Longboat Key condo sells for $3.03 million

Michigan buyer pays one of highest recent prices

LONGBOAT KEY -- A 3,900-square-foot Longboat Key condominium has notched one of the highest prices paid in recent years for a condo in Manatee County.

On Feb. 25, James and Sandra Kay Dixon sold their condo in the Positano Longboat Key development for $3.03 million, according to Manatee County property records. The most recent condo sale approaching that price in Manatee County was in December 2013, when an Anna Maria Island condo in the Le Marais Sud building sold for $2.62 million.

The buyer in the transaction was Sigeva Holdings, a Michigan company controlled by Siegfried Schulte. Schulte is also the chairman and founder of Hi-Tech Mold & Engineering, a plastics company with locations in Michigan and Tennessee.

Dennis Kotaska, a real estate agent with ReMax Alliance, who listed the property at 4955 Gulf of Mexico Drive, said the overall transaction was larger than recorded in public record. The Dixons sold the 8-year-old condo fully furnished, which pushed the selling price to $3.5 million.

Even at that number, the Dixons do not recoup their original investment. They bought the condo in December 2006 for more than $3.7 million, according to records.

The property was originally listed at $4.2 million. It was on the market 84 days.

For the purchase price, the buyer acquires a first-floor, 3,123-square-foot unit with a 1,500-square-foot lanai, a pool and garage. The condo is part of a five-building, 29-unit condo complex on 10 acres along the Gulf of Mexico. The property boasts nearly 750 feet of beachfront.

Kotaska, who largely works out of Lakewood Ranch, said the listing generated a number of showings and a relatively quick sale.

"It showed very nicely," he said. "It's one of the top condos I've seen on this coast."

Developers Realty of Sarasota represented the buyer in the transaction, according to Realtor.com.

The sale comes in an increasingly active condo market recovering behind single family home sales. The median price of condos and townhomes in Manatee County have climbed steadily over the past five years, peaking at a little more than $168,000 in December, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

Condo prices for high-end units have been even higher just south of the county line on Longboat Key. In April, a 4,800-square-foot La Firenza condo at 4125 Gulf of Mexico Drive sold for $4.2 million.

Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027, or on Twitter@MattAtBradenton.

This story was originally published March 4, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Longboat Key condo sells for $3.03 million ."