Price of Paradise

In 2005, blockbuster sales dominated Longboat Key’s real-estate news. During the first four weeks of the normally slow month of September, Longboat Key had at least 43 sales, with nearly half — 20 — going for $1 million or more. In the Oct. 20, 2005, issue, The Longboat Observer examined how far money could go on the island by featuring Longboat Key’s highest-priced listing and lowest-priced listing, according to the Sarasota Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

The price of paradise? Back then, buyers could get the key to Longboat for $225,000, with the lowest-priced listing at 44 Twin Shores Blvd. in the 107-unit Twin Shores mobile-home park. At the high end, $13.85 million would take you behind the gates of the Longboat Key Club and Resort’s Islandside gates to the eight-home Regent Place, aka “Millionaire’s Row,” where an eight-bedroom, nine-bathroom home was the island’s most expensive listing.

Five years later, in the midst of a cooler real-estate climate, we’ve returned to the question of how far money can take you on Longboat Key by searching the MLS for the island’s highest and lowest current single-family home and condominium listings.

HIGHEST PRICE: SINGLE FAMILY HOME
825 Longboat Club Road, $17.5 million
THE STATS
Original listing price: $17.5 million, in September 2010
Built: 2002
Last sold: $2.05 million in 1994, pre-home construction
Bedrooms: Five
Bathrooms: Seven
Square footage: 11,961
Price per square foot: $1,488
Listed by: Reid Murphy, Developers Realty Inc.

An economic downturn isn’t dampening interest in the high end of Longboat Key real estate. In the two weeks since Reid Murphy, of Developers Realty Inc., listed the home at 825 Longboat Club Road for $17.5 million, he has received a flurry of inquiries and has shown the house to three people, two who were local.

Murphy says the uniqueness of the home begins with its address, Regent Court, where just eight mansions overlook the Gulf of Mexico. It’s no surprise that the neighborhood was also home to the highest listing price five years ago. (The $13.85 million listing at 809 Longboat Club Road changed ownership in a non-sale transfer in 2007, according to the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s website, sarasotaproperty.net, and is no longer listed on the MLS.) The home has glass and mahogany double doors that open to a grand, custom staircase. The home has a reverse floor plan, with the master living quarters located on the second floor, along with four guest suites, a chef’s kitchen and adjoining catering kitchen and pantry and infinity pool that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico.

“I am privileged to be able to present the finest Longboat Key offering,” Murphy said. “And the interest has been very exciting.”

LOWEST PRICE: SINGLE-FAMILY HOME
44 Twin Shores Blvd., $99,900
THE STATS
Original listing price: $169,000, in February 2008
Bedrooms: Two
Bathrooms: One-and-a-half
Square footage: 880
Price per square foot: $114
Built: 1969
Listed by: Catherine Wilkes, Horizon Realty International

Five years ago, the lowest-priced single-family home on Longboat Key was the mobile home at 44 Twin Shores Blvd., priced at $225,000. Today, the home is still the lowest-priced single-family home on Longboat Key, but, now, it is listed for $99,900. The home sold for $225,000 in December 2005 and went back on the market in 2008. It spent two years on the market at $169,000, then listing agent Catherine Wilkes, of Horizon Realty International, dropped the price down to $99,900 in a short-sale transaction.
She currently has a buyer lined up at the current price and is waiting on the bank to approve the transaction.

“Part of the problem is that many lenders don’t want to loan on a mobile home,” she said. “And because we haven’t had any comparable offers, it’s very difficult to get an appraisal.”

Wilkes describes the 107-unit Twin Shores community in which the home is located as “a very friendly, over-55 community.” Amenities include deeded beach access with a private cabana, along with a marina.

HIGHEST PRICE: CONDOMINIUM
Positano, 4995 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Unit 500, $3.95 million
THE STATS
Original listing price: $3.95 million, in March 2010
Last sold: $3.95 million, in June 2007
Bedrooms: Three
Bathrooms: Three-and-a-half
Square footage: 3,343
Price per square foot: $1,182
Built: 2007
Listed by: Lee Rugh, Michael Saunders & Co. Longboat Key South office

Nestled in the three-year-old, 29-unit boutique community of Positano is the Villa Capri residence, and it’s known as “la crème de la crème” in an already exclusive community.

“It’s a villa on the ground level with a larger terrace that has the ability to have its own swimming pool,” said listing agent Lee Rugh, of Michael Saunders & Co.’s Longboat Key South office. “Plus, it’s located in Building 5, which is closest to the beach.”

In addition to its three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, the unit has a den/office area and gourmet kitchen.

LOWEST PRICE: CONDOMINIUM
The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, Unit 228, $90,000
THE STATS
Bedrooms: Two
Bathrooms: Two
Square footage: 1,158
Price per square foot: $78
Built: 1973
Listed by: Barrier Island Realty Group

What’s next for The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort? That’s anyone’s guess. In August, Tampa Bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May ruled to convert the historic resort’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization into a Chapter 7 liquidation, giving complete control of units to the unit owners. The ruling marked the end of the condominium-hotel partnership formed by longtime Colony CEO/Chairman Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber and unit owners. And, according to a Sept. 7 report from Karins Engineering Group Inc., it could cost up to $600,500 to restore units to condition for occupation this season. But one thing is clear: Units are currently available for a bargain. The lowest-priced listing is on the market for $90,000, and two additional units are listed for less than $100,000.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].