Venice Home Market Is Sizzling Hot


 

SARASOTA, FLORIDA, March 21st, 2017 – Growth momentum appears rapidly building up in the residential property market of Venice as recent home sales have been consistently strong in this southern Sarasota city. Most pronounced of these robust gains were those observed in the new communities along Laurel Road near Interstate 75 in the North Venice area.

One of the active developers here is Neal Communities which recently disclosed that Venice is now its second-fastest-selling region next only to Lakewood Ranch where it is based. In North Venice, Neal is building at the Milano where 125 of its 798 homes has already been sold. Notably, this neighborhood is just across the Venetian Golf & River Club, which is already nearing complete build-out.

A Builder’s Bonanza

Venice Home Market Is Sizzling Hot

At Windwood, another neighborhood that the Lakewood Ranch-based homebuilder is also developing in North Venice, 76 of its 90 home sites were also reported as sold. Market absorption is as strong in Grand Palm, a Neal Communities project off Center Road where 670 of the 1,099 home sites were already sold.

Neal Communities still has more up its sleeves in Venice. Its project, the Woods of Venice at Border and Jackson Roads, has won preliminary approval from the city notwithstanding a pushback attempt from local residents. Once it secures final approval, Neal hopes to start construction on this project in the 2018 first quarter. It is also eying additional land purchase in the greater Venice area where construction of about 5,000 new homes are projected in the next 10 to 20 years.

Meanwhile, WCI Communities which national homebuilder Lennar Corp. acquired in 2016, has opened sales for Watercrest, its new development at the corner of Jacaranda Boulevard and East Venice Avenue. This neighborhood is planned for 294 residences consisting of attached villas and single family homes. Their starting prices were set in the attractive $200s range, which reportedly drew some 300 interested buyers prior to the formal sales launch.

Winning Edge in Cheaper Land

“Value proposition,” as Neal Communities described it, is the prime driver for the strong buying interest in Venice homes. Cost of land is cheaper in the city than in the developed northern Sarasota and Manatee areas. This enables homebuilders like Neal to offer Venice homes for sale with a price difference of as much as $80,000 from a similar-sized residence up north.

At Neal’s resort-style Milano neighborhood, for example, its current listings amongst Venice homes for sale start in the low $200s, featuring floor areas ranging from 1,743 to 2,155 square feet. Prospective buyers have a choice on either three- or four-bedroom designs.

Larger options are available at Windwood, another Neal community in North Venice where homes start in the $200s as well. The home designs in this property range from 1,772 to 2,577 square feet with options on one and two-story floor plans.

Besides these attractive price points, these Venice homes for sale offer benefits comparable or even better than many of their counterparts north in Sarasota and Manatee. Homes in North Venice, for instance, are closer to the beach than those in communities east of I-75 in Manatee County. This is a huge plus that a lot of prospective buyers have now figured out as shown in the sizzling homes sales in Venice.