Anna Maria City Real Estate

Anna Maria Island Real Estate Services

Purchasing or selling your home is one of the biggest transactions of your life. For that reason it’s very important to  get it right. Statistics show using a National Realtor will minimize physical, mental and fiscal pain. That moves you into at least a 50-50 shot that your real estate professional will maximize your equity purchase or sale. See the 8 questions below to help find the top 5% real estate sales professionals on Anna Maria Island. By the way – you guessed it, all my answers are yes except for #8.  It may sound corny but Real Estate is my life…See below, I hope the questions help!  Email Larry.

#8) Is Real Estate your full time job?

#7) Is your office open 7 days per week?

#6) Is your office on Anna Maria Island?

#5) Do you live on Anna Maria Island?

#4) Do you own on Anna Maria Island?

#3) Do you have your own website?

#2) Can I find your website by typing Anna Maria Island Real Estate?

#1) Do you hold any leadership roles in the Anna Maria Island Community?

As if the real estate industry is not hurting enough, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just made it a little 

Lead Guidelines

tougher for property investors all across the United States.   The EPA has enacted a guideline in section 402 (c) (3) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that requires qualified contractors to work on property constructed prior to 1978. 

The TSCA focus much of their attention on lead-based paint hazards that are created by renovation, repair, painting activities, etc.  The new guideline is set to go effective April of 2010.  The targeted housing is mostly related to children facilities as well as Commercial buildings constructed prior to 1978.  Unfortunately there is one other area that is affected that plays a very large part of Anna Maria Island Real Estate.  Buildings which are planned to be leased require a certified trained general contractor.  This of course correlates to larger costs for Anna Maria Island property investors. 

If you plan to paint very small areas of your Anna Maria Island investment property then you are probably fine.  Check the guideline to be sure at last check it was 6 square feet per room.  So the bottom line, if you are planning to purchase an investment property that will require significant renovation, plan to rent it and was built prior to 1978, then be sure PRIOR to purchasing you receive a few quotes to be sure your renovation doesn’t cost significantly more than you planned.  The extra cost is yet to be determined but keep it in mind. 

For more information on the exact language used by the EPA visit the informational page on this new guideline.  Of course if this all seems overwhelming then please feel free to contact me for more information.  I would love to help find your “peace” of paradise on Anna Maria Island, Bradenton, Sarasota or Longboat Key or just answer a few questions.  For that matter contact me for any Florida area as my work with the best of the best Real Estate professionals in the Florida Leadership Academy will allow me to refer you to someone that will be sure to help! 

Check renovation costs

Anna Maria Island real estate saw an average year of transactions.  Inventory dropped to 500 properties which depending on which statistics you review is about 10% higher than normal.  Bank related real estate for sale continues to be around 5 -8% of our total inventory which continues to be much lower than the nation wide average.   Since 2006 an average Anna Maria Island property has lost an estimated 25-30% of their value.  The great news for Anna Maria Island is over time the value of our properties appreciate at 10%.  Supply and Demand is what drives prices so this entry focuses more on inventory changes as compared to 2008.  More charts of Anna Maria Island real estate statistics will follow to show 2009 results.  Stay tuned and review the inventory statistics below.

Below is Anna Maria Island real estate inventory as it stood the end of the calendar year 2009.

Anna Maria Island Inventory

Compare the breakdown of 2009 inventory to 2008 inventory and you see there is not much of a change.

Anna Maria Island Inventory - 2008

So lets talk details… Anna Maria Island Condominiums for sale in 2008 was 213 and at the end of 2009 the total condos for sale was 181.  Anna Maria Island single family homes for sale at the end of 2008 was 263 and 2009, 242.  Anna Maria Island Multi-families for sale for 2008 was 48 and the end of 2009 was 37.  Vacant lots for Anna Maria Island went up by one to 38 for 2009.

As you can see, the Anna Maria Island real estate market saw a healthy reduction in inventory for sale.   In total about a 10% reduction in real estate inventory for sale.  A nice reduction when the rest of the nation has gained real estate for sale.  The information above was taken from MLS.  If you have further questions don’t hesitate to call.

I continue to be amazed at all the Anna Maria Island Real Estate companies stating they have the best services on Anna Maria Island.  How can everyone say they have the best services?  Everyone has the best sales people, everyone uses the highest degree of ethics, everyone supplies the best real estate services.  In my opinion, talk is really cheap.

So how does the public differentiate between cheap talk and a results oriented Anna Maria Island Real Estate company?  The first step is to recognize quantitative versus qualitative results.  Qualitative results are warm and fuzzy.  A great qualitative example, ” Our office uses the highest degree of ethics when selling your Anna Maria Island

Anna Maria Island Real Estate

property.”  So what does this really mean?  Does this statement confuse action with results?   You bet it does.

So now that you know what to look for lets talk quantitative results and lets talk action that creates results…

Island Real Estate is the only Real Estate office on Anna Maria Island that is open both Saturday and Sundays.  Do you think our office being open 28% more than the rest creates results?

Island Real Estate averages 30,000+ visitors per month on our website.  Depending on the month more than 25% of those visitors are from Europe.  Do you think Island Real Estate has a better chance of selling your home compared to most real estate companies that have 5000 visitors in a good month?

Island Real Estate displays between a half page and full page of our listings every week in a local newspaper.  Island Real Estate consistently takes out the largest ads in our local newspapers.  Do you think displaying your real estate listing consistently in local newspapers creates more opportunity to sell your home?

Do you think an office that sells twice as much as its closest competition has a better chance of selling your property?

Quantitative results NOT qualitative!

Island Real Estate’s closest competition on a bad month has half the transactions we see.

Hopefully I have helped create some quantitative statements that help you work through the “bull” of everyone claiming they have the best real estate service on Anna Maria Island.  If you have any doubts who supplies the best service focus on quantitative results and when all else fails, Call Me and we can discuss specifics.  Better yet, just try to call your top pick offices at about 4 PM on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.   When no one answers give Island Real Estate a call (941) 778-6066.

I look forward to helping you sell or purchase your “peace” of paradise on Anna Maria Island.

Larry Chatt (941) 345-1288 or Email me.

Pool Holiday Rental

We continue to see signs of the housing turn around. It appears as though the first time home buyers credit of up to $8000 is beginning to take hold. Construction starts in United States for the month of June jumped 11% as compared to the month of May. The last four out of six months, housing starts have been up. It doesn’t hurt that home builders are in a rush to finish homes by November for their buyers to take advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit.

Our little Anna Maria island there are not many folks taking advantage of the first time home buyers incentive. Most feel as though Real Estate resort areas LEAD the market. I would hope everyone agrees that Anna Maria Island is a resort area. So, if the rest of the United States Market is moving out of the housing slump then it is investors are too late for Anna Maria Island’s low. I believe our little Anna Maria Island is a resort area and is a LEADING indicator for home sales information.

Absorption rates of real estate is a very important indicator. Nationwide our absorption rate moved down from 10.2 months of real estate inventory for sale to 8.8 months. (Source CNBC) Investors are entering the market due to low interest rates and fantastic real estate buys.

Below you will find Quarter 2, 2009 Anna Maria Island Real Estate inventory absorption chart. This shows the past number of years of inventory we have had on Anna Maria Island. The most important aspect of the chart below is the blue line which shows the amount of inventory on the island by quarter. It is an absorption figure which shows number of months of Anna Maria Island property for sale. It is a simple calculation. If there are 500 properties for sale and for the past quarter we averaged 50 properties sold per month then our inventory absorption is 10 months or there is an equivalent of 10 months of inventory on hand. The most important part of the chart below is our absorption level relative to previous periods of time.

This chart is property of Island Real Estate of Anna Maria Island and Alan Galletto and should not be duplicated.

Anna Maria Island Inventory

See the story below thanks to the Associated Press on the seven month high for housing starts… For more information on Anna Maria Island Real Estate for sale visit Island Real Estate’s website.

updated 1:49 p.m. ET, Fri., July 17, 2009

WASHINGTON – Construction of new U.S. homes rose in June to the highest level in seven months as builders rushed to pour foundations for homes that must be completed by the end of November for first-time buyers to take advantage of a special tax break.

The Commerce Department said Friday that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 3.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 582,000 units, from an upwardly revised rate of 562,000 in May.

It was better than the 530,000-unit pace economists expected, and was the second straight monthly increase after April’s record low of 479,000 units.

It’s still a great time to buy on Anna Maria Island although inventory has dropped again and our inventory has moved down slightly on the island. In addition, the amount of inventory has dipped to below 30 months.]

A few things point to the bottom has come and gone for Anna Maria Island Real Estate. Firstly, in the month of April, Island Real Estate of Anna Maria Island sales professionals averaged more than one contract every other day. The sales activity was similar to the highest activity months in 2004 and 2005. I suspect in the next few months we will see a continued drop in inventory and more importantly a substantial drop in the amount of months of inventory on hand. As supply continues to drop, prices will increase.

In addition, interest rates last week inched above 5.0% with several economists claiming our economic low has come and gone and we would see an improvement in the economy later this year.

Anna Maria Island Real Estate Inventory

Act now, there are still a few real estate deals in Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria City.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

There is a fabulous new resource for luxury property searches on Anna Maria Island. Island Real Estate of Anna Maria Island, Inc is proud to announce the addition of Anna Maria Luxury Real Estate . The website was implemented based on an overwhelming demand from Island Real Estate’s clients for more information on specialized luxury property for sale on Anna Maria Island and the immediate area.

Featured properties, virtual tours, and dynamic searches are sure to make your search quick and productive. If you are searching for high luxury real estate in the Anna Maria Island areas be sure to visit Anna Maria Island Luxury Real Estate FIRST.

Pictured to the below, Vista Grande pool, a luxury gulf front home-like condominium in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island.

Luxury outdoor living

Anna Maria Island continues to be a bright spot in Real Estate news. Transactions continue to be significantly above 2007. Our average sold prices for single family residences are more than 18% higher than 2007. Our average sale price per square foot is holding steady against 2007 levels for single family residences. See below chart…

Average Sales price for Anna Maria Island Real Estate

Anna Maria Island is still a fantastic place to diversify your investments. Even with our correction on single family residences over the past 7 years property has returned an average of more than 10%. Couple that with a property that you rent out through Island Real Estate’s fabulous vacation rental program and your investment can quickly become a power house within your portfolio of investments. See below chart…

Anna Maria Island Single Family Historical Prices