Time to buy a vacation home is now! Anna Maria Island is the place!

Are you divided and undecided on whether or not to buy a second home? Read this article from the ANNA MARIA ISLAND SUN–Now is the time. 

Time to buy a vacation home?

BY LOUISE BOLGER | SUN STAFF WRITER

It may seem counterintuitive, considering everything that’s gone on in the real estate market in recent years, but this may be the absolute best time to buy a vacation home. I don’t mean just because prices are down, but also because second home buyers’ outlook is up.

We’ve been reporting for some time that Anna Maria real estate sales are exploding, but it wasn’t until I read a Wall Street Journal analysis that I realized that we’re not alone. In fact, much of the luxury and second home market around the country is on a major upswing.

According to the Journal, buyers have “frugality fatigue,” they’re tired of waiting for the right time, the bottom of the market or for their tax advisor to give them the green light. They’re moving forward with cash in their pockets and creative lifestyles in their heads.

As we all know, location is the key to real estate, and around the country, it doesn’t matter if you live on a beach or a ski slope, your property is being eyed through second home buyer eyes. Although the second home market experienced significant drops in value according to the National Association of Realtors, 25 percent from 2006, it was pretty much in line with the 22 percent drop for overall housing in the nation. I found these to be interesting numbers proving the second home market never really collapsed in spite of a national recession.

In May, the National Association of Realtors also reported that most second home or vacation buyers aren’t necessarily looking for vast amounts of appreciation. Most of them, more than 80 percent, are purchasing vacation homes to live in and enjoy, which could explain why this discretionary market held. And not surprising, cash is king with 36 percent of vacation homes purchased in 2010 being cash transactions.

In addition, even for the most altruistic vacation home buyer, there are tax advantages to buying a vacation home. For the moment at least, if you do have a mortgage on a second home, the interest is deductible. However, as of this writing, the second home mortgage interest deduction is in the crosshairs Congress as one of the many tax deductions proposed be eliminated in order to increase revenue. You can also setup your second home as a rental and still use it 15 days a year, which would allow other tax deductions for things like maintenance and rental fees.

Santa Barbara, Calif., Aspen, Colo., The Hamptons, N. Y., Hilton Head, S. C. and Palm Beach, Fla., are some of the traditional second home markets that are seeing substantial activity. Buyers are snapping up homes in these areas and others where the median home price five years ago was over a million and now is selling for 30 percent to 40 percent less.

If your intuition is screaming, “Buy that home on the beach buy that home on the beach,” maybe it’s time to pay attention before the time to buy becomes nothing more than a missed opportunity. And if I know my baby boomers, missed opportunities are something they never experienced.

If you want to make the dream of owning a home on Anna Maria Island a reality, call Bobye Chasey today @ 941-713-1277 or email at bobye@bobyechasey.net

Related articles

• More Vacation Homes Within Reach (online.wsj.com)

Two Scoops: Ice Scream on the North End of Anna Maria

Took the trolley to the north end of the Island this past weekend and went to Two Scoops–at the shopping center on the corner of Pine Avenue (which is coming along nicely) and Bay Blvd. Always fun to have the grandkids out here, enjoying the island that I love so much. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

Two Scoops

 

What kid doesn't like ice cream?

Or candy...?

We always have a good time.

Don’t forget to check out my website: bobyechasey.net 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anna Maria Island = Christmas Island–No Scrooges or Grinches Here!

Christmas is in just a couple days and I thought it would be appropriate to recap all the wonderful Christmas festivities that occurred here on our Island within the last few weeks.

Dec. 3 was the Holmes Beach Christmas Parade went southward down Marina Dr and ended at local businesses with an open house.

Dec. 4 was the lighted boat parade on Bimini Bay.

Dec. 10 merchants had an open house and kids could talk to Santa.

Dec. 11 Roser Memorial Church held a Bethlehem walk where people dressed up to reenact the biblical story of Jesus’ birth with live animals, too.

Dec. 11 was the annual Privateers Christmas Parade with lots of beads and coins

Islander Photos: Lisa Neff

and fun for all. Started on the southside of the island and went to the Seafood Shack.

 

On Dec. 11-12 was the Anna Maria Island Art League Winterfest: Festival of Fine Arts and Crafts at the Holmes Beach City Hall.

Dec. 14 was the 16th Annual Lawton Chiles Christmas for Kids at the Sandbar.

Islander Photos: Lisa Neff

Over 150 children participated with face painting and Christmas card making.

Dec. 18 in Bradenton Beach locals and visitors celebrated with Christmas on Bridge Street that included a snow machine so that the kiddos could see what it was like up north at Christmas.

Dec. 18 was the Cortez Yacht Club Lighted Boat Parade in the Bay.

So many great things to do at this time of year on the Island. It is a great place to spend the holidays with your loved ones!

Merry Christmas to all!

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How Does Your Garden Grow?

Over the last couple weeks I’ve been slowly but surely filling my garden in with mulch that I was able to get for free from a tree service company. It’s a great, inexpensive way to keep your garden, because I was able to use the wood chips that Marco (from J&M Tree Service of Bradenton) would otherwise have had to haul somewhere else to dump it and it would cost them time and money to do it. He was glad to drop it by my house, which is only a street away from where he was. We both won! Plus, it’s cedar, so it will help keep the bugs away. I recommend it to anyone who wants a garden that is cheaper and easier to maintain. Finally it’s all done and I could not be more thrilled with how it has turned out, especially because it was free (of course, I did put in the work to spread it myself, but that was great exercise).