Seven Florida master planned communities made it to the 50 U.S. Top-Selling 2011 List published by John Burns Real Estate Consulting. One Florida community, The Villages, even topped the list with 2,307 units sold, more than doubling the sales total of the second-ranked community.
Master planned communities are the prime choice of a lot of homebuyers because these offer live, work and play amenities – almost a city or town within a city or a town – but carefully planned. They offer a lifestyle that usually includes ready access to amenities such as nature parks, recreation centers, open spaces, commercial enterprises, libraries, schools, restaurants, cafes, sports facilities, community centers, pools, trails, and golf courses.
These communities also adhere to certain community rules that will protect the whole community from developments that veer away from the original community plan accepted and supported by the majority of residents.
John Burns compiled sales data from 131 master planned communities around the country, representing almost 23,000 new home sold in 2011, or nearly 7.6 percent of about 300,000 new homes sold around the U.S. in 2011.
Here are the top Florida master planned communities in 2011:
| Ranking Community | Developer | Units Sold in 2011 |
| 1 The Villages, Orlando | Villages of Lake Sumter LLC | 2,307 |
| 9 Lakewood Ranch, Sarasota | Schroeder-Manatee Ranch Inc. | 391 |
| 12 Montera, Cooper City, Broward | CC Devco Homes | 359 |
| 14 Nocatee, Ponte Vedra, Jacksonville | The PARC Group | 313 |
| 16 Valencia Reserve, Palm Beach | GL Homes | 281 |
| 26 FishHawk Ranch, Lithia, Tampa area | Newland Communities | 229 |
| 42 Durbin Crossing, Jacksonville | Durbin Crossing LLC | 167 |
| Durbin Crossing North LLC |
Why do buyers like FishHawk Ranch in Lithia in the Tampa area?
FishHawk Ranch is a growing community of families enjoying together 25 miles of nature trails; the waters of Aquatic and Osprey Clubs; the community games at Hawk Park; summer concerts, farmers markets, movies in the open and other entertainment events at Park Square; banquets and celebrations at the Pametto Club; soccer, football, baseball, lacrosse, softball and cheerleading aat the FishHawk County Sports Complex; and other activities like summer camp kids with a program full of fun that bring neighbors closer together, making FishHawk a tight-knit community.
FishHawk is also just 25 minutes to downtown Tampa, where residents can enjoy events at facilities such as the St. Pete Times Forum and David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, adventures in Ybor City and games by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Rays.
For families with young children, there are pre-schools right inside the FishHawk community, and there are A-grade elementary schools, middle schools and a high school located either inside or within one-and-a-half miles of FishHawk.
For children going to college or parents pursuing a night-class MBA, FishHawk is close to the Tampa campuses of the University of South Florida, Florida Metropolitan University, and International Academy of Design and Technology, and the Brandon campus of the Hillsborough Community College.
Military families also abound in FishHawk as this community is just 30 miles from the MacDill Air Force Base and there’s a Hillborough Area Regional Transit Commuter Express servicing FishHawk residents.
Find your FishHawk Ranch home. Contact Tampa4U.com.
Tampa Master Planned Communities – Among the Best Florida Master Planned Communities