How Tim Savage rose in Naples’ ultra-luxury home market

Naples Realtor Tim Savage is the current king of the area’s ultra-luxury real estate market. Not only does he represent Collier County’s two priciest listings, including a block-sized lot in Old Naples that went under contract last week, he was the Realtor behind last year’s record sale of an $85 million non-beachfront property purchased by Naples businessman David Hoffmann and his wife, Jerri. 

Savage’s $271 million listing for Gordon Pointe in Port Royal is under the national microscope, as a sale anywhere near the asking price would not just set a new Naples record but represent the highest-priced property ever sold in the U.S. His company, Gulf Coast International Properties, was also the listing agent for a Port Royal property that sold for $225 million last year. It stands as the most expensive residential sale in Naples and Florida history, and the second highest real estate transaction in the nation.  

Savage, who grew up in Naples, started selling real estate in 1998 with his dad before establishing Gulf Coast International Properties in 2009. The company has represented some of the city’s premier high-ticket properties. 

But none as scrutinized as Gordon Pointe, a three-home compound at 100 Bay Road in Port Royal’s Cutlass Cove area. Located on the neighborhood’s southernmost peninsula with Gordon Pass separating it from Keewaydin Island, the property spans 9 Naples Bay-to-Gulf acres, 722 feet of beachfront, a private 231-foot deep-water yacht basin and a 111-foot floating T-shaped dock. 

The property’s three residences, built between the 1980s and 2013, offer a total of 22,800 square feet under air and are likely teardowns; the $271 million listing doesn’t include photos of their interiors or exteriors. It’s been on the market since January. 

“It’s incredible, literally a once-in-a-lifetime property at the end of Naples,” said Savage. “You just don’t find a property like this, and you can’t build a yacht basin like this again in the state of Florida.” 

Interest has been “significant,” Savage said.   

“We have had offers on part of it. We’ve had inquiries on the whole property and the bay and beach lots. We’re getting in front of the right people.” 

The property, owned by the heirs of John and Rhodora Donahue, is listed three different ways and priced accordingly, he said. “We have a vision of selling it all. It only takes one special buyer to continue the legacy of the property by keeping it all together.”  

Depending on the selling price, Gordon Pointe could set the national record, which currently belongs to hedge fund manager and entrepreneur Ken Griffin, who paid $239.9 million for a 23,000-square-foot penthouse in Manhattan in January 2019. 

The second most expensive listing in Collier County also is represented by Savage and under contract. Located at 20 14th Ave. S. in Naples and listed at $89 million, the nearly 3-acre beachfront lot spans an entire city block bordered by Gulf Shore Boulevard South between 14th and 15th avenues south. It represents the last remaining beachfront block in the city. The buyer is a local resident from Chicago, said Savage, who did not disclose the pending purchase price. “He plans to build his own home. He lives down here and looked at it many times.” 

Known as “The Point,” the property consists of three older original structures, including a 4,822-square-foot home built in 1962, and is owned by Addison Fischer, according to county property records. Savage also fielded other offers. “All three would have been for developers,” he said. 

The listing also noted the property was maintained organically without pesticides for decades and is just a three-minute walk to Third Street South. 

Savage tends to represent high-net-worth buyers and sellers. He worked with the Hoffmanns for about four years before finding the 17,202-square-foot Port Royal bayfront estate at 575 Admiralty Parade W. last year. “It didn’t get to market,” he said. “They didn’t want to build and were very particular on what they wanted. We made offers that didn’t work. I walked into that property and knew who was going to buy it.” 

The $85 million sale was a record for a single-family residence until a Gulf Coast International Properties listing sold for $225 million just days later. That sale included three adjacent properties on Gordon Drive in Port Royal and was brokered by Michael McCumber of Waterfront Realty Group. 

“I think the properties we represent are honestly a reflection on the company we’ve built, the reputation we have, the quality and caliber of the people we have and the quality of our clients,” Savage said. “We also have results.” 

Naples’ third- and fourth-most-expensive listings include a nearly $60 million fully furnished builder home in Port Royal and a $50 million penthouse in the under-construction Rosewood Residences Naples condo building. The latter offers six bedrooms and eight total bathrooms in 9,673 square feet showcasing Gulf views.