Places in this guide Bird Key Esplanade at Azario Del Webb at Lakewood Ranch The Founders Club Sarasota Lakewood Ranch
Last updated October 2026
As of October 19, 2026, my closed-sales record at Compass shows 168 closed MLS sales since 2015, for about $157 million in all. Every one of those sales is listed with its address, price, and date on my sold homes page, so you can check each figure here against the sale behind it.
A five-star review tells you how a client felt; a record tells you what happened. On this page you will find my sales by price range and by year, the recognition I have received from outside my own website, what clients wrote about pricing and negotiation, and three stories from my own transactions that show how I work.
How many homes I have sold, and on which side
My Compass record lists 168 closed MLS sales from 2015 to October 19, 2026. In 63 of those sales I represented the seller, and in 87 I represented the buyer. In another 16, I represented both the buyer and the seller. Counted by side, that is 79 sales on the listing side and 103 on the buyer side.
The MLS record is not my whole record. Private sales and new construction homes that closed outside the MLS are not part of it, and with them I have sold more than 200 homes and more than $160 million in all. I quote the MLS figures on this page because you can verify every one of them.
My sales by price range
By count, most of my sales are homes under $1 million; by value, most of my business is homes from $1 million to $3 million. As of October 19, 2026, 110 of my 168 closed MLS sales were under $1 million. The 58 sales of $1 million and more account for about $100 million of my MLS volume.
| Price range | Closed sales | Closed volume |
|---|---|---|
| Under $500,000 | 56 | $20.0 million |
| $500,000 to $1 million | 54 | $37.6 million |
| $1 million to $2 million | 41 | $57.1 million |
| $2 million to $3 million | 14 | $32.7 million |
| $3 million and up | 3 | $10.3 million |
The range from $1 million to $3 million is the center of my work, with 55 sales worth about $89.8 million. My three highest MLS sales closed between $3.1 million and $3.7 million, two in The Founders Club and one on Bird Key. I do not claim the $10 million bayfront estate market, and I would rather tell you that plainly than stretch my record.
The homes under $1 million matter to me just as much. In July 2026 I represented the buyer of a home in Esplanade at Azario that closed for $824,434. In May 2026 I represented the buyer of a home in Del Webb at Lakewood Ranch that closed for $550,000.
My sales by year since 2015
My yearly sales have grown from 7 in 2015 to between 13 and 26 in every year since 2020. The two busiest years so far were 2021 and 2023. This year stands at 17 closed sales as of October 19, already more than in all of 2025.
| Year | Closed MLS sales |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 7 |
| 2016 | 9 |
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2018 | 7 |
| 2019 | 10 |
| 2020 | 13 |
| 2021 | 25 |
| 2022 | 13 |
| 2023 | 26 |
| 2024 | 20 |
| 2025 | 16 |
| 2026, to October 19 | 17 |
The Founders Club, where I have closed 35 sales
The Founders Club in Sarasota is the community where my record runs deepest, with 35 of my closed MLS sales as of October 19, 2026. That includes my highest MLS sale, 3761 Founders Club Drive, which closed for $3,700,000 in March 2025 with me representing the seller.
In April 2026 I represented the seller of 8847 Colonels Court, which closed for $3,125,000. The other sale above $3 million in my record is 608 Mourning Dove Drive on Bird Key, where I represented both the buyer and the seller in June 2016. You can follow prices in the community month by month in my Founders Club market update.
Recognition from outside my own website
Three independent sources have recognized my work, and I name each one so that the recognition does not rest on my word alone:
- SRQ Magazine named me one of its 2025 Elite Agents.
- RealTrends Verified lists me as a Verified Top Agent by Volume, and you can read my RealTrends Verified profile.
- Luxury Home Magazine Tampa Bay and Greater Sarasota featured me as an LHM Luxury Specialist.
What clients wrote about pricing and negotiation
Reviews are most useful when they describe a specific situation. These four, quoted as the clients wrote them, speak to pricing, negotiation, and a difficult sale. Every review I have received is on my reviews page.
We recently were able to sell our home in one week at 1% over asking price.
Bob Conner on Google, October 7, 2026
…able to sell a seven figure home in a troubled community in a relatively short period of time for full price mind you, with a closing in fourteen days.
Steven on Realtor.com, August 3, 2019
She focused on the saleable elements of our home, negotiated a full price contract and arranged a myriad of details to ease the matter to closing. She creatively handled tenant issues, repairs, closing details and made sure the transaction stayed on track.
sjosias0 on Zillow, September 7, 2018
She is relentless in pursuit of the best options for her clients, and does not try to over sell. We ended up with a beautiful new home in a great community in Bradenton, with all of the incentives she worked so hard to get us.
Robert Dorfman on Google, February 16, 2024
Three stories from my own transactions
Numbers show how much I have sold; a single transaction shows how I work. Each story here leaves out my clients’ names and stays with what is on record: a closed sale on my sold homes page, or what a client wrote in a public review.
Building a new home, one step at a time
Before I represented buyers and sellers, I spent years selling new homes for a Fortune 500 builder and for custom luxury builders, so I know a new home purchase from the builder’s side of the table. Buyers who bought a new home in Bradenton with me wrote on Zillow in December 2022 that after hours of showings over multiple days, I “spent months helping us build a new house step by step.” In my experience, that is what buying new really is: a long series of decisions, each of which deserves a second set of eyes.
I have also been the builder’s agent myself. A buyer who bought a new build from a builder I represented wrote on Realtor.com about my knowledge of “the home, the builder, the area and the market, construction, the competition, and the local issues,” and about my “genuine concern that we find and buy the best house for us, whether it was from her or someone else.” I hold to that on either side of a new home sale, because the right home matters more than whose inventory it comes from.
My advice if you are buying new is to read the contract and the option list carefully before you sign, and to keep notes on every selection while the home goes up. If you are considering a new home in Lakewood Ranch or Bradenton, I would be glad to walk you through a builder’s contract and options before you commit to anything.
Selling at the top of The Founders Club
Two of my three highest MLS sales are listings in The Founders Club, a gated golf community in Sarasota. I represented the seller of 3761 Founders Club Drive, which closed for $3,700,000 on March 28, 2025. I also represented the seller of 8847 Colonels Court, which closed for $3,125,000 on April 15, 2026.
In my view, a Founders Club home should be priced against the few sales in the community that truly compare to it, with the lot, the view, and the age of the finishes weighed one by one, rather than against an average for the whole community. Buyers at this level have usually studied every comparable home, so I would rather set the right price on the first day than reduce it later.
Preparation deserves the same care. My advice to a Founders Club seller is to finish the small repairs before the photographs, have the home professionally cleaned, and present it the way most buyers will first see it: online, in photographs and video. If you own a home in The Founders Club and are thinking about selling, I would be glad to walk through it with you and show you the sales I would price it against.
Buying from out of state, with someone local watching your home
Many of my buyers are moving to Sarasota from somewhere else. Buyers who traveled from out of state in search of their Sarasota home wrote on Zillow in July 2019 that I “quickly found exactly what we were looking for.” While their new home was in progress, they wrote, I “personally checked on the progress of our new home and sent us updated photos.” They also wrote that I have stayed in touch since closing, and I have, because for me a purchase is the beginning of a relationship rather than the end of one.
If you are buying from out of state, I would plan your search so that your time here goes to the homes that deserve it, and I would preview homes for you and send you photos and video before you travel. Until closing, someone local should be your eyes on the home, and I am glad to be that person. Call or text me whenever it suits you, and I will tell you how I would set up your search.
What this record does not show
I do not publish an average ratio of sale price to list price. The list price in a sales record is often the final asking price after any reductions, so the ratio flatters every agent and says little about pricing skill. When we talk about your home, I will show you the original price, each change, and the closed price for the comparable sales that matter.
A record also cannot show the offers I advised clients to decline or the homes I told buyers were not right for them. My about page covers my background, and my guide to pricing and selling a Sarasota home explains how I set a price. If you are buying new, please call me before your first builder visit; my new construction page lists the builders and communities I follow.
Put this record to work on your sale
If you are thinking about selling a home in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, or The Founders Club, send me the address and when you would like to move. I will pull the comparable sales that matter for your home, with the original price, each change, and the closed price, and then walk through the home with you and tell you how I would price, prepare, and market it.
You are welcome to call or text me at (813) 394-3313 or send me a note whenever it suits you, and I will be glad to start with your questions.
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Tell me the area and price range you are watching, and I will send you new and coming-soon homes the day they appear.
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Janelle Mertins is a licensed real estate agent with Compass.
