Lakewood Ranch tops in the U.S.

Lakewood Ranch topped a pair of annual lists ranking multi-generational master-planned communities in the U.S.

The 31,000-acre community that straddles Sarasota and Manatee counties earned the No. 1 slot selling 2,149 homes in 2020, a 30% gain from the previous year.

Master developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc. has consistently ranked in the Top 5 in surveys from real estate research firms RCLCO Real Estate Advisors and John Burns Real Estate Consulting, which track master-planned community sales.

Lakewood Ranch wasn’t the only Central and Southwest Florida community represented in the Top 50 ranking, naturally.

The Villages retiree-oriented community took top honors in total sales, 2,452 last year, roughly flat with its performance in 2019. Wellen Park, formerly known as the West Villages development in southern Sarasota County, was ranked fourth nationwide, with 1,415 home sales — an 11% improvement from 2019.

Babcock Ranch, the Kitson Partners’-led project in Lee and Charlotte counties, scored the 34th spot with 540 residential sales in 2020. That represented a 121% boost from the prior year and one of the largest percentage jumps in the Top 50.

Also in Southwest Florida, the Barron Collier Cos. joint venture Ave Maria ranked 38th with 526 home sales, up 95% from 2019.

Starkey Ranch and Bexley, both in the Tampa Bay area, also made the list from the Gulf Coast.

In all, Florida had 13 communities among the Top 50 sellers, exceeded only by Texas, which took down 17 spots.