The following homes were under contract on Longboat Key from Aug. 26 through Sept. 2

Panoramic views of Sarasota Bay welcome you the minute you step inside the 20-foot high entry foyer/living room of this Queens Harbour residence. Finishes include crown molding, custom built-ins, tasteful cabinetry throughout kitchen and baths, and marble floors. A curved, wood stairway with scrolled railing leads to the second floor seating area and overlook with a two-story view of the pool, expansive patio, private boat dock and beautiful mangroves on Sarasota Bay.

The financial reform bill signed into law by President Obama included the creation of a powerful Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to oversee the mortgage lending industry.

While oil was still leaking into the Gulf of Mexico and morale toward beachfront real estate ebbing with every nightly news report, Coldwell Banker Previews agent Patrick Dipinto literally wove together a sale that involved gaining the approval of 75 percent of Lido Shore’s homeowners.

This spacious, 3,197-square-foot, three-bedroom, 2.5-bath residence lives like a home and is beautifully remodeled with such features as hardwood floors, new kitchen and cabinetry, new family room, plantation shutters, crown molding and new bathrooms.

The following homes were under contract on Longboat Key from Aug. 20-25

According to the Sarasota Association of Realtors, property sales in the Sarasota real estate market in July 2010 slowed to pre-tax credit numbers following the expiration of the federal $8,000 homebuyer incentive.

The following homes were under contract on Longboat Key from Aug. 12-19

As this edition of the Longboat Key News goes to press, the last chapter in the ugly saga of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is being written. After a summer of depressing headlines and grim images of the spill’s effects on beaches, marine life, businesses and tourism along the northern Gulf Coast, the latest dispatches from the disaster site bring much welcomed relief.

The following homes were under contract on Longboat Key from Aug. 5-11