Michael Davis, Research-Driven Real Estate Strategist
Michael Davis is a co-owner of Worthington Realty in Fort Myers, where he helps shape the direction of the company, leads market research, and builds the pages and tools that help Worthington’s agents take better care of homeowners.
Reporters and event organizers can also call the Worthington office at (239) 437-3334.
directionHelps shape where Worthington is headed, with his fellow owners and the team
researchMonthly reports for five cities and the region, built from Florida Gulf Coast MLS data
coachGallup®-Certified, and every Worthington agent takes the CliftonStrengths® assessment
serviceA nonprofit board, two United Way allocation teams, and leadership talks at FGCU and the SBDC
Michael helps Worthington’s agents give homeowners better guidance
As co-owner, Michael’s role has four parts.
Vision
Michael works with Susana, Brian Rodgers and the rest of the team on where Worthington is headed and what to build next. The market reports, community pages and tools have come together one piece at a time.
Market research
Each month Michael pulls MLS data for Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples and the region and turns it into the market reports on this site. A few measures were developed for these reports, like the Re-list Rate and Competitive Inventory.
Writing
Michael writes most of what is on this site, from the city and community pages to the guides for buyers, sellers and agents. The aim is clear, useful information that anyone can read for free.
Agent resources
Michael looks for better ways to help Worthington’s agents build careers on trust and on what they do best, from CliftonStrengths® to the guides, tools and market data they use with homeowners.
The methods behind every report are published on How We Get Our Numbers. Michael is a member of the National Association of REALTORS®.
Michael learned real estate by researching it
Michael went to school to be a teacher. He ended up in land development and co-founding a commercial real estate investment fund instead, and for about fourteen years his role was research and building the case for investors.
The project he is proudest of came after the crash, when the common view was that Southwest Florida had ten years of empty home sites to work through. Michael dug into IRS records of where people move and saw steady arrivals from the Miami area. That pointed to builders needing land much sooner than expected, which gave investors a reason to buy home sites while prices were still low. The surplus cleared much sooner than the ten-year estimate.
His approach is the same today: gather as much as he can, take time to think it through, and look for how the pieces connect.
A question about building a place where people love to work
Michael stepped away from investment real estate in 2021 and spent nearly two years reading everything he could get his hands on, close to 200 books. Raising money and chasing deals again held no interest for him.
Then one of his business partners asked a question that stuck: what if you built a place where people just love to work?
“That changed a lot of my mindset and lit a fire in me,” Michael says. In April 2023, Michael and his wife, Susana, became co-owners of Worthington Realty, a Southwest Florida brokerage since 1989. Building it meant learning to turn all of that reading into something useful for the team and the brand.
The goal is a brokerage where agents love to work and a company people respect. In a Gallup poll, only 17% of Americans rated real estate agents highly for honesty and ethics, and Worthington wants to play some small part in changing that. For Michael, real estate is the vehicle. The purpose is helping people live more authentic, successful lives: Worthington’s agents, the homeowners they serve, and the community they share.
How Michael’s CliftonStrengths® show up
Michael is a Gallup®-Certified Strengths Coach. Through his coaching practice, Strengths Worth Developing, he also works with business leaders outside real estate.
Michael’s Top 5 CliftonStrengths®
Every Worthington agent completes the assessment, Michael included. Here is what each of his top five tends to look like day to day.
- Strategic ThinkingIntellection®A deep thinkerMichael needs quiet time with a hard question. The ideas behind Worthington’s reports, tools and coaching usually start there.
- Strategic ThinkingInput®A wide readerLeadership, psychology, history, economics, philosophy. Michael collects ideas widely, and the best ones become something an agent or a homeowner can use.
- Relationship BuildingAdaptability®Steady when plans changeMarkets turn and plans fall through. Michael adjusts without fuss, which helps the people around him stay steady too.
- Relationship BuildingConnectedness®Sees how things connectAgents, homeowners and the community are tied together. When an agent guides one family well, Michael believes the good reaches beyond that sale.
- Strategic ThinkingLearner®Always learningMichael taught himself research, design and building websites. Every new question is a reason to learn something he did not know yesterday.
A reader and thinker who looks for how things fit together, then turns what he learns into something agents and homeowners can use. It is also why Michael is not client facing. His best thinking happens in a quiet office.
Gallup®, CliftonStrengths® and the 34 theme names are trademarks of Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved. Michael completed the assessment in July 2021. The descriptions above are Worthington’s own. They have not been approved by, and are not sanctioned or endorsed by, Gallup®.
Michael runs, reads and serves his community
A few specifics
- At WorthingtonCo-Owner and Head of Market Research
- CoachingGallup®-Certified Strengths Coach, Strengths Worth Developing
- SpeakingFGCU Alumni Association Leadership Academy, Florida SBDC
- Board memberChild Care of Southwest Florida
- VolunteersTwo allocation teams, United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades
- Member ofThe National Association of REALTORS®
Michael is a board member of Child Care of Southwest Florida and serves on two allocation teams for United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades, which review funding requests from local programs. Worthington is also the presenting sponsor of the Bell Tower Race Series.
Speaking is part of how he gives back. By his own description, Michael is comfortable behind a drum set, a keyboard or a camera, and not at all in front of a room. He speaks anyway, including at the Florida SBDC Summer Education Series and twice at the FGCU Alumni Association Leadership Academy, in the same room where he once sat in the audience.
Michael and Susana have three children, Stephanie, McKenna and Nicholas. Reading, learning, playing music and running fill much of his free time. Michael believes the biggest lives are built by people who spend more time doing what they do best, every day.
Contact Michael about Southwest Florida housing market data
Michael is glad to talk with reporters about the Southwest Florida housing market, and with groups looking for a speaker on leadership, building a brand, showing up in AI search, or what the local housing data is saying. Send a message and he will get back to you.
Or call the Worthington office at (239) 437-3334, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Worthington Realty, Inc., 8880 Gladiolus Drive, Suite 102, Fort Myers, FL 33908. Market reports use Florida Gulf Coast MLS data via Stellar MLS and are provided for general information. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Send Michael a message
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