- July 30, 2026
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Two Sarasota-area communities and one near Punta Gorda rank among the top five master-planned communities in the nation, based on new home sales from the first half of 2026, according to real estate firm RCLCO.
Topping the list of the top 50 master-planned communities in the United States was The Villages, northwest of Orlando, which sold 1,800 homes from January to June 2026. That represents a 12% year-over-year increase for The Villages, whose demographic is mainly 55-plus.
Lakewood Ranch ranked No. 2, Wellen Park was No. 3, and Babcock Ranch earned the No. 4 spot on RCLCO’s list of the top 50 master-planned communities in the U.S. as of mid-year.
With 1,064 home sales in the first half of 2026, Lakewood Ranch is the top-selling multigenerational community in the country, according to RCLCO. Its sales are down 10% year-over-year. That said, home sales above $1 million are up compared with 2025, according to a statement from Lakewood Ranch, which says that multigenerational buyers lead the market, with active adult and retiree buyers posting the strongest year-over-year growth.
No. 3 on the list of top-selling master-planned communities is Wellen Park, which has sold 727 homes in the first half of 2026, a 37% increase since last year. The community near North Port and Venice in south Sarasota County has about 10,000 residents and will have 22,500 homes and more than 50,000 residents at full buildout.
Babcock Ranch ranks as the No. 4 selling master-planned community in the nation, with 659 homes sold from January to June. That number is up 28% year-over-year.
“Babcock Ranch’s continued ascent, building from its resilience story following Hurricane Ian and its distinctive sustainability focus, presents one of the most compelling master-planned community development stories in the country,” RCLCO says in its report.
Florida represented 44% of sales among ranked communities, followed by Texas, which had 31%.
Here are the communities from around the region that made RCLCO's list:
To be included in the rankings, master-planned communities had to have been developed from a comprehensive plan by a master developer; provide a variety of housing types, sizes and prices; and incorporate common space, amenities and a “vital public realm,” according to RCLCO.
The firm notes that master-planned communities are more insulated from headwinds than other segments of the housing market. Nationwide, new home sales are down 5.6% year-over-year in June, RCLCO says. In contrast, those on its list of the top 50 master-planned communities saw new home sales rise nearly 2.9%.
"Consumers seek safety and lifestyle value in master-planned community environments," RCLCO says in its report, "trusting that their investment is protected by the place-making, amenity depth, and product diversity that top developers deliver."
