Biggest, oldest, cheapest: Tampa Bay’s 2020 superlative home sales

The coronavirus pandemic stunted many industries in Tampa Bay, but real estate sales quickly rebounded. Starting in the summer, demand roared back and Realtors have continued to describe a housing market experiencing a boom.

Just like the people who bought them, each house sold has its own character. Some properties were especially unique.

The following is a roundup of superlative sales of the year: the biggest and smallest homes, the oldest homes, the sale with the lowest price and the property with the most bathrooms sold in Tampa Bay.

The analysis was conducted using the Multiple Listing Service as of Dec. 17 and included all residential sales entered into the database in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties:

Biggest home

The biggest home sold this year in Tampa Bay was the 18,703-square foot Avila mansion of Major League Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar. The sale closed in May for $4 million.

Its expansive square footage includes nine bedrooms, 10 full and three half bathrooms, a wine cellar, a cigar room, a home theater, five fireplaces and a two-story closet in the master suite. The estate sits on a total of about 3.4 gated acres.

In case you were curious, this home also takes the titles of the house with the most bathrooms sold, and is among those with the most bedrooms.

Alomar played with several Major League teams, starting with the San Diego Padres and including the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians.

Smallest home

Depending on whether you include habitable space or not, there are actually two different winners of this category.

The lowest square footage sale of a residential property this year came in at just 100 square feet. It was a Riverview mobile home that sold for $87,000 in June. It actually had three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms. But because the property was dilapidated and was “uninhabitable,” said Realtor Nancy Monsipapa, the 100 square feet was an estimate of how much of the home was still livable.

“It was my most bizarre sale in all of my real estate history,” she said.

She said she believes the buyer may have already razed the home.

The smallest inhabitable dwelling was a 205-square foot studio condo in Madeira Beach, which sold in May for $120,000 by listing agent Tory Belloise IV. It’s roomy enough only for a bed, kitchenette and folding table with chairs, plus a bathroom with a shower. But it has the benefit of being across the street from the white sands of the beach.

Lowest price

The lowest priced-sale of a residential property in 2020 was this New Port Richey mobile home, which sold for $8,501 in March after being listed for $7,000.

The listing described it as “NOT habitable” and noted that prospective buyers would not be able to tour the inside “due to safety reasons.” But the value of the purchase was in the land as well as the fact that the impact fees to construct a new mobile home on the site, estimated at around $15,000, had already been paid, according to the listing.

Oldest home

There was a tie for the oldest home sold in 2020, because three purchased properties were all built in 1888.

Two of those properties were condominiums, units 3E and 4F, at the Detroit Hotel in downtown St. Petersburg. One was sold in Feburary for $305,000, while the other was sold in August for $300,000. They are both two-bedroom, two-bath units.

One of the listings described exposed brick walls, vaulted ceilings, wood flooring and a balcony overlooking 2nd Street.

The historic hotel was likely St. Petersburg’s first hotel and was built by city founders Peter Demens and John C. Williams. It was converted to condos in 2002.

The other 132-year-old property sold in Tampa Bay was a house in Dunedin, built by “wealthy midwesterners,” according to its listing, which promised that the home would take its new owners “back in time.” Its sale closed on July 1 for $2.55 million.

Despite the historic age of the five-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom home, it got a “complete renovation” in 2012 and now features hurricane windows, among other modern amenities. It overlooks the Intracostal Waterway and also has a heated pool and spa, a dock with two boat lifts, fireplaces and detailed woodworking.

Most bathrooms

OK, so this property technically has one fewer half bathroom than Alomar’s former mansion, but with 10 full bathrooms and two half baths, this property is still worthy of an honorable mention in this category.

The waterfront Tierra Verde estate, with eight bedrooms, was sold on Oct. 30 for just over $8.6 million. In addition to its numerous bathrooms, the property also boasts 276 feet of water frontage on the Gulf of Mexico as well as quartz and marble countertops and a gym.

(Looking for the most expensive property sold in 2020? The Tampa Bay Times will be publishing a list of the most expensive homes sold after Dec. 31, after all of the year’s sales have been finalized.)