Cathy Rogers Kicks Off Year with a Bang

To say the least, 2023 is off to an excellent start for Cathy Rogers, an agent with Premier Sotheby's International Realty's Marco Island office. 

Since the new year’s start, she has already rung up two monumental sales of the multi-million-dollar variety, both located in the island’s Estates area. One, a roughly 4,000 square-foot residence on S. Heathwood Drive, sold for $5.85 million in January. That transaction was topped this month when the new owners closed on a 6,500 square-foot, Collingswood Court home for $10.25 million. 

As a result, Rogers has the first and third most expensive home sales on Marco, to date, in 2023. 

“It’s been a good year, fabulous” quipped Rogers, who represented the seller in both transactions. 

Neither residence was on the market long, she added, with the Collingswood home selling two months, while a buyer snapped up the Heathwood home only three months after it was listed. The relatively short duration of their availability is further evidence of the continued vitality of the island’s upscale real estate offerings, compared to 2022.

“At the beginning of last year, the market was insane,” explained Rogers. “You’d put something on (the market) and you’d quickly have several offers and they’d bid it up. This year, you don’t have the frenzy that we had at the beginning of last year, but still, if there’s a good product out there, there are high-end buyers looking for it.”  

Dave Gape, managing broker for Premier Sotheby's Marco office, echoed that assessment. 

"The strong pace of recent closed sales so soon after a major hurricane is a testament to the desirability of our Southwest Florida market,” he said. “Florida remains one of the preferred destinations in our country for real estate investment, particularly in our luxury market.”

Built-in 2016, the S. Heathwood Drive home features four bedrooms, four and one half baths, a den, a media room with a wet bar, and interior finishes by Bonita Springs-based Leili Design Studio. Entertainment outdoor spaces span the home’s rear, which includes a full-length saltwater pool and spa, along with a dock, boat and jet-ski lifts.

The Collingswood Court residence was built in 2020. The home has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and two half baths, a den, a media room, and a game room. Outdoor amenities in the pool area are ample, with a fire pit, and an outdoor kitchen with a pool bath and sauna. Additional entertaining spaces include an upstairs media room with a wet bar, game room and an upstairs lanai.

Rogers and her husband and fellow Premier Sotheby’s realtor, John Toth, have a history of record-breaking sales and listings. For example, in 2022 she had the highest priced single-family home ($11.87 million), lot ($6 million) and condo ($6.5 million) transactions on Hideaway Beach. 

As for her outlook for the rest of year, she doesn’t foresee much changing, given the desirability of life on Marco and its housing stock. She’s also noticed that the damage caused by Hurricane Ian in Lee County is playing a role.

“Marco Island is a very special, desirable place to live, and a lot of people that normally would go to Sanibel and Captiva are coming here because of the devastation from the hurricane,” said Rogers. “We’re getting a lot of people looking who I think would have gone to that area.”