The Island Paradies that is Anna Maria Island
Posted by Andree Huffine on
Have you dreamed of living on a secluded, relaxing island where the average temperature year-round is in the 70’s, you’re surrounded by sunny beaches and warm waters and the natives are as friendly as any you’ll meet anywhere?  If that’s your dream, you should become familiar with Anna Maria Island.
Anna Maria Island is one of the many barrier islands off the west coast of Florida, this one off the Coast of Manatee County.  It is a narrow strip of land about 7 miles long. It is bounded on the north by the waters of Tampa Bay, on the west by the Gulf of Mexico along some of the nicest beaches in Florida, on the south by Longboat Key and on the east by Anna Maria Sound and across a causeway, the city of Bradenton Florida.
Anna Maria Island is divided…
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Ask any native of Sarasota where the most desirable properties in Sarasota are and you will very likely be told "West of the Trail".
Across the nation, new construction homes and existing home sales are strengthening and prices are continuing to rise, stoking confidence among observers of the housing market that a recovery is underway. Nationwide, sales of existing homes jumped 10.4% compared with the same month last year.  In step with the nationwide market, Sarasota Florida area home sales, which normally drop off during the summer months, remained strong in July with 699 closings, almost 17% higher than the level in July, 2011. The local July home sales included 523 single family homes and 176 condominium sales.
In the 2nd Quarter of 2012, the Sarasota real estate market achieved the highest level of sales in seven years. There were 2,604 home and condo sales from April through June. The 864 closed transactions in June alone represent the second highest number of home and condominium sales since September 2005.  The only higher point was in April of this year when sales were slightly higher at 886. As expected with the migration north of our snow birders, the number of pending sales (properties undercontract but not yet closed) dropped just slightly in June after four months in a row when pending sales topped 1,000.
Sarasota has long been known as “Florida's Cultural Coast,” and downtown Sarasota epitomizes that honor. It is home to a professional symphony, ballet, opera, jazz clubs, nearly a dozen theaters and 30 art galleries. Sarasota was recently ranked #1 on American Style Magazine’s annual list of the “25 Best Arts Destinations.”   But downtown Sarasota is also much more than an arts and cultural gem.
Once again, Sarasota, Florida has earned top honors by being named the “Best Place to Retire in the Country”. This time the honor was given by the TopRetirements.com website.  John Brady, founder of that website pointed out that “the best retirement cities and towns in America have good weather, access to healthcare, low property taxes, and a certain “wow” factor. Sarasota has all of those qualities and more.
In a recent article, Forbes Magazine reviewed a report issued by Trulia.com, an Internet search site frequently used by those searching for a new home. Nearly 90% of people who buy homes begin their searches on the Internet. As a result, Jed Kolko, chief economist and head of analytics at Trulia stated that, “where people are searching for properties is an indicator of which real estate markets are "picking up strength," and where home demand is growing.”
The Sarasota Association of Realtors just released their October results. In it, they reported total home and condo sales for October of 577, essentially unchanged from the September volume of 570. This October total consisted of 412 single-family homes and 165 condos. Last year at this point, there were only 487 home and condo sales. This is more evidence that the slump in Sarasota and Manatee County home sales is coming to an end after 5 long years.Â