If you’ve ever been to Siesta Key, you know exactly how refreshing and relaxing it can be. The beautiful, serene landscape of the island provides amusement for the eyes, while the white sand beaches and gently rolling waves offer a day in the sun and surf any day of the week. Beyond that you are sure to find friendly faces and neighbors, restaurants galore, and a night life anyone can enjoy.

But have you ever considered purchasing a condo on Siesta Key? If so, or even if you’re merely mulling over the idea, be sure to take a look at the beautiful Palm Bay Club condominiums, located on the luxurious Crescent Beach of Siesta Key. There, you can easily enjoy private access to the beach, along with glorious views of the Sarasota Bay and, of course, the Gulf of Mexico.

The private beach, Crescent Beach, offers a much more secluded recreation than the widely popular Siesta public beaches. Whether you want to relax and simply bathe in the sun or grill it up for you and your closest friends in one of the barbeque facilities available for your private use, you’ll find every resource available to have a wonderful time year-round. Additional facilities for your enjoyment include picnic groves, heated swimming pools, boat docks, fishing piers, a large fitness center, game rooms, tennis courts, a private clubhouse…. even a yacht basin if you command the seas on your own vessel!

If you’re a fan of fantastic underwater views, diving and snorkeling possibilities in the Keys are absolutely amazing. The Point of Rocks is just a short distance from Crescent Beach, and offers spectacular marine species and coral formations.

Hosting a variety of shopping and eating possibilities, the Crescent Plaza and the Siesta Village are just a short walk away from the condos. If you feel like trekking just a short bit further, you also have the option of visiting the popular Ocean Boulevard, home to a number of bars and seafood joints.

If you wish to make the most out of your condo, the Palm Bay Club also allows short term rentals, allowing you to bring in even more revenue when you’re not enjoying the condo yourself! There’s even an onsite rental office to help manage the condo for you.

There’s no doubt about it, the Palm Bay Club Condominiums are by far one of the nicest condo complexes in the Keys. If you’re on the market for a condo, be sure to take a look.

I just created another place for Realtors to promote themselves. Visit RealEstateRag.com if you are looking for another place to blog or a Realtor directory. It is not 100% complete but it is far enough along for agents to use. Top contributors will get a photo and link in navigation bar.

I am in the process of building links and creating content so it gains authority over time.

Building Links

There are many factors when it comes to ranking well in Google. One of them is links. It is absolutely, positively crucial for you to get links if you want to be found on the first page of Google. You can either focus on a ton of low quality links, a few high quality ones or both.

If you are in a competitive market you have no choice but to build links. It may not be fun but it is necessary.

Quality Links

One way to generate quality links is to guest blog. You can write or have written high quality articles with links pointing back to your site. This can be time consuming but the links tend to be of higher quality because they are coming from original high quality content.

5 Places to Guest Blog other than ActiveRain.com

1) RealEstateWebmasters.com

2) Wannanetwork.com

3) BuildRealEstateResults.com

4) RealEstateRag.com

5) RealTown.com

ONLY PENTHOUSE AVAILABLE AT BEL MARE! The most beautiful and amazing views from every room. For the early riser there are the most unbelievable sunrises. From the living room and master suite you can enjoy waterfront living with many water activities.This penthouse has gone from a basic shell to a completed beauty, the current owners have completed this penthouse by building out all closets and pantry including shelving, baskets and drawers for all your special needs, electric fireplace in the living room with marble accents and a wall full of custom built bookshelves to display all your favorite trinkets. Solar blinds cover all the windows throughout. This penthouse offers you the best of all worlds - convenience and security of a condominium, but the warm, comfy feel as if you are in a home. Spacious split floor plan allows both you and your guest's privacy, with the living, kitchen and breakfast area in the center for gathering. Enter from your private entrance to so many special features including 10' ceilings, granite counters, spacious laundry room, wood cabinets, stainless appliances, and guest room's ensuite. Gated entrance with guard security and secure entries in to the building. Bel Mare is full of wonderful amenities of fitness center, three pools, outdoor grills, tennis courts, theater room, gathering room and billiards room. Convenient to Sarasota, Tampa and St. Petersburg. From three surrounding balconies you can see the Skyway Bridge, Tampa Skyline and Marina & water views.

View more photos, a virtual tour and property information at 140 Riviera Dunes Way #1401, Palmetto, Florida.

Doesn't that water look inviting? I took that photo when I took my family on a helicopter ride in the summer of 2010. This was the perfect day to do that as the water was super clear and the weather was phenomenal. This photo is a shot of south Lido Key and north Siesta Key off in the distance.

Lido Key is a small barrier island off the coast of Sarasota, Florida. It sits right next to St. Armands Key where you will find the fun and exciting shopping and dining destination of St. Armands Circle. This is a popular spot to people watch, grab an ice cream, get your shopping on, enjoy a tasty meal with your family or meet your friends for some drinks. Cha Cha Coconuts, Tommy Bahamas, Daquiri Deck, 15 South. The Columbia, Crab and Fin, Cafe L' Europe are just of the great places to enjoy.

Lido Key real estate is great place to catch the latest on what is happening with the market.

Lido Key Homes

Some of the finest homes in Florida are located in Lido Shores. Some of the homes have sold in excess of $13,000,000. In 2010 a newer homes was built in Westway Drive overlooking New Pass and it sold for $8,400,000.

Lido Key is small so you won't have hundreds of homes to choose from. If you decide to buy in Sarasota, Florida and this area fits your budget make sure you put it on your list. Very few areas can offer beach, boating and super easy convenience to shopping, golf, tennis, arts, culture and other entertainmain.

Lido Key Condos

Since Lido Key is much smaller than Siesta Key and Longboat Key your condo options are a bit more limited. Lido Key offers condos off the beach starting around $200,000 all of the way to multimillion dollar newer condos on the beach with mouthwatering views like Orchid Beach Club condos.

Lido Key Real Estate Update

Below are Lido Key, Florida sales in 2011.

The charts below are for the Lakewood Ranch real estate market. Do you think this market has bottom?

Here is the chart of homes for sale, pending and sold for the the last 5 years.

In October of 2006 there were 1,773 homes for sale in the Lakewood Ranch area. In April of 2011 there are 270 homes for sale. Quite a difference eh?

Absorption Rates

Here are the absorption rates % for the 5 years of Lakewood Ranch homes. In April of 2006 the absorption rate was 2.6%. In April of 2011 the absorption rate is 18.5%.

Months of Inventory

The above chart are months of inventory based on closed sales. In April of 2006 Lakewood Ranch had 39 months of inventory. In April of 2011 there is a 5.4 month supply of homes for sale.

Has this market bottomed?

Dr. Beach came out with his top 10 best beaches in the United States. Siesta Key ranked #1!

As a Sarasota Realtor we are always telling vacationers and potential home buyers about the beauty of Sarasota, Florida and more specifically Siesta Key beach. This beach is made up of 99% quartz and feels very refreshing on the skin. The sand is white and resembles sugar.

Read more about Siesta Key beach ranks #1 in the nation.

Here are the top 10 best beaches by Dr. Beach:

1. Siesta Beach in Sarasota
2. San Diego's Coronado Beach was runner-up.
3. No. 3 was Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii.
4, Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.;
5, Cape Hatteras in North Carolina;
6, St. George Island State Park, Florida Panhandle;
7, Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.;
8, Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.;
9, Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii
10, Cape Florida State Park near Miami.

Last year Siesta Key ranked #2. I suspect there were no major changes in the beach to propel it to #1. Regardless, we love the good press. Despite rankings I am sure all of the beaches above are gorgeous.

Want a condo on the #1 beach in the country? View them at Siesta Key condos.

Sarasota, Florida is blessed with miles and miles of gorgeous beaches. You will find amazing beaches on Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key, Lido Key, Siesta Key, Casey Key, Venice and Manasota Key. Siesta Key is the most popular beach in Sarasota. It consistently ranks as one of the prettiest beaches in the world. The sand is made up of quartz giving that cool. refreshing feeling and white powdery look.

Although, there is plenty of beachfront in Sarasota there aren't tons of places to find a single family home. Since the beach is the most sought after land it is thus the most expensive. Usually it makes economic sense to build condos on the beach and allow multiple people to live and enjoy it instead of just one homeowner.

Below are 5 places to find some fabulous Sarasota beach homes.

1) Casey Key

Casey Key is home to some of the finest real estate in all of Florida. The writer, Stephen King, purchased a home here several years ago for roughly $9,000,000. There are plenty of gulf to bay estates with values exceeding $10,000,000. The largest selection of Sarasota beach homes are found on Casey Key. There are very few condominiums here so most of the island is made up of single family homes. The island is narrow so many of the home owners not only have the beach on one side and the bay on the other. Residents can live the beach and boating lifestyle.

2) Sanderling Club

This gated community on Siesta Key feels a bit like Casey Key. The area is very lush, mature and has a hint of "Old Florida". There are some amazing beach front estates here in the Sanderling Club. Expect prices to start around $2,000,000 for a beach home in the Sanderling Club. Many of the homes are large estate sized lots with many of the homes palatial estates.

3) Siesta Key Beach

This is the beach everyone raves about. It is gorgeous and fun. Lots of Sarasota residents come here when they want to get their beach on. Tourists flock to Siesta Key beach every year for the sun, waves and sand. It is a very festive atmosphere. Most of the beach is made up of condominiums however there are a handful of single family homes on the beach. Prices for a beach homes generally start in excess of $2,000,000.  For a complete view of all Sarasota beach homes visit LuxurySarasotaRealEstate.com.

4) Lido Shores

Lido Key is a small island just off the coast of downtown Sarasota. Lido Shores is an exclusive waterfront neighborhood on the north end of the island. It is home to some of the most amazing waterfront homes in Sarasota, Florida. a couple of the homes here have sold in excess of $13,000,000. All of the residents of Lido Shores have a deeded access to the lovely Lido Key beach. Take a drive down Westway Drive for a view of some great real estate on the water.

5) North Longboat Key

Longboat Key is a barrier island off the coast of Sarasota and Bradenton. It is roughly 11 miles long. The beaches here are simply gorgeous. You won't find a large parking lot with tons of local residents on the beach. They are very quiet and peaceful. There are a handful of single family beach homes on Longboat Key with many of them on the north end of the island. Here you will find anything from a small old wooden cottage all of the way to a newer more modern structures.

Visit Guide to Sarasota Beach Homes for a complete look at other options.

My clients just purchased this fabulous waterfront home in Indian Beach neighborhood of Sarasota, Florida. This home has 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and 5,299 square feet. It has roughly 300 feet of seawall and rip rap. All of the rooms and bedrooms have fabulous water views. It feels like you are on a cruise ship when in the home. It truly is a remarkable property. It is one of the nicest Sarasota luxury homes that I have seen in a long time.

612 Indian Beach Lane Property Description

Panoramic views surround this impeccably constructed and masterfully detailed home. This is undoubtedly one of the finest homes ever built in Sarasota. This estate offers an exceptional main residence, glorious pool house surrounded by close to 300 ft. of seawall. Open pool with spa set on the water's edge. Boat dock with lift. Enter this luxurious home through custom mahagony door into soaring ceilings and luxurious Brazilian Tigerwood floors. Custom appointed kitchen with Woodmode cabinetry, Wolf stove, Subzero, Asko appliances. 4 large bedrooms, 4.5 baths. Generous space throughout with light flooding in all of the large windows and sliders. 4 car garage. Hurricane shutters. The asking price of this home was $3,249,000.

Sarasota Luxury Homes

The luxury home market is very active in Sarasota, Florida. We recently had a $12,500,000 home sale over on Longboat Key. That is great news for the Sarasota real estate market.

Above is the chart of properties with asking prices over $700,000 in Sarasota county. Notice the red pending line at the bottom and how it shot up from 50 properties to 83 properties in March. Obviously, this is good news as it is an indicator of future closings. The April 2011 numbers will be out shortly and my guess is that we will see the pending sales even higher.

Give me a call at 941.812.6272 if I can hlep you buy or sell a Sarasota luxury home.

Like the beach? Like stunning water views? You will love L' Elegance Sarasota condos located directly on Lido Key beach. This 105 unit building was constructed in 1996 which means you get high ceilings, large windows, lots of natural and some of the best views in Sarasota, Florida. The entire building is parallel to the beach and Gulf of Mexico. Which means that many of the residents have stunning water and beach views. The views to the east are equally impressive. If you are high enough in the building you can see downtown Sarasota, Bird Key and Siesta Key. The views are truly breathtaking.

L' Elegance Condo Sold

My clients just purchased unit 909 for $1,067,500(public record). The list price of the unit was $1,195,000 and we had it under contract within days of it hitting the market. This unit has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and is over 2,200 square feet which is quite sizeable for a beach condo. The most impressive thing with this condo are the views. Not only does it have fabulous views to the west but also stunning views to the east as the unit spans the entire building from front to back. There are balconies on both sides allowing the new owners to enjoy fabulous views.

My clients are very very happy with the purchase. I think they are going to love condo in L' Elegance on Lido Key.

Give me a call at 941.812.6272 if I can help you buy or sell a condo in Sarasota, Florida.