Neighborhood Watch

SITTING ON SAN REMO ESTATES

Spanning the gap between mainland Sarasota and north Siesta Key, the quietly exclusive waterfront enclave of San Remo Estates boasts gleaming stucco houses, many of them redos of original homes dating back to the 1950s. Fashionably west of the Trail, San Remo is bounded on the west by Sarasota Bay and on the north by Siesta Drive, just in from Bay Drive and only a stone's throw from Osprey Avenue. Residents here are so content with their perfect location that the neighborhood is known for little turnover; in fact, just one home turned hands in the past year.

NUMBER OF SAN REMO ESTATES PROPERTIES: 69

AVERAGE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF PROPERTIES: 2,890 square feet

NUMBER OF SALES 3/2004-3/2005: 1

SALES PRICE FROM 3/2004-3/2005: $1.78 million

SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THAT HOME: 2,595 square feet

SAMPLE LISTING

This two-story Key West-style home on deep sailboat water at 1311 Tangier Way is listed for sale for $2.5 million. Built in 1998, the 7,664-square-foot home has three bedrooms, three baths, a gourmet kitchen, fireplace and game room. The listing agent is Karen Kunz of Michael Saunders & Company.

SAMPLE SALE

This three-bedroom home at 3656 San Remo Terrace sold in May 2004 for $1.78 million, after a list price of $1.79 million. Built in 1956 and recently updated, the 2,595-square-foot house has wonderful water views. Peter Jirak of Horizon Realty was the selling agent. Previous sale: August 1991, $390,000.

MLS statistics courtesy of Deborah Beacham of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. MLS records transactions and listings by members of the Sarasota Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

Top of the Market

Palazzo della Luna, a Tuscan estate spanning some of Casey Key's finest beachfront, topped real estate sales in March at $6.6 million. The recently completed 6,817-square-foot residence at 3601 Casey Key Road has six bedrooms and seven baths, hand-carved imported stone columns, stone archways and pecky cypress ceilings. Selling agent was Dorothy McKendry of Michael Saunders & Company; the listing agent was Deborah Beacham of Coldwell Banker.

Sales information provided by Kim Ogilvie of Michael Saunders & Company.

Link to the Links

Realtor Steve Abbe of Michael Saunders & Company does a lot of business on the golf course. As the former golf pro at both Tournament Players Club at Prestancia and The Oaks Club, Abbe is a natural resource for homebuyers seeking country club properties. "I am able to guide their home search, help their golf game and I can describe each and every one of Sarasota's courses right down to the last sand trap and water hazard," he says.

Abbe finds that in addition to fitting the house to the buyer, he can also fit the course to the player and the player to the club. "Say, for instance, my client typically scores in the 40s and has a single digit handicap," he explains. "He's a much different golfer and needs a different course and a different game than the couple who enjoys playing twice a week for social reasons. I can find the right place for both."

To prepare for his new real estate career, Abbe played every area golf course and visited every clubhouse for firsthand knowledge.

House For Sale, Comes With Lifestyle

Grab your toothbrush and move right in. This Longboat Key residence sits ready and waiting for the buyer who wants it all right now, right down to the 24-foot Sea Ray boat in the back yard. Located on deep sailboat water at 632 Ranger Lane in Country Club Shores, the 4,205-square-foot, four-bedroom, five-bath home is decorated with designer furnishings and accessories. The interior features marble floors, granite counters and a gourmet kitchen. The exterior has a 50-foot lap pool, spa, lanai with summer kitchen and lush tropical landscaping surrounding various outdoor seating areas and tranquil gardens.

"This is the perfect vacation home for those who want to start enjoying the ultimate Sarasota lifestyle this afternoon," explains listing agent Lenore Treiman of Michael Saunders & Company. "But this is also a beautiful residence for someone who wants to live here full-time." The home, complete with everything, is priced at $3.3 million.

Westward, Ho

Sarasota's own Sultan of Spec, Doug Martel, has taken his luxury home concept out west and dispatched Howard Firth of Robb & Stucky to head the design team. The result is an 8,200-square-foot lodge-style dream home built on the side of a mountain in Steamboat Springs, Colo. Adjacent to it are one of Colorado's top five golf courses, a stunning lake, ski lift and elk preserve.

The six-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bath house, priced at $7.5 million, is furnished in a style that's at once sophisticated and charmingly rustic. "We drew heavily from our inventory in Arizona and special-ordered everything else," explains Firth. "All of the custom work was created in our Sarasota Robb & Stucky workshops and then shipped out to Colorado in huge trucks. The house is turnkey furnished, right down to the window treatments and accessories. It would be ideal as a corporate retreat."

The Sky is the Limit

Sky Sotheby's International Realty, Sarasota's elite luxury residential real estate firm specializing in high-end waterfront, golf course and downtown properties, is experiencing an extensive office expansion. Located in Marina Tower, the company is tripling its presence on Gulfstream Avenue with luxurious new office space, state-of-the-art customer meeting rooms, a high-definition plasma display showing virtual tours of local and international exceptional properties and even a Starbucks coffee bar. The average Sky Sotheby's listing is priced at $1,218,776, more than double the average Sarasota list price of $535,760.

Here are two current sample Sky Sotheby's listings. One is a secluded five-acre-plus bayfront island, located just 10 minutes north of downtown Sarasota and west of U.S. 41, on the market for $5 million. The island offers a one-acre buildable lot with deepwater dockage and is behind the gates of exclusive Hawk's Harbor. In this prestigious neighborhood, developers have left more land undisturbed than is required by code, and the small enclave of 50 homes features architecture styles found in old Savannah and Charleston, imbuing this gracious neighborhood with the charm and natural beauty of Old Florida.

And in Sandy Hook on Siesta Key, a new 6,035-square-foot estate offers great Gulf views and a slice of architectural history. Its guesthouse is the restored historic Carousel House, designed by Sarasota School of Architecture pioneer Ralph Twitchell. The nearly one-acre property is offered at $5.9 million.