Real Estate Archives - Island Real Blog

Anna Maria Island Real Estate – Quarterly review

Anna Maria Island Real Estate is a small micro market of Manatee County real estate. Frankly over the years there has been enough disparity between Bradenton real estate let alone Manatee County real estate that it has made sense to measure Anna Maria Island Real Estate separately from local mainland real estate. For more than fifteen years we have been tracking Anna Maria Island real estate transactions only.

We do find differences between the three cities when it comes to number of transactions as well as market pricing. More specifically the same property located in Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria City will most definitely have differing value. Bradenton Beach likely due to the higher density of properties is normally valued less than Holmes Beach. In addition, Holmes Beach real estate is valued a little less than Anna Maria City.

Finally there are significant differences in market value of a single family home, duplex and Condominium. Using rough numbers we average about one vacant lot sold per month, two duplexes sold per month, ten condominiums sold per month and twenty single family homes sold per month for Anna Maria Island Real Estate. Of course this is not 100% accurate but only to provide a rough estimate to see the absorption rate of varying property types.

Island Real Estate has several proprietary Anna Maria Island charts that we like to use to provide more insight into our real estate market. Since our real estate marketplace is made up of primarily second home buyers it is important to provide data to overall trends of local real estate. Our data provides a culmination of more than 15 years of data. We focus on supply and demand to aide us in where we believe the Anna Maria Island real estate market is headed. Rolling one, five and 10 year averages can provide insight into where the market is heading along with absorption rate charts. The following real estate newsletters is our answer to help you with our local real estate market.

Island Real Estate has no weekend warrior real estate agents. We only have full time real estate professionals and while most Anna Maria Island real estate companies are adding at least one sales agent on average per year, Island Real Estate has added two in the last ten years. Why so few? We believe only the best will do when it comes to helping customers with as large of an investment as purchasing on Anna Maria Island. Just ask a local who is the best real estate company on Anna Maria Island and you will find the vast majority tell you “Island Real Estate is an institution on Anna Maria Island that has dominated the local market for more than 15 years. You wont go wrong with any of the sales professionals at Island Real Estate.”

Visit our Real Estate sales professional page or our real estate listings on Anna Maria Island.

Anna Maria Island History – BP oil spill

The BP oil spill otherwise known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was a significant event for Anna Maria Island although it took place more than 250 miles away. April 20th, 2010 on the BP operated Macondo Prospect there was a wellhead blowout which caused fatal explosions killing 11 people and injuring 17 others. The blowout caused more than 4,900,000 barrels of oil to be spilled into the Gulf of Mexico making it the worst oil related industrial accident in the history of the world.

The oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico at unprecedented rates caused panic among Anna Maria Island visitors and residents for more than three months when BP was able to complete a “static kill” which finally contained the leaking wellhead. The sheer magnitude of the continued BP oil spill in conjuction with concerns for oil washing up on Mississippi, Alabama, North West Florida and Louisiana created escalating concerns Anna Maria Island would never be the same. Shuttering images of oil coated sea life created visitor cancellations as well as real estate transaction cancellations for several months. Below is an estimate of the oil spill area.

BP oil spill area

Thankfully no oil washed up within hundreds of miles of Anna Maria Island beaches and life got back to normal by 2012. Real Estate was quick to recover within the next 12 months and while visitation for 2011 was affected by 2012 Anna Maria Island visitors were back stronger than ever. It’s never an exciting proposition to remind us our paradise is at risk every day but sure helps to be reminded how very lucky we are to visit and or reside in such a fantastic place. Let’s hope many lessons of the BP oils spill have been learned and the world never has to endure another oil industrial catastrophe.

Steps to make Anna Maria Island – HOME

So, you’ve fallen in love with Anna Maria Island and want to call it home…we can’t blame you, that’s how most of us ended up here too! But what’s your next step in making our paradise your new home?

Step 1: Start with Island Real Estate. As soon as you can, call Island Real Estate and one of our professional local Realtors will share with you island market trends and current listings.

Step 2: Determine the budget of your investment. Lenders generally recommend that people look for homes that cost no more than three to five times their annual household income if the home buyers plan to make a 20% down payment and have a moderate amount of other debt. But you should make this determination based on your own financial situation. Each listing has a mortgage calculator on IslandReal.com to help you!

Step 3: Unless you are paying Cash or have a 1031 Tax Deferred Exchange, get Prequalified for Your Mortgage. Island Real Estate can introduce you to proven successful lenders in our area so you can get prequalified for a mortgage. To get prequalified, you just need to provide some financial information to your mortgage banker, such as your income and the amount of savings and investments you have. They will review this information and tell you how much they can lend you.

Step 4: Shop for Your Home and Make an Offer You and your Island Real Estate Realtor will start touring homes in your price range. You may see a lot of houses! It can be hard to remember everything about them, so you might want to take pictures or video to help you remember each home. Your Realtor will also provide details on each listing.

Step 5: Get a Home Inspection Typically, purchase offers are contingent on a home inspection of the property to check for signs of structural damage or things that may need fixing. Your Island Real Estate agent will help you arrange to have this inspection conducted within a few days of your offer being accepted by the seller. This contingency protects you by giving you a chance to renegotiate your offer or withdraw it without penalty if the inspection reveals significant material damage. Both you and the seller will receive a report on the home inspector’s findings. You can then decide if you want to ask the seller to fix anything on the property before closing the sale. Before the sale closes, you will have a walk-through of the house, which gives you the chance to confirm that any agreed-upon repairs have been made.

Step 6: Have the Home Appraised. Your lender will arrange for an appraiser to provide an independent estimate of the value of the house you are buying. The appraiser is a member of a third party company and is not directly associated with the lender. The appraisal will let all the parties involved know that you are paying a fair price for the home.

Step 7: Purchase required Insurances. Every area has their own unique set of required insurances. Your local Island Real Estate Realtor is very knowledgeable with the flood and wind insurance needs for our island.

Step 8: Coordinate the Title Insurance. As you can imagine, there is a lot of paperwork involved in buying a house. Your Island Real Estate Realtor will arrange for a title company to handle all of the paperwork and make sure that the seller is the rightful owner of the house you are buying.

Step 9: Close the Sale – Congratulations! At closing, you will sign all of the paperwork required to complete the purchase, including your loan documents. Island Real Estate will be with you and ensure everything goes according to plan and to make sure you receive all the necessary keys, etc. needed so you can celebrate your new purchase!

Anna Maria City Rental information

If you are searching for real estate on Anna Maria Island in Anna Maria City and you are interested in earning rental income then look no further. The following Anna Maria City rental information is intended to help buyers with zoning and deed restriction information. Frankly Anna Maria City as well as Bradenton Beach are significantly different than Holmes Beach when it comes to zoning and rentability. Let’s first make sure we define “Anna Maria City” property areas. Anna Maria City property starts at Beach Avenue and angles it’s way to the South East along White avenue then follows a trajectory backwards towards Oak. Best bet, consult the zoning map posted at Anna Maria City Hall. For convenience I have provided the most recent Anna Maria Zoning map. When reviewing the map, take note of Residential, Retail over Residential and Commercial zones in Anna Maria City.

Zoning: With the exception of Residential over Retail (ROR) and Commercial zones which are primarily along Pine avenue and Gulf Drive, rental options for your potential Anna Maria City property are relatively easy. Anna Maria City allows for nightly rentals. Please be aware, while the city allows for nightly occupancy I strongly suggest that frequency is not followed. Nightly rentals can cause a significant disturbance in the community. I strongly suggest when purchasing any real property on Anna Maria Island that all income considerations are done using weekly rental estimates. If you wish to rent in longer periods of time such as monthly or annually all section of Anna Maria City are open to such rentals with little to no restrictions.

Deed Restrictions; location and new construction: It is important to note there are several areas within Anna Maria City which have deed restrictions which do limit both the number of times the real property can be rented as well as the length of time. Most location Deed restrictions are located along the beach. Unfortunately there is another set of restrictions which are more random throughout the City of Anna Maria. Several years back, Anna Maria City provided permits to build for mostly homes larger than 4 bedrooms if the owner signed a deed restriction which limited the frequency the property could be rented. The seller and real estate professional must disclose this information however it is best to ask during your review of the property are in place. If Deed restrictions are provided to you at time of contract it is imperative you seek legal advice to review all restrictions to assure you may use your new found property as intended.

Occupancy Restrictions: So we have established most of the City of Anna Maria can be rented weekly, monthly and annually. There are some exceptions but 95% of Anna Maria City property has significant availability to rent. There is one last set of circumstances to be concerned with, Occupancy restrictions. Anna Maria City currently allows for two occupants per legal bedroom up to a 4 bedroom property. For less than 4 bedrooms there is latitude to allow an additional 2 occupants. Beyond 8 occupants there are limited options for weekly rentals in Anna Maria City. The bottom line, if you are serious about seasonal renting and you are considering an Anna Maria City property then it is critical you research the occupancy allowed for the specific property. Allowed occupancy is not zone related in Anna Maria City but litigation related. If the property owner filed Bert Harris litigation in 2016 or beyond and won, that specific property will be grandfathered to allow for more occupancy than standard. Of course occupancy and seasonal rental income have a direct relationship. More occupancy typically provides for more income. Less occupancy allowed means less income.

Anna Maria City Real Estate professional: Hopefully our Anna Maria City Rental information provides an idea that a little knowledge can be very dangerous when purchasing a property in Anna Maria city as well as Anna Maria Island. Please be sure you utilize an experienced Anna Maria Island real estate sales professional. No weekend warriors allowed! Do not utilize a friend located in another area of Florida to save a little commission or “throw them a bone.” I have numerous horror stories that a new owner’s intention for a property was not allowed because experienced professionals were not used during the buying process. This can happen to you! It all starts with a real estate sales professional that provides accurate information as well as referrals to local experienced general contractors, bankers, inspectors, accountants and lawyers. Sure, your best bet is just to utilize an Island Real Estate sales professional however if you want to perform your own research then the following questions and research we would strongly suggest.

A) Is their office located on Anna Maria Island? If the answer is “no” then move on and there are no further questions to be asked. There are way too many changes occuring and the office HAS to be local to keep up with all three cities.
B) How many Anna Maria Island listings does the individual have currently or in the past? If in the last two-three years you cannot find at least 10 listings then MOVE ON.
C) Use some of the zoning information above and ask the real estate sales professional what zones are located in Anna Maria City? All FULL TIME local sales professionals should be aware of at least two of the three.
D) Ask if there are any occupancy restrictions in Anna Maria City? If you wanted to rent out to 16 people is that allowed? If the sales person answers no problem without caveats then RUN.

I hope my Anna Maria city rental information page is helpful in assuring you find your “peace of paradise.” Here is a link to the Anna Maria City Vacation Rental information however I would caution if this is your primary plan to assure you purchase the right piece of Anna Maria City property, stop NOW. Your strategy is flawed. Don’t go it alone, you need a LOCAL real estate professional to help in your search.

Thanks for visiting – Larry Chatt

Anna Maria Island Real Estate – How is the market?

Let me try to answer the age old question… “How is the real estate market on Anna Maria Island?” This as anyone can imagine is a difficult question to answer. This newsletter is meant to provide general real estate information about Anna Maria Island real estate but for sure there are several micro markets within Anna Maria Island real estate. Not to bore you but below is a bullet list of our micro real estate markets.

Which city is the property in? Anna Maria, Holmes Beach or Bradenton Beach?
Does the property have favorable rentability? That is if duration and/or frequency is limited for vacation guests.
What is the location of the property as it relates to water? Is the property gulf front, gulf views, canal, bay, open water and the list goes on and on.
Is the property a single family, condo or duplex?

As you can see it is dangerous to attempt to purchase property without a local full time real estate professional. I can’t tell you how many proud new owners of property on Anna Maria Island called to receive help renting out their property and I was the bearer of bad news. Either the location was too far from the beach or worse yet the property was restricted to 30 consecutive day rentals. Normally when I asked who helped them purchase their property it was a relative from another area or a real estate professional in Sarasota or Tampa. Please, dont do it!

Below is a proprietary chart that supplies more than 10 years of real estate data on Anna Maria Island only. The blue vertical bars show by quarter the amount of real estate transactions. The Red line shows the 1 year rolling average of property transactions. The Green line shows the 5 year rolling average and the purple line shows the 10 year moving average.

Rolling average transactions on Anna Maria Island

Why am I showing you this chart? This can be used to forecast when the market is getting close to a correction. I usually like to use the 5 year moving average however some prefer the 10 year as the benchmark. If you review the last year and half you can see the 5 year rolling average has leveled. Most statisticians would also point to the areas where the 1 year rolling average dips below the 5 year average and of course points to a general trend of values going down on the island. BUT, not so quick. This is where micro markets are affecting the rolling averages. Single family properties within 3 blocks to the beach have been appreciating very well while condos have not and have been flat at best for the last two years. How muddy did I just make the water? I hope pretty muddy and believe it or not my main point is that the answer of “how is the real estate market?” depends on AT LEAST the bullets I listed above. Ask specifically about single family homes and my answer is “very well”, averaging double digit appreciation the last 5 years. Ask about condos and my answer would be “not great.” Inflationary appreciation for the most part and the real question is when will condos catch up to single family homes? Sorry, don’t have that answer. You can be assured if I see any of our supply and demand charts providing insight appreciation is coming I will be sure to provide that information in this blog.

Happy hunting…

Rear Door Recycling Pick-Up now available in Holmes Beach

Holmes Beach – We’re proud to announce that effective June 1st all of our Holmes Beach properties will have rear door recycling! No more taking you’re recyclables to the curb!

Recycling will be collected on Tuesdays, while trash is still being picked up on Monday and Friday. See below a break down of what and what not to put in your recycling bin, and where to place it.

There are two separate garbage receptacles available. One is for garbage waste, and one for recyclables listed on the top of the can.

Visit the Holmes Beach city website for additional information.

Anna Maria, The Community Fig Newtons Built

Anna Maria – As you wander down the beach, watching the waves dance to a brief kiss on the sand, imagine the fierce spirit it took to develop this tropical paradise from then to now. It helps to eat a Fig Newton while you are pondering, because….

In 1891 a Philadelphia baker, Charles Roser invented and then patented the machine which inserted fig paste into a thick pastry dough. Kennedy Biscuit Company purchased the Roser recipe and started mass production in 1891. The product was named Newton after the small town of Newton, Massachusetts. When Kennedy merged with the New York Biscuit Company to form NABISCO, they trademarked Fig Newtons.

Around that same time, George Emerson Bean had homesteaded the northern 160 acres of Anna Maria Island in 1892.

With his financial windfall from the sale of his recipe and patent on the machine to make Fig Newtons, Charles and his wife moved to St. Petersburg, where he started a real estate development company. Charles had a sharp business mind and realized the opportunities that this little oasis provided. He partnered with Beans’ son, George Wilhelm Bean, after he inherited his fathers homestead in 1898 and the Anna Maria Beach Company was born.

They laid out the street maps, built sidewalks and a water system and began selling lots. At this time the only access to the island was by boat, so Roser built a 678 foot long pier to accommodate the ferries that would bring residents and day trippers to the Anna Maria Beach Company. Next he built the Roser Memorial Church in homage to his beloved mother. It was the first church on the island and has continued to grow and flourish over the 101 years it has been in existence! Roser also had a real estate business office built right at the end of Pine Avenue to catch the eye of everyone stepping off the pier to enjoy the island. It was a dream to own a piece of this paradise back then and it still is.

Historic Green Village – The model of going Green on Anna Maria Island

If you’re on Anna Maria Island you have to check out the Historic Green Village (HGV). This unique combination of commercial and residential buildings combines today’s modern energy efficient technology in a historic setting.

Historic Green Village

Owners Mike and Lizze thrasher had a vision for Pine Ave when they vacationed here in 2007. The couple bought 4 adjacent lots on Pine Ave which only had two usable properties and a few abandoned garages. In 2009, when the renovations began, they purchased two different historic abandoned houses from around the island; the Sears Cottage, and the Anglers Lodge.

Building the Green Village

The Anglers Lodge is a huge two story house which required 300,000lbs of concrete reinforcement and required a temporary bridge built across one of the canals to move. It took three “heart slipping” hours to move the Anglers Lodge across the canal but was successfully delivered to the lots on Pine Ave.

During Renovations Architect Gene Aubry assisted the thrashers in choosing high quality building materials that reduce energy consumption. They also added in a fifth building, brand new, that was built to match the historic look of the other buildings. Mike and Lizzie Thrashers vision was to establish a group of buildings with a high level of sustainability. With the guidance of environmental consultant, Raymond Kaiser, the HGV was able to become only 1 of 100 places worldwide to earn the Platinum LEED certification and achieve Net Zero Energy during its first 18 months of operation.

Net Zero Energy

Net Zero Energy (NZE) building is one that relies on renewable sources to produce as much energy as it consumes. There are several main areas where buildings are evaluated to determine LEED certification. All the buildings are insulated with a special soy based formula that completely seals and insulates attics, keeping them at the same temperature as the rooms. The HGV also uses special energy efficient windows. These allow in maximum light and filter out the heat carrying infrared spectrum.

On top of the HGV buildings lay 400 photovoltaic solar panels which generate about 100kw, or 14,000$ in electricity annually. The photovoltaic solor panels collect energy from the minute the sun rises until the sunsets. The surplus energy created by HGV is sent to Florida Power and Light. The surplus comes back to the HGV when needed during rain storms and at night. Also, the buildings collect rain water to flush the high efficiency toilets and water the landscaping. Another way the HGV is saving energy, is the 450ft deep well pull that brings up 80° water from deep below the surface to help cool the AC, increasing efficiency by 30-50%!

A model of Green

The Historic Green Village is an inspiration to the local community. The Thrashers are hoping to influence others by proving that this is possible not only for commercial but residential. Despite the serious impact of this quaint historic village, don’t forget to check out the shopping venue while you’re here. The Relish Marketplace features Vintage clothing and accessories, reclaimed designer fashions and much more. Lastly, make sure to satisfy your sweet tooth with a delicious cupcake at Hometown Desserts and then browse the Bob Brown art gallery.

Island Real Estate Resource Link Guidelines

This is the Island Real Estate Resource Link Guidelines. The Island Real Estate of Anna Maria Island website is a valuable resource for locals and visitors to our Island. Our site has more than 500 webpages of information that supplies fantastic insider information to those visiting IslandReal.com. We are often supple links for informational purposes. The goal of this webpage is to supply information. Therefore you can determine if Island Real Estate benefits from your listing your services. The following are some guidelines to help understand if you should contact Island Real Estate to let us know of your service.

Island Real Estate Resource Guidelines

1) Island Real Estate lives and breathes Anna Maria Island, as most would expect, we feel the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce is passionate about ensuring our local resources continue to service locals and visitors. We ask you become an Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce member.

2) We require our link appear on your website. Also, “Anna Maria Island Real Estate and Anna Maria Island Vacation Rentals” is provided as anchor text in the hyperlink.

One of the two items above is required to be linked on our local scene of our website however if you do have both we generally try to provide premium placement on our website. Of course non related businesses will not be linked. For example vacation rentals in Italy or a business to business service like servicing photo copiers will not be linked. The service needs to support local tourism as well as the clientele Island Real Estate works hard to service in our area.

If you have questions you can email us or call 877 778 6066 and request the marketing department. Have a wonderful day and thank you for patronizing Island Real Estate.

Larry Chatt

Silhouettes at Sunset April 27, 2014 The Green Flash

Once again I witnessed another bold sunset and had the pleasure of sharing it with some lovely ladies who had just arrived that day for another adventure on Anna Maria Island! They have stayed with Island Real Estate over the years and commented on how great our rental department had treated them in the past. They also bragged on our maintenance department claiming how helpful they had always been if they needed anything. They are part of a group and other family members will be joining them to make some wonderful memories and enjoy the fragrances of the Island! After our exchange it was time to get serious about the sunset before us. It was quickly dropping into the Gulf of Mexico and the skies were so blue and not a cloud to be found! Just as soon as the top of the sun dropped out of sight there was a splash of deep aqua green that seemed to spray up from the sunset…The Green Flash! We all started asking “did you see that”? You could hear people clapping up and down the beach! It was a perfect sunset and the green flash was the exclamation point at the end of the sunset! Perhaps it is time to put your toes in the sand and capture one of our sunsets that make you go aw-w-w-w-w! Enjoy the sunset!

By Melinda Bordes 941-705-0146 or melinda@annamariasunset.com…Whether buying or selling on Anna Maria Island or the surrounding areas let me assist you in the process of owning the perfect piece of real estate where you can fill your sand bucket full of sunsets!