Overview

There are over 500 named communities within Naples. This is a large number of communities for what is a relatively small land mass. How do you find the right community for you? Before the Naples Abodes site was launched, parties interested in purchasing a home in the area were left to the typical, basic, industry norm listings search. A site user would search listings by inputing basic search criteria on any number of real estate websites and they would then be presented with homes that matched. These listings might have stated the name of the community the property resided within, but nothing more about the community. Site users would have no idea if a listing that is potentially of interest to them resided within a community that is of potential interest to them. And this is of paramount importance considering that there are different types of communities, offering different real estate options, in vastly different Naples locations and price ranges, having unique amenities, required annual fees and more. For these very reasons, most buyers put equal weight on the community they buy within as they do the actual home they end up purchasing. So, how do we help you start identifying communities that might be a great fit for you?

Naples Communities Search

Our Naples Communities Search is a real game changer within the real estate industry. It provides a proprietary, entirely unique and highly beneficial way to search for a home. It enables you to search Naples real estate by isolating communities that meet your interests and needs first. You decide what is important to you in a community and this search filters communities that match. All matches can then be further explored by way of our exclusive Community Pages, providing even more specific information about each community. Should a community be of interest we then present currently For Sale listings within it, as well as provide an option to explore Pending and Sold listings for research purposes.

User Interface

Below is an image of the desktop version of our Naples Communities Search user interface. Due to the smaller screen size of mobile devices you will see a different layout should you be using your phone to search. The search options are the same across all devices. This said, in consideration of the amount of data on our site pages we always recommend using a device with a large screen. If you are on a mobile device, you might consider flipping it to a landscape view.

Green Buttons

Each of the green buttons in the top row represent search options. (Please see below for more on each.) Simply click any button to open a search option. As soon as you make choices our search will begin filtering listings that match your selections. To close an options box you can click the button again or Close at the bottom of the open options box.

Search Results

This shows you the number of communities matching your chosen search criteria. The more specific you are with your search criteria, the fewer the matching communities. If you happen to get really granular or are searching for communities that do not exist in the area the search results will be zero. Our suggestion is to start a bit broad and go from there.

Filters

Filters indicates the number of filters that have been applied to the current search. A click on this button will reveal a consolidated list of all. This makes a review of all current search criteria very easy. You can quickly reference the search filters you have applied that have produced the community results you are currently viewing.

If you would like to remove any specific criteria from your search you can click the “X” and that specific criteria will be removed from the search. The example above shows our default search. It includes every community. No filters are applied.

Reset Search

Should you like to begin anew, please click Reset. This will remove any search criteria choices that you have made and reload our default search of all Naples communities.

A-Z – Price Range – Annual Fees

This is our sort engine. Clicking on any option here will sort the search results. Each click will toggle between an ascending sort and a descending sort. The default sort is ascending A-Z.

Grid / Map Option

Our Grid view (below) is the default arrangement and shows communities via “cards” you can peruse. These have limited information, but are adequate for broad overviews of communities. You can save any community to My Saved Communities directly from the community cards by clicking the Love or Like icon options. You can click anywhere else on the card to go to the full listing page showing all available listing details.

The Map view (below) allows you to search for and see communities via a local map. This can be handy to visualize the locations of communities that are available based upon your search criteria. For many site users our Location and Proximity search filters eliminate the need to use a map to search, but many others still like this option and it can be beneficial for certain.

Search Options

Search

The very first community search choice to make is whether you would like to search all communities or only those that have currently available listings to potentially purchase.

All Communities searches every one of our over 500 communities regardless of whether or not there are currently available homes to purchase within them. Communities with homes for sale at the time you are searching, as well as with no properties for sale are presented. This can be of benefit because new listings come online on a daily basis. Even if a community does not have a home of potential interest available today, it might tomorrow. Should you find a community of significant interest you will be able to save the community to My Saved Communities and get notified of new listings as they hit the market, should you choose to do so.

Communities w/For Sale Listings Only will only present communities that have at least one currently available listing, matching all of your chosen search criteria, at the very moment you are searching. This is of benefit to any site user that is in Naples and ready to buy should the right listing, within the right community, be on the market.

Tip: Should you choose to examine All Communities, once you land on one of our Community Pages you will see the option to view not only currently For Sale properties, but also Pending and Sold listings within the community. Choosing to view Pending & Sold listings provides an easy way to see what the properties within a community are like even if there are none currently for sale.

Community Type

The following community types can be filtered for.

Beach will isolate all communities that include real estate that is either walkable or a fairly quick bicycle ride to a beach. We understand that what is “walkable” or “fairly quick” is subjective. Generally speaking, these communities will have real estate on a beach or be < 1 mile from a beach.

Boating will filter all communities that have real estate with direct access to Gulf of Mexico waters, an onsite marina or one very close by.

Gated refers to “master gated” communities. This means that there is a gate at the main entryway to the community. You must pass through a gate – manned or unmanned – to get into the community.

Please know that some communities will not be master gated, but some subdivisions, residential buildings and/or individual homes within the community will be gated. (Please note, Naples has a very, very low crime rate.)

Golf refers to communities that have a golf course within the boundaries of the community. (Choosing the type of golf community is done within Onsite Amenities. Please see below.)

Ordinary refers to communities that are not gated. These are more reflective of communities in northern states. They can have a large range of price points and are not what some refer to as “cookie cutter” in home styles. Some of the highest end communities are “ordinary.” Some of the lowest end too.

Resort isolates all communities that we deem to have adequate amenities, clubhouse, social activities, etc., to warrant this designation. Resort-style communities offer a particular, active, community-based lifestyle, should you like to engage in it.

Please see more on community types in the Communities chapter of our Naples Buyer’s Guide.

Location

This is one of our very unique search tools allowing you to isolate communities by any of the 9 specific locations of Naples. For in-depth details on these, please read the Locations chapter of our Naples Buyer’s Guide.

Proximity

This is another search feature that is proprietary to us. The 3 locations you can search in proximity to – Airport (RSW), Beach and Downtown Naples – are often the most important to buyers. Please note that Naples has many, many points of access to beaches. To be clear, all proximities are “less than,” meaning a listing could be much closer to a destination than your chosen search option. “< 5 miles” could be on the beach.

Please note that we use one mapped waypoint within a community from which to calculate proximities. We choose one specific location that is usually at or nearest to the center of the community from which to calculate distances. This stated, proximities might be a little closer or further than the option chosen. Communities can cover a great deal of land.

Property Type

Please choose the type of property you are interested in purchasing here. Should a community offer the property type of interest, as well as match all other search criteria you have chosen, it will be presented to you.

Property Price Range

Please choose the property range you hope to purchase within. Our search will isolate communities that have current listings for sale within such, as well as those that have had recent sales within your price range. This will help you identify communities that might not currently have listings for sale within your range, but might at the time you are ready to buy.

Fees

Fees primarily refers to Condominium and/or HOA (Homeowners Association) fees, but can also include onsite private club fees, application fees and more.

Total Annual Fees

Total Annual Fees are just that. This is the amount you will have to pay on an annual basis should you purchase within the community. Please note, annual fees generally head in one direction over time… up. If keeping annual carrying costs in check are particularly important to you this is something to keep in mind.

Total One-Time Fees

Total One-Time Fees are collected at/as part of the closing. These typically cover purchase application fees, transfer fees, capital contribution fees, private club initiation fees and/or otherwise should they exist.

Please note, in some of our higher end communities there are fees associated with purchasing that are not currently available in public-facing MLS data. As an example, one of our highest end communities requires 0.33% of the purchase price due at closing. Should we work together and you are interested in any community that has such fees we will discuss before seeing property together.

Why so many fees? What do you get for your money? Is it all worth it? How about communities/listings with no fees? Please reference the Communities and Financial Considerations chapters of our Naples Buyer’s Guide for very important details about fees, taxes, closing costs and more.

Build Date Range

Should you have a preference as to the build date of any home you might purchase please choose that here. This search will isolate communities that have at least one listing built within your chosen range. Please note, while newer communities/listings might have significant benefits, many highly desirable communities are older communities. There are pros and cons of every community and listing. Finding the right listing in the right community often requires balancing your interests, needs and price target.

Pets Allowed?

Some communities are firmly “yes” to pets. Some are clearly “no.” Many others have varying policies across different subdivisions and/or specific residential buildings within the community. If you require a community/property that allows pets, let’s talk. In the interim, we suggest choosing Yes/Varies in your search. Please know that all pet policies must be verified.

Amenities

Amenities Level

This affords you a quick means to identify communities that offer an “ultimate” level of amenities, none at all or somewhere in between. We define the level of amenities by the number of available amenities, as well as the quality of them.

Amenities Onsite

This is where you can choose the specific amenities the community offers onsite. If you want a community that has onsite pickleball, we will filter for communities that have at least one pickleball court. If you want to be in a community that bundles golf fees in with the HOA fees, please choose Bundled Golf. The world is your oyster. Please choose your amenity requirements, if any, and our site will show you communities that match.

In Closing

We believe our Naples Communities Search can be a highly beneficial tool to use in exploring Naples real estate and identifying potential communities to purchase within. Your input isolates communities that match your community interests, needs and price target. This is an unmatched Naples, FL real estate search capability anywhere online. All said, nothing replaces visiting communities with us and hearing what we have to say directly about all the communities that might be the right fit for you. Our site provides a great deal of quantitative data, but should you want to make the best purchase decision and seek our assistance in helping you do so, it is the qualitative information we provide that will likely help you most. All our search tools are aimed at helping you while conducting online real estate searches. This is but the very first phase of home buying for many. When you want to get serious about finding the best home for you, in the best community for you, let’s talk.