Sarasota County again placed two master-planned communities near the top of the national rankings in 2025, underscoring the area's outsized role in the U.S. master-planned housing market. According to RCLCO, a national real estate consulting and research firm, Lakewood Ranch ranked No. 2 overall among master-planned communities with 2,085 new-home sales, while Wellen Park ranked No. 8 with 992 sales. Together, they made Sarasota County one of the few places in the country with multiple communities in the national top 10. 

Lakewood Ranch also retained its position as the nation’s top-selling multigenerational master-planned community, extending a streak that now spans eight consecutive years. The rankings came during a period when new-home sales dipped in many markets, making the continued performance of both Sarasota County communities notable. The top ranking went to The Villages, a retirement community in Central Florida, spanning Sumter, Lake County and Marion counties.

To compare, in 2024, the most recent full year of countywide data available, Sarasota County had 10,930 home sales total. That includes 7,486 single-family homes and 3,444 condos or townhomes. Manatee County had 10,079 home sales total, including 7,485 single-family homes and 2,594 condos or townhomes. Altogether, both counties had 21,009 home sales in 2024. 

So when Lakewood Ranch and Wellen Park sold more than 3,000 new homes in 2025, it showed just how big those two communities are.

That concentration helps explain why Sarasota County keeps showing up in RCLCO’s national rankings. The two communities are operating at a scale more typical of small cities. Lakewood Ranch spans roughly 55 square miles east of I-75 across Sarasota and Manatee counties and is now in its 32nd year of development, with a population exceeding 77,000 and housing prices ranging from the high $200,000s to more than $1 million. Wellen Park, in southern Sarasota County, is a newer entrant to the national rankings, having grown rapidly since its rebranding from West Villages and the opening of CoolToday Park in 2019.

Lakewood Ranch has held the No. 2 national position for overall master-planned community sales for three consecutive years while remaining at the top of the multigenerational category. Wellen Park, meanwhile, climbed into the national top 10 in 2024 and remained there in 2025, with sales continuing to rise year over year.

Part of the appeal shows up beyond housing metrics. In 2025, the Farmers Market at Lakewood Ranch was named the top farmers market in the country by American Farmland Trust based on national public voting. At Wellen Park, the town center and programming tied to CoolToday Park have similarly positioned the community to draw both visitors and homebuyers.

Both communities are also still expanding. Lakewood Ranch is preparing to break ground on Lakewood Ranch Southeast, a roughly 2,200-acre expansion area that could accommodate up to 5,000 additional residential units, with construction expected to begin later in the year. Wellen Park continues to build out remaining residential villages and commercial areas within its master plan.

That scale has not been without controversy. Critics have raised concerns about traffic congestion on east–west corridors, the pace of infrastructure delivery and the environmental impact of converting thousands of acres of land into residential use. Others point to affordability, noting that while both communities offer a range of housing types, price points remain out of reach.

For now, the rankings tell the story: the Sarasota-Bradenton-Northport metro has become one of the country’s most concentrated hubs of master-planned community growth.