The Saunders Blog

For the Dogs – Top 10 Area Places to Take Your Dog

Treat your furry friend to a day at one of our area paw parks.

While our gorgeous coastal area provides plenty of fun for those who enjoy the outdoors, fine dining, world-class shopping and some of the most beautiful beaches found anywhere, there are also a number of recreational spots designated and built especially for Fido to get his exercise and socialize with style. After all, it’s important to keep in mind the old saying, “If your dog is fat, you aren’t getting enough exercise.”

So, here are our top 10 places to take your pooch, including beaches, trails and parks where dogs are allowed, but do not feature fenced leash-free play areas. Remember, some locations require leashes, others don’t, so be sure to check the rules before you go.

1.  17th Street Paw Park – Located in north Sarasota, this expansive dog park features acres of grassy and wood-chip-strewn play space for pooches. It provides plenty of room for off-leash play, shade/shelter, pick-up bags, and agility equipment for large dogs.  Hours are dawn to dusk. Adjacent to the paw park are baseball, softball and soccer fields, a snack bar and restrooms. Call 941-861-9830 for more information.

2.  Lakeview Paw Park – Located next to Lakeview Elementary School off Proctor Road at 7150 Lago St., Sarasota, Lakeview Paw Park offers a cool, shady oasis on hot summer days. This 26-acre park features a picnic shelter, playground and restrooms. Open from dawn to dusk. Adjacent to the paw park is an area with a jogging and fitness trail, restrooms and picnic tables. For more information, call 941-861-9830. (more…)

Sarasota-Area Beaches – As Gorgeous as Ever

Our area beaches are among the finest in the world. Take a look at one of our live web cam feeds to see what you're missing.

The first thoughts of spending time in the Sarasota area often center around lazing on some of the world’s most renowned beaches enjoying the fresh sea breezes and soaking in the warm sunshine.

While you may be miles away from our sun-kissed shores, you can rest assured they maintain the pristine natural beauty that made our area a preferred destination for beach-lovers around the world. In fact, the renowned Stephen Leatherman—also known as Dr. Beach—most recently named our Siesta Key Beach in the no. 2 spot for America’s Best Beach in his annual survey.

Sarasota County’s beaches remain as gorgeous as ever, and our waters are open and inviting for a range of recreational activities and the world-class fishing that makes our area a special treasure for anglers.

We invite you to see for yourself by viewing some of the live feeds showing real-time action of beachgoers enjoying the pristine waters and sugary white sands of our area beaches.

Take a live virtual trip to Siesta Key, Dr. Beach’s number 2 ranked beach in the country HERE.

HERE’s a live look from the BeachHouse Restaurant on Bradenton Beach.

Click HERE to view beachgoers on Lido Beach.

The Neighborhood Report – Harbor Acres

A range of home styles in Harbor Acres sure to please any taste. Pictured: 1535 Hillview Drive.

Harbor Acres is a special and unique waterfront community noted for its convenience and interesting blend of homes. Residents of this well-manicured neighborhood enjoy proximity to both the cultural, shopping and dining amenities of downtown Sarasota and Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Renowned for its ideal location for boaters, many of the homes are set directly on Sarasota Bay or a navigable inlet with deep sailboat water and no bridges to the bay.

Market Activity – Harbor Acres

There are currently nine homes on the market ranging in price from $675,000 (lot value only) to $8,500,000 for a new 7,600-square-foot home on a double point lot. Among the listed properties is 1535 Hillview Drive, a gorgeous 3,700-square-foot home priced at $1,595,000 by Stacy Hanan and Kristen Srur of the Main Street office of Michael Saunders & Company.

Sales activity in Harbor Acres has been steady, with recent sales ranging from $1.7 million to $2.4 million. The residence located at 1357 Harbor Drive sold in May for $1.7 million, and the buyers were brought to the property and purchased it through Maria Beck and Anja Deichmann from the Main Street office. (more…)

The Week Magazine’s Best Properties on the Market

“The Week Magazine”, June 18th edition.

The Week Magazine, owned by Dennis Publishing, is a popular magazine that was a start-up in the US in 2002. Today, the magazine boasts a large audience in print and online.

The Week Magazine distills the best of news, opinions and ideas from the U.S. and international media. It covers a wide range of topics including breaking news, health, books, film, the arts and more, enveloping the entire political front.

The Week Magazine’s Best Properties on the Market

* Snook Inn, located on Siesta Key, is featured along with other Christie’s Great Estates properties.

Click on the image below to see all of The Week Magazine’s Best Properties:

The Neighborhood Report – Long Beach Village

• Long Beach Village offers an array of residential properties. Pictured: 6832 Pine Street

Longboat Key‘s northern-most community called The Village—also known as Long Beach Village—is proud of its rich history dating back to Thomas Mann, who brought the original settlement to Longboat Key in 1891. The Village is a diverse neighborhood with bungalows built as early as 1940 along with multi-million dollar bay front homes built as recently as 2008. You will find homeowners living there who are longtime locals of Longboat Key to CEOs of major corporations.

Market Activity – Long Beach Village

There are over 300 single-family homes and town homes in the Village with 20 currently available through MLS. The active listings range from a 1,075-square-foot home listed at $329,000 to a 4,172-square-foot bay front home listed for $3,900,000. Michael Saunders & Company excels at selling properties in the Village and has 60 percent of the active listings there. In 2009, eight properties sold ranging in price from $285,000 to $699,000. The average selling price was $525,000. (more…)

The Neighborhood Report – Venice Island

A stroll along the storefronts along Venice Avenue on Venice Island.

People love to live in and visit downtown Venice—located on Venice Island—where they find a small town atmosphere with plenty to see and do. Here, there is an active center of town where you can stroll down Venice Avenue and enjoy the shops and outside cafes, just a breath away from beautiful area beaches. Convenience is key, as one can ride a bike or walk to most places of interest on Venice Island.

Market Activity – Venice Island

In the past 30 days, 17 properties sold and 58 have gone under contract on Venice Island, according to Venice office branch manager Kathy Wood. Recently, Venice office agents Jo-Anne Sckowska and Nell Taylor worked with a vacationing couple who wanted a condominium to use as a vacation place for now and eventually move into. All the properties that met their criteria were in different areas off the island, and Jo-Anne and Nell could tell the homebuyers weren’t very enthusiastic about them. So, the team suggested they view a listing across from the beach with a nice side Gulf view. This listing was a bit dated and needed updating, but was near where they were staying and convenient to all of downtown’s charms. As they walked in and looked out the window at the wonderful view, they were able to overlook the updating needs. They wrote a contract for cash on this island condominium and will go to closing very soon. (more…)

The Neighborhood Report – Lido Shores

Lido Shores is home to an array of luxurious homes.

Established in 1950 and nestled between St. Armands and Longboat Key, Lido Shores is an intimate oasis of approximately one hundred homes. The waterfront properties have frontage on Pansy Bayou, Sarasota Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and New Pass, which provide direct deep water boating access to the Gulf of Mexico or Sarasota Bay.

Lido Shore’s location is ideal, within walking distance of St. Armands Circle and Mote Marine, and just a few miles from downtown Sarasota with its restaurants and myriad of cultural activities. Residents have a private beach with pavilion directly on the Gulf of Mexico. The voluntary and friendly Lido Shores Property Owners Association organizes social activities including sunset parties, a Fall House Tour with Dinner, and Spring Beach Barbecue. Some of the most elegant homes in Sarasota are located on Westway Drive, often called “The Rodeo Drive of Sarasota.” (more…)

The Neighborhood Report – Emerald Harbor

Our office on south Longboat Key specializes in communties throughout the area.

Located near the north end of Longboat Key, Emerald Harbor captures the essence of the Florida lifestyle as a quiet bayfront community. The neighborhood’s 72 homes are all  set on deep boating water along extra wide canals that offer direct access to the Intracoastal Waterway with no bridges to Sarasota Bay. Owners in this desirable community enjoy deeded beach access to Longboat Key’s sandy white beaches just across Gulf of Mexico Drive for shelling, strolling and watching beautiful sunsets.

Market Activity – Emerald Harbor

There are currently four active listings in Emerald Harbor, but activity in Emerald Harbor has been brisk recently with four of the five sales in 2009 occurring in the last four months of the year. One of those sales took place within the last 30 days. Selling prices in this community have ranged from $610,000 to a high of $1.375 million. (more…)

Neighborhood Report – St. Armands, Bird Key and Lido Key

The St. Armands area offers a variety of lifestyle options.

Barbara Roberts, managing broker of our St. Armands Circle offices, reports an increase in walk-in activity. During the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the agents of her office noted return customers coming in to inquire about the status of the real estate market.

We are pleased to welcome Karen Lyons Nowadly to our St. Armands offices. Karen brings over 10 years of real estate experience Michael Saunders & Company.

A premier property was just listed by Jenifer Schwell in the Grand Bay condominium community on Longboat Key. This residence is elegant and sophisticated with top-of-the-world views of the city and Sarasota Bay. This newly listed property is priced at $1.295 million. (more…)

The Neighborhood Report – Siesta Key – Bay Island

Many homes on Bay Island offer stunning views over sparkling bay waters.

The gateway to Siesta Key, Bay Island is itself an island located on the key’s coveted northern end. Dissected by Siesta Drive, the waterfront homes of the north have views of Sarasota Bay, Bird Key and the striking Sarasota skyline. Bay Island is home to the three-acre Bay Island Park, a beautiful place to relax or throw out a fishing line enveloped by gorgeous vistas. As local area specialists, the agents of our Siesta Key office bring a wealth of Bay Island community experience and market knowledge to help homebuyers and sellers.

Bay Island – A Closer Look

The waterfront homes on the south side of Bay Island overlook Roberts Bay, Big and Little Edwards Islands and her rookeries. Both bodies of water, as well as the canals, offer quick access to the Gulf of Mexico using Big Pass. (more…)