Lakewood Ranch home sales climb to third in nation

With 622 sales on the books already, Lakewood Ranch has climbed into third place in the nation for mid-year 2017, Maryland-based real estate consulting firm RCLCO reports.

The 31,000-acre master-planned Lakewood Ranch community first appeared in the RCLCO rankings in 2012, when it ranked ninth in the nation in sales. Lakewood Ranch has been climbing the sales rankings ever since.

In 2016, Lakewood Ranch logged 775 sales to rank fourth in the nation and appears on track to surpass that sales record.

Lakewood Ranch’s 622 new home sales through the end of June 2017 is a 73 percent increase over midyear 2016 when 360 were sold.

Factors cited for Lakewood Ranch’s stellar sales record include “its unique amenities and opportunities for community engagement. With a 140-acre sports campus — one of the largest in the country — a community polo club, and a multitude of community clubs, Lakewood Ranch offers members of all generations the opportunity to engage and interact,” RCLCO said in its midyear report.

Laura Cole, vice president of marketing for LWR Communities, cited a myriad of complementary elements for the sales success, including vibrant shopping districts, unique sporting venues, a hospital and A-rated public schools.

Cole also cited access to I-75, Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, beaches and cultural offerings of Manatee and Sarasota counties.

Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Inc., developer of Lakewood Ranch, has set aside more than a third of the community’s 31,000 acres as green space and provided more than 150 miles of interconnected trails and sidewalks. Infrastructure, including roads and landscaping, is completed.

Buyers come from throughout Florida, including Tampa, Orlando and the east coast, as well as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois and the mid-Atlantic. People are also coming increasingly from Georgia and California, according to an SMR press release.

“Kids are following their parents to Lakewood Ranch because of quality of life,” Cole said. “Technology, and the proximity of four international airports for business use, helps make this move from highly congested metropolitan areas easier and more attractive. More people are doing it, and earlier in life than they used to. The 20-, 30-, and 40-year-olds want to be closer to their parents, and to the support structure of their kids’ grandparents. Our schools, medical facilities, sports and entertainment options, and location close to the beaches and cultural benefits allow them to experience a higher quality of life without sacrificing their big-city conveniences.”

Lakewood Ranch has 20 builders with about 70 models, and prices ranging from the high $100,000s to more than $5 million.

Lakewood Ranch Waterside, formerly called the Villages of Lakewood Ranch South, is the newest village at the Ranch, and opened its first models in June.

Planned at Waterside are 5,144 homes on 1,425 acres in the Sarasota County portion of Lakewood Ranch.

For more information on RCLCO, which has been ranking master-planned communities since 1994, visit www.rclco.com.

This story was originally published July 9, 2017 at 1:51 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch home sales climb to third in nation."