For the second year in a row, Lakewood Ranch has been recognized as one of the top 10 best-selling, master-planned communities in the country.

California-based John Burns Consulting and Maryland-based RCLCO ranked Lakewood Ranch as one of the top-selling master-planned communities in the United States.

Lakewood Ranch was ranked No. 8 in one survey and No. 9 in the other.

Rex Jensen, president and CEO of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Inc., the developer of Lakewood Ranch, credits the widely varied offerings of the community with its continued growth.

"With the success of our commercial properties, our Main Street shopping area, the Premier Sports Campus and Sarasota Polo Club, it's

clear that Lakewood Ranch continues to be the premier new-home destination on Florida's West Coast," Jensen said in a press release. "That is definitely translating into more visitors, which in turn means more sales."

There were 30,000 visits to the Ranch's information centers and models in 2012, and 573 new home sales, up from 391 in 2011 .

Also, in January of 2012, the newest apartment project (Lost Creek Apartments, with 272 units) began leasing and obtained 100 percent occupancy in just less than eight months. More than 2,000 people moved to Lakewood Ranch in 2012.

Jimmy Stewart, vice president of sales for LWR Communities, said new homes comprised 61 percent of sales in Lakewood Ranch in 2012. There are 238 homes in various stages of construction.

Only 1.39 percent of the existing 8,000 homes in Lakewood Ranch are for sale, creating a higher demand for new product, Stewart said.