L'Ambiance sale makes Sarasota County history

L’Ambiance Penthouse M sold last week for $6.75 million — the highest price recorded for a condominium in Sarasota County history.

The same day the sale of the L’Ambiance unit was announced, Michael Saunders & Co. announced that a Country Club Shores home sold for $3.8 million — the highest-recorded amount paid in the neighborhood since 2006.

Cheryl Loeffler, of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, listed and sold Penthouse M, which went under contract just 19 days after it was listed. The names of the buyers were not immediately available through property records. The sellers were Michael and Joanne Masin, who paid $5.95 million for it in March 2005.

“They took it down to the studs. They went in and decided to truly optimize it,” said Loeffler, who said the unit has a new kitchen, lanai, doors, windows, flooring and exterior floors. “It was like a fine masterpiece painting. Of course, location continues to be paramount, but if something is this well done, it’s always going to be in demand.”

The 5,170-square-foot unit has four bedrooms, six-and-a-half bathrooms and 2,400 square feet of wraparound terraces.

In the Country Club Shores sale, the home at 596 Outrigger Lane, listed by Maureen Horn, of Michael Saunders & Co., went under contract within 74 days of its listing. Brad Tritschler, of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, represented the buyer.

Property records list the sellers as Gary and Sandy Clayton. The buyers’ names were not immediately available.

The bamboo-wood home was built in 2004 and has 5,496 square feet, five bedrooms, five-and-a-half bathrooms, a bonus room and office, according to Horn, who said there were actually two buyers who went under contract to buy it, but the first buyer opted for a condominium.

It last sold for $4.3 million in December 2006.

In the first four months of 2013, the Key has had at least five sales of more than $3 million. In contrast, just two sales on the island of $3 million or more were recorded in 2012, according to the Sarasota and Manatee county property appraisers’ websites.

“People who have been on the fence for the last three years at least have decided to jump in,” said Horn, noting she has sold all of her inventory priced above $1.5 million.

Last week, the Longboat Observer reported on the sale of two Gulfside homes on the Manatee County portion of the island for $5.7 million and $3.5 million.

In the larger of the two sales, Judy Kepecz-Hays, of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, sold the home at 6301 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Court Hoyle, of Exit Realty, represented the buyers.

Reid Murphy, of Developers Realty Inc., represented both the buyer and seller in the second sale. According to Murphy, the buyers of the property at 6021 Gulf of Mexico Drive plan to tear down the existing home and build a new one.

Additionally, two of the 11 units at the Infinity condominium planned for 4765 Gulf of Mexico Drive are under reservation, according to Amy Drake, director of Michael Saunders & Co.’s New Homes & Condominiums Division, which is handling sales of the condo.

Drake declined to discuss prices for the reserved units but said that demand has been “huge.”
Listed prices for the units, which range from 3,380 square feet to 5,456 square feet, range from $2,825,000 to $4.95 million.

At the higher end, demand is strong when a property has location, view and quality, according to Loeffler.
“The ordinary, or the properties that have not been updated, require a whole lot more effort,” she said.

Top 10
The top-10 sales recorded in 2013 on Longboat Key, according to Sarasota and Manatee county property records:
Price Neighborhood Address
1. $6.75 million L’Ambiance 435 L’Ambiance Drive, Penthouse M
2. $5.7 million Sleepy Lagoon 6301 GMD
3. $3.8 million Country Club Shores 596 Outrigger Lane
4. $3,565,000 Positano 4995 GMD, Unit 500
5. $3.5 million North Key, Gulf-front 6021 GMD
6. $2.8 million Water Club 1281 GMD, Penthouse 02
7. $2,725,000 North Key, Gulf-front 6453 Gulfside Road
8. $2.4 million North Key, Gulf-front 6505 Gulfside Road
9. $2.15 million Sleepy Lagoon 796 Marbury Lane
10. $1.85 million Country Club Shores 536 Outrigger Lane