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Murray Homes is an awardwinning, family-owned, custom home builder with over 40 years of experience in Sarasota, Florida and the UK. Serving the greater Sarasota area from the waterfront to Lakewood Ranch, and Anna-Maria to Manasota Key, Murray Homes has been remodeling and building custom homes for over 25 years.
Like many others, a love affair with Sarasota and the Gulf Coast lifestyle began with visits to the area. President, Steve Murray’ s, father, a master builder of luxury homes in London, had semi-retired in the area. Steve and his wife Bev spent many happy vacations visiting Sarasota as a young married couple and with each visit they grew to love the area more and more.
After traveling back and forth for a few years in the late 1990s, the couple knew it was where they wanted to raise a family and build a business. It was clear that there was tremendous growth potential for new homes in Sarasota, and the market was set to explode. So, for Steve, who already had a proven track record in construction and real estate back in the UK, it was a dream to transfer his skill set, passion, and creativity to sunnier shores.
“ There’ s obviously a different way of building in this part of the world,” Steve shares.“ You need to have a license to be a general contractor, and in Florida particularly, there are specific building codes because of the climate. So, it’ s been a steep learning curve in terms of both education and experience, but now, as they say, the rest is history and here we are today. Over the years, we’ ve experienced booms and busts in the sector but have learnt to pivot according to the market.” 28