Punta Gorda Isles is a very popular waterfront neighborhood in Punta Gorda and many people considering the area often consider purchasing a building lot to start their dream. Building a new home is a fantastic option compared to buying an existing home but of course, comes at a higher cost.
One section of Punta Gorda Isles (PGI) is known as the Bird Section and was the latest area to be developed mostly in the late 80’s to current. There are many waterfront lots available to this day despite being an absolutely beautiful area with excellent water access to Charlotte Harbor. These lots are sailboat friendly with no bridges and good water depths to get out. The mitigating water depths are 6 feet MLW, which is in Ponce Channel and maintained by the City of Punta Gorda.
Anyone considering a lot purchase certainly would like to understand lot values and trends. Few if anyone monitors these values however I make it my job to stay on top of all waterfront values so I can guide my customers to good fair priced deals.
With that said, the bird section, is identified this way as having all streets named after birds. The other characteristic of this area in PGI is that boat ride times out to the Ponce de Leon Inlet are longer than in other areas of PGI. This distinction brings the lot costs down from other areas of Punta Gorda Isles where a 5-20 minute boat ride is more common and with that location, the cost of the lot is significantly higher. Of course, everything in life is a trade off. One ride into the bird section and you will see it is extremely beautiful with mainly newer custom homes. Bird section homes range from 20 minutes to Ponce in the south section to 1 hour from the north region of the bird section.
Also, there is value in an alternative route out from this area, known as Poachers Cut that takes you to Alligator Creek, often in half the time it takes to get to Ponce. This is a shallow path through the mangroves and is quite beautiful. Bay boats up to 22 feet can come and go most of the time through here which takes you to some incredible fishing grounds. This is a nice alternative if you don’t have a deep draft boat.
The City of Punta Gorda is currently studying the possibility of creating an additional route out to Alligator Creek to allow deeper draft boats an alternative to Ponce Inlet. Time will tell if the environmentalists, etc will approve this concept.
BIRD SECTION LOT SALES TRENDS
Most people would be surprised to know that the number of lot sales is down in the bird section and has been dropping since 2014. In this study, I considered only sales from $100,000 to $250,000 which is where the vast majority of sales occurred. I looked at a 1 year window of lot sales starting on January 25, 2017,
In 2014 there were 24 sales, 2015 seen 21 sales and 2016 seen 14 sales. Statistically, there were 12.5% less sales in 2015 and 33% less in 2016 compared to 2015. That is a significant drop in sales. If you read the newspapers you will learn that sales are up everywhere however my statistics show different. There are still plenty of lots on the market so what has caused this drop in sales? I cannot say for sure, but ambitious pricing by realtors and lot sellers is likely part of it. Despite the possibility of a new shorter exit from the bird section, the market has not shown this has caused a larger interest in lots or caused a price escalation. When you are ready to consider a waterfront lot purchase, be sure to get your facts first before making an offer. Also, the cost of building a dock, installing a boat lift, seawall considerations, how many boats can you have at your dock in PGI and a host of other factors are important. I have this kind of information committed to memory and guide you through the entire process.
