GREAT VALUE A like-new, custom-built estate home behind the gates of the Longboat Key Club for $1,195,000? Yes, and listing agent Sheldon Paley of Signature Sotheby’s International Realty calls it the steal of the century. “It’s an absolutely gorgeous house on the lake; it’s laid out beautifully, it looks like it came out of a magazine, and it’s kept that way,” Paley says. The lawn and trees are meticulously kept up, too, he says, and the lakeside setting provides a put-in for kayaks and canoes. The owners built the 4,000-square-foot, two-story, five-bedroom home at 3302 Sabal Cove Lane in 1996. The original list price was more than $2 million.

MARKET WATCH Two custom waterfront West of Trail properties, both listed by Maureen Horn of Prudential Palms Realty, are drawing tremendous interest. The first, at 904 Pomelo in Bungalow Hill, was built in the Mizner style in 2006, but, “Everyone thinks it’s an older house,” says Horn. “The details, the woodwork, stonework, ironwork—everything about it—when you open the door you know it’s solid.” An Interior Design Society showcase in 2006, it sits on Hudson Bayou with 3,000 square feet of outdoor entertaining space, a self-cleaning saltwater pool, dock, a lush lawn with shuffleboard court and a Viking professional outdoor kitchen “to die for,” says Horn. “Once you drive in the gates, you’re in Shangri-La.” It’s listed at $2,494,000.

And a mile or so to the south, in Paradise Shores, Horn’s listing at 1501 Mallard Lane “is all about the lot,” she says, with 200 feet of frontage on Sarasota Bay and “the biggest tree you have ever seen.” List price for the 33,000-square-foot lot plus house: $3.39 million.

Top of the Market

A four-bedroom, Gulf-front condominium at Vizcaya on Longboat Key sold for $2.7 million after an original list price of $3,995,000, making it the highest-priced sale in Sarasota County in February. The 3,895-square-foot end unit has spectacular water views from all living areas and an expansive Gulfside terrace and summer kitchen. Vizcaya is a beachfront enclave of just 31 luxury residences. Bruce Myer of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate was the listing agent; Michael Moulton of Michael Saunders & Company was the selling agent. Sales information provided by Kim Ogilvie of Michael Saunders & Company.

Greenreport

Glam gams.

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Neighborhoodwatch  

Around the block on St. Armands Circle. 

“John Ringling might have unwittingly created the model for ‘lifestyle centers’ when he developed St. Armands in 1926,” says Michelle Burke-Phillips of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. “Residents here appreciate a livable, walkable and workable community. They enjoy the great diversity of life by dining in world-class restaurants, shopping in prestigious stores and doing commerce in the many businesses without ever getting in their cars.” Burke-Phillips says property owners are very involved. They participated in the Canopy Project to plant royal palms and were active in the Save the Statues initiative. “They even asked permission to tax themselves to pay for these improvements, and the city was happy to oblige,” she says. This tax money also funded pedestrian-friendly medians and the free Jazz in the Park concert series.

Total number of property owners: 334 Total number of sales from 2/2008 to 2/2009: 12 Range of sale prices: $378,000 to $3.65 million Range of square footage: 1,035 to 4,675 square footage: 1,104 to 3,514

CORRECTION: The selling agent for 3513 Founders Club Drive in The Founders Club was Rob Fergusson of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. Tammy Garner of Michael Saunders & Company was the listing agent.

SAMPLE LISTING This three-bedroom, four-bath, designer-finished home at 36 S. Washington Drive is listed at $1.69 million by Gigi Silverberg of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. The Spanish Mediterranean-style residence is set on a double lot with a large private back yard and pool, yet is just two blocks from the heart of St. Armands Circle.

RECENT SALE A two-story home at 252 N. Washington Drive sold recently for $1.55 million after an original list price of $1,885,000. Built in 1954, the three-bedroom, three-bath bayfront home has beautiful water and city views. Glenn Callaghan of Re/Max Alliance Group was the listing and selling agent. Previous sales: $525,000 in August 1999, $445,000 in May 1997.

MLS statistics courtesy of Michelle Burke-Phillips of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. MLS records transactions and listings by members of the Sarasota Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.