather than quoting a three-sale median as a market. Dove Hollow and Dove's Nest share a name and a floor plan but are separate condominiums with separate budgets. Every Dove Hollow sale is in the Dove Hollow at The Forest guide.

Dove's Nest

Dove's Nest, 48 units built in 1983 and 1984 with a median unit of about 1,419 heated square feet, closed 10 homes in 48 months at a median of $279,500 (the middle pair $260,000 and $299,000) and $196.96 per square foot, and two in the last 12 months, $260,000 and $200,000. Two units were listed on September 23, 2026. A Dove's Nest seller is competing most directly with Dove Hollow, so we price against both. The neighborhood detail is in the Dove's Nest at The Forest guide.

Partridge Place: The Entry Price

Partridge Place, 56 units of 1,161 heated square feet in seven two-story walk-up buildings built in 1981, is The Forest's entry point on price. Its 24-month window holds 11 closings at a median of $165,000 and $142.12 per square foot. We deliberately do not quote its 48-month median: eight Partridge Place units closed in November and December 2022, weeks after Hurricane Ian, at $75,000 to $145,000, mostly as-is sales that would misprice a unit today. Two units were listed on September 23, 2026. See the Partridge Place at The Forest guide.

Partridge Court: Every Sale Listed

Partridge Court is Partridge Place's smaller neighbor, 16 units of the same design with its own association, and it has not reached 10 closings in the 48-month pull, so we list its nine sales instead of a median. It also had no closing in the last 12 months. The nine: $150,200 (March 2023, 1,161 sq ft, 1 day), $250,000 (April 2023, 1,161 sq ft, 21 days), $220,000 (September 2023, 1,200 sq ft, 19 days), $280,000 (November 2023, 1,161 sq ft, 30 days, above list), $188,500 (November 2023, 1,161 sq ft, 31 days), $180,000 (November 2023, 1,200 sq ft, 213 days), $180,000 (May 2024, 1,161 sq ft, 106 days), $145,000 (September 2024, 1,161 sq ft, 316 days) and $132,000 (September 2025, 1,161 sq ft, 209 days). With no current sale, a Partridge Court price is built from these and from Partridge Place. The Partridge Court at The Forest guide has the detail.

Quail Cove: Every Sale Listed

Quail Cove, 24 units on Forest Boulevard built in 1982, recorded nine closings in the 48-month pull, one short of our median threshold, so here they are: $285,000 (December 2023, 1,636 sq ft, 25 days), $370,000 (April 2024, 1,670 sq ft, 28 days, at list), $360,000 (June 2024, 1,604 sq ft, 183 days), $365,000 (December 2024, 1,604 sq ft, 133 days), $365,000 (February 2025, 1,776 sq ft, 23 days), $325,000 (March 2025, 1,604 sq ft, 220 days, at list), $299,000 (March 2025, 1,538 sq ft, 2 days, at list), $190,000 (January 2026, 1,381 sq ft, 405 days) and $257,500 (June 2026, 1,766 sq ft, 68 days). The drop from the 2024 and early 2025 sales to the two most recent is the story a Quail Cove seller has to price around. Read more in the Quail Cove at The Forest guide.

Sparrowood: Every Sale Listed

Sparrowood, three buildings on Cougar Run built in 1984 and 1985, recorded eight closings in the 48-month pull: $150,000 (January 2023, 1,772 sq ft, 1 day), $450,000 (July 2023, 1,773 sq ft, 14 days), $300,000 (August 2023, 1,772 sq ft, 73 days), $345,000 (April 2024, 1,773 sq ft, 1 day, above list), $320,000 (February 2025, 1,773 sq ft, 81 days), $265,000 (December 2025, 1,758 sq ft, 633 days), $245,000 (March 2026, 1,758 sq ft, 158 days) and $230,000 (September 2026, 1,773 sq ft, 337 days). The three most recent sales averaged well under the 2023 and 2024 prices and took far longer, and Sparrowood is the only building group in The Forest reached by Florida's milestone-inspection and reserve-study laws. The Sparrowood at The Forest guide covers it building by building.

Eagle's Landing: Every Sale Listed

Eagle's Landing, 20 fee-simple detached homes and villas on Timberlakes Drive built in 1984 under a homeowners' association, recorded four closings in the 48-month pull: $232,000 (November 2022, 1,898 sq ft, 2 days), $325,000 (January 2023, 2,194 sq ft, 1 day), $370,000 (January 2025, 1,978 sq ft, 92 days) and $505,000 (May 2026, 2,410 sq ft, 77 days). With so few sales, an Eagle's Landing price leans on size, condition and the nearby single-family phases as much as on its own record. Because it is a homeowners' association rather than a condominium, its seller disclosure follows s. 720.401. See the Eagle's Landing at The Forest guide.

The Single-Family Phases: Unit One, Unit Two, Unit Three and The Oaks

The four platted phases carry most of The Forest's value. The Oaks, 72 homes built from 1987 to 2022, holds the highest median, $902,500 on 10 sales over 48 months. Unit Two, with the largest lots in the community, sold 13 homes in 48 months at a median of $750,000. Unit Three sold 18 homes in 36 months at a median of $757,500, including two sales above $1 million in June 2026. Unit One, the founding plat, sold 11 homes in 24 months at a median of $525,000. These four answer only to the master association, so their resale file is the simplest in The Forest, and the pricing work is about size, lot, water or golf frontage, roof age and updates.

Falcon Crest One and Pheasant Court Villas: Every Sale Listed

Falcon Crest One, 11 small-lot homes built from 1998 to 2004, sold twice in 48 months: $510,000 (June 2024, 2,233 sq ft, 21 days) and $435,000 (August 2026, 2,483 sq ft, 19 days). Pheasant Court Villas, 17 one-story fee-simple villas built in 1981, sold three times: $190,000 (December 2022, 1,855 sq ft, 24 days), $219,000 (September 2023, 1,387 sq ft, 12 days, at list) and $360,000 (July 2024, 1,387 sq ft, 36 days, above list). Both are homeowners' associations, and in both, the next sale sets the market more than any median could.

Few Homes Come Up Here, So the Next Seller Sets the Price

In several Forest neighborhoods a year passes with one sale or none. If you own in one of them, your sale will be the comparable every future buyer and appraiser uses, which is a reason to get it right rather than fast. Few homes here come up for sale, so if you are going to be the next owner who sells, call us first: Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072, or get a free home valuation. Buyers hoping to get into a thin neighborhood can Call Marc at (239) 287-5873 or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

How Do Seller Outcomes in The Forest Compare With Other Fort Myers Golf Communities?

Against seven other Fort Myers golf communities in the same 12-month MLS window, The Forest posted the lowest median price per square foot, $175.63, and a mid-pack 76-day median time on market. It is also the only one whose club and master association both publish that membership is optional.

Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

A seller benchmark compares what matters to a seller: how fast homes sell, at what price per square foot, and on what terms. The table below uses one pull and one method for every community, and the club columns come from each club's own site.

Community

Club membership

Closings, trailing 12 months

Median sold

Median per sq ft (MLS living area)

Median days on market

The Forest

Optional (non-bundled), per the club and the master association

45

$375,000

$175.63

76

Fiddlesticks Country Club

Required on home purchase, per the club

44

$576,075 (middle pair $575,000 and $577,150)

$211.11

59

Heritage Palms Golf and Country Club

Included with every home, per the club

84

$359,700 (middle pair $359,500 and $359,900)

$255.87

33

Gulf Harbour Yacht and Country Club

Not published (club)

87

$670,000

$324.88

71.5

The Landings Yacht, Golf and Tennis Club

Not published (club)

47

$307,000

$186.26

95.5

Cross Creek, both MLS lines

Not published (club)

66

$249,500 (middle pair $249,000 and $250,000)

$191.37

70

Eagle Ridge

Public course (course)

25

$535,000

$237.96

68

Pelican Preserve

Not published (club)

170

$412,500

$236.70

43

Source: Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, closed sales dated 09/24/2025 to 09/23/2026, pulled September 23, 2026, each community searched by its own MLS development name, the same benchmark the The Forest community guide publishes.

What the Benchmark Tells a Forest Seller

The Forest competes on value and on choice. Its $175.63 per square foot is below every other community in the table, and it is the one place where a buyer can get 36 holes of private, member-owned golf without being required to join. That is a real selling point to the buyer who has already ruled out a bundled club like Fiddlesticks or Heritage Palms, and we lead with it. The other side of the same fact is that a Forest listing should never be priced from the per-foot numbers at Heritage Palms or Pelican Preserve. The Forest's buyers compare Forest homes with Forest homes first, and its 76-day median time on market is slower than Heritage Palms at 33 days and Pelican Preserve at 43, which rewards a seller who prices at the closed sales from the start.

Selling in The Forest vs Fiddlesticks: How Does the Seller's Position Compare?

The Forest and Fiddlesticks both have two 18-hole courses on member-owned land, but a Fiddlesticks buyer must join the club and a Forest buyer need not. In the same 12 months Fiddlesticks sold 44 homes at $211.11 per square foot and 59 median days; The Forest sold 45 at $175.63 and 76 days.

Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

Fiddlesticks is the closest structural match to The Forest in Fort Myers and its clearest contrast, which is why buyers so often shop the two together. Our Fiddlesticks Country Club guide covers it in depth; here is how the two look from a seller's chair.

Decision factor

The Forest

Fiddlesticks Country Club

Club membership on purchase

Optional, per the club and the master association

"Membership is required upon home purchase," per the club

Golf

Two 18-hole courses, the Bear and the Bobcat, par 72 each (scorecard)

Two 18-hole courses, Long Mean and Wee Friendly (club)

Homes

789 residences, per the master association

585 homes, per the club

Closings, trailing 12 months

45

44

Median sold

$375,000

$576,075

Median per sq ft of MLS living area

$175.63

$211.11

Median days on market

76

59

Median sold-to-list

94.59%

92.75%

Buyer pool

Golfers and non-golfers, residents and non-residents

Buyers willing to buy a required membership

Source: MLS columns from the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, closed sales dated 09/24/2025 to 09/23/2026, pulled September 23, 2026; club columns from each club's own site as linked, as of September 23, 2026.

What the Comparison Means for Your Sale

A Forest seller reaches a wider pool, because the buyer who will not take on a required membership can still buy here, while a Fiddlesticks seller reaches only buyers who accept one. The Forest sold nearer to list, 94.59% against 92.75%, while Fiddlesticks sold faster. So the Forest strategy is to market the choice aggressively and to price at the neighborhood's closed sales so the wider pool acts quickly.

Who Should Lean Into Which Message

If your buyer is most likely a golfer, sell the renovated Bear, the two par-72 courses and the member-owned club, and have the club's written membership terms ready. If your buyer is most likely a non-golfer, a seasonal owner or a downsizer from a bundled club, sell the gate, the location and the fact that no membership is required. Most Forest homes should be marketed both ways at once, and that is what we do. If you own at Fiddlesticks as well, or instead, the same valuation process applies: get a free home valuation or Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. Buyers comparing the two can Call Marc at (239) 287-5873 or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

Should You Sell Your Forest Home With a Full-Service Agent, on Your Own, or to a Cash Buyer?

Most Forest owners net the most with a full-service listing, because The Forest's sale depends on gate access, up to three association estoppels, a flood file and the club question. Selling on your own saves the listing fee but carries that work alone; a cash buyer is fastest but prices in a resale margin.

Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

Every route is legal in Florida, and every route is right for somebody. Here is the honest comparison for a Forest home.

Factor

Full-service listing with McGreevy and Comisar

For sale by owner

Cash-offer or instant buyer

Price basis

Your neighborhood's closed sales, then your floor plan

Whatever you set; no MLS comparable analysis unless you buy one

The buyer's resale margin, typically below open-market value

Exposure

Southwest Florida MLS, our buyer database, video, drone, photography

Your own advertising

One buyer

Gate access for showings

Every showing pre-registered through the association's visitor system

You register every visitor yourself

Not needed

Association estoppels (master, neighborhood, Heron Master)

Ordered on day one

You order and track them

Usually left to the seller

Disclosures (s. 689.302 flood; s. 718.503 or s. 720.401)

Prepared and delivered on time

Your responsibility

Still your responsibility

Negotiation

Partner-level, by Jesse or Marc

You, directly with the buyer's agent

Take it or leave it

Best for

Most sellers who want the highest net

Owners with a known buyer and time

Owners who value speed over price

Florida law requires the flood disclosure under s. 689.302 on every residential sale, by any route.

Who Should Choose Which

Choose a full-service listing if you want the most money and your home is in reasonable condition, which describes most Forest owners. Choose to sell by owner if you already have a buyer, such as a neighbor or a family member, and you are comfortable managing the association paperwork and disclosures. Choose a cash buyer if speed or certainty matters more than price, for example an estate that must close quickly, and even then compare the offer with a market valuation first. We are glad to give you that comparison with no obligation: free home valuation for your home in The Forest, or Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.

How Do We Price Your Home in The Forest?

We price a home in The Forest from its own neighborhood's closed sales first, then its floor plan, then its condition, roof and flood file, and only then the competing listings. We never price from a community median, an automated estimate or the county's just value, because each one mixes homes that trade in different markets.

The Forest makes this discipline unusually important. In the last 12 months single-family homes sold at a median of $232.39 per square foot of living area and condominiums and villas at $148.88, and inside the condominium side the large Fairway Woods plans traded near $135 while Dove Hollow traded above $200. A price built from the wrong neighborhood is wrong by a five- or six-figure amount before any other factor is considered.

Step One: The Right Comparables

We start with every closed sale in your neighborhood in the widest window that gives a real sample, the same windows the price guide above uses, and we read each one: floor plan, floor, view, updates, days on market and how far below list it closed. Then we step out to the neighborhood that competes most directly with yours: Dove Hollow with Dove's Nest, Partridge Place with Partridge Court, the Heron Coach Houses with the Heron Coach House Villas, Unit One with Unit Three. At The Forest the unit number can mislead, because at the Heron and Fairway Woods the first digit is the building, not the floor, so we confirm the floor and the building from the county record.

Step Two: Why an Automated Estimate Misses Here

An automated valuation model reads public records and nearby sales. In The Forest it will happily blend a 1,161-square-foot Partridge Place walk-up with a Fairway Woods four-bedroom and an Oaks home, because all three sit in one gated community in ZIP 33908. It cannot see that one building has a three-tier association, that another is the only one under the milestone law, or that a home's elevation certificate shows the first floor well above the 11-foot base flood elevation. Those are the facts that move a Forest price, and they come from documents, not algorithms.

Step Three: The County Just Value Is Not a Price

Lee County's 2026 just values on the parcel roll are mass-appraisal figures set for taxation. The Oaks' median just value is $715,746 while its 48-month median sale was $902,500; Partridge Place's is $119,694 while its 24-month median sale was $165,000. The roll is useful to compare neighborhoods with each other. It is not what your home will sell for, and a buyer who quotes it to you is negotiating.

Step Four: The Price Per Square Foot Convention

Every per-square-foot figure we use is the sold price divided by the MLS living area, taken as a median of each sale's own ratio. The Lee County roll measures heated area and sometimes total area under roof, which are different denominators, so we never set a county square footage against an MLS price per foot. When a buyer's agent does, we correct the arithmetic in the negotiation.

Step Five: Reading the Competition and Choosing the First Price

Finally we lay your home beside the listings a buyer will tour the same week, and we choose a first price at the level the closed sales support. In a market with about 7.7 months of supply, the first price is the one that brings the most showings; every later reduction brings fewer. We will show you the math, sale by sale, before you decide.

How Do We Market Your Home in The Forest?

We market a home in The Forest to two buyers at once, the golfer and the buyer who wants no club at all, because membership here is optional. The plan pairs cinematic video, drone and professional photography with our qualified-buyer database, pre-registered gate access and a documents file that answers a buyer's questions before they ask.

Data updated: September 2026 (club and association sources, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

The Non-Bundled Message, in the Club's Own Words

Buyers ask about the club before they ask about the kitchen, and at The Forest the answer is a selling point. The club's membership page calls The Forest "a non bundled gated community offering resident and non resident memberships," and the master association's resident portal says, independently, "The Forest is a non-bundled gated community." We quote both in every listing, so golfers see two par-72 courses and a renovated Bear, and non-golfers see a gated community with no required membership.

Photography, Video, Drone and the Golf Setting

Every Forest listing gets professional photography, cinematic video and drone footage. The drone matters here more than in most places: The Forest is wooded, the golf parcel of about 280 acres sits in the middle of the community, and many homes back onto fairways or water that a ground-level photo cannot show. We shoot the home and its setting, and we are careful never to present the club's amenities as if they came with the home, because they come with a membership.

Reaching Buyers Beyond the MLS

Your listing goes on the Southwest Florida MLS and to the buyers in our own database, and we can offer a Forest home privately to qualified buyers before, or instead of, a public listing when discretion matters. Seasonal owners are a large share of Forest buyers and sellers, so we time campaigns to reach buyers who are here in winter and buyers who are shopping from the north in the fall.

Showings Behind the Gate

Visitors to The Forest are pre-registered by residents through the association's DwellingLive visitor system, administered by the association's manager, FirstService Residential, per the association's website. The Main Gate is staffed around the clock, per the association's 2022 plan. We register every showing in advance, so buyers are expected, not stopped, and we handle open houses the same way.

Selling While You Live Out of State

Many Forest owners are seasonal. We handle showings, gate registration, association documents, contractor access and closing coordination locally, and a closing can usually be arranged without travel through the title agent. If you are selling from up north, we will give you a weekly written update on every showing and every piece of feedback.

How Do We Negotiate a Sale in The Forest?

We negotiate every The Forest sale ourselves, partner to partner, with the file already built: neighborhood comparables for the appraiser, the association estoppels for the title agent, and the roof, wind-mitigation and flood documents for the buyer's insurer. Offers are never handed to an assistant, and the goal is the highest net, not the fastest signature.

Negotiating the Price

Forest sellers closed at a median 94.59% of list in the last 12 months. That number is not a rule, it is an average of 45 negotiations. A home priced at its neighborhood's closed sales gives a buyer's agent little room to argue; a home priced above them invites an offer anchored to the last reduction. When an offer arrives, we show you what the comparable sales support and what each counter is likely to cost or earn.

Negotiating the Inspection on a 1980s Home

About three quarters of the homes inside The Forest were finished in the 1980s and about 95 percent by 1999, per the Lee County parcel roll, before the first statewide Florida Building Code took effect on March 1, 2002, per the Florida Building Commission. Buyers' inspectors will write long reports. We prepare for that with pre-listing roof, wind-mitigation and four-point reports, so the negotiation is about real items rather than surprises.

Protecting the Appraisal

On a financed sale the buyer's lender orders the appraisal. We give the appraiser the neighborhood-level comparables, the association facts and the elevation certificate, because an appraisal built from the wrong neighborhood's sales can come in low and reopen a price you already agreed.

Keeping the Deal Together Through Closing

Most Forest deals that wobble do so over insurance quotes, association documents or an estoppel that arrives late. We order the estoppels early, have the flood and wind documents ready for the buyer's insurer, and track every deadline in the contract, including the buyer's statutory cancellation windows described in the disclosure section below.

What Does It Cost to Sell a Home in The Forest?

Selling a home in The Forest typically costs the brokerage commission (negotiated, not set by law), Florida documentary stamp tax of 70 cents per $100 of price, prorated taxes and assessments, estoppel certificates from each association layer, and any title and settlement charges the contract assigns to the seller. Association and club fees are not published.

Data updated: September 2026 (Florida Statutes and the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

We give every Forest seller a line-by-line net sheet before listing. The table and examples below show the pieces and how each one is set.

The Cost Lines, and Who Sets Each One

Cost line

How it is set

Source

Brokerage commission

Negotiated between you and your brokerage and written into the listing agreement; not set by law

Florida Real Estate Commission

Buyer's agent compensation

Paid under the buyer's own written agreement; any seller contribution is a negotiated term of the sale

NAR settlement FAQs; s. 475.278

Documentary stamp tax on the deed

70 cents per $100 of consideration, customarily paid by the seller

s. 201.02

Owner's title policy

Premium set by the state's promulgated rates; who pays is written into the contract

Rule 69O-186.003, F.A.C.

Estoppel certificate, each association layer

Capped at $250 when nothing is delinquent, plus $100 for delivery within three business days; up to $150 more if an account is delinquent

s. 720.30851; s. 718.116

Prorated property taxes

Your share through the closing date, including the San Carlos Park fire levy of 2.3590 mills for fiscal year 2025/26

San Carlos Park Fire District budget

Prorated association assessments

Your share of master and neighborhood assessments through closing; amounts are not published and come from the estoppel

FirstService resale documents

Solid waste assessment

$348.75 per single-family unit in Service Area 2 for fiscal year 2026, on the tax bill and prorated like other taxes

Lee County adopted rates

Club obligations (members only)

Any dues, capital or assessment owed as a member; the club does not publish its schedule

club membership page

Pre-listing reports (optional)

Roof, wind mitigation, four-point, elevation certificate; priced by the provider

s. 627.0629

Documentary Stamp Tax at The Forest's Own Medians

Documentary stamp tax is the one closing cost that is pure arithmetic. At 70 cents per $100 under s. 201.02, by our arithmetic:

Sale price (and where it comes from)

Documentary stamp tax

$165,000 (Partridge Place 24-month median)

$1,155

$286,500 (condominium and villa median, last 12 months)

$2,005.50

$375,000 (all-home median, last 12 months)

$2,625

$685,000 (single-family median, last 12 months)

$4,795

$902,500 (The Oaks 48-month median)

$6,317.50

$1,250,000 (highest sale, last 12 months)

$8,750

Source: Florida Statutes s. 201.02 rate applied to medians from the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026.

Estoppel Certificates: One Per Layer

The master association, your neighborhood association and, at the Heron, The Heron Master Association each issue their own estoppel certificate, the statement of what is owed on your home. Florida caps each one at $250 when nothing is delinquent, with $100 more for delivery within three business days and up to $150 more if the account is delinquent; the association has 10 business days to issue it, and it is good for 30 days (35 if mailed), under s. 720.30851 and s. 718.116. The statutes do not say whether buyer or seller pays for it; the contract does. The master association's estoppel is ordered through its manager's resale and lender documents page, which does not publish the fee before an account is identified.

A Worked Example at the Condominium Median

On a $286,500 sale of a Forest condominium, documentary stamp tax is $2,005.50. Add two estoppel certificates (master and neighborhood), each capped at $250 before any rush or delinquency charge, the commission you negotiate, your prorated taxes and assessments through the closing date, and any title charges the contract assigns to you. A Heron seller adds a third estoppel. Your own net sheet uses your contract terms, your tax bill and your estoppels, and we build it before you list.

What We Do Not Publish, and Why

The master association, every neighborhood association and the Heron Master publish no assessment, and The Forest Country Club does not publish its dues, initiation, capital contribution or transfer terms. Figures for the club that circulate on third-party sites are not from the club, and we do not repeat them. The amounts come from the estoppel certificate and the association budget, which a condominium seller must hand the buyer anyway under s. 718.503, and from the club in writing for a member.

Which Association Fees and Transfer Costs Come Up When You Sell in The Forest?

A sale in The Forest touches every association layer your home belongs to: the master association for every home, a neighborhood association for condominiums and villas, and at the Heron a third layer. Each issues an estoppel showing what is owed. The Forest has no CDD and no county MSTU, and the club bills members only.

Data updated: September 2026 (Lee County records and association sources, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

The fee stack a buyer asks about is the same stack you have been paying, seen from the other side. Here it is layer by layer, as it affects a sale.

Layer

Who it applies to

Amount

What the sale needs

The Forest Property Owners' Association (master)

Every home

Not published

Master estoppel, ordered through FirstService Residential

Neighborhood or condominium association

Every condominium and villa, and the homeowners' associations at Eagle's Landing, Pheasant Court Villas and Falcon Crest One

Not published

Neighborhood estoppel; condominium resale documents under s. 718.503

The Heron Master Association

Heron Coach Houses and Heron Coach House Villas only

Not published

A third estoppel (corporate record)

Community development district

Nobody

$0: none exists

Nothing (Lee County special districts)

County MSTBU

Nobody

$0: none exists

Nothing (Lee County MSTBU layer)

The Forest Country Club

Members only

Not published

A written statement from the club for a member seller

Sewer, Forest Utilities, Inc.

Every home

Not published

Final meter reading and bill (corporate record)

Transfer, Capital and Approval Fees

Whether any association at The Forest charges a transfer fee, a capital contribution on resale or a buyer approval fee is set in that association's governing documents, which are not published online. The master association's recorded declaration is not available in the county's online records. So we read the estoppel certificate, which must itemize what is due, and the governing documents you already hold or that the association provides, before we quote a buyer any figure. Where a charge exists, who pays it is a negotiated term of the contract unless the documents say otherwise.

Special Assessments and What the Buyer Will See

Neighborhood associations' special assessments are not published; they appear in the association's estoppel certificate and meeting minutes. For a 1980s condominium building after Florida's 2022 condominium reforms, that is the first line an informed buyer reads, so we read it first. If an assessment is levied or pending, we would rather you and we know on day one than learn it from the buyer's attorney.

Club Obligations Belong to Members Only

The Forest Country Club's Form 990 filings show members were specially assessed in 2022, 2023 and 2024, including golf-course renovation assessments of about $3.8 million across the three years. Those fall on club members, not on homeowners who never joined. A non-member seller has no club account to settle; a member seller should get a written statement from the club before closing.

What Must You Disclose When Selling in The Forest, and Which Florida Law Applies?

What you must disclose when selling in The Forest depends on what you own. Every seller gives Florida's flood disclosure at or before contract. A condominium seller delivers the s. 718.503 resale documents; a seller in a homeowners' association presents the s. 720.401 disclosure summary before the buyer signs. The Forest has both kinds of homes.

This is information, not legal advice, and a closing agent or real estate attorney should confirm how the rules apply to your specific home. What follows is what the statutes say and how The Forest's mix of associations sorts sellers between them.

The Flood Disclosure: Every Seller, Before the Contract

Florida requires a seller of residential property to "complete and provide a flood disclosure to a purchaser ... at or before the time the sales contract is executed," under s. 689.302. It asks whether you know of flood damage during your ownership, whether you filed a flood insurance claim, and whether you received federal disaster assistance for flood damage. Every home in The Forest is in FEMA Zone AE, and Hurricane Ian's surge reached inside the gates in 2022, so this form matters on every Forest sale. We have it completed before the first showing.

Condominium Sellers: The s. 718.503 Resale Package

Most attached neighborhoods in The Forest are condominiums: Partridge Place, Partridge Court, Dove Hollow, Quail Cove, Dove's Nest, Waters Edge, Sparrowood, the three Fairway Woods sections, the Heron Coach Houses and the Heron Coach House Villas. A condominium seller who is not the developer must give the buyer, under s. 718.503: the declaration, articles of incorporation, bylaws and rules, the association's annual financial statement and annual budget, the milestone inspection summary where one applies, the most recent structural integrity reserve study or a statement that none has been completed, any turnover inspection report, the frequently asked questions and answers document, and the governance form. If those are not delivered before the buyer signs, the buyer may void the contract within 7 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after signing and receiving them, and that right ends at closing. Ordering the package on day one is how we keep that window from reopening your deal.

Homeowners' Association Sellers: The s. 720.401 Summary, Before the Buyer Signs

Eagle's Landing, Pheasant Court Villas and Falcon Crest One are fee-simple neighborhoods governed by homeowners' associations, and the master association is itself a homeowners' association. Under s. 720.401, a prospective buyer "must be presented a disclosure summary before executing the contract for sale," and on a resale that summary is supplied "by the parcel owner." If it is not, the buyer may void the contract within 3 days after receiving it or before closing, whichever comes first, and that right cannot be waived. It is a duty owed before signing, not a closing-table item. For owners in the four single-family phases and these three neighborhoods, it is part of the listing file from day one.

Condominiums Inside a Homeowners' Association: The Fork

A Forest condominium sits under both a condominium association and the master homeowners' association. Section 720.401 "does not apply to any association regulated under chapter 718," nor where disclosure is otherwise made under chapter 718, which is why a condominium seller's disclosure duty runs through s. 718.503 rather than s. 720.401. How the master association's own disclosure is handled on a condominium resale is a question for your closing agent or attorney, and we raise it at listing, not at closing.

What the Recorded Covenants Say

Some Florida master declarations restate the s. 720.401 duty in their own text and name the selling owner as the party who owes it. The Forest's master declaration is not available in the county's online records, so we cannot tell you whether it does. The governing documents that come with the estoppel package will, and we read them before your home goes on the market.

Known Defects and As-Is Sales

Beyond the statutory forms, Florida sellers are expected to disclose known facts that materially affect a home's value and are not readily observable. An as-is contract lets the buyer inspect and walk away within the inspection period without requiring you to make repairs, but it does not remove the flood disclosure or the duty to disclose known material defects. Ask your attorney about anything specific to your home.

Does Your Club Membership Transfer When You Sell Your Home in The Forest?

A club membership should not be assumed to transfer with a home in The Forest. The Forest is non-bundled: The Forest Country Club is a separate, member-owned corporation that sells memberships to residents and non-residents alike, so your membership and your buyer's are two separate transactions with the club, not part of the deed.

Data updated: September 2026 (club and association sources, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

The club does not publish its dues or initiation schedule; figures are provided to prospective members on inquiry. Because membership is separate from home ownership, a club membership should not be assumed to transfer with a home. The club's Amended and Restated By-Laws are public but undated, so we link them rather than quote them, and the club does not publish which of its categories carry an equity interest or what happens to a membership when a member sells.

Why the Golf Land Is Not Part of Your Home

The reason is historical and on the record. The Forest Country Club Membership Association, Inc. was incorporated on July 15, 1988, and in 1989 it bought the roughly 280-acre golf parcel for $7,900,000, per the county roll. The club, not the master association and not the homeowners, owns the courses, which is the structural root of The Forest's non-bundled model and the reason a membership travels with its member, not with a house.

If You Are a Member: What We Get in Writing Before Listing

If you belong to the club, we ask the club, in writing, for four things before we list: whether your category can be transferred, resold or surrendered and on what terms; whether any capital, food and beverage or special assessment is owed or pending on your account; the current initiation and dues for the category your buyer would join; and any incentive the club is offering new homeowners. As of September 23, 2026 the club's membership page advertised limited-time opportunities for new homeowners and neighboring communities, without publishing the terms. Having the club's own answer in the listing file removes the biggest unknown a golf buyer brings to The Forest.

If You Are Not a Member: Nothing to Settle

A non-member owner has no club account to close and owes none of the member assessments the club's federal filings describe. Your buyer can join, or not, on their own terms, which is exactly the flexibility we market.

How We Present the Club to Buyers

We present the club as an option with a documented price of entry, not as something that comes with the home. The club's published categories run from full family golf to a no-golf Lifestyle membership and a Racquets membership, plus a seasonal Preview trial the club limits to one use per family. Buyers who want golf get the club's written quote alongside the association estoppels; buyers who do not are told plainly that they do not have to join. Selling a Forest home with or without a membership? Get a free home valuation or Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. Buying for the golf? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

What Documents Should You Gather Before Listing Your Home in The Forest?

Before a home in The Forest goes on the market, gather the master and neighborhood estoppels, the condominium resale package or the homeowners' association disclosure summary, the flood disclosure and elevation certificate, roof, wind-mitigation and four-point reports, and, at Sparrowood, the milestone inspection summary and reserve study. We order what you do not have.

A Forest sale runs on paperwork, and some of it is published nowhere. This is the file we build with every seller, in the order we build it.

The Forest Seller's Document Checklist

Document

Who needs it

Where it comes from

Master association estoppel certificate

Every seller

The master association's manager, FirstService Residential

Neighborhood association estoppel

Condominium, villa and homeowners' association sellers

Your neighborhood association or its manager

Heron Master Association estoppel

Heron Coach Houses and Coach House Villas sellers

The Heron Master Association

Condominium resale package under s. 718.503

Condominium sellers

Your condominium association

Disclosure summary under s. 720.401

Homeowners' association sellers

Prepared from the association's documents

Flood disclosure under s. 689.302

Every seller

You, with our help

Elevation certificate

Every seller (strongly recommended)

Lee County's flood information office may have one on file; otherwise a surveyor

Roof permit date and roof report

Every seller

Your records or Lee County permit history

Wind-mitigation and four-point reports

Every seller

A licensed inspector

Milestone inspection summary and structural integrity reserve study

Sparrowood sellers

The Sparrowood association

Club transfer and account statement

Club members

The Forest Country Club, in writing

Twelve months of sewer and utility bills

Every seller

Forest Utilities, Inc. and your other providers

Survey, if you have one

Single-family and fee-simple villa sellers

Your closing file

The Flood File: Panel, Ground and Certificate

Every home in The Forest is in FEMA Zone AE with a base flood elevation of 11 feet NAVD88, on panels 12071C0438H and 12071C0576H, effective November 17, 2022, per FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer. Median ground across the neighborhoods runs from about 5.9 feet at Pheasant Court Villas to about 9.1 feet in parts of Fairway Woods, per the county's 2018 LiDAR spot elevations, ground rather than finished floor. What a buyer's insurer prices is the finished floor on the elevation certificate, which is specific to each home, so it is the single most useful flood document you can have in the file.

Why We Order Everything on Day One

Estoppels take up to 10 business days and are good for 30. Condominium packages and homeowners' association summaries have to reach the buyer before signing to keep the cancellation windows closed. An elevation certificate can take a surveyor a couple of weeks. Ordering all of it at listing, rather than after a contract, is the difference between a Forest closing on schedule and one that slips.

How Do Flood Zone, Insurance and Roof Age Affect a Sale in The Forest?

Flood zone, insurance and roof age decide whether a buyer can close on a home in The Forest. Every home is in FEMA Zone AE, most buildings date from the 1980s, and buyers' lenders require coverage, so a seller with an elevation certificate, a current wind-mitigation report and a documented roof removes the three most common deal-breakers.

Data updated: September 2026 (FEMA and Florida Statutes, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

Flood Insurance and the Community Rating Discount

Because every Forest home is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, a buyer with a federally backed mortgage will need flood insurance. Unincorporated Lee County is a Class 5 community in FEMA's Community Rating System as of FEMA's April 2025 list, worth 25 percent off NFIP premiums inside the flood zone. Premiums under Risk Rating 2.0 depend on each building, so we never quote one, but we make sure the buyer's agent has the certificate to get a quote in the inspection period.

Roof Age and Homeowner Insurance

Florida insurers may not refuse a homeowner policy solely because a roof is under 15 years old, and an older roof with an inspection showing at least five years of remaining life is protected the same way, under s. 627.7011. A current wind-mitigation report can earn the statutory discounts under s. 627.0629. In a condominium the roof is usually the association's responsibility, so the question becomes what the association's records and reserve schedule show. Citizens requires flood coverage on its homeowner policies for homes in The Forest's flood zone (s. 627.351).

Should You Replace the Roof Before Selling?

Not necessarily. Know the roof's age and condition first. If it is near or past 15 years without an inspection showing five years of life, a buyer's insurer may balk, and a buyer will price that in. Sometimes a new roof returns more than it costs; sometimes a credit is cheaper. We compare the two against your neighborhood's recent sales before you spend anything.

Hurricane History a Buyer Will Ask About

U.S. Geological Survey crews surveyed a Hurricane Ian high-water mark about 2.9 feet above ground at a Waters Edge building, per the USGS high-water mark record. Buyers will ask what happened to your home in 2022 and what was repaired. Answer truthfully in the flood disclosure, keep the repair permits and invoices in the file, and let the documents do the talking.

What Should Sellers at Sparrowood, the Heron, Fairway Woods and Partridge Place Know?

Four neighborhoods in The Forest carry seller issues the others do not: Sparrowood is the only building group under the milestone and reserve-study laws, the Heron has three association layers, Fairway Woods and the Heron number units by building, and Partridge Place's post-Ian sales distort its long-run median.

Sparrowood: The Milestone and Reserve-Study Questions

Sparrowood's three buildings on Cougar Run are the only three-story residential buildings in The Forest, according to Lee County property records, which places Sparrowood alone under Florida's milestone-inspection law (s. 553.899) and structural integrity reserve study rule (s. 718.112). Whether Sparrowood's milestone inspection and reserve study have been completed is not in public records we could reach, and a Sparrowood seller must hand the buyer the milestone summary and the reserve study, or a statement that none has been completed, under s. 718.503. So we ask the association for both before the home goes on the market. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation publishes its SIRS reporting pages for the state's side. A Sparrowood seller who has both documents in hand removes the buyer's biggest question.

The Heron: Three Estoppels

The Heron Coach Houses and the Heron Coach House Villas each have a unit association, both sit under The Heron Master Association, Inc., filed March 21, 1990 per its Division of Corporations record, and all sit under The Forest's master association. A Heron sale needs three estoppel certificates, and the slowest one sets the closing date, so we order all three together.

Fairway Woods and the Heron: Unit Numbers Mean Buildings

At The Forest the first digit of a unit number identifies the building, not the floor. Heron Coach Houses units 701 to 708 sit in buildings the county records at one and two stories, and so do Fairway Woods I units 301 to 306 at 16341 Fairway Woods Drive. Listings that describe a "third-floor" or "seventh-floor" unit from its number are wrong, and a buyer who notices loses trust in everything else. We describe the floor from the county record.

Fairway Woods: Two Associations for Three Sections

Fairway Woods at The Forest was recorded in three sections but has two associations: Section III's association merged into Section II's on August 23, 1991, per the Division of Corporations. A Section II or III seller orders from one association, a Section I seller from the other. Sections II and III share a recreation parcel with a pool at 16220 Fairway Woods Drive.

Partridge Place and Partridge Court: Price From the Right Years

Eight Partridge Place condominiums closed between November 10 and December 2, 2022, about six weeks after Hurricane Ian, at $75,000 to $145,000. They are recorded MLS closings, so they remain in the 48-month record, but they read as as-is transactions in a disrupted market, and they are why our price guide uses the 24-month window for Partridge Place. FEMA's index shows one Letter of Map Amendment request inside The Forest, for a Partridge Place building, and it was denied, so no Forest building has been mapped out of the flood zone by amendment.

How Long Does It Take to Sell a Home in The Forest, Step by Step?

A home in The Forest took a median of 76 days on market in the 12 months to September 23, 2026, 71 for single-family homes and 81 for condominiums and villas, plus the contract period to closing. Well-priced homes went far faster; overpriced ones waited more than a year.

Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

A Typical Forest Listing Timeline

Stage

What happens

Typical time

1. Valuation and pricing

Neighborhood comparables, floor plan, condition and competing listings

2 to 5 days

2. Documents ordered

Estoppels, condominium package or disclosure summary, flood disclosure, elevation certificate, roof and wind reports

Up to 10 business days for estoppels

3. Preparation

Repairs, cleaning, staging advice

1 to 3 weeks

4. Photography, video and drone

Professional shoot of the home and its golf or water setting

2 to 4 days

5. Launch

MLS, our buyer database, gate-registered showings

Day 1

6. Offers and negotiation

Price, inspection, appraisal and closing terms

The Forest median: 76 days on market

7. Buyer's review periods

Inspection, insurance quotes, statutory cancellation windows

Set by contract and statute

8. Closing

Title, estoppel payoffs, association sign-offs, deed

Set by contract

Source for the days-on-market figure: Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026. Stage times other than days on market are our planning estimates, not measured figures.

What Speeds a Forest Sale

The fastest multi-sale neighborhoods of the last year show the pattern: the Heron's six sales at a median of 36.5 days and Fairway Woods' nine at 34 days were priced close to their own recent closings. Documents ordered early keep contracts from stalling, and a list price at the closed-sale level keeps buyers from waiting you out.

What Slows One Down

Opening above the neighborhood's recent sales, a missing elevation certificate, an old roof without an inspection, an estoppel ordered after contract, or, at Sparrowood, a buyer's unanswered questions about the milestone inspection and reserve study. Every one of those is fixable before listing.

What Is Your Home in The Forest Worth? Get a Free Valuation

Your home in The Forest is worth what its own neighborhood's buyers have recently paid, adjusted for floor plan, condition, roof and flood file. The fastest way to that number is a free valuation from McGreevy and Comisar: it takes about a minute, and Jesse follows up with the sales that actually fit your home.

What Is Your The Forest Home Worth? Get a Free Valuation in 60 Seconds.

Start with a free home valuation for your home in The Forest from McGreevy and Comisar, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008. Enter your address and Jesse replies with the closed sales that match your neighborhood, floor plan and association layers, not a community median that mixes a $145,000 walk-up with a $1,250,000 Oaks home. Prefer to talk first? Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072, text or call. Confidential conversations are welcome.

What You Get With the Valuation

  • Your neighborhood's comparables, in the widest window that gives a real sample, with every sale shown
  • A first-price recommendation against the listings a buyer will see the same week
  • A draft net sheet, with documentary stamp tax, estoppel caps and your prorations
  • A documents plan for your association layers, flood file and roof
  • A timing plan built around the February peak

Buying your next home at the same time? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

What Do Sellers Say About McGreevy and Comisar?

Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar are top-reviewed The Forest realtors on Google, and the quotes below are five-star client reviews reproduced in each reviewer's own words. We publish no aggregate score and no star-rating widget. Read the full set on the McGreevy and Comisar Google Business Profile.

★★★★★ "Marc Comisar did an excellent job working with a very difficult client (me) selling our condo in a tough condo market. He went above and beyond." Verified Google review

★★★★★ "Not living in the area, Jesse made life easy for me when we decided to sell our condo. His attention to detail, patience, understanding, and tenacity in dealing with all the moving parts was truly impressive." Verified Google review

★★★★★ "Their recommendation on pricing my unit was sound and proved prescient. I never questioned their integrity and found it easy to rely on their recommendations. I would work with them again in a heartbeat." Verified Google review

★★★★★ "Marc made an extremely stressful time of selling my parents' house easier because of his expertise, compassion, and diligence. I cannot thank him enough and I would recommend him without reservation." 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

★★★★★ "Marc and Jesse were amazing to work with AGAIN! We just sold our 3rd home with them and couldn't have been happier! If we ever move again we'll always call Jesse and Marc!" Verified Google review

We are also on Facebook, and Jesse is on LinkedIn.

Frequently Asked Questions, Seller Edition

These are the questions The Forest owners ask us most when they are thinking about selling: who to hire, what the home is worth, what it costs, what to disclose, how the club and the associations work at sale time, and when to list. Every answer names its source and date.

Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, retrieved 23 Sep 2026)

Who is the best listing agent to sell my home in The Forest?

McGreevy and Comisar: Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, the #1 Team in Southwest Florida since 2012, with over $900 million in personal sales between Jesse and Marc. In the last 12 months we tracked 45 The Forest closings in the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, and we price, document and market every Forest listing from that record. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072, or start with a free home valuation for your home in The Forest.

How do I sell my house in The Forest, Fort Myers, FL?

Start with a valuation from your own neighborhood's closed sales, order the estoppels and disclosures on day one, prepare the flood and roof file, market to golfers and non-golfers alike, register every showing with the gate, and negotiate from the comparables. That is the plan on this page, and we run it for you. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.

What is my home in The Forest worth?

Your home is worth what comparable homes in your own neighborhood have recently sold for, adjusted for floor plan and condition. In the 12 months to September 23, 2026, single-family homes in The Forest sold at a median of $685,000 and condominiums and villas at $286,500, per the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, but neighborhood medians ran from $165,000 to $902,500. Get a free home valuation for your number.

Is an online home-value estimate accurate for The Forest?

Automated estimates read nearby records, and in The Forest they tend to blend walk-up condominiums, large Fairway Woods units and Oaks homes that share one gate and one ZIP code. They cannot see association layers, the milestone status of a building or an elevation certificate. Use an automated number as a curiosity and a comparable-sales valuation as a price: free home valuation.

How long does it take to sell a home in The Forest?

A median of 76 days on market in the 12 months to September 23, 2026: 71 days for single-family homes and 81 for condominiums and villas, per the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, plus the contract period to closing. The fastest sale closed at full price with 0 days on market; the slowest waited 633 days and closed at 88.63% of list. Price decides which end you land on.

Is The Forest a buyer's or seller's market right now?

It leans toward buyers. On September 23, 2026 The Forest had 29 active listings against 45 closings in the prior 12 months, about 7.7 months of supply (8.8 single-family, 7.2 condominium and villa), per the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix. By the usual rule of thumb more than six months favors buyers, so a seller wins by pricing at the closed sales from the first day.

Are home prices in The Forest going down?

Flat overall, a little firmer for single-family homes and softer on the condominium side. The community median was $375,000 in the 12 months to September 23, 2026 and in the 12 months before. Single-family price per square foot of living area rose modestly, $222.69 to $232.39, while the condominium and villa figure fell from $165.81 to $148.88, partly because larger units sold. We do not publish forecasts.

When is the best time to list a home in The Forest?

Before or early in season. February 2026 alone carried 13 of the 45 closings of the last 12 months, and over four years February through May carried 96 of 221 closings, per the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix. List by early January with photography and documents finished, and the largest pool of in-season buyers sees your home first.

What is the hardest month to sell in The Forest?

By closings, October: over the four years to September 23, 2026 The Forest recorded 10 October closings, the fewest of any month, followed by August (11) and September (12), per the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix. A closing lags its contract by weeks, so the slow months reflect contracts written in late summer.

How much does it cost to sell a house in The Forest?

The main lines are the brokerage commission you negotiate, documentary stamp tax at 70 cents per $100 ($2,625 on the $375,000 community median) under s. 201.02, prorated taxes and assessments, one estoppel per association layer, and any title costs the contract assigns to you. We build your net sheet before you list.

What is the Realtor commission in Florida?

No law sets it. Every commission in Florida is negotiated and written into the listing agreement, and since the practice changes of August 17, 2024 described in the NAR settlement FAQs, offers of buyer-agent compensation no longer appear on the MLS and buyers sign written agreements with their own agents. We explain exactly what our fee covers for a Forest listing before you sign.

Who pays the buyer's agent when I sell in The Forest?

The buyer's own written agreement sets what the buyer's agent is paid. Whether you contribute toward it is a negotiated term of your sale, like any seller credit. Florida's brokerage-relationship rules are in s. 475.278. We will show you how offers in The Forest are structured before you decide.

Who pays for title insurance when I sell in Lee County?

The purchase contract decides who pays for the owner's policy and who chooses the title agent, and Florida's standard contract forms let the parties set it. The premium itself is set by the state's promulgated rates under Rule 69O-186.003. The lender's policy on a financed sale is a buyer's loan cost.

What do estoppel certificates cost at The Forest?

Each association layer issues one, and Florida caps each at $250 when nothing is delinquent, plus $100 for delivery within three business days and up to $150 more if the account is delinquent, under s. 720.30851 and s. 718.116. The Forest's manager does not publish its fee, and the contract decides who pays.

How many estoppel certificates does a sale in The Forest need?

One for the master association on every sale; a second from your neighborhood association if you own a condominium, a villa or a home at Eagle's Landing, Pheasant Court Villas or Falcon Crest One; and a third from The Heron Master Association if you own at the Heron. A home in the four single-family phases needs only the master certificate.

Does my club membership transfer to the buyer?

Not automatically. Because membership is separate from home ownership, a club membership should not be assumed to transfer with a home, and the club does not publish its transfer terms, per its membership page. If you are a member we get the club's terms in writing before we list; your buyer's membership, if they want one, is their own transaction with the club.

Do I have to be a club member to sell my home in The Forest?

No. The Forest is non-bundled, per the club's membership page and the master association's resident portal, so owning, selling and buying a home do not require a club membership. Many Forest owners have never joined, and their homes sell to golfers and non-golfers alike.

Do the club's special assessments affect my sale?

Only if you are a member. The club's Form 990 filings show capital, golf-course renovation and hurricane assessments on members in 2022 through 2024, and those are member obligations. A member seller should get a written account statement from the club; a non-member has nothing to settle with the club.

What do I have to disclose when I sell a condominium in The Forest?

The flood disclosure under s. 689.302, at or before contract, and the resale package under s. 718.503: the declaration, articles, bylaws and rules, the annual financial statement and budget, the milestone summary and reserve study where they apply, the FAQ document and the governance form. Delivered late, they give the buyer 7 business days to cancel. Confirm specifics with your attorney.

What do I have to disclose when I sell a single-family home or fee-simple villa in The Forest?

The flood disclosure under s. 689.302, and the homeowners' association disclosure summary under s. 720.401, which must be presented before the buyer signs. If it is not, the buyer may cancel within 3 days of receiving it or before closing, whichever comes first. Known material defects should also be disclosed.

Can I sell my house in The Forest as-is?

Yes. An as-is contract lets the buyer inspect and walk away within the inspection period but does not require you to make repairs, and it does not remove the flood disclosure under s. 689.302 or your duty to disclose known material defects. On a 1980s Forest home, an as-is sale priced with roof, wind and four-point reports in hand holds together better than one without them.

Should I sell my house by owner in The Forest?

You can, but you would handle alone the gate registration for every showing, up to three association estoppels, the condominium package or disclosure summary, the flood disclosure and a buyer's questions about the club. If you already have a buyer, that can work. If you do not, compare the savings with what a full-service listing nets you: free home valuation.

Is a cash offer for my Forest home a good idea?

Sometimes, when speed or certainty matters most. Cash-offer companies are legal, but their offers are usually below open-market value because they price in a resale margin. Compare any cash offer with a market valuation from your neighborhood's closed sales before you sign. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072 for that comparison.

My listing in The Forest expired. What now?

Look at price first. In the last 12 months the Forest homes that waited longest, 405 and 633 days, closed at 84% to 89% of list, while homes priced at their neighborhood's recent sales went in days. When your agreement ends, we will show you your neighborhood's closed sales and the listings that sold while yours sat, and build a relaunch plan. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.

Why isn't my house selling in The Forest?

Usually because the price sits above the neighborhood's recent closings while newer listings sit below it, or because a buyer's question has no answer: the club, the estoppel amounts, the elevation certificate, the roof, or at Sparrowood the milestone and reserve-study documents. Fix the price and the file, and Forest homes sell: 45 did in the last year.

Should I replace my roof before selling?

Know the roof's age and condition first. Florida's roof rule turns on 15 years and on an inspection showing five years of remaining life, under s. 627.7011. If your roof is near that line, compare the cost of replacing it with the credit a buyer will ask for. In a condominium, the roof is usually the association's, so the question becomes what its records show.

Do I need an elevation certificate to sell in The Forest?

It is not a statutory requirement, but it is the single most useful flood document you can have, because every Forest home is in Zone AE and a buyer's insurer prices from it. Ask Lee County's flood information office whether one is on file for your address; if not, order one when you list.

Does Hurricane Ian history have to be disclosed?

The flood disclosure under s. 689.302 asks whether you know of flood damage during your ownership, whether you filed a flood insurance claim and whether you received federal disaster assistance for flood damage, so if any of those happened in 2022, the form says so. Keep repair permits and invoices in the file; documented repairs reassure buyers.

I own at Sparrowood. What will buyers ask for?

The milestone inspection summary and the structural integrity reserve study, or a statement that none has been completed, which s. 718.503 requires a condominium seller to provide. Sparrowood is the only three-story building group in The Forest, so it alone falls under s. 553.899 and the reserve-study rule. Whether they have been completed is not in public records, so we request both from the association before listing.

I own at the Heron. What is different about selling there?

Three association layers instead of two: your unit association, The Heron Master Association and The Forest's master association, each with its own estoppel. The Heron was also among the fastest markets in The Forest, six sales in the last 12 months at a median of 36.5 days on market, per the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, so a well-prepared Heron listing can move quickly.

Can I sell my Forest home if I live out of state?

Yes, and many Forest owners do, because about half of the community's residents are seasonal, per the master association's 2022 plan. We handle showings, gate registration, contractors, documents and closing coordination locally, and closings can usually be arranged without travel. Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.

How do buyers get through the gate for my showings?

Visitors are pre-registered by residents through the association's DwellingLive visitor system, administered by FirstService Residential, per the association's website, and the Main Gate is staffed around the clock. We register every showing and open house in advance, so buyers are expected and never turned away.

Can you sell my Forest home off-market?

Yes. We can offer a Forest home privately to qualified buyers in our database before, or instead of, a public listing, and we will walk you through the trade-off between privacy and full exposure. With 29 homes listed publicly on September 23, 2026, a private offering can reach a buyer before they compare you with the rest. Confidential conversations welcome: (239) 898-6072.

Will my buyer's property taxes be higher than mine?

Probably, if you have owned for a while. Florida's Save Our Homes cap resets to just value on a change of ownership under s. 193.155, so your capped assessment does not pass to the buyer. We explain that to buyers early, with the fire district levy and the solid waste assessment, so it does not surface late in a contract.

Can I take my homestead savings with me when I sell?

Yes, within limits. Florida portability lets you carry your Save Our Homes difference, up to $500,000, to a new Florida homestead established within the following three years, under s. 193.155 and per the Florida Department of Revenue. You apply with the new county's property appraiser.

How long do I have to own my home to avoid capital gains tax?

Under federal law you can generally exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly) on the sale of a main home you owned and lived in for at least two of the five years before the sale, per IRS Topic 701. A second home does not qualify. Florida has no state income tax. Confirm your position with a tax adviser.

Does the proposed cell tower affect selling my home?

We report the record rather than guess: a special exception and variance for a 149-foot wireless monopole on the golf course property, Lee County cases SEZ2026-00001 and VAR2026-00001, were In Review as of September 23, 2026, with no hearing scheduled and no decision made. If a buyer asks, we show them the county file.

Which neighborhoods in The Forest sell for the most?

The Oaks, with a 48-month median of $902,500 on 10 sales, then Unit Three at $757,500 over 36 months and Unit Two at $750,000 over 48 months, per the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix. On the attached side Waters Edge leads at $425,000 over 48 months and sold closest to asking. See the neighborhood price guide above for every neighborhood and its window.

Is my county just value what my home will sell for?

No. Lee County's 2026 just value on the parcel roll is a mass-appraisal figure set for taxation, and it lags the market: The Oaks' median just value is $715,746 against a 48-month median sale of $902,500. Use the roll to compare neighborhoods and the closed sales to price a home.

What should I do before listing my house in The Forest?

Get a comparable-sales valuation, order the estoppels and the condominium package or disclosure summary, gather your elevation certificate, roof, wind and four-point reports, fix the small things a buyer's inspector will list, and, if you are a club member, get the club's transfer terms in writing. We manage that checklist for you from the first call.

Frequently Asked Questions, Buyer Edition

If you are on the other side of a Forest transaction, these are the questions buyers ask us most. Marc Comisar leads our buyer work; call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

Do I have to join the club to buy in The Forest?

No. The Forest is non-bundled, per the club's membership page and the master association's resident portal. You choose the home first and a membership second, if at all.

What are the HOA fees in The Forest?

No association layer publishes its assessment. The amounts appear in each association's budget and on the estoppel certificate issued with every resale, and a condominium buyer receives the budget under s. 718.503. The The Forest community guide walks through every layer.

Is The Forest in a flood zone?

Yes. Every home is in FEMA Zone AE with a base flood elevation of 11 feet NAVD88, per FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer, and the whole community is in Lee County Evacuation Zone A.

Why Does a Local Specialist Matter When You Sell in The Forest?

A local specialist matters when you sell in The Forest because the facts that move a Forest price are local and documentary: which of 19 neighborhoods you are in, how many association layers you answer to, whether your building is under the milestone law, what your elevation certificate shows, and how to present an optional club. A generalist prices the gate; a specialist prices the home.

If you are thinking, "I need someone to sell my house in The Forest, Florida," McGreevy and Comisar helps homeowners price, market, negotiate and sell with a local strategy built for Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples, Lee County, Collier County and Babcock Ranch. Whether you are selling in The Oaks, Unit One, Unit Two or Unit Three, Waters Edge, the Heron, Fairway Woods, Sparrowood, Dove Hollow, Dove's Nest, Quail Cove, Partridge Place, Partridge Court or Eagle's Landing, our team provides local market guidance, professional listing exposure, and a clear plan to help you sell confidently.

What We Read Before We Price a Forest Home

Before we wrote a word of our Forest guides we read the master association's 2022 plan and portal, the club's scorecard, by-laws, membership pages and three years of federal tax filings, Lee County's parcel, zoning, flood, utility and development-order records for every parcel inside the gates, FEMA's panels and map-change index, and 48 months of Southwest Florida MLS closings checked address by address against the county roll. That is the preparation behind every number on this page, and it is the preparation your listing gets from a team that has been among the Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008.

The Same Method in Other Communities

We sell with the same record-first method across Southwest Florida. Owners in other communities can see it at work on our seller pages for Babcock Ranch and Grandezza in Estero, each built from its own community's records. Selling in The Forest? Get a free home valuation or Call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. Buying? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

Where Can You Learn More About Living in The Forest and Fort Myers?

The complete guide to living in The Forest, covering its history, master plan, governance, full fee stack, club, golf courses, flood and insurance facts, schools, drive times and every neighborhood, is our The Forest community guide. Our Fort Myers guide covers the wider city, and each neighborhood inside the gates has its own page.

If you're also exploring The Forest from the buyer side, or you want the full picture before you sell, start with our complete The Forest community guide. For the wider market, see our Fort Myers guide and our comparison of the best real estate agents in Fort Myers. Each condominium and villa neighborhood inside the gates has its own guide: Fairway Woods, The Heron, Sparrowood, Waters Edge, Dove Hollow, Partridge Place, Dove's Nest, Quail Cove, Eagle's Landing and Partridge Court. Nearby golf communities include Gulf Harbour Yacht and Country Club, The Landings and Pelican Preserve.

Your Local Real Estate Experts

Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar are the McGreevy and Comisar team behind this guide to selling in The Forest, and they lead Domain Realty Group from an office on US 41 in Bonita Springs, south of The Forest on the same highway. Jesse leads the listing side, and Marc works with buyers across Lee and Collier counties.

Jesse McGreevy, Sales Associate, and Marc Comisar, Broker Associate, built the team on a simple idea: the seller who understands the record before the first showing negotiates from strength. Read more on our about the McGreevy and Comisar team page.

McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group, a full-service Southwest Florida real estate team. Learn more about our team at DomainRealtyGroup.com.

  • 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

Contact McGreevy and Comisar

  • 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, FL Lic. SL3101296) and Marc Comisar (Broker Associate, FL Lic. BK3060671) are licensed Florida REALTORS® with Domain Realty; Florida real estate licensure is regulated by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC). License status can be verified through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's public licensee search.

Selling a home in The Forest? Get a free home valuation for your home in The Forest, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.

Buying in The Forest? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.

Sources and Authoritative References

Every fact about selling in The Forest on this page traces to a named public record: the club's and the master association's own publications, the club's federal tax filings, Lee County's parcel, flood and tax records, Florida statutes, rules and corporate records, FEMA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the IRS and each benchmark club's own site. Sources are dated to when we read them.

Market figures are cited in the text as "Southwest Florida MLS, pulled September 23, 2026," a member-only system with no public link. No realtor site, listing portal or brokerage page is used as a source anywhere on this page.

The Forest: Club and Master Association

  1. The Forest Country Club, official home page, accessed September 2026.
  2. The Forest Country Club, membership categories and non-bundled statement, accessed September 23, 2026.
  3. The Forest Country Club, membership inquiry form, accessed September 2026.
  4. The Forest Country Club, golf page, accessed September 2026.
  5. The Forest Country Club scorecard, printed December 2025, accessed September 2026.
  6. Amended and Restated By-Laws of The Forest Country Club, Inc., accessed September 23, 2026.
  7. The Forest Country Club, Bear Course renovation announcement, December 30, 2024, accessed September 2026.
  8. The Forest Property Owners' Association resident portal, re-checked September 23, 2026.
  9. The Forest Property Owners' Association website, accessed September 2026.
  10. The Forest Property Owners' Association vehicle barcode request form, accessed September 2026.
  11. The Forest Property Owners' Association Emergency Preparedness Plan, updated May 2022, accessed September 2026.
  12. FirstService Residential, Florida resale and lender documents, accessed September 2026.

Federal Tax Filings of The Forest Country Club

  1. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Forest Country Club Membership Association Inc (name on the tax filing), filing index, accessed September 2026.
  2. Form 990, tax year 2022, accessed September 2026.
  3. Form 990, tax year 2023, accessed September 2026.
  4. Form 990, tax year 2024, accessed September 2026.

Lee County Geographic Records

  1. Lee County Parcels layer, queried September 2026.
  2. Lee County SubdivisionsGeneral (community boundaries) layer, queried September 2026.
  3. Lee County recorded Subdivisions and Condominiums layer, queried September 2026.
  4. Lee County MSTBUs layer, queried September 2026.
  5. Lee County Solid Waste Districts layer, queried September 2026.
  6. Lee County Development Orders layer, queried September 2026.
  7. Lee County FIRM (flood zone) layer, queried September 2026.
  8. Lee County 2018 LiDAR Spot Elevations layer, queried September 2026.
  9. Lee County Wastewater Service Area layer, queried September 2026.

Lee County Government, Property Appraiser and Clerk

  1. Lee County Board of County Commissioners, special districts roster, as of September 1, 2026.
  2. Lee County Budget Services, MSTBU program, accessed September 2026.
  3. Lee County Solid Waste, adopted solid waste rates, FY2026, accessed September 2026.
  4. Lee County flood information pages, accessed September 2026.
  5. Lee County substantial improvement and substantial damage rule, accessed September 2026.
  6. Lee County Community Rating System flood insurance discounts, accessed September 2026.
  7. Lee County Evacuation Zone A map, accessed September 2026.
  8. Lee County case file SEZ2026-00001, proposed 149-foot monopole, status as of September 23, 2026.
  9. Lee County case file VAR2026-00001, companion variance, status as of September 23, 2026.
  10. Lee County Property Appraiser, golf course parcel record, accessed September 2026.
  11. Lee County Property Appraiser, homestead exemption, accessed September 2026.
  12. Lee County Clerk of Court, official records services, accessed September 2026.
  13. San Carlos Park Fire Protection and Rescue Service District, FY2025/2026 final budget, adopted September 15, 2025.

Florida Division of Corporations and DBPR

  1. The Forest Property Owners' Association, Inc., corporate record, accessed September 2026.
  2. The Forest Property Owners' Association, Amended and Restated Articles, filed March 24, 2010, accessed September 2026.
  3. The Forest Country Club, Inc., corporate record, accessed September 2026.
  4. Forest Utilities, Inc., corporate record, accessed September 2026.
  5. The Heron Master Association, Inc., corporate record, accessed September 2026.
  6. Fairway Woods at The Forest III condominium association, corporate record (merged 1991), accessed September 2026.
  7. Dove Hollow condominium association, corporate record, accessed September 2026.
  8. Falcon Crest homeowners' association, corporate record, accessed September 2026.
  9. Pheasant Court Villas homeowners' association, corporate record, accessed September 2026.
  10. Florida DBPR condominium and license search, accessed September 2026.
  11. Florida DBPR, condominium SIRS reporting, accessed September 2026.
  12. Florida Real Estate Commission, accessed September 2026.
  13. Florida DBPR public licensee search, accessed September 2026.

Florida Statutes and State Agencies

  1. Florida Statutes s. 553.899, milestone inspections, 2026.
  2. Florida Statutes s. 718.112, condominium bylaws and structural integrity reserve studies, 2026.
  3. Florida Statutes s. 718.111, condominium association insurance, 2026.
  4. Florida Statutes s. 718.116, condominium assessments and estoppel certificates, 2026.
  5. Florida Statutes s. 718.503, condominium resale disclosure, 2026.
  6. Florida Statutes s. 720.30851, homeowners' association estoppel certificates, 2026.
  7. Florida Statutes s. 720.401, homeowners' association disclosure summary, 2026.
  8. Florida Statutes s. 689.302, residential flood disclosure, 2026.
  9. Florida Statutes s. 627.351, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, 2026.
  10. Florida Statutes s. 627.7011, homeowner policies and roof age, 2026.
  11. Florida Statutes s. 627.0629, wind-mitigation discounts, 2026.
  12. Florida Statutes s. 201.02, documentary stamp tax on deeds, 2026.
  13. Florida Statutes s. 475.278, brokerage relationships, 2026.
  14. Florida Statutes s. 196.031, homestead exemption, 2026.
  15. Florida Statutes s. 193.155, Save Our Homes and portability, 2026.
  16. Florida Department of Revenue, property tax exemptions, accessed September 2026.
  17. Florida Statutes s. 718.504, condominium prospectus and frequently asked questions document, 2026.
  18. Florida Administrative Code Rule 69O-186.003, title insurance rates, accessed September 24, 2026.
  19. Florida Building Commission, building code effective dates, accessed September 2026.
  20. Florida Statutes s. 720.303, homeowners' association official records and budgets, 2026.

Federal and National Sources

  1. FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer map service, queried September 2026.
  2. FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, flood hazard zones, queried September 2026.
  3. FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, FIRM panel index, queried September 2026.
  4. FEMA Letters of Map Amendment index, queried September 2026.
  5. FEMA Letters of Map Revision index, queried September 2026.
  6. FEMA Flood Map Service Center, accessed September 2026.
  7. FEMA Risk Rating 2.0, accessed September 2026.
  8. FEMA Community Rating System eligible communities, April 1, 2025, accessed September 2026.
  9. FEMA FIRM panel 12071C0438H, effective November 17, 2022, Lee County copy, accessed September 2026.
  10. FEMA FIRM panel 12071C0576H, effective November 17, 2022, Lee County copy, accessed September 2026.
  11. U.S. Geological Survey Short-Term Network, Hurricane Ian high-water marks, Lee County, accessed September 2026.
  12. IRS Topic 701, sale of your home, accessed September 2026.
  13. National Association of REALTORS, settlement FAQs and practice changes effective August 17, 2024, accessed September 24, 2026.

Benchmark Clubs (Each Club's Own Record)

  1. Fiddlesticks Country Club, home page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  2. Fiddlesticks Country Club, membership page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  3. Fiddlesticks Country Club, amenities page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  4. Fiddlesticks Country Club, governing rules and regulations, accessed September 23, 2026.
  5. Heritage Palms Golf and Country Club, home page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  6. Heritage Palms Golf and Country Club, golf page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  7. Gulf Harbour Yacht and Country Club, membership page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  8. Gulf Harbour Yacht and Country Club, golf page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  9. The Landings Yacht, Golf and Tennis Club, home page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  10. The Landings Yacht, Golf and Tennis Club, social memberships, accessed September 23, 2026.
  11. Golf Digest course database, The Landings, accessed September 2026.
  12. Cross Creek Country Club, visit page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  13. Cross Creek Country Club, golf course page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  14. Cross Creek Country Club, golf rates, accessed September 23, 2026.
  15. Eagle Ridge, golf course page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  16. Eagle Ridge, membership page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  17. Golf Digest course database, Eagle Ridge, accessed September 2026.
  18. Pelican Preserve Golf Club, golf page, accessed September 23, 2026.
  19. Pelican Preserve Golf Club, membership page, accessed September 23, 2026.

Downloadable Documents

The public documents a Forest seller is most likely to need are linked below at the authority that issued or holds each one; we do not re-host any of them, and some government hosts refuse automated requests but open normally in a browser.

Several Forest records are not posted anywhere public, and we say so rather than link a copy: the master association's recorded declaration (not available in the county's online records), every association budget, reserve study and estoppel (member records, provided at resale), and the club's membership plan and fee schedule (provided to prospective members). The founding plats, The Forest Unit One at Plat Book 33, Pages 85 to 88, and The Oaks Unit One at Plat Book 37, Pages 51 to 55, are held in the Lee County Clerk's official records and can be retrieved there by book and page.

Document

Why a seller needs it

Link

Florida Statutes s. 689.302 (2026)

The residential flood disclosure every Forest seller gives at or before contract

Section 689.302

Florida Statutes s. 718.503 (2026)

The condominium resale documents and the buyer's 7-day cancellation right

Section 718.503

Florida Statutes s. 720.401 (2026)

The homeowners' association disclosure summary, owed before the buyer signs

Section 720.401

Florida Statutes s. 720.30851 and s. 718.116 (2026)

The estoppel certificate fee caps and timelines

Section 720.30851

Florida Statutes s. 201.02 (2026)

Documentary stamp tax on the deed, 70 cents per $100

Section 201.02

Florida Statutes s. 553.899 (2026)

Milestone inspections, which reach Sparrowood alone in The Forest

Section 553.899

FEMA FIRM panel 12071C0438H (effective November 17, 2022)

The flood map for the northern and western part of The Forest

FIRM panel 12071C0438H

FEMA FIRM panel 12071C0576H (effective November 17, 2022)

The flood map for the southern and eastern part of The Forest

FIRM panel 12071C0576H

FEMA Community Rating System list (April 1, 2025)

Unincorporated Lee County's Class 5, a 25 percent NFIP discount a buyer will ask about

FEMA CRS list, April 2025

The Forest Property Owners' Association Emergency Preparedness Plan (updated May 2022)

The master association's own home count, board structure and gate staffing

Master association plan, 2022

Amended and Restated By-Laws of The Forest Country Club, Inc.

The club's public by-laws (undated; linked, not quoted)

Club by-laws

The Forest Country Club Form 990 filings, 2022 to 2024

Member assessments and the club's member-owned status

Club Form 990 filings on ProPublica

San Carlos Park Fire District FY2025/2026 Final Budget

The 2.3590-mill fire levy prorated at closing

Fire district FY2025/26 budget

Lee County Evacuation Zone A map

The county evacuation zone covering all of The Forest

Evacuation Zone A map

Market data from Southwest Florida MLS, pulled September 2026.

McGreevy and Comisar, Best Realtor for The Forest. Brokered by Domain Realty. Jesse McGreevy, FL Lic. SL3101296 · Marc Comisar, FL Lic. BK3060671.