House in Harbor Acres sells for record price

A home at 1423 Hillview Drive in Harbor Acres recently sold for $7.3 million. It sets a record for the elite and sought after neighorhood.

The high cost illustrates a truism about Sarasota real estate: opulence never goes out of style. The 10,500-square-foot mansion features six bedrooms, a home theater, an outdoor kitchen and entertainment area, a private dock and postcard-perfect views of Sarasota Bay and the John Ringling Causeway.

Sales have been somewhat steadier for multimillion-dollar homes. More than two dozen Sarasota homes in the $3 million-and-up range sold in 2006. Some larger housing markets had no such sales.

Chad Williams, the buyer, called the $7 million-plus price "definitely a deal." He decided to make on offer after seeing the house had been reduced in price from $9.95 million to $8.8 million and finally less than $7.7 million.

"We really see it as a tremendous investment that we get to enjoy," Williams said. "Mutual funds aren't nearly as fun."

"As expensive as the house was, it was definitely a deal," Williams said.

Source: Sarasota Herald Tribune

A contrarian seeks opportunities to profit from situations when the crowd mentality leads to unreasonable valuations for assets, either on the upside or the downside. In 2009 will we be saying, "I wish I had bought in 2007 when everyone else was selling"?