Remember last year when the most expensive home for sale in Sarasota County was listed for $14 million? That price point is already old news, because here’s another one on Casey Key that just hit the market for the same price. (Coincidentally, it's next door to the new top dog sale to date, the $16.5 million Casey Key home that's the most expensive home purchased in Sarasota-Manatee.)

Sellers Jerry and Rita Collins started their love affair with Casey Key in 1999 when they bought their first home there for $1.55 million.

Then there was the time in 2006 when they sold a previous home at 1804 Casey Key Road for $9 million. At the time, it ousted Stephen King’s home as the most expensive ever bought on Casey Key, barely surpassing his $8.9 million purchase on Casey Key Road in April 2001.

The Collinses bought their current home last year for $4.1 million, and in the time since poured roughly $4 to $5 million dollars into renovating it, according to their realtor Valerie Dall'Acqua, of Premier Sotheby's International Realty. "They basically paid land value for it, gutted it and redid it," she says.

And it's a two-for-one, because on more than an acre of property, why not?

The two-story, 4,388 square-foot main home was built in 1955 with three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a pool. The 1,379 square-foot guest home was built in 1977 and has one bedroom and one bathroom. And the location promises all the barrier island amenities of outdoor living.

In the middle of Casey Key, it has easy boating access to the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay. The Gulf-to-bay property has 80 feet of private beach and the bayside seawall spans nearly 300 feet with a deep, water-protected boat basin that can accommodate vessels up to 43 feet. There’s a gazebo, Gulf-side cabana, a pool and a five-hole putting green. Plenty of covered terraces, stone-paved patios and gardens frame the homes, along with outdoor dining spaces, a kitchen, a fire feature and a new porte-cochere. In all, there's more than 5,000 square feet of covered outdoor space.

Inside, there’s a temperature-controlled 10-car garage to house the homeowner's more precious wheels, including a Rolls-Royce previously owned by a Saudi prince that's also for sale. They added a separate, three-car garage with an electric charging station that's closer to the main home for everyday use vehicles. 

Other improvements include a new metal roof, appliances, travertine flooring, new kitchen and baths, security systems, Lutron lighting and new ipe wood decking and details. 

The Collinses have renovated a handful of properties on Casey Key. In 2010, they bought a home at 1143 Casey Key Road for $4.5 million and sold it for $6,169,600 in 2017. Last year, they sold a home at 141 N. Casey Key Road for $3.33 million. This time around, they're selling in hopes of downsizing, but the plan is to stay on the barrier island.

​​Jerry Collins was one of the pioneers of the satellite TV industry and owns an Indiana-based, nine-state distributorship for the Dish Network. In the early 1980s, he and his company, CVS Systems, prospered as the telecommunications and satellite TV industry quickly took off.

In the last 365 days on Casey Key, there have been nine sales for more than $5 million and five sales for more than $7 million.

"I've been a realtor for 20 years and that's crazy. I haven't seen this number of transactions or the price points before. It's been pretty flat for the last five to six years, but in the last 18 months the demand and price points have gone up," says Dall'Acqua, a Casey Key resident and realtor who often represents buyers there. "We were always the bargain when you looked at Naples and Marco Island. Sarasota is still a little more affordable in comparison, but at this rate, I don't know how much longer that will last."

Interested? Call Valerie Dall'Acqua of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty at (941) 445-7295.