ANNA MARIA – For the third year in a row, Jason Sato is the leading real estate seller in Manatee County, according to statistics logged by the Real Estate Association of Manatee and Sarasota counties.
He recorded 78 transactions with 38 sales in 2017 worth $93.9 million. He also recorded the highest single sale, a beachfront home at 102 Mangrove Ave. that sold for $4.5 million.
Sato is co-owner of Sato Real Estate at 519 Pine Ave. in Anna Maria. He said he senses a change in the market.
“More buyers are looking for homes for themselves,” he said. “They are looking for an Island lifestyle that’s laid back with lots of time for bicycling and beaches.”
He said more buyers are purchasing second homes to use in the cold months, just like buyers have been doing for years.
Sato is a Manatee County boy through and through. He attended Manatee High School and Florida State University, where he earned a degree in economics. He worked in Gainesville before returning to the Island. In 2006, he opened Sato Real Estate with his mother, Barbara.
Sato said the more expensive homes on the Island are in hot demand, with more high-end buyers than before.
Sato credits his team that supports him and his customers.
“They have been amazing,” he said. “The customers know what they want, and when they find it, they buy it.”