NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

SANDERLING SECLUSION

Tucked away on south Siesta Key, the Sanderling Club is a gated, single-family neighborhood on the Gulf of Mexico and Heron Lagoon, with deep-water boat slips, tennis courts and beachfront clubhouse with private cabanas designed by the late, great architect Paul Rudolph. The tropical setting boasts award-winning contemporary residences alongside Old Florida ranch homes with pecky cypress paneling and original terrazzo floors. Sanderling especially appeals to homeowners seeking total privacy, beachy flavor and stellar water views.

Number of Sanderling Club properties: 59

Number of sales 1/2005-1/2006: 1

Sale price: $1.28 million

Square footage: 6,795

Number of properties on the market 2/2005: 10, priced from $1.2 million to $8.5 million.

Sample Listing

This five-bedroom, six-bath Old Florida home at 7660 Sanderling Road is on the market for $8.5 million. Built in 1957, it sits on two acres of Gulf-front and has a main house, guest house and brand-new studio. The listing agent is Shannon Schmidt of Brand Realty & Associates.

Sample Sale

This four-bedroom home at 7250 Pine Needle Road, set on one acre on Heron Lagoon, sold recently for $1.28 million after being listed at $1.5 million. It was built in 1955 and has pecky cypress walls, wood-burning fireplace and an open-air pool. Laura Brady was the selling agent; Brandyn Herbold was the listing agent; both are with Sky Sotheby's International Realty. Previous sale: $880,000 in May 2004.

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

A spectacular Mediterranean-styled mansion at 1394 Harbor Drive in Harbor Acres sold recently for $3.92 million, claiming top price in Sarasota real estate sales. The two-story, 5,400-square-foot home, originally listed for $4.7 million, has several verandahs overlooking a secluded sailboat cove and the open waters of Sarasota Bay. The gourmet kitchen is a cook's delight, with four ovens and four dishwashers. Elaborate crown moldings, glass doors and other lavish finishes are found throughout the home. Julia McClung of Michael Saunders & Company was the selling agent, and Patrick Ritchey of Re/Max Properties was the listing agent.

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

THE BIG HOUSE The highest-priced home in the history of Sarasota residential sales was recently listed for $20 million with Annette and Albert Ayers of Michael Saunders & Company. The 10-bedroom residence, on the exclusive "North End" of Casey Key at 712 N. Casey Key Road, is aptly described as the grandest of beachfront estates.

Built in 1999, this ultimate Gulf-to-bay compound sprawls across two private acres with water views from every room. There are more than 15,000 square feet of interior space; the total living area, including loggias and terraces, measures 27,000 square feet. The lavish master suite has his-and-her baths and closets plus a lovely sunset room. The fabulous gourmet kitchen has dual cooking centers with Viking four-burner and eight-burner stoves, two Sub-Zero refrigerators and freezers, three sinks, two dishwashers, two microwaves, two islands, walk-in pantry, computer desk, built-in television and atrium dining booth with seating for 12.

The house has a state-of-the-art home theater, fitness center, indoor lap pool, billiard room, poker room and wine room with walk-in cooler space for 2,500 bottles. Outdoor amenities include a resort-style pool and spa, competition Har-Tru tennis court, putting green, covered boathouse with boat lift and jet-ski lift, staff quarters and a 15-car garage.

"We have received a large number of calls regarding this property," reports Annette Ayers, "and every inquiry has come from a qualified buyer. Interested prospects include an international CEO, a Sarasota land baron, a gentleman from Europe, a Canadian couple and several businesspeople from the Northeast."

The owners, says Ayers, placed the residence on the market because they own several other homes and wish to spend more time at those other properties.

LIKE A TIGER January proved to be a record sales month for RSVP Associates of Bradenton, with $5.75 million in sales contracts and $2.2 million in new listings-all in the east Manatee community of Panther Ridge. The firm's specialty niche in this popular community is one of the secrets to its success, says CEO-broker Al Horrigan. The four-realtor full-service firm sold over 64 percent of all real estate transactions in Panther Ridge; Horrigan reports that if sales continue at this pace, they will soon exhaust their inventory. "Our niche is the end user, so we're not part of what we call the 'day-traders playground,'" he explains. "We're not marketing the kinds of residential properties that appeal to investors. As such, we're not experiencing the sluggish sales showing up in the headlines recently."

FLEA-ING THE SCENE When Barbara Dumbaugh listed a lovely 1926 home on Bay Shore Road that resembled a mini-Ringling estate, she was delighted at the flurry of interest from other real estate agents. But each time someone showed the property, Dumbaugh got a call from the agent. "They told me there were little black gnats or no-see-ums in the house, on the windowsills, the floors," says Dumbaugh. "I went over and made sure the windows were closed, and then I sprayed the house and thought the problem was solved."

Ultimately, a buyer became very interested and visited the home several times. The selling agent called in a panic and told Dumbaugh the bugs were worse. "I went back over there and when I walked in, my ankles were instantly covered in these things. They were fleas! The sellers had a puppy and I guess the fleas came in on the puppy and then took up residence in the empty house when the family left."

Dumbaugh assumed the buyers would walk away, but lo and behold, they offered, contingent on an exterminator. "The client called me and was laughing," says Dumbaugh. "She thought it absolutely hysterical that they were willing to pay over $1 million for this house despite the fact that she had accidentally transported a few of the pests home with her and actually given fleas to her dog."