Englewood
Old-Florida Gulf living — Manasota Key beaches, Dearborn Street's shops and music, and canal homes that still feel like a fishing town.
Live the MaxLife.
Search Homes for Sale in Englewood
First access
Get notified when a Englewood home hits the market.
VIP members see new Englewood inventory 48 hours before Zillow.
Background
A brief history
Englewood's first known settler family, William and Mary Goff, moved to the shore of Lemon Bay in 1878, when the area was little more than pinewoods and mangrove shoreline. The town itself was born of a land scheme with a citrus twist: three brothers from Englewood, Illinois — Herbert, Howard, and Ira Nichols — saw a Florida lemon-growing exhibit at Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition and platted a new Englewood on Lemon Bay in 1896, selling building lots paired with acreage for lemon groves. The brutal freezes of 1894-95 killed the lemon dream almost immediately, and the brothers pivoted to promoting the settlement as a winter resort. Dearborn Street, laid out along the old Goff family trail, became the commercial spine and remains the historic heart of town.
For most of the twentieth century Englewood stayed what it had been from the start — a fishing, farming, and lumber town on a quiet bay. Commercial mullet fishing on Lemon Bay sustained generations of families, and the town grew slowly compared to its flashier neighbors. Englewood was never incorporated, and as it expanded it ended up straddling the Sarasota-Charlotte county line, a quirk that still shapes daily life: the historic core and the 34223 ZIP code sit in Sarasota County, while much of south Englewood, including most of Englewood Beach on Manasota Key, falls under Charlotte County.
The modern era brought retirees and canal-front subdivisions from the 1950s onward, with neighborhoods like Englewood Isles and Overbrook Gardens offering Gulf-access canals off Lemon Bay. The 2024 hurricane season was a defining chapter: Hurricane Helene's surge and then Hurricane Milton — which pushed roughly six feet of surge across Manasota Key — devastated the barrier island, washed out a section of Manasota Key Road, and buried beach neighborhoods in sand. Recovery has been steady but slow; the washed-out stretch of Manasota Key Road was repaired and reopened in January 2026, and beach restoration work on both the Sarasota and Charlotte county sides remains ongoing as of mid-2026.
The feel
What it's like to live here
Englewood is the closest thing Sarasota County has to Old Florida that survived: a fishing town's bones under a retiree town's pace. Dearborn Street still hosts farmers markets and live music, the marinas and bait shops along Lemon Bay are working businesses rather than set dressing, and the canal neighborhoods are full of people who chose Englewood specifically because it is not Venice or Sarasota — less polished, less expensive, less scheduled. The mainland is mostly one-story block homes from the 1960s through 1990s, with pockets of newer construction, and the boating culture is genuine: for many owners the measure of a house is how fast you can get from the dock to Stump Pass.
The honest tradeoffs start with the 2024 storms. Manasota Key, Englewood's barrier island, took catastrophic surge damage from Helene and Milton, and in mid-2026 parts of the key are still a patchwork of rebuilt homes, empty lots, and active construction; the beach experience is recovering but not yet what it was. Beyond storm recovery, Englewood is genuinely remote by Gulf Coast standards — Sarasota is 45 minutes or more, there is no interstate access nearby, and the split between two counties means services, permitting, and even school assignments change depending on which side of the line you buy. Buyers who need nightlife, big-box convenience, or a quick commute should look north; buyers who want a boat-first, low-key coastal town at a discount to Venice will feel at home.
The details
What to expect
Flood, Surge & Insurance Reality
The 2024 storms removed any abstraction from this topic: Hurricane Milton pushed roughly six feet of surge across Manasota Key, and Helene had already flooded low-lying coastal streets two weeks earlier. Manasota Key and the canal neighborhoods off Lemon Bay sit in mapped FEMA AE and VE flood zones where flood insurance is effectively mandatory with a mortgage, while much of the inland mainland sits in Zone X. Older ground-level homes near the water also face FEMA's 50% substantial-improvement rule, which can force a full elevation or rebuild if repair costs exceed half the structure's value. Get an elevation certificate, a flood zone determination, and real insurance quotes — wind and flood — before going under contract on anything west of US 41. Newer construction built to the post-2002 Florida Building Code generally quotes meaningfully better on the wind side.
Condo & Milestone Inspection Reality
Englewood's condo stock — much of it built in the 1970s and 1980s along the bay and on Manasota Key — now lives under Florida's post-Surfside structural safety laws. Buildings three stories or taller must complete milestone structural inspections, generally at 30 years of age (local officials can require 25 for coastal buildings), and associations must fund Structural Integrity Reserve Studies rather than waiving reserves as many did for decades. The practical effect has been rising condo fees and, in some buildings, special assessments to catch up on deferred structural work. When buying any Englewood condo, request the milestone inspection report, the reserve study, the budget, and meeting minutes before your inspection period ends. Storm-damaged associations on the key add another layer — verify the status of insurance claims and repairs on common elements, not just the unit itself.
Two Counties, One Town
Unincorporated Englewood straddles the Sarasota-Charlotte county line, and the line matters more than newcomers expect. The county you buy in determines your property appraiser, tax rates, permitting office, utility arrangements, and school district — the 34223 ZIP in this report is the Sarasota County side, but cross south of the line and you are in Charlotte County's system, including its schools. Beach parking, park maintenance, and storm-recovery timelines also differ by county, which is why Englewood Beach (Charlotte) and Manasota Beach (Sarasota) have recovered on different schedules since 2024. None of this is a dealbreaker; it just means verifying the county, the flood zone, and the school assignment for the specific parcel rather than assuming anything from the Englewood address.
Canal & Boating Life
Englewood's signature product is the Gulf-access canal home — neighborhoods like Englewood Isles and Overbrook Gardens feed into Lemon Bay and out Stump Pass to the Gulf. Boaters should verify what a specific canal actually delivers: depth at low tide, fixed bridge clearances, and the condition of the seawall and dock, which took real damage in many spots during 2024 and can cost meaningful money to replace. Stump Pass itself shoals and has required periodic dredging over the years, so ask local marinas about current conditions for anything with a keel. Lemon Bay is a state aquatic preserve, which keeps the water quality and fishing excellent but also adds rules around docks and shoreline work. For sailors and larger powerboats, dry storage and marina options exist but are limited compared to bigger ports.
Recovery & Rebuilding Status
As of mid-2026, Englewood is most of the way back on the mainland and still actively rebuilding on Manasota Key. The washed-out section of Manasota Key Road reopened in January 2026 after a long closure, restoring the through-connection on the island, and both counties have been running beach and dune restoration programs since the storms. On the key itself, expect a streetscape that mixes fully restored homes, elevated new construction, vacant lots, and contractors — and price accordingly, because storm-affected properties trade at real discounts while finished, elevated homes command premiums. Buyers should also budget time for permitting, which has run slower than normal given the volume of rebuild applications. This phase creates genuine opportunity, but only for buyers who go in with clear eyes about timelines and total project cost.
Community
Amenities
- Historic Dearborn Street — shops, galleries, live music, and the long-running farmers market in Old Englewood Village
- Manasota Beach and Blind Pass Beach — Sarasota County public beaches on Manasota Key (restoration ongoing since the 2024 storms)
- Lemon Bay Park and Environmental Center — bayfront trails, kayak launch, and preserved mangrove shoreline
- Indian Mound Park — public boat ramp on Lemon Bay beside a prehistoric shell midden
- Lemon Bay Aquatic Preserve — protected estuary known for fishing, paddling, and clear-water grass flats
- Stump Pass Beach State Park — Gulf beach and boating pass at the south end of Manasota Key (verify current access post-storm)
- Englewood Sports Complex and Ann Dever Memorial Regional Park — fields, pool, and recreation on the Charlotte County side
Education
School assignments
- Sarasota County Schools (34223 side; south Englewood falls under Charlotte County Public Schools — verify which district serves a specific address)
- Englewood Elementary School
- Venice Middle School (verify zoning)
- Venice High School (verify zoning)
- Lemon Bay High School (Charlotte County side, verify zoning)
School zone assignments change. Verify with Orange County Public Schools before purchase.
Market Commentary
What the market is doing
Englewood gives you more waterfront-adjacent Florida per dollar than almost anywhere else in Sarasota County, and the last 12 months of MLS sales bear that out — 898 closings, which is real liquidity for a town this size. The median landed at $376K, with the bottom tenth of sales under $173K, mostly older mainland block homes and condos that represent the most attainable coastal entry point in the county. The top tenth cleared $913K, driven by Gulf-access canal homes and the rebuilding waterfront market. That spread is unusually wide, and it reflects a market still repricing storm-affected and storm-spared properties against each other. My advice in Englewood is to underwrite the insurance and flood picture on a specific house before falling in love with the price, because two similar listings can carry very different carrying costs here. For buyers who do that homework, this is one of the better value plays on the entire Gulf Coast. — Ryan Solberg
Active MLS Inventory
Search homes in Englewood
Live MLS search for Englewood is coming online shortly.
In the meantime, get notified when a home in Englewood hits the market — VIP list members see new Englewood inventory 48 hours before it appears on Zillow.
Get Englewood AlertsActive MLS Inventory
Homes available in Englewood
11 homes currently listed in Englewood.
$469,750
2617 E Palifox St
Tampa, FL 33610
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,752 sqft
Englewood
MLS ID #TB8498916, CENTRO REAL ESTATE.
Listing provided by Stellar MLS
$295,000
2905 E Chelsea St
Tampa, FL 33610
3 bd · 2 ba · 1,125 sqft
Englewood
MLS ID #O6404609, OPENDOOR BROKERAGE LLC.
Listing provided by Stellar MLS
$329,000
2623 E 38th Ave
Tampa, FL 33610
4 bd · 2 ba · 1,392 sqft
Englewood
This property is under contract. Contact us for backup offer opportunities.
MLS ID #TB8509026, POWER REAL ESTATE GROUP LLC.
Listing provided by Stellar MLS
$36,000 /lease
Englewood, Fl
Englewood, FL 34223
2,895 sqft · 0.16 ac
Englewood
This property is under contract. Contact us for backup offer opportunities.
MLS ID #D6147634, RE/MAX PALM REALTY OF VENICE.
Listing provided by Stellar MLS
$219,000
2910 E Emma St
Tampa, FL 33610
4 bd · 2 ba · 1,351 sqft
Englewood
MLS ID #L4958573, KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY SMART.
Listing provided by Stellar MLS
$1,600 /mo
50 S New York Ave #2
Englewood, FL 34223
1 bd · 1 ba · 530 sqft
Englewood
MLS ID #A4650167, FLORIDA DREAMIN' REALTY GROUP INC.
Listing provided by Stellar MLS
Also Worth Seeing
Related communities
Venice
South Venice
Venice's value neighborhood with its own private beach ferry — no HOA, no deed restrictions, and the Gulf a boat ride away.
Explore South Venice →
Venice
Wellen Park
One of America's best-selling master plans — Downtown Wellen's lakefront shops, CoolToday Park spring training, and village after village of new homes.
Explore Wellen Park →
Venice
Venice Gardens
Mid-century Venice at its most attainable — established block homes around Curry Creek, a community pool, and the Island a bike ride away.
Explore Venice Gardens →
Want Englewood homes first?
Hand-picked Englewood matches — 48 hours before MLS. Two to three per month.
Listings courtesy of Stellar MLS as distributed by MLS GRID
IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers’ personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.
Based on information submitted to the MLS GRID as of July 1, 2026. All data is obtained from various sources and may not have been verified by broker or MLS GRID. Supplied Open House Information is subject to change without notice. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.
All or a portion of the multiple listing information is provided by Stellar MLS, from a copyrighted compilation of listings. The compilation of listings and each individual listing are © 2026 Stellar MLS. All rights reserved.
Ryan Solberg, Broker · MaxLife Realty LLC · FL License #BK3354351 · Equal Housing Opportunity · Full disclaimer · DMCA