Many of my customers are asking for advice on where to consider investing on the Island. Although I believe the Island is an excellent investment, I have always had a pat answer: Bradenton Beach is the “condo capitolâ€� of the Island; Homes Beach, the most populated city of the Island, is a combination condo/single family environment with many investment properties, and finally Anna Maria is a less-condo-more residential area, populated by families and repeat vacationers. I now wonder whether I’m painting the right picture, so I’ve looked at the MLS numbers on sales and active properties in all three cities and among condos, single family homes and income properties (two or more units per lot). Here’s what I found: Anna Maria is the most single-family oriented community of the Island: only three condos sold in the past year, while 51 family residences sold, or almost 40% of the total active market. Buyers also preferred Holmes Beach as a single family destination, with one third of the active housing market selling, as compared to only 15% of the active condo market. Just as I predicted, Bradenton Beach is very popular among condo buyers, with 33% of the active market trading in condos, with houses down at about 10%. Of all the income producing properties on the market (51 on the market currently), 31 sold in the last year, with 22 of those in Holmes Beach, 3 in Anna Maria and 6 in Bradenton Beach. As a percentage of the active market in each city, no one came out on top, proving income producers are good investments.
