Your Guide to Buying a Home in Marco Island, FL

Buying a Home in Marco Island, Florida

Marco Island is located in Collier County

Situated approximately 100 miles west of Miami and 180 miles south of Tampa, Marco is the largest and most northerly of the 10,000 islands. Just six miles long and four miles wide, Marco Island's climate is semi-tropical with an average year-round temperature of 74 degrees and an average annual rainfall of 49", which occurs - you guessed it - mainly in the summer and early fall.

With the exception of a few small industries, such as pineapple growing and clam canning, Marco remained pretty-much undeveloped until the early 1960s. In 1962 the Mackle Brothers, of Deltona Corporation, developed a master-plan which involved the construction of 91 miles of canals, complete with seawalls, to make Marco the beautiful waterside community it is today.

Currently the year-round population is around 14,000 and in season this explodes to around 35,000. Since it became incorporated as a City in 1999, real estate has been booming and the island is expected to be built-out sometime in the next 5-6 years.

Amenities include very nearly one hundred restaurants and several great shopping centers. But, surrounded as it is by the pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the tranquil backwaters of the 10,000 islands, it's the exceptional watersports, like the world-class sport fishing, which head the list of most popular activities on Marco Island. Closely followed, of course, by golf.

Don't let us forget the incredible wildlife (which includes many endangered species like the Bald Eagle and the Manatee), the beautiful five mile natural crescent beach, or the fact that Marco Island is also known as the gateway to the Florida Everglades. Just a short drive away, the Everglades National Park, which lies between Marco Island and Miami, covers 1.5 million acres and is the second largest park in the lower 48.