Real estate sales on Anna Maria Island tumbled like a circus act while the Deep Horizon oil spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans was bubbling to the surface.
With concerns about oil reaching Anna Maria Island gone, many real estate agents now anticipate a good number of sales through April. The number of real estate shoppers would seem to confirm that, said Jason Sato of Sato Real Estate in Anna Maria.
“During the oil spill, nothing was selling and no one was looking, but that’s all changed now,” Sato said.
During the past two weeks, he’s seen about 50 walk-ins at his office, much more than normal at this time of year.
“They’re coming from the Midwest, from Canada, from Great Britain, from everywhere,” he said.
“And they are serious buyers. The question now is to find out what they can afford.”
Island home prices are generally a bit higher than the mainland, including those at Lakewood Ranch.
Sato said that it’s good news to learn that Neal Communities had a record number of sales in October this year with a 40 percent increase from October 2009, but many Neal properties are in Lakewood Ranch.
“We are always different. It’s two separate markets, and prices there have dropped significantly” the past three years. A homebuyer can still get a new or fairly new single-family home for $150,000 in Lakewood Ranch, Sato said.
But Anna Maria Island is the peaceful paradise many people want out in a Florida home.
“Once they’ve been here, the Island is where everybody wants to buy.”
Sato Real Estate handles quite a number of vacation rentals and that’s their target market.
“Once we get someone down here for a vacation, we’ve got a captive audience. Invariably, they will say they are in love with this place and ask about buying property.”
Sato said the company stays “on top” of its rental market and about 75 percent of all visitors are repeat business. Many of those repeat visitors end up as buyers of Island real estate.
“And there’s a lot of good value on the market,” he said.
Right now, a few single-family homes can be found on the Island in the low-$200,000 range, he said.
“If someone puts a house up for $200,000, it will sell almost immediately.”
With the winter season just around the corner, Sato expects contracts and sales for homes in all price ranges to jump as more visitors and winter residents arrive.
“There’s definitely renewed interest in Island property with the oil scare gone. Prices have stabilized and are about the same as last year, and many sellers are negotiating,” he said.
Jesse Brisson of Gulf-Bay Realty in Holmes Beach said the few condominiums that were priced just under $100,000 earlier this year have sold. Now, there are some condo units priced from $150,000 to $200,000, he said.
“There’s good value in condominiums and there’s always value in a single-family home,” Brisson said.
As always, the closer one wants to be to the water, the higher the price.
Brisson said the few canalfront homes listed around $500,000 are “a great bargain,” but are selling quickly.
Interested real estate buyers should move now, before the seasonal rush, he said. “We really get busy from February through April,” Brisson said, but activity is picking up now, which is unusual.
“We’ve had a lot of walk-ins and calls, now that the oil spill is gone from the headlines. Prices are very good right now. If we get a rush of sales as I expect, we might see a slow increase.”
Terry Hayes of Signature Sotheby’s also has seen an unexpected jump in the number of walk-in clients in recent weeks.
“We lost a good three months of activity during that time,” she said. “Thankfully, people have short memories. It’s been absolutely a very busy time the past few weeks,” she said.
Hayes, who specializes in high-end properties, said everyone wants a house on the Gulf or the waterfront.
“People want the beach, and I’ve had a lot of interest in some very good bargains on the beach.”
And some of those homes are a bargain. She’s got several beachfront listings between $1 million and $1.5 million that, when several years ago those properties would have been quite a bit higher.
“We’re seeing many prices down to what they were in 2002 and 2003. Not all, but the values are incredible.”
Hayes said she’s getting phone calls and e-mails from people up north telling her when they are coming to the Island and what they would like in a property.
“Buyers want it perfect, not a fixer-upper, and they want to see some rental income.”
Hayes expects to be busy between now and April, based upon what she’s seen the past few weeks and the interest people have in owning a piece of the Island.
“You can’t find this value or lifestyle on any other barrier island. I think sales are really going to jump this season,” she predicted.
All of which means buyers sitting on the sidelines should jump now before the winter rush, Sato said.