Disney’s exclusive Golden Oak community dominated the high end of Central Florida’s luxury home market in 2024, a record-setting year that saw more home sales of over $10 million than ever before.

Golden Oak accounted for five of the top ten home sales this year, according to GrowthSpotter. All five of those transactions involved homes within the sought-after Four Seasons Private Residences in Golden Oak, and four of the homes were located on the same street — Summer Meadow Way.

Homes in Golden Oak are considered part of the Disney World Resort, and some incorporate Disney themes in the construction. Residents get free annual passes to Disney World parks when they move into the community. Homeowners are also granted membership to Golden Oak Club, which includes multiple restaurants, a pool, and a gym.

The Four Seasons Private Residences, of which there are currently just 31, are an even higher-end product because residents also have access to the adjacent Four Seasons Resort, which offers amenities such as a golf course, a spa, a water park, restaurants, and private tennis lessons.

“There’s a lot of Disney fans and Four Seasons fans, and if you want to be in that neighborhood or be around those amenities, there is a pretty limited supply of what’s available. That’s what’s made [Golden Oak] so popular, and that’s why prices have appreciated so much,” said Rial Jones, President at Jones Clayton Construction.

Jones has built many homes in Golden Oak, including a 5,963-square-foot home at 10291 Summer Meadow Way. A buyer scooped up that home for $6.2 million shortly after construction wrapped up on the property in 2020. In September, the residence sold for $10.7 million, illustrating a trend of appreciating home prices in the luxury community.

“There are 300 houses there, and that’s a pretty small number since people from all around the world want to be in there,” Jones said.

Host Hotels and Resorts is currently building 40 additional Four Seasons Residences, but this expansion will only bring the total number of homes at Golden Oak to 340, which isn’t enough to match the demand.

According to Jones, the architectural style within Golden Oak also helps set it apart. The homes feature a traditional style with Disney flair.

“Golden Oak was developed and built with very strict architectural guidelines. It’s all traditional-based architecture. Those houses look as good today as they will 50 years from now. It’s not trendy architecture, and I think that makes a big difference,” he said.

“Most of our buyers want a touch of Disney. Some of them have been very elaborate and over the top, where we’ve recreated parts of a Magic Kingdom ride inside the house. Then there are other ones that want just a little nod to Disney,” he added.

The priciest home this year, located at 10242 Summer Meadow Way, has an entire Star Wars-themed media room with a television screen and life-sized replicas of characters such as Darth Vader and R2-D2. There are also two Disney-themed children’s bedrooms with designs inspired by Finding Nemo and Frozen.

Hilda Bacardi, granddaughter of the Bacardi rum founder Don Facundo Bacardi Massó, sold the house in September for $15.75 million. However, the buyer put the home back on the market about a month later. It was originally listed for $15.85 million but is now being marketed for $14.95 million by Ken Pozek of The Pozek Group.

“It is one of the largest properties on the market at over 9,000 square feet. It’s got three themed rooms but the rest of it is this classic Italian architecture on the exterior and the interior is very traditional,” Pozek said. “We lowered the price compared to what [the last buyer] bought it for. It’s currently priced right I think, based on the other sales that have happened in the Four Seasons.”

Just like Jones, Pozek pointed to limited inventory as the main reason why Golden Oak commands such high sales prices.

“There’s 5,000 homes in Windermere or whatever the number is, but only 300 in Golden Oak. Winter Park is incredible, but you can do a teardown there. You can create more inventory. You can do things there that you just can’t do in Golden Oak,” he explained.

Golden Oak is also a popular destination for out-of-state buyers or wealthy individuals looking for a vacation home or part-time residence. Pozek said that two of the six homes he sold in Golden Oak in 2024 were for part-time residents, which sets it apart from other affluent areas such as Winter Park.

John Pinel of the Premier Sotheby’s International Realty Winter Park office agrees.

“When you get down to Disney’s Golden Oak, the percentage of out-of-state buyers is going to go up. The Winter Park area is mainly a primary residence community, so there are more local buyers,” he said.

Pinel’s largest transaction of the year involved the $10.9 million sale of an 8,188-square-foot home at 181 Virginia Drive, which was one of two Winter Park properties to make 2024’s top ten home sales. The other three that aren’t in Golden Oak are in Bay Hill, Windermere, and Isleworth. All five of these homes have one thing in common — they are located on lakes.

Lakefront lots are a hot commodity in the Orlando market. There is growing demand for these properties, but there is only so much lakefront real estate to go around, which has pushed up prices considerably.

According to Pinel, there were eleven lakefront sales along the Winter Park chain of lakes under $3 million in 2020 and seven such sales in 2021. That number dropped to three in 2022 and just one last year. This year, there weren’t any.

Some buyers are also willing to shell out a fortune for vacant lakefront lots due to the limited supply. In October, an undisclosed buyer paid $15 million cash for a vacant lot in Isleworth with 1,000 feet of shoreline on the east side of Lake Bessie off of Champions Point Road.

High demand and limited supply for homes in Golden Oak and lakefront properties led the Orlando market to a record-setting year in 2024, with eleven home sales exceeding the $10 million mark. In comparison, only two homes sold for over $10 million in 2023.

The price tag of Central Florida’s most expensive properties may be eye-popping to the majority of people, but Pinel said that high-end homes in the Orlando area are a bargain compared to some other top markets, such as South Florida.

“The Central Florida luxury market is still relatively affordable when you compare it to say Palm Beach or Miami, or other high-end areas around the state. People around the country, when they’re retiring or selling their companies and wanting to move to Florida, they start by thinking they have some wealth, and then they look at Palm Beach, and they’re like, holy cow, we’re poor,” Pinel said with a laugh.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at (407) 607-8160 or TyWilliams@GrowthSpotter.com. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.