A surge in home sales provided a surprise silver lining to the economic toil of the COVID-19 pandemic. A national analysis suggests Lakewood Ranch may have benefit more than any other community in America.

Real estate consulting firm RCLCO ranked Lakewood Ranch the best-seeling community in the U.S. in its 2021 mid-year survey. That came as Lakewood Ranch announced 1,535 new home sales secured in June alone, representing an 83% jump from the prior year. And Laura Cole, executive vice president of LWR Communities, noted last year wasn’t the poor year many feared when the coronavirus shut down most commerce last spring.

Cole in fact lists the pandemic as one of three major factors in the Ranch’s current success. “The pandemic influenced the market everywhere in the country,” she said. That caught even an optimistic lot like Realtors by surprise. But whether it was individuals finally deciding to buy that Florida home or millennials deciding remote work could be done from anywhere so why not paradise, there was an undeniable bump in sales.

Lakewood Ranch benefit from that especially as five new villages had recently opened last spring. That meant there was an inventory of homes waiting in a variety of price ranges at just the moment real estate surged. From townhomes selling for around $280,000, luxury homes in the $2 million and up range, and a variety of prices in between.

In the Ranch, luxury sales lifte by 57% year-over-year, the active adult market jumped 71%, and, entry buyers leapt 84%.

As for the future, Cole doesn’t expect the market for the remainder of 2021 to be quite as hot as the first half. That’s largely because builders have to limit the inventory the bring online. They have a backlog of customers interested, but supply costs have skyrocketed as demand rose. It may be a good problem to have for real estate professionals, but it inevitably means fewer sales each month.

On the bright side, it also means this market doesn’t look like it’s going to crash, lest this boom remind too many of the Great Recession.

“You always think lessons learned will apply to the next scenario, but what’s happened right now is so different from (the recession), which was really financially driven,” Cole said.

So where are these customers coming from? Lakewood Ranch continues to see an even divide of in-state and out-of-state buyers. The former come from Tampa or the East Coast with people fleeing cities for more open space. The out-of-towners come from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts, reliable markets. But an exodus from California also means more purchases here.

Also, the ranch suddenly has found buyers from Chicago. While there has always been interest, low home values there through the years scuttled many a purchase because, unlike New Yorkers, Chicagoans after the Great Recession could not unload their existing properties and still have the capital to buy a Florida dream home. Thanks to increased values nationwide, now they can. 

Photo of Mallory Park home

There are three important words in the tile industry right now: We have stock. Nearly every industry is facing supply shortages, increased freight expenses and long lead times, including the home improvement business. Design Works went to work over the past few weeks to secure all-important in-stock items that are either in our warehouses or stored locally by manufacturers and can be accessed near-immediately. And while some might think that in-stock can also mean boring, with over 40,000 product varieties in our showrooms, we can help accent an in-stock, tried-and-true flooring choice, with a backsplash, inset or flooring accent. 

Let’s start with the in-stock floor - an espresso colored porcelain flooring by Portobello called Adrock. Its dark hue is perfect for a kitchen when married with light colored cabinets and quartz counter tops. To enhance the basic, add a pop of interest. We recommend accenting the floor using a smaller 8x8 porcelain tile with a wood-inspired look by Stones & More called Artwood. You can inset a small accent area, use under the kitchen table, place up the walls of the island, or use it as a backsplash. As you begin your home improvement project, be sure to consider retailers like us who offer in-stock merchandise, but also offer ways to accent your project. Visit the Sarasota Design Works showroom or contact us to start your design.  

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Scrambling to get the kids ready for school, packing lunches and picking out outfits can lead to a chaotic mess you simply do not have time to manage while heading out the door. With such chaos comes clutter, and with clutter comes Your Space Better - Sarasota Professional Organizers to swoop in and save the day, offering hands-on help for those who just don’t want to do the dirty work. From decluttering to unpacking, downsizing to editing and reconfiguring, Your Space Better is a custom home organizing service that improves the functionality and beauty of your personal space.

Owner and queen of all things organization, Luisa Castano says her expertise and passion sparked at an early age right here in the circus capital of the world. While living in RVs and traveling with her dad who worked for the Ringling Circus, she learned the non-negotiable importance of a tidy space, especially when in close quarters. “A little unknown fact: circus workers are experts at making the most out of every space in their home and creating systems to maintain order,” says Castano. “They were the original minimalist way before the big movement, even before Marie Kondo, or The Home Edit.”

Many of us may not like to admit it, but it’s nice to have a helping hand when it comes to not just cleaning your space, but maintaining it. With each home comes a unique lifestyle and prioritization that is taken into account when customizing an organization system. “An empty nester who loves fashion, reading and spoiling her fur babies is going to organize her closet differently than a mom who spends the weekends boating and fishing with her family,” says Castano.

Creative and resourceful, Your Space Better professionals will come in to improve the functionality of your space using storage, shelving, and labeling techniques—making early morning closet browsing or working from home that much more effortless.

Your Space Better, sarasotaprofessionalorganizers.com, 941-702-4880, YourSpaceBetter@gmail.com, @yourspacebetter for inquiries about chaos and clutter-free consulting. 

Photo Courtesy of Your Space Better

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County through the James Franklin Warnell & Dorothy J. Warnell Fund and the Edward K. Roberts Fund recently awarded Forty Carrots Family Center a $20,000 grant to offer and expand mental health care assistance to local families and children.

Michelle Kapreilian, Forty Carrots CEO states “Forty Carrots Family Center remains committed to the mental wellness of families and children. The pandemic has significantly increased the need for access to quality services, particularly for those without financial resources. We know addressing a child’s mental health concerns now means lowering the risk of long-term chronic mental health challenges for a lifetime. We are most grateful to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County for their unwavering support of mental health services for all.”

For more information, visit www.CFSarasota.org or call (941) 955-3000.  

Pictured: Forty Carrots Family Center Child & Family Therapy Building

Merryl Koven with SaraBay Real Estate has earned the nationally recognized Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA) certification. 

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The Kathy Damewood Team of RE/MAX Alliance Group was recently recognized in the 2021 “The Thousand” list by REALTrends + Tom Ferry. Only .07% of the 1.4 million Realtors in the United States make up “The Thousand.”  

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Broker-Associate Carey Beychok of RE/MAX Alliance Group was recently recognized in the 2021 “America’s Best Real Estate Professionals” rankings by REALTrends + Tom Ferry.  

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Longtime Bradenton resident Alisa J. Westberry has joined Caldwell Trust Company as assistant trust officer, working from the company’s Sarasota office at 1561 Main Street, according to R. G. “Kelly” Caldwell, CEO/president. 

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Sea & Shoreline announced the commencement of two new aquatic restoration projects in Florida in Lake Istokpoga and St. Andrew Bay. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission awarded both projects to the veteran organization with proven success in cultivating, installing, protecting, and maintaining seagrass and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). The company hopes to bring forth long term results for the restoration of these water bodies, ensuring both marine life and aquatic ecosystems will flourish. 

Around environmental sensitivities facing our local coast, Selby Gardens and The Bay see these future challenges as innovative opportunities. 

Click here to read the full article in SRQ's July/August 2021 edition.