ANNA MARIA – In the heat of the early evening sun, the Island’s U4 youth soccer league came to life Tuesday night at The Center.
Starting the season with a little bit of anxiety, the youngest ballers had a whole lot of fun as they learned from the volunteer coaches and parents who stepped up to help develop a whole new generation of Island soccer players.
Four age group leagues enjoyed the newly conditioned Center fields during the season kick off practices organized by The Center. With the fields split for simultaneous training and play, the energy at The Center felt like times of old.
This season the U4 league is four teams strong with local business sponsors All Clean Softwash & Pressure Cleaning, Bins Be Clean, Gulf Drive Cafe and Wash Family Construction.
The six teams that make up the U7 league are supported by the business sponsorship of Adrian Griffin Interiors, Beach Bums, Freckled Fin, Paradise Pools AMI, Shady Lady and The Ugly Grouper.
AMI Coconuts, Cloud Pest Control, Island Real Estate, LaPensee Plumbing, Pools & Air, Sato Real Estate and Solid Rock Construction sponsored the six U10 teams.
Representing the U14 leagues, HSH, Mac Parkman and Progressive Cabinetry provided business sponsorship for the three teen teams.
In the seven-game regular season, the U10 and U14 leagues look to Nov. 1 when the playoffs begin.
Marking their calendars, players, friends and family are looking forward to the championship games currently scheduled to be played on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
ANNA MARIA – Several hundred people gathered Saturday night with a common goal in mind – to support The Center of Anna Maria Island.
All 64 lanes of the Bowlero Bradenton bowling alley were sold out, filled with participants in the Greg LaPensee Bowling Tournament, a fundraiser for The Center. This year marks the first time that the tournament took over the entire bowling alley.
This year’s winners were Salty Dolphin for best team; Joey Newell won for top-scoring male with a 266-point single game and Cali Hanson won for top-scoring female with 184 points. The Gutter Ball winner was Dhaval Patel. Charlie Serra won the Top Kid award, and the Morey Foundation hippies team, sponsored by Laura King, won Best Costume.
“We sold out,” Center Executive Director Christopher Culhane said. “All of the proceeds will benefit The Center.” Culhane declined to speculate on the anticipated amount of funds raised by the event.
The cost of participation was $50 per person; $700 for Signature Lane sponsors; $450 for Lane sponsors with six players; and $250 for Lane sponsors without players.
The event also featured multiple silent auction items.
The tournament was named for Greg LaPensee, who passed away on Dec. 21, 2021 at the age of 39, and was sponsored by his family’s business.
“Thank you to LaPensee Plumbing • Pools • Air for sponsoring and to the LaPensee Family for all you have done to help grow this event into what it is now,” The Center’s Facebook page said. “A huge shout out to the committee – Carlee LaPensee, Ashley Chiles and Janae Rudacille – and staff for all of their hard work.”
A non-profit community center, The Center on Magnolia Avenue meets the needs of those living on or near the Island, and serves all ages, including youths, teens and senior citizens.
The Center’s Director of Development Jim McDaniel, local restaurateur and philanthropist Bob Slicker and Carlee LaPensee celebrate the life of her late husband, Greg, on Sept. 10 at the Greg LaPensee Bowling Tournament benefiting The Center of Anna Maria Island. - Shona Otto | Sun
Team Salty Dolphin took home the trophy for best team during the bowling tournament. - Shona Otto | Sun
Team Duncan Real Estate brought a crowd, but it wasn’t enough to beat out the Salty Dolphin group for top team in this year’s bowling tournament. - Anne Yarbrough | Sun
All 64 lanes at Bowlero Bradenton were sold out for this year’s Greg LaPensee Bowling Tournament. - Shona Otto | Sun
From left, Jane Engelke and Shona Otto get ready to try their luck bowling for top honors. - Anne Yarbrough | Sun
Carlee and Chandler LaPensee help Center board Chair David Zaccagnino and Shawn Shields with the awards at the 2022 Greg LaPensee Bowling Tournament. - Shona Otto | Sun
Even the younger bowlers got in on the costume contest fun during the bowling tournament. - Anne Yarbrough | Sun
Center board Chair David Zaccagnino shows off one of his favorite costumes of the night. - Anne Yarbrough | Sun
The trophies weren’t the only things up for grabs at the Center’s 2022 bowling tournament held at Bowlero Bradenton. - Shona Otto | Sun
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – It’s been 100 years since the first bridge linking Anna Maria Island to the mainland was opened to the public.
During that time, the Island has gone through a lot of changes, but a name change hasn’t been one of them.
Knowing this, local veterinarian Denise Vondrasek was surprised when she was driving on Manatee Avenue toward the Island and noticed a crew putting up a sign letting drivers know that they are five miles from “Anna Marie Is.” Realizing the sign was misspelled, she stopped to tell the workers, but none of them spoke English, so she reached out to The Anna Maria Island Sun.
The Sun called the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, which spends millions of tourist tax dollars advertising Anna Maria Island around the world. Executive Director Elliott Falcione was not available for comment and office staff members were unaware of the sign.
A subsequent call to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) resulted in the typical transfers to multiple departments, but a spokesperson for District 1 – which covers Manatee County – said she would immediately put in a work order to replace the sign.
With refreshingly little government red tape, The Sun was assured the error would be corrected.
Editor’s note: Having restored the integrity of The Sun’s namesake, Dr. Denise is honorary copy editor for the day.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The new COVID-19 booster vaccines aimed at fighting the omicron subvariants hit local pharmacies late last week after final approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Pharmacists at both Walgreens and CVS in Holmes Beach confirmed the updated vaccine is in stock and available.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the new booster is an updated formulation that targets both the original strain and the omicron subvariants, similar to how the flu vaccine is reformulated every year to best defend against the current strains in circulation.
The CDC is recommending that everyone 12 and older get the vaccine, as long as it’s been at least two months since their last vaccine or three months since they have tested positive for COVID-19. Those who have not received any vaccine must get vaccinated with the primary series first – two doses of the original Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two doses of Novavax or one dose of Johnson & Johnson.
The CDC recommends asking your doctor if or when you should get the vaccine, or what the possible side effects are.
While the new COVID-19 subvariants don’t pack the punch of the original, Manatee County COVID community transmission levels have been at medium or high for more than 20 consecutive weeks, with some contracting COVID more than once in a matter of two or three months. While the effects can be deadly, more commonly people miss work and feel generally miserable for a week, longer in some cases.
ANNA MARIA – The Island Players are getting in their last few rehearsals before they begin their 2022-23 season on Thursday, Sept. 15 with their production of James Yaffe’s Cliffhanger, which will run through Sunday, Sept. 25.
“This show is written and set in the mid-80s featuring a college professor and his wife who end up in a thriller murder mystery type of story, but it’s not your average thriller,” director Mike Lusk said. “This play is not technically a comedy, but I’m finding comedic moments; I know our audiences enjoy that. Without even changing the script, we’re just punching up those moments.”
The plot involves Professor Henry Lowenthal, who accidentally kills his boss when she ruins his retirement plans. Now Henry and his devoted wife, Polly, must find a foolproof method to dispose of the body despite frequent visits from a persistent student and a suspicious police lieutenant.
The players are Henry Lowenthal (Rick Kopp), Polly Lowenthal (Cathy Hansel-Edgerton), Edith Wilshire (Sue Belvo), Melvin McMullen (Colin Brady) and Dave DeVito (Sam DiGiammarino).
The Island Players often feature familiar faces, and Cliffhanger will be no different. Lusk directed The Savannah Sipping Society last season, and only one cast member, Sam DiGiammarino, hasn’t performed in a previous Island Players production.
This year’s lineup begins with Cliffhanger (Sept. 15-25), I Ought to be in Pictures (Nov. 3-13), The Odd Couple (Jan. 12-29, 2023), The 39 Steps (March 9-26, 2023) and How the Other Half Loves (May 4-14, 2023).
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the box office at 10009 Gulf Drive or by calling 941-778-5755. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
The communities that line Sarasota Bay are fortunate to have an active National Estuary Program centered right here in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
First named in the newly-minted Water Quality Act of 1987, the Sarasota Bay National Estuary Program (SBEP) officially began in June 1989 as one of 28 estuaries in the United States that were named by the U.S. Congress as “estuaries of national significance.”
The SBEP is celebrating National Estuaries Week 2022 from Sept. 17-24. During the month of September, the public is welcome and encouraged to attend various events and opportunities to experience and learn more about the area’s critical local bays and waterways!
National Estuaries Week is celebrated every year to showcase the value of bays and estuaries in providing for local communities. An estuary is defined as an area where freshwater and saltwater meet. On the Gulf coast of Florida, estuaries provide habitat for over 70% of key recreational and commercial fish species including snook, redfish, snapper, grouper and mullet. Estuaries also support a host of birds, dolphins and manatees. They are the main driver of the local economy, elevating property values and underpinning local economies. Habitats like mangroves and seagrasses help reduce erosion and storm damage, and add to the overall quality of life here in Florida.
Here are a few of the activities the public can enjoy as they experience and learn about the Sarasota Bay Estuary.
Join SBEP and Oscar Scherer State Park on Wednesday, Sept. 14 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Enjoy a free guided hike to Big Lake and learn about the efforts that go into protecting, restoring, creating and maintaining habitat for water quality and wildlife.
Check out Vertical Oyster Gardens (VOGs) on Tuesday, Sept. 20 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Bayfront Park in Sarasota. VOGs are oyster shells strung with lengths of rope that hang below docks. VOGs help add more habitat to our bays for sessile organisms – oysters, sea squirts and other marine organisms that grow attached to surfaces.
These VOGs have become more important as most shorelines in the greater Sarasota Bay area are “armored,” meaning that they have been engineered with seawalls, bulkheads, and riprap. This armoring reduces the habitat that is available for marine life. While oysters might settle on older concrete seawalls and wooden pilings, vinyl and other newer construction materials and coatings can prevent oysters and other sessile organisms from settling. These materials might extend the life of the seawall, but they severely reduce the amount of habitat available to oysters.
You have the opportunity at this event to learn about and build your own VOGs. Efforts by citizens help create habitat and contribute to our understanding of oyster distribution in Sarasota and Tampa bays.
We don’t have a lot of serious wave activity here on the Gulf coast; most of the big rollers are on the Atlantic Ocean side, especially north of Florida. However, if you’re talking real estate wave activity, we certainly have those, but not nearly as erratic as other states are experiencing.
According to the Core-Logic Case-Shiller National Home Price index for the year ending in June, prices rose 18%, down from 19.9% for the prior month. Most economists are saying the housing market has cooled in recent months and nationally, existing home sales have fallen for six straight months through July.
The blame here rests with higher mortgage interest rates, which is adding additional pressure on buyers when they attempt to qualify for mortgage loans. As of this writing, the fixed-rate mortgage average was 5.99%, looking like it will likely go over 6%. This is pushing 3% more than it was a year earlier, accounting for many buyers to be hitting the pause button on home purchases.
Keep in mind that 6% is not a terrible interest rate and should not in and of itself keep buyers from purchasing a home if they can qualify. Nevertheless, sellers are starting to think they may have missed their best opportunity to sell by waiting too long. The reality is that there is a slight downward movement in sale prices and the days of bidding wars and sellers getting over asking price are likely over. This doesn’t mean that sellers are still not making a lot of profit on homes they have owned for even three years, it’s just a little more competitive and adjustments to their marketing plan need to be addressed.
All of this said, Florida so far seems to be inoculated from any serious price reductions. There is a slight downturn in median selling price, but not as much as other areas of the country. Tampa was ranked ninth overall in July based on data received from Florida Atlantic University. The average home selling in Tampa was 58.5% more than the expected price. Fort Myers came in third and Lakeland was seventh. In addition, every city in Florida increased slightly from June to July.
However, Lei Wedge, a professor of finance at the University of South Florida College of Business, said she believes Tampa real estate prices have already peaked. She points out that statistical models often lag behind what is actually happening in the market. Not every financial guru agrees with this, and points to the large influx of buyers from out of state who will prevent prices from dropping as radically as we’re seeing in other parts of the country.
The other potential problem for buyers looking for mortgages in a changing market are where the appraisals will come in. The appraisers and the lenders who hire them are very careful with their final appraisal, which the mortgage amount may be based on. In an escalating market, it is sometimes hard for appraisers to project what the value of the house is without sales comps to support their numbers. In a declining market, it could work to the buyer’s advantage, depending on how the appraisers view and project the market. Either way, appraising is an art, not a science, and appraisers almost always stand by their appraisal numbers, particularly for buyers who are putting down the minimum amount of cash.
Missing the wave isn’t always a bad thing. It gives you a chance to reposition yourself and get ready for the next one. It’s impossible to predict mother nature or the real estate waves.
In the good old days of the late 1980s when the state of New York told me I was now capable of selling residential real estate, I knew they had no clue. Of course, I also had no clue, but that was part of the challenge.
That was before the internet and cell phones when every real estate office had a receptionist at the front desk who took messages and buyers and sellers had the good manners to wait until you returned their call. In that era, real estate was mostly confined to print advertising and labor-intense manual systems. Picture this: Listings were collected in three-ring binders for potential buyers to look through. Once they found the perfect home at the perfect asking price in the perfect area, it was out to the realtor’s car for an in-person tour of the home.
Once the multiple listing services were created, realtors could access available properties on the computer, assuming the computer was up and running and the little blue-haired lady who was selling real estate for 100 years could learn the process. And then of course, only licensed realtors could access multiple listing services.
That was then and this is now. In the real estate world of today, every available property for sale is at everyone’s fingertips, controlled by websites all competing for your eyeballs. Here’s a breakdown of the top sites:
The number one site and by far the largest real estate website in the country is Zillow. Zillow or “Zillow Surfing” is without a doubt addictive and provides listings from both the multiple listing services and for sale by owner. The site is free to buyers and sellers and at last count averaged 68 million monthly visitors.
The next most popular site is realtor.com (my personal favorite). The app allows you to search for homes, view pictures and video tours, compare neighborhood criteria like noise levels and provides information on flood zones. Listings are in real time and generally reflect all multiple listing properties.
Next up is Trulia, which focuses on local information and allows for personalized alerts with links to pre-qualified financing and financial calculators. Trulia may be a little too technical for the average property surfer but good to use when you have narrowed down your favorite location.
These are the most well-known and the most popular, but there are plenty more like apartments.com, FSBO.com and Homes for Heroes. There are also several home-buying websites that come and go on a regular basis. Zillow tried their hand at this, but their timing was off, starting when home prices were on a sharp rise. They have since dropped out but there are two others who are active – Flyhomes.com and Homelight.com.
Something that just came to my attention is a website called Roofstock.com, which provides listings and data for investors interested in rental properties to buy. Small investors are actively purchasing properties frequently out of state and are becoming “Laptop Landlords.” They claim they’re the number one platform for small and large remote investors looking to purchase rental properties.
The National Association of Realtors reports that approximately 51% of buyers found the home they purchased on the internet, only 28% found their home through their realtor and 4% from yard signs.
The good thing about the 1980s was the pace was considerably slower than today, which made it a lot easier to learn and bluff your way through situations you haven’t yet had the time to learn. Every day was a challenge and a learning experience, and so much more fun. Our lives may be different now, but I still miss those binders.
Catch and release is a term I haven’t heard much recently. I’ve actually seen postings on social media that make me wonder if maybe this important conservation tool needs to be revisited. Catch and release wasn’t commonly discussed in saltwater sport-fishing circles when I was growing up. It became prevalent when fish populations became stressed in the late 1980s and organizations like the Florida Conservation Association (now the Coastal Conservation Association) were being formed. Slowly, it caught on as an important tool to help flagging fisheries rebound.
Most anglers I know who practice catch and release have no problem with taking an occasional fish home for dinner. It’s more about enjoying the sport and trying to be proactive in helping it to remain healthy and viable. There are many species that have little or no food value that anglers seldom intentionally kill. But catch and release is not just about releasing fish that you don’t want, it’s also about releasing undersized and unwanted species. Catch and release is a wise use of the resource and that’s why it’s important that anglers know how to handle fish properly from hook set to release.
When we get cut or bruised, we can head for the local drug store, or in more extreme cases the emergency room. Not so for fish. In their world, it’s the sick and wounded that fall prey to predators. Releasing fish with a minimum of damage is important with a 6-pound trout, a 150-pound tarpon and everything in between.
Start by making sure you’re using the right tackle for the species being pursued. Trying to land a 100-plus pound tarpon on 20-pound tackle might be okay if you’re experienced, but to the uninitiated, it’s like announcing a free meal to sharks that ply local waters looking for weak or injured prey. You want to enjoy the action but land the fish as quickly as possible. Once you have the fish under control, it’s best to never take them out of the water.
It might be necessary to revive big fish. That’s best accomplished by slowly motoring forward while holding the fish underwater. They’ll let you know when they’re ready to be released.
The hook is another important consideration. Some anglers don’t like to bend their barbs down because they’re afraid of losing the fish. The key to keeping fish on a barbless hook is keeping a tight line. When you’re ready to remove the hook, use a de-hooker.
De-hookers will prevent you from having to handle your catch, keep your hands clean, prevent you from inadvertently harming the fish’s protective mucus membrane and come in various shapes depending on use. The simplest is J-shaped and removes hooks in or near the jaw. A circular-shaped longer version allows anglers to remove hooks that are deep in the throat of a fish. A set of pliers can also be used if the hook is easily accessible.
Anglers who fish for reef fish like snapper and grouper need to learn how to “vent” fish with inflated swim bladders. Bringing the fish up from deep depths quickly bloats their bladder, which has to be punctured to allow the fish to return to the bottom. For bigger, hard-to-vent fish like Goliath grouper, new technology uses a descender device to get them back down in good shape. Visit the Return ‘Em Right project web page to learn how to use the device and get one for free.
By being prepared, anglers can use proper catch and release methods to increase a fish’s chance of survival. Taking the time and having the tools and knowledge to release fish properly is a great way to help ensure healthy fish populations both now and in the future. Catch and release is an important concept that needs to be practiced and discussed among anglers.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The official number of visitors to the Island won’t be available for a few days, but this Labor Day weekend appeared to be a more subdued event than last year, when the post-COVID travel boom brought a record number of visitors to the Island.
“We came to Panama City first to visit a friend there, then we headed here,” said Tom Biscontine, who traveled here with his wife, Stacy, from Illinois. “We have a wedding to go to in Bradenton, so coming to the Island was a no-brainer.”
Biscontine says his father was a regular at the Coquina Beach Cafe for years, even having his own reserved chair with his name on it. The couple likes to come to the Island, but says they usually avoid the busy holiday weekends.
“We are surprised, it’s not crazy at all here right now, it’s really nice,” Biscontine said. “We love the beaches here, the people, the food, and, of course, the live music. We love to go see a great band and there are plenty here.”
Both Lt. Lenard Diaz of the Bradenton Beach Police Department and Chief Bill Tokajer of the Holmes Beach Police Department say Labor Day weekends are not typically as busy as the Fourth of July or Memorial Day weekends because children are back in school and it’s a tight window for air travel in that short time frame. Regardless, all the police departments on the Island increased the number of officers on patrol last weekend and got assistance from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, which not only patrols the city of Anna Maria, but brings in additional officers to Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach on holidays.
Normally, holiday weekends on Anna Maria Island cause serious traffic issues, but this year, some beachgoers found roads less crowded.
“It took us over an hour to cross the Palma Sola Causeway last year,” Brandon resident Tommy Stamper said. “This year on the same day it took less than 20 minutes.”
According to statistics from Manatee County regarding the tax dollars brought in from the 5% tax on tourist rentals on the Island, the summer months have seen a sharp decline from 2021, showing that the freedom to travel burst after the COVID-19 lockdown has started to level off.
“I know we need our tourists to keep our economy strong, and I love them,” said Maria Nunez, of Holmes Beach. “On the other hand, it’s nice to get to work in just a few minutes rather than planning for chaos.”
CORTEZ – Halfway through a quiet hurricane season, it’s too soon to relax, as experts are still predicting above-normal 2022 Atlantic hurricane activity.
Atmospheric and oceanic conditions still favor an above-normal 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) annual mid-season update, issued this month by the Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. The hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
A timely rotating exhibit currently at the Florida Maritime Museum (FMM) titled “Caught in the Storm: 100 Years of Florida Hurricanes” revisits some of the worst coastal storms to impact the state – several of which hit locally.
An unnamed hurricane in October 1921 covered the Gulf coast in water from Fort Myers to Tarpon Springs, causing devastation to the Cortez waterfront.
“In Cortez, fishermen watched their industry be nearly swept away. The storm’s waves left behind mounds of debris tangled in nets where fish camps and docks once stood,” according to the FMM exhibit. “Left without markets to sell to, the fishermen created their own, some of which still remain on Cortez’s waterfront.”
The Cortez Public School, which still stands at 119th Street West and Cortez Road and is now the Florida Maritime Museum, is the highest point in Cortez and was used as a shelter during that storm, which had an 11-foot storm surge.
In October 1944, a major unnamed hurricane known unofficially as the Cuba-Florida Hurricane “struck the Bradenton/Sarasota area causing trees to fall across the road taking out power lines and disrupting all communications between the Keys and the mainland.”
Hurricane Alma in June 1966 was another storm highlighted in the exhibit, with the following recollection from Cortez resident August Antilla, “…by nightfall Ellen and I had purchased $12 worth of cheeses, cold cuts and candy, and we were looking forward to our cozy hurricane party, just the two of us. The radio was blaring continually… ‘Evacuate, Anna Maria Island. The tide will be 7 to 11 feet above normal.’ ”
The largest hurricane evacuation in U.S. history happened just five years ago in September, 2017 with 6.5 million people fleeing their homes in anticipation of Hurricane Irma. Hurricane track predictions included a “cone of uncertainty” with Irma; that cone covered the entire Florida peninsula. In an abundance of caution, many counties issued mandatory evacuation orders.
So far this year, the season has seen three named storms – Alex, Bonnie and Colin – and no hurricanes in the Atlantic. An average hurricane season produces 14 named storms, of which seven become hurricanes, including three major hurricanes.
NOAA forecasters have slightly decreased the likelihood of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season to 60% from the May prediction of 65%, but more than 60% of hurricanes that make landfall do so after the peak of the season in September.
“We’re just getting into the peak months of August through October for hurricane development, and we anticipate that more storms are on the way,” NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said.
“I urge everyone to remain vigilant as we enter the peak months of hurricane season,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.
What’s happened in the last two years with the rise of COVID-19 has changed our culture, our housing and our geography so much that it’s hard to wrap your brain around it.
Everything we do has the cloud of the pandemic over it in small and big ways. But eventually, those changes will fade and some of the cultural changes will also start to fade. What then?
The way I view it through my real estate-soaked brain is that remote work has been the number one factor in the shifting real estate market. The fortunate people who had jobs that could be performed remotely were encouraged, and in some cases mandated, by their employers to leave the office. Many of these white-collar workers moved out of major metropolitan hubs and into small towns or small cities, increasing the population substantially. According to an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank, people migrating from high-cost, large metro areas to small cities, towns and rural areas was about 15% higher during the four quarters ending in March compared with the average for the three-year period preceding the pandemic.
All of this increase in population based on remote work also reshuffled the housing markets. Home values went up, new businesses were started, school enrollments increased and workers who said they would never leave major cities suddenly found themselves filling the bird feeders in the morning instead of waiting in line for their coffee.
We all know that Florida has been one of the major beneficiaries of this reshuffling, with real estate values increasing to unprecedented levels. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Florida increased by over 200,000 new residents between July 2020 to July 2021 and, of course, this does not include what the increase has been since July of last year.
Unincorporated Manatee County, Bradenton and the three towns on Anna Maria Island were always considered small towns. There is no doubt that right in our own backyards we can see the benefit of remote work and how it has impacted our real estate market.
Now it’s time to look at the July Manatee County real estate statistics recorded by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. I’m sorry I’m a little late with this report, which came out while I was away.
The median sale price for single-family homes was $521,000, up 21.2% from last year. The average sale price was $689,490, up 21.7%. New listings were up 49.8% and closed sales were down 22.2%.
The condo median sale price was $354,500, up 41.8% from last year, and the average sale price was $409,848, up 32.3%. New listings were up 11.3% and closed sales were down 20.9%
Both single-family and condos had a median time to contract of nine days.
We’re still seeing double-digit increases in sale prices with condos jumping ahead of single-family homes. But the real story is the increase in inventory and the decrease in sales. The supply and demand ratios are shifting, so watch those sale prices eventually take a hit.
Being someone who was born and worked most of my adult life in New York City, I can’t believe that the major cities are dead. Cities offer culture and energy that is hard to find outside of that environment. They don’t, however, offer beaches, mountains or small-town life.
How long will this new lifestyle last – who knows? I can’t help thinking that eventually, you start thinking there’s more to life than filling the bird feeder.
ANNA MARIA – Following in the footsteps of former Anna Maria Elementary School Dolphins, a new generation of talented high school volleyball players have their roots on the Island.
With hard hitters Mallory Cosfeld, Mackenzie Cosfeld Fortenberry, Sarah Howard and Kelly Stewart blazing the trail playing volleyball in high school, several AME alumni are set to play for Manatee High School (MHS) and Bradenton Christian School (BCS) this year.
As a freshman, making the varsity volleyball team at MHS was a hard-earned accomplishment for Natalie Talucci. An Island girl through and through, Talucci started at the School for Constructive Play, graduating to becoming an AME Dolphin. She went on to King Middle School and in the summer of 2020, with COVID protocols in place, discovered beach volleyball was a safer sport to play. A passion was born when Talucci took to the sand with Nancy Cothron, director of the Manatee Area Volleyball Club (MAV).
Playing on the Bradenton Riverfront beach volleyball courts in the beginning, Talucci expanded her game to Manatee Beach. She went from playing to competing with AME alumni Ava Baugh in a Coquina Beach tournament. The duo continued to play this summer and her love of the sport grew. Talucci joined the MAV indoor club in 2020.
Natalie Talucci and Ava Baugh partner for beach volleyball action this summer. – Submitted
As a seventh grader, she played for King, and by the eighth grade, Talucci decided she wanted to improve her game.
“Being shorter I have to work harder to get on the court usually. I play back row as Defensive Specialist or Libero,” Talucci noted in an email. “My dad warned me that I will probably need to play myself onto the court where taller girls usually have to play themselves off the court.”
Understanding her strengths and weaknesses and liking the hardcourt, she played with the Wave Volleyball Alliance in 2021 seeking opportunities to improve. The weaknesses only made Talucci want to work harder.
“I want to play,” she said.
After finishing the eighth-grade season, Talucci joined the Bevolley Beach Volleyball Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida, to stay on the court year-round.
“I knew that I could not take the off-season off. I had to keep working,” she said.
With her sights set on making the varsity squad, Talucci enlisted the assistance of her older brother, Evan. An inspiring personal trainer, Talucci’s brother jumped at the chance to help her improve her overall fitness and ability in time for MHS tryouts.
“I wanted him to push me,” she said. “I needed more conditioning.”
She has seen him running before school and going to the gym during the summer after football practice.
“He works hard and we are both super competitive,” Talucci said, adding that “Don’t you want to be great?” is one of Evan’s favorite things to say around the house.
The trainer-athlete relationship was not without its challenges as siblings, but the goal prevailed. Working together, Evan’s motivation toward his personal goal propelled his sister with a sense of accomplishment.
“When she first came home from school the day she made varsity as a freshman, I knew I helped her get there,” he said. “The summer conditioning we did helped her show up when she needed to.”
Training whenever they could this summer, Talucci and her brother saw results. The hard work paid off.
After making the team, her mother, Amelia “Amy” Talucci, noted on a Facebook post, “We are so proud of Natalie, she has spent the last year determined to learn more and become a better athlete and volleyball player and teammate.”
Her trainer/brother made clear, “She is a TALUCCI – she is loud and brings the energy to the court!”
Fiona McCarthy joins other AME Dolphins on MHS varsity volleyball this year. – Submitted
Fiona McCarthy joins Talucci on the varsity team at MHS. Starting at AME as a second grader, McCarthy started playing volleyball when she was 12 years old.
For her, playing varsity will allow her to train with more skilled and experienced players.
Along with McCarthy and Talucci, former AME student Ava Baugh was named to the MHS varsity team.
In addition to MHS varsity players, former AME student Marley Culhane earned her spot on the BCS varsity volleyball team as a sophomore. Culhane left AME, following her siblings to BCS after finishing the third grade.
A few years later in 2017, Culhane started playing volleyball after watching her sisters, Mikaela Culhane and Kiera Johnston, play for BCS.
“After all, I wanted to be like them,” she said.
Even though her sisters are no longer playing the game, they motivated her to work hard to make the team. Dedicated to her goal, Culhane could be found in the gym every day, as well as available scheduled workouts.
“If there were no workouts, I would go to the gym by myself or with a friend,” Culhane said.
She also trained with former Dolphin and recent BCS graduate, Emma Laade. Selecting Laade to work with this summer, Culhane wisely used her talents and experience. Laade, BCS’s athlete of the year for 2022, committed to St. Leo University in Dade City, Florida after receiving four offers to play at both Division 1 and 2 schools and earning two NCAA scholarships for indoor and beach volleyball.
Culhane’s goals for this season are to always play her hardest and improve her vertical jump height.
As a varsity underclassman, she is excited for the season.
The MHS junior varsity volleyball team is complemented with AME alumnae Ava Harlan and Gabriella Gilbert.
Harlan started at AME in kindergarten, moving on to MHS before finding volleyball in April 2022 with Wave Volleyball Alliance. Volleyball clinics took Harlan full circle to Manatee High.
“So far, I have loved being a part of the MHS volleyball team. I have already made a ton of new friends and reconnected with my old AME ones! So happy I decided to go for it!” Harlan said.
The future of local high school volleyball is looking bright with the help of the former AME students and Dolphin pride.
Suncoast Waterkeeper’s new Executive Director Abbey Tyrna brings an impressive record of accomplishments to the organization.
Tyrna received her doctorate in geography from Pennsylvania State University in 2015, where she researched the effects of development on wetlands. Tyrna earned a master’s degree in wetland science and management in 2008 from Louisiana State University and has a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental studies from Florida State University. She has taught at Penn State University and State College of Florida.
Suncoast Waterkeeper Executive Director Abbey Tyrna takes a water sample from one of the area’s creeks. – Rusty Chinnis | Sun
She has honed her leadership skills serving as secretary of the Florida Association of Natural Resources Extension Professionals while co-creating and chairing the Society of Wetland Scientists’ Wetlands of Distinction initiative. She has been a member of the UF/IFAS Extension and Sarasota County Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. In addition, she is a technical advisor for the Natural Assets Advisory Committee with the Palmer Ranch Community Association in Sarasota.
Before joining Suncoast Waterkeeper, Tyrna worked with Sarasota County government and the University of Florida to help bring scientific knowledge and expertise to the public as a water resources agent for UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability.
“The board of Suncoast Waterkeeper is proud to welcome someone with Tyrna’s experience and credentials,” founder Justin Bloom said. “The board and I look forward to taking this organization to the next level under the direction of someone with the dedication, energy and expertise of Abbey Tyrna.”
Raised in Cape Coral on Florida’s west coast, Tyrna realized the importance of clean water, ponds, creeks and coastal estuaries as a child.
“In seventh grade, I got to walk through Six Mile Cypress in Fort Myers,” she said. “I was in water up to my chest and I couldn’t have been happier. Even though it was 30-plus years ago, I still remember the serenity of the swamp and the feel of the water. I knew the swamp was special and learned it was connected to our limited groundwater resources. From that day on, I devoted my education to learning about wetlands and protecting Florida waters.”
She believes working with Suncoast Waterkeeper is a natural extension of that work.
“At Suncoast Waterkeeper, I plan to expand our waterway monitoring efforts and staff capacity to engage the community and influence decision-makers to protect our waters,” Tyrna said of her future plans with the organization. “I will be intentional in my effort to seek out diverse voices and points of view. In doing so, I hope to lead Suncoast Waterkeeper to realize its vision of clean water for all.”
Tyrna lives in Sarasota County with her husband, two kids and their dog.
She likes to kayak and paddleboard with her kids and intends to explore every creek and bay on the Suncoast.
To say that waterfront living is not for the faint of heart would not do justice to fainting. It’s more like a daily swoon, especially in storms or high tides. But even just plain old daily living can be daring.
Do you think you’re ready?
As soon as you walk through the front door of a Gulf-front home, your first instinct is to get out your checkbook. But buying on the water is not as conventional as buying inland. You need to do a lot of research about the expenses and consequences of water intrusion when you live in a flood zone.
Also, don’t think just because your home isn’t direct waterfront that you’re safe; chances are if you’re living along the west coast of Florida, you’re still in a flood zone. Remember that all of Anna Maria Island and the waterfront areas of Cortez are considered at high risk of flooding, as well as riverfront properties in Manatee County. Waterfront properties in flood zones will have required elevation regulations put in place by the county, state and FEMA for new construction and major renovations.
Finally, flood insurance and homeowner’s insurance are seriously impacted by living in a flood zone. FEMA’s flood insurance is capped at $250,000, which requires most homeowners in a flood zone, and certainly on Anna Maria Island, to purchase additional private flood insurance.
Buyers need to be especially vigilant when buying waterfront properties because of everything from minor corrosion to seriously impaired bulkheads on canal front properties. The average cost to replace seawalls in Florida runs between $500 to $1,200 a linear foot. Even if your seawall is only 60 linear feet, assuming an average price of $800 a linear foot, you’re looking at somewhere in the range of $40,000 to $50,000. There are federal loans available to repair seawalls, which may be the only ray of sunshine if your bulkhead fails.
The point here is that if you’re buying waterfront, you don’t just need a home inspection, you also need a structural engineer experienced with bulkhead and possibly dock inspections and pilings. In addition to the structure, the dock area needs to be inspected for mold, termites and other wood-boring insects.
Just to make life on the water more interesting, you can expect your appliances as well as air conditioning systems to have a reduced life due to salty air and wind exposure, even getting into the interior of your home. The best way to stay on top of this is to set up a schedule to inspect your home regularly for evidence of corrosion, rust, mold and little buggers. This is where hiring a manager for rental properties becomes important and worth the price.
If you live in a waterfront condo, most of the inspection process and replacement of association-owned infrastructure are taken care of. That doesn’t mean you won’t pay for it, but it does take the responsibility off your shoulders and the cost is spread around.
Notice I haven’t said one word about the threat of hurricanes. It goes without saying that hurricanes can be the biggest test to waterfront living and require organization and preparedness.
Living on the water is both a challenge and a blessing. Would you trade the cool evening breeze for a suffocating landlocked property and just a little peace of mind? Or do you want to be one of those people who walk outside every day and marvel at the view and can’t believe how lucky they are? Not even close.
