Three residential mega-sales in Sarasota County at the end of April all had something in common: Gulf of Mexico frontage.

A Gulf-front mansion at 1219 Westway Drive in Lido Shores has sold for $7 million, the highest-priced sale in that exclusive neighborhood since 2013. The home, with more than 7,415 square feet, has five bedrooms and six baths on more than 200 feet of Gulf frontage. Deborah Beacham of Michael Saunders & Company represented the seller and buyer. It last sold for $6.35 million in 2012. 

The highest-priced condominium sale of 2018 in Sarasota has taken place on Longboat Key, where a penthouse at the new beachfront Aria complex has sold for $5.4 million.  The penthouse, at 2251 Gulf of Mexico Drive, has more than 7,800 square feet of living space with a private rooftop terrace. Tom Delaney of Michael Saunders & Company was the listing agent. The condo originally sold for $4,539,900 in 20016, the year Aria was built.

And a penthouse in the Ritz-Carlton Beach Residences on Lido has sold for $5 million, making it the highest-priced-ever sale in the beachfront building. Roger Pettingell of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate represented both the seller and buyer. Pettingell says the 4,200-square-foot penthouse went under contract in just 45 days. The last time it sold was in 2005, the year the condominium tower was built, for $4.85 million.

“The luxury market continues to be strong in Sarasota,” Pettingell said in a release. “There are several factors affecting the market, including increased buyer wealth due to the rising stock market; the new tax law; the awful winter weather up north; and the never-before availability of prime A+ properties for sale.”