A few miles north of downtown Sarasota, quietly elegant Whitfield Estates is nestled along Sarasota Bay to the west and historic Sara Bay Country Club—established in the 1920s as Sarasota's first residential golf course community—to the east. Listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, the country club was the setting for the fabled match between the world's best amateur, Robert "Bobby" Jones and golf pro Walter Hagen. Today, the neighborhood boasts Spanish Mediterranean estates, Southern traditional homes and Florida ranches. Many properties back up to fairways, canals and the open bay. Tony neighbors include the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, New College of Florida, and the new campus of USF Sarasota-Manatee.

Number of Whitfield Estates properties: 591
Number of sales 1/2007-1/2008: 5
Range of sale prices: $215,000 to $385,000
Range of square footage: 1,200 to 2,048

Sample Listing
A 4,100-square-foot bayfront beauty at 202 Gaines Ave. is offered for sale for $2 million. The residence has a 1,200-square-foot master retreat on the bayside along with two additional bayside suites, a fourth bedroom and bath plus an office. A spacious deck and pool, ideal for outdoor entertaining, overlook Sarasota Bay. Carolyn Collins and David Jennings of SKY Sotheby's International Realty are the listing agents.

Recent Sale
A charming 1958 ranch home at 614 Whitfield Ave. sold for $220,000 following a list price of $229,000. The three-bedroom, three-bath home has slightly more than 2,000 square feet of living space. A lushly landscaped backyard has fruit trees and plenty of room for a pool. Dyrk Dahl of Coldwell Banker Residential Realty was the listing agent; Frank Harris of Lakewood Ranch Realty was the selling agent. Previous sale: $329,000 in May 2005.

MLS statistics courtesy of Marc Rasmussen of SKY Sotheby’s International Realty. MLS records transactions and listings by members of the Sarasota Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

Top of the Market
A fashionable two-story downtown condominium claimed the highest sale price in January, $3.85 million after a list price of $3.9 million. The Marina Tower residence boasts a private roof garden with spectacular views across Marina Jack and Bayfront Park to the Gulf of Mexico. Living area totals more than 5,200 square feet with four bedrooms, three full baths, a powder room, large kitchen and breakfast bar. Condo amenities include state-of-the-art security with iris recognition, concierge, a 24-hour guard, valet services, clubhouse, fitness center, media room, heated pool, sauna and meeting facilities. Helen Gallagher of Florida Sun Realty Corporation was the listing agent; Amy DiSalvo of Michael Saunders & Company was the selling agent.

Sales information provided by Kim Ogilvie of Michael Saunders & Company.

Isolated Sunshine
While a sagging market has many realtors singing the blues, a fortunate few have been able to keep numbers—and morale—way up. Lenore Treiman of Michael Saunders & Company, for instance, booked nearly $8 million in sales during the last few weeks of 2007 and is managing to get low prices for her buyers and high prices for her sellers. “During a six-week period from mid-October through November, my buyers’ sales totaled $4,872,500 and my sold listings totaled $2.91 million,” reports Treiman. “On average, my buyers’ sales closed at 87 percent of list price, and my sellers’ sales closed at 95 percent of list price.” Across the market in Sarasota County, the average is 90 percent sale price to list price, so Treiman’s stats evidence strong negotiating skills on both sides of the closing table. Treiman’s office at Palmer Ranch booked more than $20 million in new sales in November, the highest numbers earned during that time period in the history of the office.

Change Agent
SKY Sotheby’s International Realty welcomes Five-Star Real Estate agent and licensed broker associate Martha Marlar to its firm. Marlar, a former sportswear buyer and divisional manager in the retail industry, hails from western New York and is an alumna of Skidmore College. She earned the Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation in 2004 and worked with Re/Max Gulfstream for 12 years, where she was inducted into the International Hall of Fame. “I was attracted to SKY Sotheby’s because the leadership team sets the highest standards and provides the necessary tools to achieve excellence for their employees and clients,” says Marlar. Marlar meets all of Sky Sotheby’s requirements, which include a ranking in the top 10 percent of the local real estate board, average real estate transactions of $750,000 or more and a minimum of 12 property listings each year.

Status Sell
Elegant invitations to a wine tasting and private tour transformed an ordinary open house into a gala event and showcased the marketing creativity of real estate duo Marcia Salkin and Paulene Soublis of Premier Properties of Southwest Florida. “Like a fine wine, a classic home never goes out of style,” read the invitation, showcasing Sarasota’s newest bayfront masterpiece at 1204 Hillview in Harbor Acres.