As residents from other states have flocked to Florida in search of better weather and more space, Carrollwood has become one of Tampa’s hottest spots for bigger homes without compromising on proximity to the interstate, amenities like shopping and restaurants, and easy access to water with the neighborhood’s abundance of lakes. “We are under about one month of availability in Carrollwood. We are going through homes like crazy,” says Julia Wright, a Realtor with Keller Williams Tampa Properties and a Tampa native. “Carrollwood is always going to be a hot area to live in. I don’t foresee people fleeing Carrollwood ever. It’s just such a great, convenient area.” On the following page, read more about four of the homes that define the Carrollwood neighborhood.
1. 3306 EHRLICH ROAD
One of Carrollwood’s biggest draws is its lakefront homes, like this property on Bay Lake in old Carrollwood. Set back on almost 2 acres, it’s a contemporary five-bedroom, six-bathroom, 13,000-square-foot home with a detached pool home. “It’s a beautiful home that, when you’re driving down Ehrlich Road, you just don’t expect to see,” Wright says. “It’s just an example of somebody finding a lot and building their dream home on it,” a common theme throughout Carrollwood.
02. 11327 CARROLLWOOD DRIVE
Built by Tampa’s Alvarez Homes, this property was done in the Key West style and has a unique feel for Carrollwood. While its size is certainly appealing (4,800 square feet, six bedrooms and 4 ½ bathrooms), the key to this home is location. It features 174 feet right on the 200-acre Lake Carroll, and its position at the end of a cul-de-sac helps keep it somewhat secluded. This home is a perfect example of the bang for your buck you can get in Tampa’s more northern neighborhoods, Wright points out; in 2015, it sold for $1.1 million, a relative bargain compared to similar homes in South Tampa.
03. 4011 CARROLLWOOD VILLAGE DRIVE
Wright grew up in the Carrollwood area, and when she was a child, her mother worked as an MLS photographer. She loved looking at the earliest homes that sprung up in the Carrollwood Village planned community, like this Mediterranean built back in 1974. “It’s definitely an original Florida-style home,” Wright says. “It has the Spanish tiles and the curved driveway with pavers, plus it has a casita above the three-car garage.” She adds that this is one of the best existing examples of the neighborhood’s first homes as they were originally designed.
04. 12706 CASEY ROAD
Wright says this modern five-bedroom, five-bathroom Mediterranean — which features an expansive pool in the back and a statue in the middle of its circular front drive — stands out on the busy road through Carrollwood Village. “It’s one of those homes where the owners found a few acres and built their dream home,” she says, a common theme in this neighborhood. The home has never been sold, but with an estimated listing price of $1 million, it is on the very high end of Carrollwood’s real estate, Wright explains.
