Luxury home sales setting records in Manatee, Sarasota

MANATEE -- Even as one of the most active years for luxury residential real estate draws to a close, million-dollar homes in Manatee County are still selling at a quick clip.

During mid-November, five residential properties priced at more than $1 million sold in the county. Notable among them was one purchased by a Maryland neuropathologist and newspaper columnist and another by a local medical doctor.

The priciest transaction during the one-week mid-month stretch came when Mark and Susan Butt of Frederick, Md., purchased a one-third acre, Manatee River front property at 616 Regatta Way in The Inlets in Bradenton. According to county land records, the Butts paid $1.48 million on Nov. 19 to the seller, homebuilder Medallion Home of Bradenton. The couple owns Tox Path Specialists, a company that specializes in neuropathology evaluations. Mark Butt also authors a humorous column for the Frederick News-Post. He and his wife took out a $1.18 million mortgage to purchase their new property.

Just downriver in Palmetto, another waterfront home sold the day before for $1.45 million. John and Linda Bessey of Kamas, Utah purchased a 7-year-old, 4,700 square-foot home in the Riviera Dunes neighborhood at 106 12th Ave. E. for $1.45 million. The couple took out a $745,000 mortgage on the property.

The third-biggest sale of the week came on Nov. 20, when Dr. Barbara Bakas purchased at 6946 Westchester Circle in Lakewood Ranch. A physician with Suncoast Family Wellness in University Park, Bakas paid $1.25 million for the 5,154-square-foot home, according to records. She took out a $960,000 mortgage for the purchase.

Sales of homes costing more than $1 million in Manatee and Sarasota counties have already surpassed last year's total of 483, hitting 516 as of the start of December.

This story was originally published December 7, 2015 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Luxury home sales setting records in Manatee, Sarasota ."