Friday December 2nd
5pm – 8pm – Holmes Beach Holiday Open House & Tree Lighting
Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce – 5313 Gulf Drive Holmes Beach
For more information call: 941-778-9679

6pm – Winter Story Film Festival Presents “Desk Set”
South Florida Museum – 201 10th Street West Bradenton
For more information call: 941-746-4131

Saturday December 3rd
10am – 2pm – Lester Family Fun Day
Anna Maria Island Community Center – 407 Magnolia Avenue Anna Maria
For more information call: 941-778-1908

Sunday December 4th
10am – 3pm – Bridge Street Market
107-111 Bridge Street Bradenton Beach
For more information call: 941-799-2181

10am – Brawn on the Beach Armature Strongman Contest
BeachHouse Restaurant – 100 Gulf Drive Bradenton Beach
For more information call: 941-779-2222

1. Saturday November 19th
10am – 4pm – Cortez Folk Arts Festival
Florida Maritime Museum – 4415 119th St. Cortez Village

2. Friday November 18th
5pm – 8:30pm – Porch Party with Refreshments
Olive Oil Company – 401C Pine Ave Anna Maria

3. Friday November 18th
5:30pm – 8:30pm – Families around the Campfire
Robinson Preserve – 1704 99th Street NW Bradenton

4. Friday November 18th
7pm – Drum Circle on the Beach
Manatee Public Beach – 4000 Gulf Drive Holmes Beach

5. Saturday November 19th
9am – 1pm Anna Maria Island Sandblast
Manatee Public Beach – 4000 Block Gulf Drive Homes Beach

6. Saturday November 19th & Sunday November 20th
9am – 5pm HARVEST FESTIVAL
Mixon Fruit Farms – 2525 27th Street East Bradenton

7. Saturday November 19th
6:30pm – 11pm Murder Mystery Dinner Theater
Anna Maria Island Community Center– 407 Magnolia Avenue, Anna Maria

8. Sunday November 20th
9am – Naturalist Led Wagon Tour
Robinson Preserve – 1704 99th Street NW Bradenton

9. Sunday November 20th
10am -3pm – Bridge Street Market
Bridge Street Bradenton Beach

10. Wednesday November 30th
12:30pm – Low tide paddle trip
Robinson Preserve – 1704 99th Street NW Bradenton

Daily Real Estate News | Friday, September 23, 2011

Prices are rising in Florida: Florida cities have had the largest year-over-year increases in average list prices, according to the latest real estate data from Realtor.com. Florida cities make up 9 of the top 10 places for highest year-over-year list price spikes, based off of August data of 2.2 million listings in 146 markets.  Nationwide, the average list price is $320,325, up 2.36 percent year-over-year.

Here are the top 15 cities boasting the highest percentage of year-over-year increases in average list prices.

1. Miami
Average list price: $640,332
Year-over-year increase: 27.4%

2. Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla.
Average list price: $443,570
Year-over-year increase: 26.27%

3. Central-Fla.-RSA
Average list price: $405,809
Year-over-year increase: 19.41%

4. Punta Gorda, Fla.
Average list price: $267,066
Year-over-year increase: 16.37%

5. Macon, Ga.
Average list price: $193,520
Year-over-year increase: 15.98%

6. Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla.
Average list price: $466,785
Year-over-year increase: 15.86%

7. Naples, Fla.
Average list price: $713,087
Year-over-year increase: 15.13%

8. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.
Average list price: $591,895
Year-over-year increase: 14.68%

9. Ocala, Fla.
Average list price: $193,360
Year-over-year increase: 12.07%

10. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
Average list price: $181,409
Year-over-year increase: 11.48%

11. Oralndo, Fla.
Average list price: $319,419
Year-over-year increase: 10.56%

12. Portland-Vancouver, Ore.-Wash.
Average list price: $314,537
Year-over-year increase: 10.52%

13. Boise City, Idaho
Average list price: $212,588
Year-over-year increase: 10.43%

14. Springfield, Illinois
Average list price: $174,537
Year-over-year increase: 9.12%

15. Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
Average list price: $211,414
Year-over-year increase: 8.34%

Do you want to find out what it feels like to soar 300 – 500 feet above the Gulf of Mexico? If so I highly recommend contacting Yolo Parasail to set up your very own parasailing adventure. The dry take-off and landing makes it safe and fun for all ages.  Captain Ryan Davis & Drew Hunter at Yolo Parasail will make your parasailing experience fun and easy; all you have to do is step into the harness, sit back and get ready for takeoff.

As you climb higher and higher you will be able to see the entire Island from Bradenton Beach to the City of Anna Maria, “it’s absolutely breathtaking”. When you are ready to go parasailing contact Yolo Parasail and experience this fantastic adventure.

Yolo Parasail
4330 127th. Street West
Cortez, FL 34215
941-792-6000
parasailflorida@yahoo.com

The Rod & Reel Pier is a must visit on Anna Maria Island, enjoy a drink in the open air bar, grab breakfast, lunch, or dinner in the restaurant, and go fishing all at the same location.

The food is fantastic on the Rod & Reel Pier, and you have your choice of dinning inside or outside. The inside tables sit along the bay so you can gaze out at the water while you enjoy your clam strips, fish & chips, or grouper prepared just the way you like it.  The seats outside face west perfect for watching those beautiful Anna Maria Island sunsets.

Fishing on The Rod & Reel Pier is good all year round, a bait shop is convienently located at the end of the pier is open from 7am-closings (around 9pm) feel free to call the restaurant for bait shop hours. 

Cast netting is not permitted at the Rod & Reel Pier but they do offer fishing pole rentals, a small selection of hooks, bait, basic tackle, and cold draft beer right in the bait shop!  The bait shop has both live and frozen bait for your complete Anna Maria Island fishing experience.  See you next time at the Rod & Reel Pier!

 
Rod & Reel Pier
875 N Shore Dr
Anna Maria, FL 34216

Eight homes have sold in eight weeks on Boca Grande for more than $2.5 million each and at an average price of $3.25 million.

It is the culmination of a trend that began late last year as high-end buyers got tired of waiting and began springing at perceived bargains up and down the tiny barrier island, says Bob Melvin, a veteran agent who co-owns Gasparilla Properties.

“They were all true beach properties — all of similar good quality and well maintained,” Melvin said. “On an island this size, once you have three or four sales on the beach, it changes the entire market.”

Flash back to the beginning of the year and there were 25 high-end beachfront homes for sale on Boca Grande, Melvin said. Now there are only 12, a 52 percent drop.

The way Melvin describes it, sales have fed on themselves. The same group of people has been looking to buy on the exclusive island since the height of the boom, and once they see one person buy, they get more anxious about buying themselves.

“They figure that if we’re not at the bottom, we’re near the bottom, and if they don’t act they will have to pay more for something they will either need to remodel or tear down and build from scratch,” Melvin said. “There’s also an age factor at work. A guy who is 62 and has been looking for three or four years doesn’t want to wait anymore.”

Even condominiums, which have not sold as well as single-family homes, are starting to find buyers, Melvin said, and construction is just about to pick up.

The same trends are affecting other markets throughout Southwest Florida, agents say. Anna Maria Island has been on a tear for several years. There are 14 high-end homes under construction on tiny Bird Key, and Lakewood Ranch has sold 18 homes in its Lake Club subdivision so far this year at an average price of $1.2 million.

Agents say these areas have been the first to rebound from the Great Recession because they are among the most desirable properties in the region.

An historic playground of the wealthiest families in America, Boca Grande also was less affected by the recession to begin with.

Barron’s magazine recently ranked Boca Grande as the third best place to buy a home in the U.S., behind Palm Beach and Aspen.

“That’s because homes here maintained their value better from peak to trough,” Melvin said. “Our homes only declined 18 percent, which compares to 40 to 50 percent on other barrier islands.”

Boca Grande also benefits from the Gasparilla Inn, Melvin said, which allows younger families to visit and build up the desire to buy.

“As the Inn goes, so goes the island,” Melvin says. “It may be too slow for the flashy gold chain crowd, but it allows younger people to see what a family-friendly place this is.”

Melvin said the real estate market started to recover in 2010, but the BP oil spill caused it to clam up.

“They pulled the plug on real estate negotiations,” he said. “But things started getting better toward the end of 2010.”

So far this year, Melvin’s company has sold nearly $100 million in real estate — with the highest price being a house at 341 Gilcrest Ave. that went for $6 million at the end of March.

Since then, Gasparilla Properties has sold 27 homes from more than $1 million each and is poised to close nine more totaling $25 million. The largest of that group is a house at 677 Boca Bay Drive with list price of $9.995 million.

“Up and down the length of the island, the inventory is getting pretty picked over,” Melvin said. “The numbers don’t lie.”

So it’s no wonder why tourism on Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key is up almost 6% this year compared to last year.  According to a recent report by Research Data Services Inc. of Tampa, the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau saw almost 2000 more visitors this May compared to May of last year.

Tourism was up 2.8% for the first 5 months of 2011compared to the first 5 months of 2010. The economic impact for May 2011 tourism alone was 30.4 million dollars compared to 28.3 million dollars in May 2010. Beautiful beaches were the number one reason why tourists chose the Anna Maria Island area, followed by great restaurants, clean environment, and crystal clear waters.

Island Real Estate broker Larry Chatt explains statistics, and property inventory on Anna Maria Island as of May 2011.  Transactions are up, inventory is down, and the demand for real estate on the Island is excellent. 

Island Real Estate has 10 fulltime real estate agents to help you with your real estate or vacation rental needs.  Whether it’s for vacation, or a lifetime contact Island Real Estate for your piece of paradise!

When homeowners lose everything in a disaster, they assume their home homeowners insurance will cover everything that has been lost, or damaged.  The truth is that without documenting all your belongings, you may never recover all of your losses. 

When it’s time to file an insurance claim, your claim is only as strong as your inventory list.  All homeowners should keep a list or video record of items in your home.  The record or inventory list should have everything from bed sheets to clothes and furniture.

Good record keeping is critical and does not have to be complicated.  A basic pen and paper list will work and can be stored in a safety deposit box or other secure locations.  With today’s technology online storage is also an effective way to keep track of your belongings, and there are plenty of websites that offer online storage for a small fee or sometimes even for free.  Your inventory list can be stored on remote servers, so you can keep track of your inventory and access your information from anywhere at any time.

Hands Across The Sand logo

This Saturday June 25^TH, hundreds of people will join hands on Anna Maria Island Beaches as part of the global event “Hands Across The Sand” to oppose offshore oil drilling, and to promote clean energy alternatives.   

The first Hands Across The Sand took place in February 2010, and was followed by an even bigger event in June 2010 that was organized to oppose drilling for oil off the coast of Florida.  The idea is to find more suitable energy alternatives for our planet.

If you would like to be a part of this year’s Hands Across The Sand event, there are 2 places on Anna Maria Island that you can join in this worthy cause.  One location is on the beach near the 52^ND street beach access in Holmes Beach, and another location is on the beach near Cedar and Mangrove Ave in Anna Maria.