Prolific Lakewood Ranch homebuilder posts sales boost in four counties

Neal Communities, a homebuilder based in Lakewood Ranch — and one of the busiest locally based builders in the region, with $800 million in revenue in 2024 — reports surpassing its sales goals in both Sarasota-Manatee and Lee-Collier markets in March amid what it calls a “meaningful shift in buyer activity."

The builder had 102 contracted sales in March, beating its goal of 93, according to a statement.

“We saw a notable increase in traffic and conversion compared to January and February, as buyers began re-engaging after a slower start to the year,” Neal Communities Vice President of Sales Blake Lindsey says in the statement. “While macro conditions are still evolving, March indicates that demand is not gone, it’s delayed and highly selective, and we are adapting our approach to meet that reality.”

Here are the contracted sales:

• Manatee and Sarasota counties: 71 homes (beat corporate goal by nearly 8%)
• Lee and Collier counties: 17 contracted sales (beat goal by 12%)

“This marked the strongest monthly performance thus far in 2026,” according to a statement, which says the boost in activity came in all categories in all markets.

Meanwhile, luxury product Neal Signature Homes had six contracted sales on a goal of five, and attainable new home option Simply Dwell Homes reported eight contracted sales on a goal of seven.

Neal Communities has built more than 27,000 new homes in more than 90 communities from Tampa to Naples. The company consistently ranks among the nation’s top 100 homebuilders.