Adjacent properties on Bird Key post record sales for Sarasota neighborhood

Two properties on Bird Key located side- by-side set record sales last week in two separate multi-million dollar transactions that also closed on the same day, demonstrating the continued growth of the Sarasota luxury market.

A property at 626 S. Owl Dr. sold for $11.25 million and another at 622 S. Owl Dr. sold for $9.75 million on June 1. Just five years ago, both properties sold for a combined $8.6 million. Each sale this month topped the previous high for a Bird Key property sale, according to Bruce Myer, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty.

While the property at 626 S. Owl Dr. was a vacant lot in 2018 and had a newly constructed residence in 2023, the increase in value of the two properties by $12.4 million can at least partially be attributed to a rise in Sarasota’s national stature that has motivated high-end builders to continue to push the level of luxury higher, according to local Realtors.

Bruce Myer, a Coldwell Banker Realtor that represented the seller on 622 S. Owl Dr., said the property he listed was on the market less than a month. While the property was built in 2003, it had undergone a renovation, he said.

“In general, what people want is property that’s in good shape,” Myer said. “They don’t want to wait.”

This year, sales have been slower than the red-hot real estate market that occurred through the pandemic, but still, in the past 12 months 46 properties at $5 million or more have sold or are under contract in Sarasota County, according to Coldwell Banker Realty data.

The 622 S. Owl Dr. property was sold by Julie McGue, an award winning author, to the Cumberland Trust and Investment Co. as trustee of The Richard M. Stumler Tennessee Family Dynasty Trust, according to the warranty deed.