Best Neighborhoods

These witty “transit tables” made of recycled street signs are real traffic-stoppers. Providence, R.I.-based artist Boris Bally makes these and chairs, tableware, even lightswitch plates out of a whole array of colorful traffic signs. Borisbally.com

Neighborhood Watch 

Anna Maria Island heats up.

With recent splashy, full-color spreads in The New York Times and accolades from Web sites like TripAdvisor.com, Anna Maria Island has been garnering the kind of national press lately that turns other resort areas green. Comprised of three little cities packed with personality—Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria—the island is a 30-minute drive from downtown Sarasota, yet feels far away. Visitors are drawn to its excellent restaurants, the lively Bridge Street pier and shops, and access to boating waters, plus a three-story height restriction that helps retain an Old Florida ambiance. And more visitors mean more rental properties, says Terry Hayes of Signature Sotheby’s International Realty, who has had three generations of family on Anna Maria Island since the 1950s. The average sale price was $500,000 in 2009 (yes, Gulf-front and bayfront properties included). “From an investment standpoint, there are some really good opportunities for positive cash flow,” she says. “People are just gobbling up whatever they can get at this price point.”

SAMPLE LISTING
A four-bedroom, three-bath bayfront home at 500 Bay Drive S. on Bradenton Beach is listed for $995,000 by Terry Hayes of Signature Sotheby’s International Realty. Built in 1992, the cheerfully appointed, 2,998-square-foot, two-story home has several balconies and terraces from which to enjoy bay and Gulf views, and is within walking distance of shops and restaurants. 

RECENT SALE
A 1,680-square-foot condominium right on the Gulf of Mexico at 1714 N. Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach sold in late December for $915,000 after an original list price of $1,299,000. The three-bedroom, two-bath condo is in the Bradenton Beach Club, a Spanish Mediterranean-style complex built in 2003. Terry Hayes of Signature Sotheby’s International Realty was the listing agent; Nola Ronk of Horizon Realty was the selling agent.

MLS statistics courtesy of Terry Hayes of Signature Sotheby’s International Realty. MLS records transactions and listings by members of the Sarasota Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.

“People are gobbling [properties] up at this price point.”

Anna Maria Island

Total number of Anna Maria properties: 7,317

Total number of sales from 1/2009 to 1/2010: 229

Range of sale prices: $109,900 to $2.25 million

Range of square footage: 600 to 2,300 square feet