Why $30 million listings have come to our area, and why they're here to stay

Browsing real estate listings on the barrier islands these days can seem a lot like watching an episode of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles.

There is a $25 million house on the market on Longboat Key one day and a $24.5 million house on Lido Key the next. Then, when you think you’ve seen them all, a $31.5 million listing pops up in Siesta Key. Meanwhile, there are headlines about a condo selling for $21 million on Longboat to a couple from Taylor Swift’s hometown. (That $31.5 million Siesta Key listing, on Midnight Pass Road, is the newest entry, having been listed by Coldwell Banker agent Roger Pettingell Feb. 19.)

And then there are the amenities: Infinity pools, Viking ranges, wine cellars, private beaches. The lists go on. Sometimes it feels as if the only difference between us and Beverly Hills are mountain views.

And you wouldn’t be wrong to feel that way.

The luxury real estate market on the barrier islands off Sarasota-Manatee is seeing a growing number of listings starting at $10 million and topping out at or above the $20 million for some highly unique properties. As recently as 2020, a $10 million listing was a rare sight. But in late February, Realtor.com showed 24 houses listed for more than $10 million on the barrier islands. Five condos topped the price point as well.

On the move

In one sense, $10 million listings aren’t necessarily surprising, says Sarasota luxury real estate broker Steve Walter of Michael Saunders & Co.

While there has been an increase in the number of listings over $10 million, Walter, of MS&C’s Walter Group, says it is more the result of housing prices going up naturally, just as they have in neighborhoods across the area — and the rest of Florida. Just to give you an idea of how the market has changed, the median house price in Sarasota County has risen from $289,798 in 2019 to $505,000 in 2024 — up 74.2%, according to data from the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. In Manatee County, the median house price is up 58.1%, from $316,000 in 2019 to $499,875 in 2024.

So, the house that would have sold for $8 million just two years ago has simply gotten more expensive. And the reality is that the minimum entry point for a house on the beach nowadays is $10 million.

“Are there more listings on the beach? Well, I don't know. Maybe yes. Maybe no. Are there more over $10 million?” Walter asks. “The answer is absolutely yes because 100% of them are over $10 million, not just 50% or 60% like they had been.”

As for the houses in the $20 million and up range, one can’t just attribute the higher price points to market factors.

New construction in the area, whether it be units at The Residences at The St. Regis Longboat Key Resort or standalone homes, have been built with a focus on premium features and amenities — expansive gulf views, resort-like living experiences, elaborate pools and water features. Some properties even have private putting greens and deep-water docks.

These homes, naturally, are catering to wealthy buyers who want something special.

At 5861 Gulf of Mexico Drive on Longboat Key, for example, a nearly 2-year-old house on the market for $20.99 million sits behind an 8-foot entry gate made of solid concrete and Brazilian hardwood. The listing says past the gate there are two “accessory buildings” with garage space for five vehicles and an elevator lobby. The main house has 70 feet of glass facing the gulf and a hand-crafted wine cellar.

“You're seeing a lot of wealth coming to Sarasota,” says Adnan Dedic, a real estate advisor specializing in luxury properties for Compass. He is listing a 13,035-square-foot home under construction at 3990 Higel Ave. on Siesta Key priced at $29.99 million.

“You have a lot of tech CEOs. You have a lot of hedge fund managers,” he says. “You have owners of big, huge corporations. They all live within Sarasota.”

Dedic says the nearly $30 million price for his listing is a relatively new phenomenon in the area and historically more in line with the Naples market, where a $10 million price tag can sometimes feel ho hum. Naples, after all, is where in late February six properties were actively listed on the market for more than $60 million. That list includes one for $175 million and a compound, whose price was recently reduced 28%, to $210 million.

Just right

Some buyers who may have been attracted to the Naples market are shifting their attention north now because there are more opportunities to work with and a dollar goes farther when purchasing a home, several local luxury brokers say.

There are also buyers over the past couple of years looking at the area from Miami, which has been overbuilt, and California. The weather is similar, but the area is far less expensive in comparison. And, for those from out of state, Florida, of course, has no income tax.

(As for concerns about hurricanes, brokers say these buyers more often than not own more than one home and can jet off as storms approach. Some have even forsaken property and flood insurance because of the high cost, choosing instead to self insure.)

The reason this area is so attractive to these types of buyers, the thinking goes, is that the Sarasota market is the only one of the state’s west coast cities that offers both beach life and actual city life. Naples has beaches, but it doesn’t have the city life Sarasota has. Tampa is a major city, but it doesn’t have the close-by beaches. And St. Petersburg has a little of each, but not to the level of the other localities.

In other words, $10 million along the keys in Sarasota gets you a lot more than in Naples and elsewhere, says Dedic.

“I think that's kind of what happened. Sarasota has been underneath the radar for quite some time, and I think Covid obviously projected that, and once it did, people started realizing that Sarasota is the place to be and is probably the best, one of the best, cities in the country to live in because you can’t match what we have,” he says of what helps drive prices for these types of homes up.

“You have the beautiful beach. You have the downtown lifestyle. You have the arts culture,” he says. “You have the entertainment culture. You have everything all bundled in one, and it’s kind of all coming on the radar now.”

Sand dollars

But it’s not just about the buyers driving the phenomenon. Sellers — and their brokers — see the interest and are naturally looking to capitalize.

Property owners, both of the newer houses and some who have owned them for years, see an opportunity and are pricing their properties high. Yes, there are market reasons for that, but views, architecture and big square footage mean a premium can be charged if the right deep-pocketed buyer can be found.

And if one can’t, there is a practical reason for high listing prices: bargaining room.

“You're talking 5,000 to 10,000 square feet of an actual house, multiple levels, and they want to give room for negotiation,” says Jeffrey Aumiller of the Gulf Coast REGroup. “So, you know, list it for $21 million and sell it for $18 million. There’s several million dollars’ worth of room for negotiation there.”

But in the end, as those familiar with real estate know all too well, it’s an industry of booms and busts, ups and downs. That’s especially true in Florida. Which raises questions about whether the current local luxury market is sustainable, and can these prices hold?

Realtors, who are by nature an optimistic bunch, say these are different types of homes with different types of buyers, so the market and prices should stay relatively strong.

And, who knows, in this case there may be room for optimism. Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles has been on the air for 15 seasons, after all.

“I think it’s part of the reason the prices are what they are is because they’re so unique, you can’t find this anywhere else,” Aumiller says of the properties on the barrier islands. “In a lot of these, you can walk out your back door and in 15 feet you’re on your own private beach.”