About Sarasota County, FL

Strong property sales in the Sarasota market in October continued to show a market in recovery with sales 36% higher than October 2008. Click HERE to read the full report from the Sarasota Association Of Realtors.

Click Here To Read The Latest Sarasota Market Report

Now a defining landmark in Sarasota Bay's city line, the Grand Riviera offers everything that the most refined thirteen residents could ever conceptualize. From the views of Sarasota's sapphire blue waters, to Marina Jack and Island Park, and an unrivaled location, Grand Riviera is perhaps Sarasota's most distinctive address.

This 13-unit $30 million Grand Riviera project offers two 2,860 square foot townhouse units, 8 residences with just under 4000 sf and the ultimate 5,213 and 5,582 square foot penthouses. Prices range from $2.5 million to almost $6 million. Perhaps the greatest amenities are the expansive waterfront terraces and balconies and the private boat docks for most residences.

No detail was spared in designing and building each of the residences, reminiscent of the unique style originally conveyed by Sarasota's opulent and cultured John and Mable Ringling. All residences offer exquisitely refined architectural detailing, divine kitchens, luxurious master suites, and almost all include unique rooms not often designed such as grand salons, media rooms and art galleries. In the heart of downtown, yet secluded at the southern most tip of Golden Gate Point, Grand Riviera is nestled in the middle of the Ritz Carlton, St. Armand's Circle offering unbridled shopping and cuisine, downtown's infamous museums and theaters and Lido and Longboat Beach's white sand and crystal azure waters.

Give us a call at 941-544-6467 is you are interested in Grand Riviera or any other downtown Sarasota condo. We'll be happy to chat with you about the many opportunities in the current buyers market.

The Associated Press and the Herald Tribune report this morning that the House of Representatives has followed the lead of the Senate and both extended and expanded the popular Home Buyer tax Credit! This is very good news for Venice Florida, Sarasota County and the entire US of A. I am calling your attention to this as it is a really good effort on the part of our Government to both encourage home buying and to boost the weak economy. President Obama is expected to sign the Home-Buyer Bills TODAY! Here are the highlight details:

FIRST-TIME-BUYER...$8000 Tax Credit, yes, $8000! If you have not had interest in a principal residence for 3 years prior to purchase, Uncle Sam will credit you with $8000 at tax time. You will be sent a refund for the difference between what you owe and the $8000. This is Terrific!

CURRENT-HOME-BUYER...$6500! Yes, as long as you have lived in the home being sold as a principal residence consecutively for 5 of the previous 8 years, you are eligible for a $6500 Tax Credit. This is a new incentive and a good one!

Bent Tree is a neighborhood designed with nature in mind. The elaborate lake system is not only beautiful to look at but it also provides for superior drainage during Florida’s rainy season.

The preserve areas, large lakes, open golf course and mature tree canopy provide habitat for a diverse range of birds and animals. Whether you enjoy the bald eagles that return every year to raise a new brood, the mallard ducks, cardinals & blue jays, the black bottom ducks, the sand hill cranes or the deer that come out at dusk and dawn – there is something here for all nature lovers.

Bent tree is also a neighborhood that has a diverse range of homes. If you enter off Proctor Road, there is an area called the Woodlands II to your right. This is an area of some of the newer homes in Bent Tree and is fairly upscale - larger executive style homes.

If you were to go straight, you would pass by larger homes, some on the lake and some on the preserve. This stretch was known as millionaire row when it was first built in the 1980’s. Many houses off to the left look out on one of the area’s largest residential lakes.

If you continue on you’ll find a cute area of homes off to the left with smaller lots, but some still have great water views. Keep on going straight and you’ll find the villas. A variety in sizes, some over 2000 square feet, make these units great if you want to leave the maintenance to someone else.

To get to the other side of Bent Tree, you enter off Bee Ridge (unless you’re on a bicycle or golf cart). This neighborhood contains the Bent Tree Golf Course & Clubhouse. Hitting golf balls watching an eagle fly by – does it get any better than that? Unless it’s hitting golf balls while your friends up north are shoveling snow!

With it’s diversity, natural beauty and proximity to I-75, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Chili’s and a host of other restaurants and retail stores, Bent Tree is one of my favorite neighborhoods and is an area that should be considered when looking at Sarasota houses.