September 25-October 1, 2026
Hi, it's Jeremy. The first real hint of fall is rolling in this weekend (sunny, drier air, no rain in the forecast), which is good timing, because there's a lot to get out and see. Collier commissioners spent a long Tuesday deciding what a 169-acre East Naples citrus grove and a 60-year-old North Naples motel get to become, a second 22-story tower just topped off on Estero Bay, and a new wine shop is leading a wave of openings at the Shoppes at Vanderbilt. One heads-up before you make weekend plans: Pine Ridge Road closes completely under I-75 starting late Friday night.
⚡ The 239 in 60 Seconds
🏌️ Collier commissioners approved an upscale 18-hole golf course on a former East Naples citrus grove that was once pitched for 423 homes.
🚧 Pine Ridge Road will fully close under I-75 from 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 to 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28. Plan your detour now.
🌤️ The weekend forecast is the nicest in months: sunny both days with highs near 86-87°F and a north wind bringing slightly drier air.
📈 The 30-year mortgage rate crossed 7%, averaging 7.03% this week, up from 6.95% last week.
💡 When crews topped off the second Ritz-Carlton Residences tower on Estero Bay, they hoisted a palm tree instead of the traditional pine, capping a build that has used 6.5 million pounds of concrete and 5,600 concrete truckloads so far.
New Around the 239
🍷 The Good Pour opens at the Shoppes at Vanderbilt, with Rusty's, a smash-burger spot and more on the way (Grand opening celebration is set for Oct. 16-18. Also in the same column: Neighborhood Organics plans to close in November after 12 years at the center.)
The 239 Market: This Week's Market Pulse
Bonita-Estero has a fresh monthly report, and it shows supply tightening fast while prices firm up. Naples is between NABOR reports, so this week's Naples read is a Redfin pulse.
Bonita Springs-Estero (COR, August 2026): Median sale price $522,500, up 6% year over year; homes for sale down 28%; median 84 days on market; new listings down 14%. Coconut Coast Organization of REALTORS® Market Reports
Naples Market Pulse (Redfin, not NABOR data): Homes sold for 92.8% of list price on average in August, up 1.9 points from a year ago, and 24.0% of listings took a price cut, down 3.1 points. Redfin still rates Naples "not very competitive," with the typical home selling about 7% below list. Redfin Naples Housing Market (Redfin uses its own listing-based methodology, which is different from NABOR's MLS closed-sales data. Redfin's headline Naples figures have not refreshed since last week's issue.)
NABOR August report: NABOR's published schedule listed a Sept. 18 release, but as of Thursday evening, Sept. 24, its Market Statistics page still shows July 2026 as the latest report. We'll cover it as soon as it posts.
Amendment 3 reminder: no new, dated developments surfaced this week. If you're weighing a move before the Dec. 31 residency deadline, our full explainer is here.
Jeremy's Take: Put Bonita's 6% median bump next to a 28% drop in homes for sale and the story is supply, not demand going wild: there are simply fewer choices on the shelf than a year ago. In Naples, sellers are getting a bit closer to asking and fewer are cutting price, even with rates now just over 7%. The question I'm watching is whether that 7% rate slows the momentum heading into season, or whether the buyers who've been waiting decide the shrinking inventory is the bigger risk.
30-year mortgage rate: 7.03% as of Sept. 24, 2026, up from 6.95% last week, vs. 6.30% a year ago. Freddie Mac PMMS
Curious What’s Selling Near You?
See What's Happening in Your Neighborhood:
📍 239 Community Spotlight - Bonita Bay
Bonita Bay is one of the older master-planned communities on the Lee County side of the 239, and its design traces back to a mid-1980s emphasis on environmental stewardship that still shapes the place today, according to Bonita Bay Club. The community spans roughly 2,400 acres of open space, nature preserves, lakes and tropical landscaping, laced with about 12 miles of recreational paths and waterfront parks.
What sets it apart is range. Bonita Bay is organized into 56 separate neighborhoods, with coach homes, multi-unit villas, custom single-family homes and waterfront high-rises all inside the same community. Boating is part of the picture too: a private, full-service marina sits on the Imperial River at the south end of Estero Bay, with Gulf access.
It's also a useful point of comparison this week, since the new Ritz-Carlton towers going up just north on Estero Bay represent a very different, vertical take on waterfront living a few miles away.
This Week in Naples & Bonita Springs
🏌️ A 169-acre East Naples citrus grove will become a private golf course, not 423 homes → [Source: Gulfshore Business] Commissioners voted unanimously Sept. 22 after the developer dropped 10 guest cottages; county staff said the land could otherwise get 131 homes by right under a new state law.
🏨 Collier says no to a 30-room expansion of North Naples' 60-year-old Fairways Inn → [Gulfshore Business] Live Local Act concerns helped tip the unanimous vote.
🌊 Naples hires the engineer for a $38.2 million flood fix in River Park East → [WINK News] Raised roads, new stormwater and wastewater lines, and at least one pump station are planned for 2027-28.
⚖️ Homeowners paid five-figure deposits for standby generators, then the company vanished → [WINK News] A WINK Investigates look at Generators By Design customers in Lee and Charlotte counties. (See this week's Home Tip for how to protect yourself.)
🗳️ Collier's "sixth penny" tourist-tax campaign is struggling to draw a crowd before the Nov. 3 vote → [Gulfshore Business] The county budgeted nearly $100,000 to explain the proposal.
Good to Know
🚧 Update, Pine Ridge Road at I-75: From 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 to 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 28, Pine Ridge Road will be fully closed under I-75 for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists while crews install overhead structures. I-75 stays open; detours use Immokalee Road (exit 111) and Golden Gate Parkway (exit 105). [Source: SWFL Roads]
🛣️ I-75 at Collier Boulevard (exit 101): The new southbound I-75 on-ramp is open. Drivers heading south on Collier Boulevard now keep right for the new loop ramp, and the old left turn is gone. [Source: SWFL Roads]
🐾 Lee County: The county shelter is cutting adoption fees for dogs and cats in October.
🔧 Home Tip of the Week
This week's WINK Investigates story about a generator company that disappeared with customer deposits is a good reminder: storm-season projects (generators, shutters, roofs, impact windows) are exactly where homeowners get burned. A few ways to protect yourself before you sign:
Look up the contractor's license with Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and confirm the name on the license matches the company on your contract.
Keep the upfront deposit as small as you reasonably can, and tie later payments to milestones you can see (permit pulled, equipment delivered, inspection passed).
Get the scope, equipment model, start date and completion date in writing, and ask who pulls the permit. If they suggest skipping it, walk away.
Check complaint history with the Better Business Bureau and your county before you pay, not after.
As always, check with your insurance agent, attorney or a licensed contractor for anything specific to your home or your contract.
☀️ Weekend Weather
Saturday, Sept. 26: Sunny, high near 87°F, northeast wind 7-9 mph.
Sunday, Sept. 27: Sunny, high near 86°F. No rain in the forecast either day; rain chances return Tuesday into Thursday. [Source: National Weather Service, Miami-South Florida, forecast issued 6:21 p.m. Sept. 24] (WINK is calling it an early-season cold front.)
📅 5 Things to Do This Week
Mia: Keys on Fire! Piano Virtuoso Mia Vassilev: Friday, Sept. 25, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs. $40-$50. [Source: Events Naples]
Weekly Farmers Market on Third Street South: Saturday, Sept. 26, 7:30-11:30 a.m., Third Street South, Downtown Naples. The first dry Saturday morning in a while. [Source: Events Naples]
Worldwide Day of Play: Saturday, Sept. 26, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Golisano Children's Museum of Naples, 15080 Livingston Road, North Naples. [Source: Events Naples]
FC Naples vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC: Saturday, Sept. 26, 7 p.m., Paradise Coast Sports Complex, East Naples. [Source: Events Naples]
Comedian Carlos Mencia: Friday-Saturday, Sept. 25-26, multiple shows, Off the Hook Comedy Club, North Naples. [Source: Events Naples]
The 239 Five
Restaurant worth trying: The Merchant Room at Naples Beach Club, A Four Seasons Resort, is two-time James Beard Award winner Gavin Kaysen's take on a New American brasserie, with a dining room styled after Old Florida and a terrace looking out over the pool to the Gulf. Dinner centers on prime rib dry-aged in house and house-made pastas like spaghetti nero with octopus, prawns and mussels. Save room for the profiteroles or the Basque-style cheesecake. Sundays bring Kaysen's three-course Sunday Supper (5-9 p.m.), and the bar, with its hand-painted flamingo mural, is a good pick for a martini at golden hour. It's open to locals as well as resort guests: breakfast runs 7-11 a.m. and dinner 5:30-9:30 p.m.
Event worth attending: Historias del aire y del suelo | Stories of Air and Soil at Naples Botanical Garden, 4820 Bayshore Drive in East Naples, open 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on the listed dates. A good reason to take advantage of the cooler weekend.
Local business worth knowing: Airport Donuts in Naples, which WINK News spotlighted this week for its handcrafted donuts.
Outdoor/place recommendation: Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, where a 2.5-mile boardwalk winds through old-growth cypress forest. With a drier north wind on tap, this is a good weekend for it.
Interesting local fact: The Naples Pier started as a hotel's freight dock. It was built in 1888 as a freight and passenger landing for the Old Naples Hotel. It had a 600-foot T-shaped wharf and a small rail cart that carried guests' luggage to the hotel. It has been rebuilt after hurricanes in 1910, 1926, 1944 and 1960. City of Naples, Pier project history
👀 What We're Watching
NABOR's August report for Naples is overdue from its Sept. 18 slot, so we'll bring you those Collier numbers the moment they post. And with Freddie Mac's next rate survey landing Thursday, Oct. 1, by next Friday we'll know whether mortgage rates held above 7%.
Property Spotlight
4450 Chickee Hut #102, Bonita Springs 34134 | $319,000 | 3 Den / 3 Bath | MLS# 225036973 | Walkthrough Video
This is a completely renovated, fully furnished first-floor condo at Bonita Beachwalk, a short bike ride from Bonita Beach. The layout is the standout: a 2-bedroom, 2-bath main residence plus a private 1-bedroom, 1-bath guest suite across the hall with its own entrance. You can live in one side and rent the other, lease both, or keep it all for yourself. The community allows up to 26 leases per year.
The main residence has an open floor plan and a designer kitchen with custom wood cabinetry, granite counters and a breakfast bar, plus coastal tile, crown molding and curated furnishings throughout. Out back, a large screened lanai with a built-in grill and refrigerator looks out on a quiet wooded view. A detached one-car garage is included. Community amenities include a heated pool, a Tiki hut, BBQ grills and a rooftop deck for Gulf sunsets. It's minutes to dining, shopping, marinas and Barefoot Beach Preserve.
Sold fully furnished. Just bring your suitcase.
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Have a great weekend!
Jeremy
