Sure, the Venetian Golf & River Club, the upscale golf-course community east of I-75 and north of Laurel Road in east Venice, has a challenging 18-hole golf course and a lovely Mediterranean-style River Club clubhouse that’s the hub of all kinds of social activities.  

But what really sets the private, gated community apart from the many golf course communities in south Sarasota County, says Tom Treloar of Laura B. Kopple Realty, are its great nature walks.

The community has direct connection to walking trails that parallel the Myakka River via its 70-acre nature park, says Treloar. “Everywhere you go you’ll see people walking and riding bicycles.” (Golf carts, too, as the community allows them on its streets.) Birds and other wildlife are abundant, even more so because the golf course is one of just four area golf courses to be accepted into the Audubon International Signature Program for its environmentally sustainable practices.

Developed by WCI Communities in the mid-2000s, Venetian Golf & River Club is geared toward retirees, an estimated 50-50 mix of permanent residents and snowbirds. Single-family homes predominate, but there are also some condominiums of 1,800 to 2,100 square feet in two-story buildings.

People who buy here tend to stay, Treloar says, citing a client of Kopple’s who’s listing her 3,200-square-foot estate home and looking to downsize in the same neighborhood. A steady stream of homes comes on the market of all price ranges, he says, with list prices averaging in the mid-$300,000s to mid-$400,000s. 

No. of homes in the Venetian Golf & River Club: 1,382

No. of residential sales January-October 2018: 64

Range of sale prices: $178,000-$652,000

Active listings on Oct. 31, 2018: 44

Price range of those listings: $184,900-$774,900