‘Superb’ estate in Old Naples sells ahead of auction

BY Laura Layden
Naples Daily News
Published 2:31 p.m. ET Sept. 30, 2024

A cottage-style luxury estate near downtown Naples sold before auction.

An on-site auction, scheduled for Monday, was canceled.

After three weekends of open houses and global outreach, the nearly 5,000-square-foot home, built in 2022, went under contract on Friday, for cash and without contingencies, said Randy Haddaway, founder and CEO of Elite Auctions.

The home at 739 Fifth Avenue N. has five ensuite bedrooms,
with a study, and a total of seven bathrooms.

His company, based in Naples, was hired to do the auction, which included a big marketing and advertising push ahead of the event.

It’s the third time in a row that a multimillion-dollar house sold in the Naples market before a planned auction by Elite. Properties that make it to auction are sold to the highest bidder without a reserve price.

In a text over the weekend, Haddaway shared that more than 50 people toured the property from nine states. On Elite’s website, the offering generated more than 4,300 unique visits.

The estate was described as “absolutely superb,” sitting on a quiet street in the “heart of town.”

“Some buyers don’t want to take their chance at auction and miss out on owning a piece of Old Naples paradise,” Haddaway said. “The property will close in just over two weeks.”

Randy Haddaway, CEO Elite Auctions

The home at 739 Fifth Avenue N. has five ensuite bedrooms, with a study, and a total of seven bathrooms.

Standout features include a gourmet kitchen with top-notch appliances, wide-plank Ash wood flooring and a natural gas supply.

Other selling points: A large covered outdoor kitchen, with a grill and a fireplace, two air-conditioned garages, a gas-heated saltwater pool and spa, and a generously sized, fenced rear yard.

Before the sellers hired Elite to do the auction, the property had been on the market with what they described as “no action” for 100 days.

The house hit the market in May, with a few price adjustments since then. It started at a high of $6.895 million.

It was last listed for $5,995,000.

Elite did not disclose the selling price.

Over the years, the company has auctioned off many mansions and high-end estates around the world, with a solid following, and an extensive database and reach.

Elite’s last offering in Naples, located at 605 Parkview Lane in Park Shore, sold a few days after the company announced an auction – for $4.985 million, or about $500,000 less than the asking price. Described as a stunning home, executed by an award-winning interior designer, it has three bedrooms, with three-and-a-half bathrooms, spanning 3,116 square feet.
That sale closed earlier this month.

The auction is designed to drum up more interest, especially in a cooling market, with more homes up for sale and competing for attention. On a map of listings on Zillow, listings are hard to spot, with so many others crowding it out in Southwest Florida.

With the auction, the home gets more attention, the company said, through Elite’s aggressive marketing strategy, reaching potential buyers who may have not noticed it otherwise. The auction creates a sense of urgency, while maintaining the current list price, Haddaway said.

“It all comes down to instilling a fear of loss. It comes down to having that time-certain sale,” he explained.

Elite has worked with a few high-profile sellers in Naples, making local and national headlines a few times. Those sellers included Mark Lye, a former golf pro and Golf Channel analyst, and Rocco Mediate, a six-time PGA tour winner.