Giant community busts through major sales milestone

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Lakewood Ranch, a master-planned community in east Manatee County founded in 1995, recently hit a developmental milestone: it has sold more than 10,000 homes.

Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch announced 86 new homes were sold in January 2017, bringing the total number of homes sold to 10,026, with overall sales values close to $4 billion. The 86-home figure is a 32% increase in new home sales over January 2016.

“We are excited to have reached this milestone on the heels of having been named the fourth best-selling, master-paned community in the country in 2016,” says Laura Cole, vice president of marketing for SMR subsidiary LWR Communities, in a story in the East County Observer, sister paper of the Business Observer. “The active employment market, coupled with great schools and amenities, have continued to attract buyers and have made the Ranch one of the Top 10, best-selling in the country for six years in a row.”

There are more than 20 builders in Lakewood Ranch with more than 50 models. Home prices start in the $200,000s and go to more than $1 million. Lakewood Ranch is one of the largest master-planned communities in the state.