Holmes Beach Archives - Island Real Blog

NEW LISTING SPOTLIGHT!

Keep up to date with NEW offerings here! Newly listed properties for Sale will be featured frequently – keep checking to see if one may be your perfect “peace” of paradise!

November 2019: 5614 Guava St, Holmes Beach

Adorable 2-bedroom, 2-bath beach cottage recently updated and ideally located a short leisurely stroll to the white sandy beaches of Anna Maria Island. High ceilings give the open floor plan a light and airy feel. Kitchen features granite counter tops and newer stainless appliances. Updated baths too! Laundry room has folding counter next to stacked washer/dryer so folding beach towels is a breeze! Large lushly landscaped yard has the potential for adding a cocktail pool (see survey in attachments). The sizable side deck has a convenient outdoor shower perfect for rinsing off sandy feet and beach toys. Covered carport plus plenty more parking in driveway. Since golf carts are welcome on the island, luckily there is an outlet available for exterior charging! In this quiet nook of Holmes Beach, you will quickly understand the desirability of this home site that is equally secluded AND yet centrally located which makes it conveniently accessible to all points on the island. Remember to use the Free Trolley to shopping and restaurants. EXCELLENT weekly rental potential. This property is offered turn-key furnished and is owned by a licensed Florida Realtor. $595,000.

Click here for the Full Listing Information.

5614 Guava: Spacious and bright interior

Duffy’s Tavern has great hamburgers and COLD beer

Holmes Beach – Duffy’s Tavern is an Anna Maria Island landmark and has been since it first opened in 1958. Family owned and operated, “Miss Duffy” and her 5 daughters proudly serve their “world famous burgers and the coldest beer this side

of heaven” from a two-story cracker shack located across the street from the Manatee Public Beach on Anna Maria Island, Florida. In March of 2003, Duffy’s relocated across the street from the Holmes Beach City Hall and skate park. Now with air conditioning and a fireplace, it is a great place to hang out where you are never too hot or cold and can mingle with the locals. You can still expect the same service and quality in both the beers and the burgers. Everything comes with chips, never fries.

Duffy’s has fabulous cheeseburgers and try one with everything on it. There is a bar as well as spots to sit down. They have an outdoor eating area under roof as well as one out the back which is not under roof. The regular dining area can be opened up with garage door size screens to let the breeze in on balmy breeze days. On cold days they get the fireplace roaring and it offers a nice cozy eating spot. Walk up to the bar and put in your order and Duffy’s will bring the food out when ready. Plenty of cold beverages at Duffy’s, beer, soda all with Televisions behind the bar to watch your favorite sports team.

Duffy’s hours as of this posting:

Duffy's in Holmes Beach — Duffy’s fireplace

Monday – Saturday: 11am – 8pm
Closed on Tuesday
Sunday: 12pm – 8pm
No credit cards, CASH only!

Duffy’s
5808 Marina Dr,
Holmes Beach, Fl 34217 – Anna Maria Island
Phone (941) 778-2501

Harrington House Bed & Breakfast

While searching for your perfect Anna Maria Island property, it’s nice to have a “home base” to relax and enjoy everything our special paradise has to offer. The Harrington House Beachfront Bed and Breakfast offers island hospitality and comfort in order to help you decide which AMI place is “the one” for you! When you’re making your reservation, make sure to tell them you are working with an Island Real Estate Sales Professional for VIP treatment!

The Harrington House is a fantastic direct Gulf Front Bed and Breakfast located on Anna Maria Island. They offer nightly accommodations and they provide a perfect get away from the busy life. Each morning you will be awakened by the smell of in house chef made breakfast, breads and coffee. Each bedroom has a charm all of its own, it’s best to speak to one of the very knowledgeable staff to determine which room would best meet your expectations.

Harrington House Breakfast

They also serve breakfast by appointment only for locals and visitors alike. Sit outside and listen to the Gulf of Mexico while you enjoy one of several specialty breakfasts. You can also dine inside in the dining area with direct views of the Gulf of Mexico. Either way, the breakfast is fantastic and the views are free. If you have a special occasion be sure to stay at Harrington House or at least visit them for breakfast but please be sure to call ahead. Reservations are always required and seating is limited.

One last note, Harrington House will also host a tea party, wedding, or wedding reception so be sure to call them if you have a need for a special group outing.

Harrington House
5626 Gulf Drive
Holmes Beach, FL, 34217
(941) 778-5444

Anna Maria Island Market Conditions for 4th Quarter 2018

Anna Maria Island real estate continues to be robust with what seems to be a healthy amount of supply and demand. Our proprietary inventory absorption metric has spiked in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 11 months of Anna Maria Island real estate for sale but would not characterize the spike as an indicator of problems ahead as we have reached 11 months of inventory for sale on the island several times in the past 5 years. More specifically 1^st and 4^th quarter of 2016. For the last 5 years our real estate for sale has averaged a little more than 8 months on hand. How well inventory is turning is a great leading indicator for real estate. It provides a relative measure when supply and demand is out of balance and provides an indicator to watch for movement into a buyer’s market.

For the last five years average transactions per month has ranged from 45 to 22 with the low occurring this quarter at 22. We have dipped into the twenty’s for number of property transactions 6 out of the last 20 quarters so it is nothing new. Inventory remains low at 257 so supply and demand continues to remain at what seems to be a healthy balance. For the last five years our total real estate for sale on Anna Maria Island has ranged from about 350 to 250 properties. The average for the last five years has been 283 properties for sale at least according to Mid Florida MLS figures.

Happy Holidays! We hope everyone is staying warm during this cold season. The island has been unseasonably warm up until December and we are starting to see a few cold snaps and dipping into the 40’s occasionally at night. Brrr…

Please be sure to call Island Real Estate for your Anna Maria Island real estate needs. All our sales professionals are full time and we don’t have any weekend warriors dabbling in real estate on the side. We would love the opportunity to help!

Top 25 real estate investment over last two decades

Most of us that have lived on Anna Maria Island for the last decade know Anna Maria Island real estate has been a fantastic investment. Take into account the option to rent seasonally and pull in at least $50,000 gross income for a 3 bedroom Anna Maria Island property with a pool and the rate of return is even more staggering.

In late April, 2018 Minda Zetlin created a list of cities with the title, “If you bought a home in 1998 in one of these ten cities you might be 1 million dollar richer.” Eight of the cities are in California with two breaking the trend. At number 7 on the list, Kailua, Hawaii has an estimated profit of $785,000 after selling.

Anna Maria City welcome Sign Wonder what other city outside of California made the top 10 list? Bet you guessed it, Anna Maria, Florida coming in at number 5 with an estimated SOLD profit of $866,000. Of course many of us take this information with a grain of salt and maybe there are a few smaller cities that missed the list but lets remember Anna Maria city is made up of less than 1,000 households. Anna Maria City is already pretty small.

The article goes on to estimate the 5 year profits from renting a home in Anna Maria City is $285,000 or $56,000 per year. Unfortunately the details of the forecast are not supplied however in my experience without debt service the estimated profit is reasonable. Yes, since 1998 there are a few more rental regulations to be concerned with but nothing that cannot be navigated and I supply some help in a previously written Anna Maria City rental blog, here.

Guess who made the list at 23 out of the top 25? Holmes Beach! Estimated profitability, $523,000. This is very impressive considering Holmes Beach has about 1/3 of its transactions as condos which inherently are more than half the base value of single family homes.

Once again, are we surprised? If you are please give me a call and would love to educate you on the Anna Maria Island Investment real estate market.

Larry Chatt

Mr Bones barbecue, Holmes Beach – Anna Maria Island

Originally opening their doors in 1992, Mr. Bones BBQ in Holmes Beach is a staple restaurant on Anna Maria Island, and especially when it comes to barbecue. The restaurant itself is an extremely unique environment, which is prevalent as soon as you walk through the front doors. A large coffin stocked with a variety of beer for you to take and enjoy while you’re dining can be found at the entrance. There’s even a skeleton, not a real one of course, at the front of the restaurant which adds to the fun found inside the dining area. Feast on several different types of barbecue ribs, chicken, or beef. The baked beans are delicious, as well as the beans and rice. Not a fan of meat? No problem! Mr. Bones takes special care of their vegan and vegetarian customers and dishes.

“This care includes buying, when possible, organic and local ingredients. Or, like soaking and seasoning our own black bean recipe, and using organic quinoa as one of our binders for the black bean burgers. Just as we ask our customers with allergies to inform us when they order, we ask our vegan customers to let us know so we can take every needed precaution in the kitchen when preparing their meals.”
– Direct Quote from Mr. Bones Website

Mr. Bones takes pride on making their food from complete scratch. This includes all 5 of their sauces. And their BBQ sauces are so good, you’ll want to take some home with you, and luckily you can! They bottle and sell their original BBQ sauces AND their hand-mixed dry rub right out of the restaurant.

If you haven’t already visited Mr. Bones BBQ Restaurant, then you need to! Make sure you try their Mrs. Frost’s Strawberry Shortcake for dessert (if it’s in season). It is to die for!

MR. BONES BBQ:
. 3007 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, FL 34217

. (941) 778-6614

. Wednesday, Thursday – Saturday: 11am–9pm, Sunday: Noon–9pm, Closed Mondays & Tuesdays.

Holmes Beach City Rental investment information

Holmes Beach rental guidelines are extremely complicated and this post is an introduction into Holmes Beach Rental information. It is critically important that you find a real estate professional that understands all zoning requirements for all three cities of Anna Maria Island. First lets start with zoning in Holmes Beach City and how it relates to rentability. Rentability in Holmes Beach can be defined in five general categories.

Rent nightly – 365 guests per year
Rent weekly – 52 guests per year
Rent monthly – 12 guests per year
Rent monthly – less than 12 guest per year due to condominimum bylaws
Rent annually – 6 months or more. Normally referred to as tenant.

Below is the current Holmes Beach Zoning map. I would ALWAYS suggest verifying the zone your property is in by calling Holmes Beach City hall and confirming what they have on record. The map is not 100% accurate from property to property however it does paint a picture for Holmes Beach zones.

R1 and R1 AA zones may only be rented for 30 days or more. There has been a great deal of discussion in the past that one guest per month is acceptable however the code does dictate 30 day minimums so if you are purchasing a Holmes Beach property for rental income be sure to utilize 30 day minimums as your reference for income to be sure you use a conservative approach rather than an aggressive approach when calculating potential revenue. The typical buyer for these zones is someone who would like to stay multiple months and perhaps rental income is nice to have but not necessary to fiscally maintain the property.

R2-R4 zones can essentially be rented once per 7 day period. Holmes Beach does have a vacation rental ordinance which requires annual inspections for vacation rentals in these zones. The typical buyer for these zones is someone who would like to rent the property weekly for the vast majority of the calendar. A word of caution if you anticipate living in the property or visit for multiple months. R2-R4 zones are primarily filled with seasonal vacation rental homes so your neighbors normally change weekly or monthly. If you require significant rental income for your Anna Maria Island property then consider the impact later if you plan to live at the property permanently or a good portion of the year.

A1 zones can be rented nightly and it is zoned for high tourism. It is up for discussion if A1 properties require inspections however in my humble opinion inspections are not required for A1 zones and not subject to the Holmes Beach Vacation rental ordinance. I must state again, this is my opinion however after several years I have not registered A1 properties via the vacation rental ordinance in Holmes Beach. The typical buyer for this area is someone who wishes to be close to the beach and maximize rental income as well as minimize maintenance on the property since the vast majority of properties in the A1 zone are condominiums.

C1 – C3 zones are primarily commercial areas of Holmes Beach which are not residential friendly. If you are considering a commercial property be sure to find a sales professional that has assited in the buying and selling of multiple commercial properties in Holmes Beach. This is extremely complicated and if someone is informing you that you may rent a C1 – C3 property on a seasonal basis then I strongly suggest more research at Holmes Beach City hall is initiated. I can help with commercial property as I have personally bought, sold and developed on Holmes Beach Commercial property.

Take note, if you plan to rent your Holmes Beach or Anna Maria City property. Each of the two cities currently require inspections on an annual or two year basis. Bradenton Beach is currently working to modify their ordinance to require much of the same. Why is this mentioned? If the property you are considering has not been rented since 2015 then “owner improvements” which have not been permitted may cause significant grief. Normally cities do not inspect properties unless there is a significant reason to do so. However, once the property is signed up for one of either two cities to enter the seasonal rental pool that will trigger an inspection. Ground level usage in an elevated home may require permanent removal by the city. For sure non permitted work will be found and the improvements that may be adding value to the property being considered may be required to be torn out upon the Vacation rental required ordinance.

Do yourself a favor and PLAN to register your property as a vacation rental in the appropriate city. DO NOT plan to slip under the radar as all cities have become fairly effective at finding vacation rental advertising and linking it back to the property.

Buy a property on Anna Maria Island as a seasonal vacation rental is very complicated. Be sure to use a full time real estate professional with your search. No weekend warriors or non Anna Maria Island Real Estate professionals. There is too much at stake and each city has complicated ordinance that can significantly impact value if all characteristics of the property are not taken into consideration. I have written a blog to help you find the right real estate professional however I know any of our full time sales professionals at Island Real Estate would love to help. Happy hunting and good luck. Larry Chatt

Choose the right Anna Maria Island real estate professional

Public Library located in Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island

There is a public library on Anna Maria Island and it is located at 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, FL 34217: For more information call (941) 778-6341 or visit the county’s website under the main menu of Libraries.

The library’s hours are:
Tuesday 9am – 5pm
Wednesday 12pm – 8pm
Thursday, Friday, Saturday 9am – 5pm
Sunday, Monday Closed

Note: Of course they have several computers with World Wide Web access. In addition they have a wi-fi hot spot that is free however not secure. Their children’s department is good with games, puzzles, etc. You can take out VHS tapes, Audio tapes, puzzles, magazines, as well ad DVD’s.

For visitors there is a charge to join the library. For local residents there is no fee.

Holmes Beach Public Library

Holmes Beach Branch Library
5701 Marina Drive
Holmes Beach, FL, 34217
(941) 778-6341

Beach Bistro – Fine Dining Anna Maria Island

The Beach Bistro is a fantastic restaurant that offers a dining experience to remember. Several courses are served, or you can order how you like. Reservations are strongly recommended, but you can also try to grab a seat at the bar. The bar has a little more limited menu and provides some “lighter fare” options. If you are looking for a romantic spot with limited gulf views and price is no option then we strongly recommend the Beach Bistro. Average meal prices are well over $35, so be sure you are comfortable with their prices.

Younger children are welcome, but are not recommended if you plan on having a long dining experience. Parking can be a bit of a challenge but if you can find a “legal” spot go for it otherwise be sure to use their valet parking. One additional note, the seating for two is normally fairly intimate so be prepared to get to know your neighboring diners.

We’ve provided some information below to help you contact them or find them once you’re on the island!

Beach Bistro

The Bistro is located in Holmes Beach, FL
Tripadvisor Rating: 4.5 stars – based on 377 reviews

6600 Gulf Drive
Holmes Beach, FL 34217

Phone Number: (941) 778-6444
Website: www.beachbistro.com
Menu: Browse our Menu and Wine List
Hours: Monday through Sunday 5pm-10pm.

Cuisine: Gulf Coast Seafood, American

Price Range: $$$
Takes Reservations: Yes

Beach Bistro, Direct Gulf Front fine Dining in Holmes Beach, FL

Get Directions from your Current Location

The Beach Bistro is located at the end of 66th.

Eat Anna Maria Island Oysters While Vacationing

Anna Maria- When vacationing on the coast eating fresh seafood is a must, and Anna Maria Island Oysters are no exception. With countless restaurants on the island, finding some delicious oysters to eat is easier than ever!

Anna Maria Island Oysters

Many people believe humans have eaten oysters since the Roman times from evidence of oyster farms in France and the United Kingdom. Crazy right?

Oysters can be found in all of the world’s oceans. They are bivalve mollusks that have rough irregular shells. While most oysters are edible, there is a difference between food oysters and pearl oysters. Even though it is possible, most food oysters don’t produce pearls. Both are also in two different families of bivalves.

Surprisingly enough, oysters breathe much like fish, using both gills and mantle. They can be both male or female, and can change genders one or more times throughout their life.

Health Benefits

Oysters are one of the most nutritionally balanced foods because they have proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids in them. Just eating four or five medium sized oysters supply the recommended daily source of iron, copper, iodine, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese and phosphorus!

Where to celebrate!

With so many restaurants on the island, there’s plenty of options for eating Anna Maria Island Oysters! Here’s a few to think of going to:

AMOB on the Pier– Located in Bradenton Beach, enjoy delicious oyster platters such as Grandma Georgie’s Chipotle Oysters, Rockefeller or an oyster sampler.

Island Grill– Serving baked oysters with toppings such as cheese, bacon, and jalapenos, there’s no way to go wrong here! You can find Island Gourmet on Holmes Beach.

Island Fresh Market– Specializing in locally caught and grown food, the Fresh Market serves oysters caught right around the island! You can order them cooked or raw. You can find them on Holmes Beach!

Be sure to enjoy Anna Maria Island Oysters on your next visit!