Many of us dream of waterfront homes. We imagine the views and the walk to the beach.
Over the first half of 2015 in the larger Tampa Bay region, several hundred affluent home buyers got their dreams of owning waterfront homes. Across the 67 counties of Southwestern and Central Florida, they purchased 819 million-dollar and multimillion-dollar homes, and most of their purchases were waterfront homes, based on sales data from My Florida Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc.
These 819 luxury homes were located in these counties:
| COUNTY | NO. of LUXURY HOMES SOLD | |
| Sarasota | 234 | |
| Pinellas | 163 | |
| Orange | 140 | |
| Hillsborough | 111 | |
| Manatee | 77 | |
| Lee | 32 | |
| Charlotte | 16 | |
| Seminole | 12 | |
| Osceola | 10 | |
| Lake | 9 | |
| Volusia | 5 | |
| Polk | 4 | |
| Pasco | 2 | |
| Sumter | 2 | |
| Broward | 1 | |
| Hardee | 1 | |
| TOTAL | 819 |
Of the 819 luxury million-dollar and multimillion-dollar homes sold, nine homes cost at least $5 million each. The most expensive home is a waterfront home in Sarasota, purchased for $9 million. All these nine most expensive homes are single-family homes, have private pools, and have 4 or more bedrooms. All are waterfront homes, except one which is located at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
PINELLAS COUNTY Luxury Homes Sold
Of the 163 Pinellas County luxury homes sold in the first half of this year, 133 homes or 82% are waterfront homes. Another 14 homes have water views. The 16 homes which were not classified as waterfront were located either on a golf course or a hacienda type of locale.
Of these 163 homes, 103 are single family homes and 60 are condos. Seventy-one were paid full in cash, and most of the others were all financed by new conventional loans. Most have 3 to 6 bedrooms, with one having 13 rooms and and seven properties with only 2 bedrooms
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY Luxury Homes Sold
There were 111 Hillsborough homes million-dollar and multimillion-dollar homes sold in the first half of 2015, and 57 of these or 51% are waterfront homes, with another 5 homes having water views. The most expensive was sold at $4 million. All the eight most expensive homes are waterfront homes and have private pools. Of the 111 luxury homes, 76 homes have private pools, 10 have community pools and 25 have no pools. Thirty-one homes were paid fully in cash, with most of the others financed by new conventional loans.
In which Hillsborough cities are these 111 luxury homes located?
Tampa ————— 91 homes
Apollo Beach ——– 6 homes
Lutz ——————- 5 homes
Odessa ————– 5 homes
Ruskin ————— 1 home
Lithia —————– 1 home
Temple Terrace —-1 home
Thonotosassa —– 1 home
Tampa Zip Codes with the Most Number of Luxury Homes Sold
1. Zip code 33606 26 homes
2. Zip code 33629 20 homes
3. Zip code 33609 17 homes
4. Zip code 33602 7 homes
5. Zip code 33611 7 homes
SARASOTA COUNTY Luxury Homes Sold
Of the 234 Sarasota luxury homes sold, 172 homes or 74% are waterfront homes, and another 22 homes have water views.
MANATEE COUNTY Luxury Homes Sold
A total of 77 luxury homes in Manatee were sold within January to June 2015, and 61 of these or 79% were waterfront homes. In addition, another seven homes had water views. The top 11 homes were all waterfront homes, with the most expensive home sold at $5,625,000. These top 11 homes were also all paid fully in cash. Of the 77 homes, 44 homes or 57% were paid fully in cash. As to home type, 71 were single family homes and 6 were condos.