Wall Street Journal: Maybe it’s time to buy that vacation home

Vacation homes: Why it might be time to buy


WASHINGTON – Aug. 2, 2011 – Home price declines remain the norm in many areas, but experts say certain luxury markets are picking up steam and attracting affluent vacation-home buyers.

The median second-home price fell 11 percent to $150,000 in 2010 from the prior year, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). And the price dropped 25 percent since 2006, compared to a 22 percent decrease for the overall housing market.

Experts say sales activity depends on geography, with buyers more interested in prime vacation spots. However, financing remains a challenge since banks remain skittish about writing jumbo mortgages.

For many second-home buyers, though, the investment value is not a big concern. NAR says more than 80 percent of second-home buyers made their purchases to simply enjoy the home – not as an investment – with the number of all-cash deals up to 36 percent in 2010 from 29 percent in 2009, enabling buyers to forego a complex mortgage process.

Prices have stabilized or started to rise in Santa Monica, Calif.; Aspen, Colo.; the Hamptons, N.Y.; and Hilton Head, S.C. Meanwhile, Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; Vail, Colo.; and Miami and Palm Beach remain depressed but offer some bargains.

Source: Wall Street Journal (07/23/11) Silver-Greenberg, Jessica

 

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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.

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Light at the End of the Tunnel (or Oil Well) for Sarasota and Manatee Counties

Florida Panhandle
Image via Wikipedia

Govenor Charlie Crist removed the state of emergency that was posed when the Deep Water Horizon disaster first occurred for Manatee and Sarasota counties last week. Although the disaster has wrecked havoc on Louisiana and Florida Panhandle coastlines, a sigh of relief can be heard from residents and lovers of Anna Maria Island. Anna Maria Island has been clean and pristine all along and we are all so very thankful and our hearts go out to those who were less fortunate. The Gulf Coast ecology is truly unique and beautiful.

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Looking for Something to Do This Memorial Day Weekend? Our Area Has Great Museums!


Anna Maria Island Historical Complex: 402 Pine Ave., Anna Maria

The Anna Maria Historical Museum, built in 1920 as an icehouse, features displays of life on a barrier island from 1890 to 1950. Visit the famous old island jail, “no doors, no windows, no roof, no bars” and tour Belle Haven Cottage, a beautifully restored 1920 cracker house filled with period antiques and furnishings. Hours: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday May through September. Admission is free. Information: 778-0492 or http://www.amihs.org.

Family Heritage House: 60th Avenue and 26th Street West, Bradenton

Featured exhibit is “Black Florida: A Photographic History,” through June 30. The Family Heritage House Museum at SCF is a gallery and resource center for the study of African-American achievements and celebrates the cultural diversity of our communities. The permanent collection includes an exhibition called “Timeline: A Walk Through History,” a diorama of old Central Avenue that is now Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue; antiques; photographs; literature; and a research center on the Underground Railroad. The Family Heritage House has received national recognition for its Underground Railroad research center through its inclusion in the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom. Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday. Information: 752-5319 or http://www.familyheritagehouse.com.

South Florida Museum: 201 10th St. W., Bradenton

The museum is the largest natural and cultural history museum on Florida’s west coast and is one of the oldest operating museums in the state. It includes the Bishop Planetarium and the Parker Manatee Aquarium. Admission: $15.95 adults, $13.95 seniors and $11.95 children ages 4-12. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Information: 746-4131 or http://www.southfloridamuseum.org.

SARASOTA

John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art: 5401 Bay Shore Road

Featured: “Splendid Treasures of the Turkomen Tribes of Central Asia,” through Jan. 30. Apple iPod audio tours are available. The Howard Bros. Circus, the largest miniature circus in the world, is on permanent display in the Tibbals Learning Center. General admission includes the Ringling Museum of Art, Ca d’Zan Mansion, the Circus Museum, the Rose Garden and grounds: $25 adults, $20 seniors 65 and older and U.S. military with ID, $10 children 6-17, students with ID, and Florida teachers. Free for children 5 and younger and museum members. Museum hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. Advance tickets: 358-3180. Information: 359-5700 or http://www.ringling.org.

ST. PETERSBURG

Florida Holocaust Museum: 55 Fifth St. S.

Andréa Keys Connell: Ceramic Sculptures is the summer exhibit at the museum. The exhibition, which deals with the burden of her Holocaust survivor grandparents’ memories and how their trauma manifested itself in subsequent generations, runs through Aug. 15. The Florida Holocaust Museum houses the premier permanent exhibit, “History, Heritage and Hope,” a compelling history of individuals of strength, courage and spirit, who confronted the extremes of hatred and persecution in their homes and communities. Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Sunday. Admission: $14 adults, $12 seniors, $10 students, $8 for people younger than 18; and free for museum members. Information: (727) 820-0100 and http://www.flhm2.org.

Museum of Fine Arts: 255 Beach Drive N.E.

Treasures From the Collection and Works Surrounding WWII Highlights — Whistler, Hassam and the Etching Revival, through Aug. 15. Gallery hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission: $14 adults, $12 seniors age 65 and older, $8 students age 7 and older, free to museum members and children 6 and under . Information: (727) 896-2667 or visit http://www.fine-arts.org.

Salvador Dalí Museum: 1000 Third St. S.

Family friendly tours are now being offered at the museum, including Dalí Family Fun Saturday, which is 11:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m. each Saturday. Permanent art collections on display year round. Admission: $17 for adults, $14.50 for seniors and U.S. military, $12 students, teachers, military, police, EMS, $4 students and free younger than age 4. Thursdays after 5 p.m. are $5. Group and child rates are available. Hours: 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Friday Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday, and noon-5:30 p.m. Sunday. Information: (727) 823-3767.

TAMPA

Gulf Coast Museum of Art: 12211 Walsingham Road, Largo

There are more than 30 outdoor sculptures permanently installed on the museum complex grounds. The museum has resumed its schedule of regular, weekly docent-led highlight tours of the museum’s galleries for walk-in visitors. Tours are at 11 a.m. Saturdays and free to the public. Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission prices: $8 adults, $6 seniors, $5 students, free for children younger than 10. Admission is free to the public 10 a.m.-noon Saturdays. Information: (727) 512-6833.

Tampa Museum of Art: 120 Gasparilla Plaza, Tampa

Exhibitions include “Jesper Just: Romantic Delusions” and interior works by light sculptor Leo Villareal in “About Sky” through Jan. 3.“Taking Shape: Works from the Bank of America Collection,” through Aug. 1; “The Hidden City: Selections form the Martin Z. Margulies Foundation, through Dec. 5; “Life Captured: Garry Winogrand’s Women are Beautiful, through Feb. 18; “From Life to Death in the Ancient World,” through Jan. 30. Museum hours:11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission: $10 adults, $7.50 seniors, groups, military plus one guest, $5 students and free for children ages 6 and under. “Pay what you will” offered every second Saturday of the month from 9 to 11 a.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. every Thursday. For more information, call (813) 274-8130.

Via Bradenton.com, Read more.

Bobye Chasey
Chasey Realty INC
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