Lakewood Ranch, Wellen Park, Babcock Ranch rank in Top 10 of master-planned US communities
Lakewood Ranch had another strong year for home sales, ranking as the No. 1 multigenerational master-planned community in the country in 2023, according to an annual list by RCLCO Real Estate Consulting.
The Villages — an age-restricted community in Sumter, Lake and Marion counties in central Florida — again topped all master-planned communities in the country with 3,029 sales, a 23% decline from 2022 figures.
Lakewood Ranch reported 2,257 sales in 2023, an increase of 22% from the pace set in 2022. When counting age-restricted communities, Lakewood Ranch was second on the list.
This is the sixth year in a row that Lakewood Ranch ranked as the top multi-generational community in the country, according to the news release. Lakewood Ranch is a community on about 33,000 acres in east Manatee and Sarasota counties with about 66,000 residents.
Laura Cole, senior vice president at Lakewood Ranch, attributed some of the community's 2023 success to how builders had implemented initiatives to attract buyers with incentives that resulted in lower mortgage rates, accelerated home builds and the lower insurance costs attributed to new construction.
Cole also noted a 37% increase of new home sales that came from buyers already renting in either Sarasota or Manatee counties.
“Many of these sales were attributed to renters seeking permanent residency after experiencing limited choices during the pandemic,” Cole said. “Other local sales came from buyers who experienced a life change, precipitating the desire or need for a new home in our community.”
Wellen Park, Babcock Ranch also make the list
Two other local master-planned communities also ranked among the top 10, according to the list produced by RCLCO.
Babcock Ranch, southeast of Punta Gorda in Charlotte County, ranked as the seventh-best selling community in the nation with 945 sales in 2023, 1% higher than its 2022 figure. That community has recently been featured in national publications after its solar powered community experienced minimal impact from Hurricane Ian's devastation in 2022.
Wellen Park in south Sarasota County, ranked ninth at 887 sales, but had the highest growth rate at 23%.
The Sarasota-Manatee metro area has seen significant home construction over the past three years, according to a monthly U.S. Census Bureau report that calculates new authorized housing units.
Related coverage: Home building permits in Sarasota-Manatee surpassed early 2000 numbers for first time in 2021
More: Babcock Ranch developer Syd Kitson named TIME's Dreamer of the Year
Through the first 11 months of 2023, the two-county area tallied 13,779 new authorized housing units, with 9,922 of those being single-family homes. December's statistics have not yet been published.
That's slightly down from 2022's total of 15,780 new housing units, including 10,987 single-family homes.
The 15,924 units authorized in 2021 was the first time home construction surpassed the mid-2000s housing boom when 14,496 homes were authorized in 2004 before cratering to a low of 1,763 units in 2009.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 3 Southwest Florida communities make list of Top 10 US best-sellers
