Interest in $26.5 million home heating up

Longboat Key is known for its beaches, its golf courses, boating opportunities and its multimillion-dollar homes.

The town is also home to one of the biggest residential listings in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties, Serenissima, Italian for “The Most Serene.”

The $26.5 million, Venetian-style home, located across the street from the Longboat Key Club golf course, has been on the market since March 2017. But, there have been showings to both Americans and Europeans, all of whom have been screened to show they have the financial wherewithal.

“We’re not looking for tire kickers,” said Michael Moulton, the listing agent and a broker-associate with Michael Saunders & Co. on Longboat Key. “You have to qualify in advance.”

With season here, Moulton is encouraged that Serenissima could find a buyer.

“It’s one of the most beautifully detailed homes in my 35 years of selling real estate,” Moulton said.

Land value, location and today’s costs of reproducing the property all play a role in determining the home’s list price, he said.

The 19,300-square-foot mansion, owned by Mike and Michele McKey, was constructed in 2005. It features six bedrooms and six and a half baths on 1.18 acres of beachfront property and an infinity pool facing the gulf. It also has a 10-car garage underneath the living space and an elevator.

The first floor of Serenissima features living quarters, a chef’s kitchen, dining room, a 10-seat theater, sun room and a grand salon that can hold 100 guests. Up one flight on the marble stair case on the second floor are master suites, an office and a sitting room. On the third floor are guest rooms with adjoining bathrooms. Property taxes are $163,121.

Moulton said the owners are selling the house because they want to downsize.

“It’s a lot of room for two people,” he said.