LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL—They said mega mansions were dead in the wake of the busted real estate boom. Lakewood Ranch is proving them wrong.

Bucking luxury real estate trends nationwide, five homes of 10,000 square feet or larger are planned this year or under construction now in Lakewood Ranch. All five are being built in the Lake Club, Lakewood Ranch’s most private and upscale gated community off University Parkway.

“In Lakewood Ranch, we saw the normal residential market begin to recover about a year ago, so it makes sense that now after home sales are starting to even out again, that the mega mansion market would follow,” Jimmy Stewart, vice president of sales for LWR Communities, tells GlobeSt.com. “In addition, while much of the country is still in recession or just beginning to recover, we have found that buyers want to buy where they know their value is protected.”

As Stewart sees it, master planned communities like Lakewood Ranch are a safe bet. Lakewood Ranch has a strategic location on the west coast of Florida near beaches, amenities like golf, trails and A-rated schools. Lakewood Ranch is one of the largest green-certified master-planned communities in the United States.

London Bay Homes is building a 14,000-square-foot home, now under construction, and a 13,000-square-foot home planned to break ground soon in the Lake Club. Westwater Construction has a 20,000-square-foot home soon to break ground, and Todd Johnston Homes has a 17,000-square-foot home planned to break ground this year, taking up three home sites. Paradise Homes has a 19,000-square-foot home planned for two home sites.

“People are getting more comfortable with home values,” Mark Miller, owner of Westwater Construction, said in a statement. “In addition, while the home we are building is two-to-three times the size of the average home in the Lake Club, because of energy efficient construction techniques like solar and LED lighting technologies, it will use the energy and power of a home one third its size.”  

Stewart reports 70% of homes buyers in the Lake Club are cash buyers and 60% are cash buyers across all of Lakewood Ranch. He expects the mega mansion trend to spread beyond Lakewood Ranch to other pockets where residential markets are well into their recovery like we are here.

“One other thing that may also be driving this trend is the commercial construction taking place in Lakewood Ranch right now,” Stewart says. “We have more than $150 million in commercial projects underway currently brining more businesses, schools and health care facilities to this area as well.”