YES this is your back yard!!

843 North Shore City of Anna Maria right on Tampa Bay with own Beach!!

Sales for February 2014 continue its pace at 24 ( SF-14, Con-7, Dup-2 & Lot-1) compared to February 2013 at 25 ( SF-12, Con-13, Dup-0 & Lot-0) .  Sales for February 28, 2014 Y-T-D were 61 (SF-36, Con-17, Dup-5 & Lot-3) versus February 28, 2013 Y-T-D at 43 (SF-20, Con-20, Dup-0 & Lot-3).  Sales for the last 12 months were 427 ( SF-253, Con-117, Dup-32 & Lot-25) up 2% over the previous 12 months at 418 ( SF-236, Con-127, Dup-22 & Lot-33).  Of the sales for the last 12 months distressed properties were only 9% of the sales at 38 ( SF-19, Con-10, Dup-8 & Lot-1) compared to the previous 12  months where 11% or 44 ( SF-20, Con-21, Dup-3 & Lot-0) were distressed.  Currently there are only 4 distressed properties or 1/2% of the inventory of 342 (SF-185, Con-102, Dup-26 & Lot-29).  They are comprised of one single family is a short sale, one single family is a bank owned, 1 condos is a short sales and 1 duplex is a short sale.  Pended properties (properties under contract) continue to be strong at 52 (SF-30, Con-12, Dup-7 & Lot-3) up from 49 last month and well above the average.  Inventory on the island has ticked up a little this month to 342 from 327 last month but for the last six months has ranged between 262 and 342.

Another one of Frank, Larry & Al’s Great Buy’s closed since the last newsletter.  The single family property (just off the island) at 11208 Veranda Ct. listed at $329,900 sold for $307,000 on 3/1/14.  The best buy on the island (2916 Ave E.) has come back on the market.  It was under contract but fell through because the buyer didn’t have good enough credit to get financing.  There are still a couple very strong investment buys.  3603 4th Ave is a 3 bedroom/3 bath townhouse with elevator, pool and a roof top deck with awesome views of the gulf and inter-coastal and an excellent rental.  This property is ideal for someone who wants a property in a great location (three houses to the beach) and in move-in condition.  117 Peppertree Lane is another property in a great location (west of Gulf Drive), 4 bedroom/2 bath, 2-car garage, pool and lushly landscaped grounds, very good rental.  Check out the rest of the Great Buy’s attached.

To summarize the island market, if you remember this time last year sales started off at a much slower pace than 2012 but it picked up in mid year and ended up just about equaling the 2012 sales which were 430 for the year.  This year’s sales pace for the first 2 months of 2014 are more like the 2012 sales for the same period.  If you look at February 28, 2014 Y-T-D sales at 61 compared to February 28, 2013 Y-T-D sales at 43 we got a great jump on the year.  If you look at February 28, Y-T-D sales over the last ten years (2005-2014) February 28, Y-T-D sales have never been higher.  Single family sales remain extremely strong with a record 36 sold in Jan & Feb of 2014 compared to the next highest year 2012 with 29 and the next highest year the peak year of 2005 at 25.  Over the past two years single family sales have been higher than any time in the last 30 years with 253 in 2014 and 236 in 2013 compared to the peak year of 2005 with 182.  The distribution of sales over the last twelve months also shows a strong healthy market. Of the 250 single family sales 32% were <$500K, 36% were $500K – $750K, 18% were $750K – $1 million and 14% were >$1 million.  Of the 120 condos sold 86% were <$500K, 9% were $500K  – $750K, 3% were $750K – $1 million and 2% were >$1 million.  Of the Multi-family sales (mostly duplex’s) over the last twelve months 67% were <$500K, 18% were $500K – $750K, 9% were $750K – $1 million and 6% were >$1 million.  For lot sales over the last twelve months 65% were <$500K, 20% were $500K – $750K, 0% were $750K – $1 million and 15% were > $1 million.  Single family sales continue to be higher than at any time over the past 30 years but all sales are currently pretty healthy.  If you look at sales of all four types of properties (429) over the last twelve months, 10% were over $1 million which is much higher than the norm which is 6-7% in past years.  Due to significantly more sales over $1 million you can see that the average and median sales of all type of properties are significantly up.