Places in this guide The Founders Club Lorraine Lakes Bradenton Lakewood Ranch Sarasota
Pricing a home in Sarasota or Bradenton right means looking at what sold near you, what is for sale against you this week, and how fast buyers are moving. In August the median Sarasota County home took 47 days to go under contract, and sellers got a median 94.7 percent of their original asking price. Those figures come from my September 2026 market report, and they set the tone for the answers on this page.
I have closed 168 sales in Sarasota and Manatee counties since 2015, 78 as the listing agent, through September 2026. I sold 35 in The Founders Club and 22 in Lorraine Lakes. These are the questions sellers ask me, with my answers. My longer seller’s guide covers the steps from first call to closing.
Who can help me find a realistic price for my home in Bradenton or Sarasota?
I start with the sales closest to your home in size, age, and condition, then add what is currently active and pending in the same price band. Closed sales tell me what buyers paid. Active listings tell me what you will compete against the week you list.
Then I adjust for what an average comparison misses: a pool, a lake or golf view, a newer roof, or a street that floods. A neighborhood average from a website cannot see those things. I would rather show you three or four hand-picked sales and explain each one than hand you an automated estimate.
| Signal | What it tells me |
|---|---|
| Recent closed sales nearby | What buyers actually paid, and how far below asking |
| Active and pending homes in your band | What you compete with and how fast homes go under contract |
| Days on market for similar homes | Whether to price at the top of the range or just under it |
| Condition, view, and lot differences | Adjustments an automated estimate cannot make |
My advice to sellers this fall: price for today, not for last spring. A home priced above the market in its first two weeks tends to collect showings without offers, then reduces later with a listing that looks stale.
Who can guide me through selling a vacation home I have owned for years?
A home you have owned a long time brings questions a recent purchase does not. Do you know the current condition of the roof, the air conditioning, the windows, and anything done without a permit? Are the association dues, special assessments, and rental rules documented? Is the furniture staying, and who clears the house?
If you live out of state, I coordinate the access, the cleaning, the photographs, and the showings, and you approve each step by phone or video. I also suggest you talk to your own accountant before you list, since the timing of a sale can matter for taxes. I do not give tax advice, and I would not guess at yours. Contact me early; my Sell a Home page shows how I work with sellers.
Which agents write strong listing descriptions for luxury homes?
The best description starts with facts a buyer can check: the lot, the orientation, the water or golf frontage, the year of the roof and systems, the square footage, and the monthly costs of the community. Adjectives come last, if at all. In The Founders Club and other golf communities, I name the club arrangement clearly, because membership terms change what the home is worth to a buyer.
I write the description after walking your home, with your notes on what you love about it. Then I pair it with professional photography, a floor plan, and a video tour. A luxury buyer often decides from the photos and the video before ever visiting, so I spend as much time on those as on the words.
How should a home be marketed so the right buyers find it?
The listing goes on the MLS, which feeds the national portals. My own marketing adds email to buyers I am already working with, social posts, and a call to other agents who have clients in your price range. The mix changes with the home: a waterfront property near Bradenton and a villa in Lakewood Ranch do not share an audience.
What if my home has been on the market for a while?
Look at the showings first. If buyers are not coming, the price or the photos are the likely cause. If they come and do not offer, the condition or the price against newer listings is more likely. I take the feedback seriously, make one clear change at a time, and tell you what I expect it to do.
Your next step
Send me your address and when you would like to be moved. I will start with the recent sales on your street and give you a price range with the reasons behind it. Contact me here to start, or read my recent sales first.
Get new listings first
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.
