Neighborhood Watch

LAKEWOOD RANCH

Lovely lakes, emerald vistas and golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer lure homebuyers east to the Country Club at Lakewood Ranch. The gated community is comprised of neighborhoods built around 54 holes of golf: 18 at the public Legacy Golf Club and 36 at the private Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club, where a handsome clubhouse offers dining, swimming, an athletic center and party rooms. Residences range from condominiums to detached single-family homes with maintenance-free lawn service to grand estates. Bicyclists, joggers and nature lovers enjoy miles of sidewalks and trails. Nearby, the new Main Street shopping district has specialty boutiques, a barbershop, fine restaurants and a gourmet market.

Number of Country Club at Lakewood Ranch properties: 1,924

Number of sales 6/2005 to 6/2006: 89 (not including builder sales)

Range of sales price 6/2005 to 6/2006: $322,000 to $2,995,000

Average sales price: $1,658,500

Square footage: 1,559 to 7,856

Sample Listing

A new Spanish Mediterranean residence at 7527 Mizner Reserve Court is for sale at $1,089,000. The three-bedroom home, an expanded version of the popular San Michele model by Gibraltar Homes, offers dozens of luxury upgrades and finishes. An outdoor kitchen and dining area overlook a large pool and spa to southern views of a lake and the third fairway. Shirley and Sherwin Taradash of Michael Saunders & Company are the listing agents.

Recent Sale

A 5,639-square-foot, five-bedroom home at 13206 Palmers Creek Terrace sold recently for $2.65 million after an original list price of $2,999,995. Hand-carved mahogany front doors open to an elegant interior with marble and stone floors, French doors, a formal dining room and private walled garden off the master bath. Outdoors are a pool and spa, lavish summer kitchen and outdoor fireplace. Maria Boka was the sales agent; Jill Friedman and Kevin Vale were the listing agents. All are with Coldwell Banker.

MLS statistics courtesy of Sherwin Taradash of Michael Saunders & Company. MLS records transactions and listings by members of the Sarasota Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

Top of the Market

An 11,000-square-foot Gulf-to-bay estate at 1804 Casey Key Road tops the market this month with a sale price of $9 million, after an original list price of $12 million. The four-bedroom, five-bath home has extraordinary views across a vanishing-edge pool and spa, elaborate fountains and waterfalls, private boardwalk, beach cabana and a dock with the capacity to berth a 50-foot yacht. Included are an outstanding master suite, true gourmet kitchen, home theater and wine cellar. Outdoor entertaining areas offer a superbly outfitted summer kitchen adjoining multiple-level terraces and ample space for an automobile collection within the seven-car garage. Gail Wittig was the sales agent; Annette and Albert Ayers were the listing agents. All are with Michael Saunders & Company.

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

HOMES WITH HISTORY Two luxury listings with a past are attracting attention in south Sarasota County. The first, a 23,000-square-foot Italian-themed estate on 100 acres at 600 N. Jackson Road in Venice, is for sale at $17 million. Formerly a working thoroughbred ranch, the house sat unfinished for 30 years until a local dentist bough the place and completed its construction. Today the estate encompasses a gym, tennis court, pool, full equestrian center with 22 stalls and 10 paddocks, a five-furlong oval racetrack and two ponds.

The home has limestone, onyx and slate finishes with Venetian-plastered walls and ceilings. There are five bedrooms, seven full baths and four half-baths, a kitchen equipped for a professional chef, and a home theater with stadium seating and a cinebar/concession room. Carol and Paul Clark of Sky Sotheby’s have the listing.

Not far away, at 423 Bayview Parkway in Nokomis, is Sorriso del Sol, a 5,700-square-foot Tuscan estate with sweeping waterfront views from the balconies. The home, built in 2004, sits on a half-acre and has five bedrooms and five and a half baths. A stunning exterior painted in traditional yellow with accents of magenta, orange and green highlights architectural details and elaborate loggias and terraces. Inside, dark mustard tones and lovely faux painting enhance the custom furnishings. Custom columns, cabinetry, glass, stone and metalwork by artisans were inspired by historical homes of Italy and John Ringling’s own Cà d’Zan. The estate, offered for sale at $4.75 million, is listed with Craig and Matthew Lewis of Sky Sotheby’s International Realty.

Baseball Hall of Famer Early Wynn originally owned a home on the property. Wynn pitched for the Washington Senators, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox and received the 1959 Cy Young award. Wynn won an even 300 games during his 23 seasons and pitched 49 shut-out games. He died in Venice on April 4, 1999, at the age of 79.

SETTING THE RECORD A Silver Oak residence in Palmer Ranch closed at $2.4 million recently, earning top spot as the highest-priced home sold in Palmer Ranch this year and breaking the record for highest price per square foot on a Palmer Ranch resale to date. The home, located at 5262 Celedon Court, features 4,900 square feet of living space. At a sales price of $2.4 million, the price per square foot comes to $490. Previously, the highest price for a Palmer Ranch property was $3 million for a 12,000-square-foot home, or $250 per square foot. Michael and Cynthia Bowers of Prudential Palms Realty acted as listing and selling agents.

PONEY POWER Mark P. Riley knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. The Mark P. Riley Luxury Real Estate Group was featured recently on ESPN2 in all U.S. markets and in 12 different languages in 203 countries. The program spotlighted the Triple Crown of Polo, or TCP, held last spring at the Sarasota Polo Club. The TCP is the first multi-market tournament series in the sport’s history and provides sponsors a unique opportunity to reach the loyal fans of world-class polo competition. Riley was selected as the luxury home consultant to the polo players and patrons because of his reputation for selling unique estates. Riley visited key places to dine and enjoy in the Sarasota area while being filmed by ESPN2 camera crews.

BRANCHING OUT In response to significant client demand and market needs, Sky Sotheby’s International Realty has launched two new business divisions and opened two new locations for its luxury real estate brokerage firm. A New Homes division will be headed by company CEO Brandyn Herbold, while the Commercial Real Estate Division will be led by company president Chad Roffers. The company’s first venture into the new-homes market is Valencia, a Paradise Communities development of 24 condominium residences in the Burns Square area with starting prices in the $900,000s. Sky Sotheby’s new offices are located at Blackburn Point Road in Osprey and Gulf of Mexico Drive on Longboat Key. These locations were selected to better serve current and prospective clients showing consistent high interest in properties on Longboat Key and Casey Key.

WHEN PIGS FLY When real estate agent Nancy Kellaway of Exit Realty Gulfcoast received a telephone call from an elderly man who had recently lost his wife and wished to sell their house, she hurried over to help. He guided her through the property with painstaking thoroughness, pointing out each and every improvement and update. Kellaway did a market analysis on the spot and was then led outside to meet the gentleman’s pets.

“There was this tiny baby pig in the garage, oinking away, and suddenly a huge fat pig came around the corner toward me,” Kellaway says. “I really don’t know anything about pigs, and I was scared to death.” Kellaway’s client assured her that both Mama and baby were harmless and explained that his late wife had loved the pot-bellied pigs and had made him promise to take care of them.

“Then after everything is finalized and I’ve filled out all of the listing sheets and he has given me every bit of info on the house, he casually mentions that he will not be selling until the big pig dies,” says Kellaway. “He refuses to move the big pig to a new place because the stress will traumatize her, and he can’t sell her off because he promised his wife. He tells me we must wait until she dies. So I call him every now and then to see how the pig is faring. I don’t know if my client realizes that this pig could easily outlive her owner.”