Despite week-to-week drop, Key sales top '09 numbers

Real-estate recordings dropped from the year-to-date high of 23 recorded at the Sarasota and Manatee county courthouses on Longboat, Lido, St. Armands and Bird keys for the week of March 29 through April 2 (the final week before Easter) to 11 for the week of April 5 through April 9. Of the week’s 11 sales, seven took place on Longboat Key, two were recorded on St. Armands Key, and one each occurred on Lido Key and Bird Key. Just one of the seven Longboat Key sales took place on the northern, Manatee County side of the island, down from seven during the prior week.

Despite this week’s decline in sales, real-estate activity is significantly higher than it was for the same period a year ago. In 2009, the five-week reporting period of the whole month of March and first three days of April had 37 key transactions. During the same period of 2010, the keys saw 68 transactions. Last year, during the first full week of April, the keys had just four sales, none of which exceeded the $1 million mark. By comparison, three of this week’s 11 sales exceeded $1 million.

This upward trend was discussed in a recent Sarasota Association of Realtors (SAR) news release, which reported that the Sarasota market had 753 sales in March 2010 — 56% more than in March 2009 and the highest number since December 2005.

Promenade
In the week’s largest transaction, Paula Gaccione, of Plandome, N.Y., sold Unit 1002 at the 120-unit Promenade, 1211 Gulf of Mexico Drive, to Christa and William Kilgore Jr., of Bristol, Mass., for $1.4 million. Built in 1984, the 2,665-square-foot condominium has three bedrooms and four bathrooms. The unit last sold for $975,000 in April 2003.

The Pierre
Manal and Ghassan Saab, of Fenton, Mich., paid $1.2 million to August and Grace Moschitto, of Plainview, N.Y., for Unit 908 at the 66-unit The Pierre condominium, 455 Longboat Club Road, located behind the Islandside gates of the Longboat Key Club and Resort. The 2,780-square-foot condominium has three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms and was built in 1990. The unit last sold for $545,000 in January 1990.

Grand Bay IV
Kenneth and Debra Karlin, of Great Falls, Va., paid $1.05 million to Dixie Holdings LLC, a Tennessee limited-liability company, for Unit 494 at Grand Bay IV, 3010 Grand Bay Blvd., located behind the Harbourside gates of the Longboat Key Club and Resort. The condominium was built in 1999 with three bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms and 2,369 square feet of living space. The residence last sold for $1.3 million in May 2004.

Bay Isles
Tearikirangi Benioni paid $754,000 for the home at 3354 Bayou Gate in the Bay Isles Unit II subdivision to Arlene Glassover, of Sarasota. Built in 1989, the home has 2,999 square feet of air-conditioned space, three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and a swimming pool. The home last sold for $370,000 in December 1993.

Sea Gate Club
Robin and J. Paul Neuman, of Sudbury, Mass., sold Apartment 11-A at the 90-unit Sea Gate Club, 2425 Gulf of Mexico Drive, to Sherif Bishara, of Nashua, N.H., for $610,000. Built in 1973, the 1,513-square-foot residence has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The unit last sold for $190,000 in February
1986.

Bayport Beach & Tennis Club
At the 136-unit Bayport Beach & Tennis Club, located in the 3900 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive, James Stern, 700 John Ringling Blvd., sold Unit 816 in Building E at 816 Bayport Way to Richard and Alice Wegman, of Bethesda, Md., for $386,000. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium was built in 1981 and has 1,456 square feet of living area. The unit last sold for $178,000 in March 1993.

Whitney Beach condominium
In an intra-family transaction and the week’s lone Manatee County sale, David Wixon Pratt, of Pittsburgh, and Deborah Pratt Maloni and Martha Pratt Rachles, both of Plymouth, Mich., individually and as successor trustees of the Barbara Fisher Pratt Trust, sold the bayside Unit 103 at Whitney Beach condominiums to Raymond John Maloni II and Deborah Pratt Maloni, of Plymouth, for $275,000. The 1,350-square-foot apartment, at 6700 Gulf of Mexico Drive, has one bedroom and two bathrooms and was built in 1969. The unit last sold for $164,000 in June 1997.

Whitney Beach condominium has 103 bayside units and 36 Gulfside units.

Bird Key
Caroline Cruickshank, Alexander Cruickshank Jr. and Anne MacPhail, all of Kircaldy Fife, Scotland, sold the home at 419 Bird Key Drive to Oliver and Jeanette Barth, of Sarasota, for $839,000. The home was built in 2000 with 2,748 square feet of air-conditioned space, four bedrooms, three-and-a-half bathrooms and a swimming pool. It last sold for $830,000 in February 2003.

St. Armands Key
Kristie Bryan and Jean Olsen, both of 620 S. Blvd. of the Presidents, sold the home at 321 N. Blvd. of the Presidents, located in the St. Armands division of the John Ringling Estates, to Mark Flannagan, of Sarasota, for $740,000. The home was built in 1963 and has 1,384 square feet of living space, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a swimming pool. The home last sold for $247,500 in March 1995.

In a second sale in the St. Armands division of the John Ringling Estates, Sun Catcher LLC, a Florida limited-liability company with a post office address in Narragansett, R.I., bought the home at 230 N. Adams Drive for $585,000 from Dona Blake, 23 Polk Drive. Built in 1954, the home has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a swimming pool and 1,666 square feet of living area. The property last sold for $305,000 in April
2001.

Lido Ambassador
Richard and Maryanne Mendelsohn, of New York City, sold Unit 410 at Lido Ambassador, 800 Benjamin Franklin Drive, to John and Svetlana Drazek for $280,000. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium has 1,125 square feet of living space and was built in 1978. The residence last sold for $65,700 in October 1978.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].