STEVE REID
Editor & Publisher
sreid@lbknews.com
A new market threshold has just been passed and a record set with the $30.3 million sale of a 19,300 square-
foot estate on South Longboat Key.
And while the opulence of the home is impossible to overstate, the real significance of the transaction is the immediate infusion of confidence and excitement in the luxury market in Sarasota and the islands.
“The recent sale of the property at a competitive price point underscores the resilience and vitality of our local market,” said buyer’s agent Judy Kepecz-Hays following the sale last Thursday.
The home, located on 145 feet of Gulf-front beach behind the gates on South Longboat Key at 845 Longboat Club Road, sold in 25 days after being listed for $35 million.
In fact, the property brought six showings and the buyers acted quickly and decisively as interest mounted as they went from initial showing to executed contract within one day.
Originally from Indiana, the buyers already own property in Sarasota and had been considering Longboat Key for some time.
“They fell in love with the home immediately,” Kepecz-Hays says. “They loved it and within a few hours we had it under contract.”
The buyers are long-standing customers of Judy and wish to remain anonymous. Judy added that the couple plans to keep the home as is, inspired by Italianate styles, emphasizing decorative ceiling frescoes and ornate details.
The sale tops last year’s sale at Longboat’s St. Regis Residences, which until now held the record for the most expensive residential sale in Sarasota County when it closed at $21,244,000 last year.
Judy hopes the sale serves as a catalyst to bring confidence to property owners in the region.
“Such transactions help establish new market benchmarks, attract serious investors and generate renewed interest in our beautiful area,” Said Judy Kepecz-Hays.
Built in 2005, Serenissima last sold in 2020 for $16.5 million—then a record-tying price for Sarasota — to James and Laura Rogers.
The home is situated in Regent Court, a collection of a handful custom mansions tucked between the Islandside golf course and the Gulf of Mexico on the very South end of Longboat Key.
Kepecz-Hays, in her earliest years selling real estate, worked at the ARVIDA sales office, which was then located next to the Charthouse Restaurant more than 40 years ago. She then sold units at the emerging South Longboat condominiums including L’Ambiance, Sanctuary and all along the beach front as the island was developed. Since then and a generation of customers later, Judy leads a team consisting of her son, Steven, as well as Realtor Leah George.
For Judy, as well as the buyers of the Serenissima, the hope is the market soon eclipses this latest record. For listing agent Richard Polese, the sale continues his success in the luxury market.
And for the community of homeowners and those looking to some day sell their home or investment, the shattering of Sarasota’s price ceiling could not have come at a better time.
