There are a lot of opportunities for investors who want to buy property in Florida. The population of this state is growing, housing prices and values are rising, and markets all over Florida are attracting the attention of local investors as well as out-of-state investors. Even international buyers are grabbing what they can.
Most of these investors are flocking to cities like Tampa, Miami, Orlando, and Jacksonville.
The biggest investment secret we’re sharing with you today is this: Anna Maria Island.
This is a quiet, serene part of Florida’s Gulf Coast that is yet undiscovered by most institutional investors. That means there’s a lot of potential for you, whether you’re looking to buy your first investment home or increase an already growing portfolio. Your investment property in Anna Maria Island will reward you with high rents, low vacancy, and a lot of ROI. Property values are growing, but there’s potential for even more growth.
Let’s talk about why Anna Maria Island has better investment potential than any other markets in Florida.
First, the Geography: Where is Anna Maria Island?
Anna Maria Island is found on Florida’s west coast, in the southern/central part of the state. The island is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay. Three separate and distinct towns make up the seven-mile-long island. These are:
- Bradenton Beach on the south end
- Anna Maria on the north side
- Holmes Beach settled in between
Here’s one of the things that’s so special about Anna Maria Island: It’s largely non-commercial. There are plenty of locally owned shops, restaurants, bars, and breweries. But, you won’t find those high-rise condos and luxury hotel chains that you’re likely to come across in other parts of Florida, especially on the coast.
This is perhaps the first reason that investing here has more potential. It’s special. It’s what locals like to refer to as “Old Florida,” meaning it’s modern and updated, but not overrun with tourists, chain restaurants, and sprawling “resorts.” People come here for something different, and that means you have an entire market of visitors and tenants who are looking for a unique experience, and not just another Florida beach.
On Anna Maria Island, visitors can explore all three beach towns, which have their unique restaurants, shops, live music, and entertainment. These attractions can be found on Main Street in Holmes Beach, Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach, and Pine Avenue in Anna Maria.
A car may be helpful to arrive, but once on the island, there’s no need to drive or park or sit in traffic. Almost everything is easily available by foot or by bike. There’s also a free trolley that cruises up and down the island, bringing people where they need to go.
It’s hard to find a real estate market in Florida that offers this type of intimate setting. There’s year-round demand for rental housing, too. In the summer, expect full beaches and families on vacation while school is out. In the winter, northerners descend, enjoying the warm water temperatures and the astonishing sunsets.
This is not your average Florida beach town, and that’s what sets Anna Maria Island up as an ideal place to invest.
Vacation Rentals and Long-Term Rentals in Anna Maria Island
Another reason that Anna Maria Island has tremendous investment potential is that you have a mix of short-term tenants who are looking for vacation properties as well as long-term tenants who have come to the area for a year or more and want to settle in. You might also get some tenants who are in-between. Snowbirds are popular in this area, for example. They’re tenants who come down from northern climates to stay in the area from October through March. They don’t want to buy a home here, but they do want to find a reliable and well-furnished property for the winter.
So, when you invest in a property on Anna Maria Island, you can think about what types of tenants you’d like to attract. It opens up some options for you, and it also allows you to pivot from one rental type to another without a lot of hassle.
-
Use Your Anna Maria Investment as a Vacation Rental
Why might you want to invest in a short-term vacation rental? Because this is Bradenton, and a lot of people come here for vacation. Here are some other excellent reasons.
- You get more flexibility. You aren’t tied into fulfilling the obligations of a long-term lease agreement when you do short-term vacation rentals. You can also block out times of the year when you want to use the property for yourself or someone in your life. You can structure rental periods seasonally or in ways that work best for you.
- You charge more on a per-night basis with vacation rentals than you do with long-term rentals. This can generate some great cash flow. A lot of landlords do really well renting their property out as seasonal rentals or short term stays and they earn enough income to make up for any vacancies that they experience during slower periods. The nightly or weekly rate you charge on a short term rental is often double or even triple what you’d charge per-night on a long term rental.
- If you’re interested in opening your investment property up to a lot of diverse tenants, this is a great way to do it. There’s a rising popularity in sites like Airbnb, and owners are going out of their way to make their vacation rental homes special. You might find it fun and rewarding. A lot of short-term rentals have guest books where their guests can leave messages. You’ll have the opportunity to build a business based on guest reviews.
-
Invest in a Long Term Anna Maria Island Rental
Maybe your investment goals are such that you aren’t interested in vacation rentals. Instead, you want a stable, long-term tenant who will pay consistent rent over the course of a year or longer. You can do that in Anna Maria Island as well, and here’s why you should:
- Less vacancy risk. You won’t have to ride out the slower seasons waiting for someone to book your property.
- High tenant demand. Because Anna Maria Island is so popular with visitors, finding long-term rental properties isn’t always easy. You’d be meeting a huge need in the market by investing in homes on Anna Maria Island and renting them out to long-term tenants. Right now, the supply is not exactly keeping up with the demand. So, you’re likely to find highly qualified tenants when you’re renting out a long-term property. There was no hustling for the next guest.
- You’ll get stability and peace of mind with long-term tenants. It’s generally less work, too. There’s less cleaning that needs to be done and the wear and tear usually isn’t as intense because instead of a revolving door of guests, you have consistent people in place for a year or longer.
Anna Maria Island will provide your investment portfolio with exactly the type of diversity it needs. And, there are plenty of options for what you want to buy and how you want to rent it out.
Earnings: Short-Term Rents and Long-Term ROI
Compared to other investment markets, the real estate market is fairly stable. There are some ups and downs when it comes to pricing and home values. But it doesn’t fluctuate like the stock market does.
When you buy a property in Anna Maria Island, you’re going to have an extremely valuable investment right out of the gate. As your tenants contribute to the mortgage payments you’ll need to make, as well as the expenses that come with renting out a home, you’ll find that your equity builds and so does your property value.
Rental prices are going up fairly steadily, and that’s true in both the vacation rental market and the long-term rental market. You’ll earn hundreds of dollars per night on a vacation rental. You can expect to bring in over $3,000 per month in a long-term rental.
Your tenant pool is financially secure. Most of the renters in Anna Maria Island are over the age of 55. They’re established, they’re thinking about retirement, and they’re financially prepared to pay the high rents that your property will demand.
The competition is a bit different in this region, giving you the opportunity to begin earning money almost as soon as you close on a home. Set your investment goals, put a plan into place, and work closely with a team of experts like property managers, accountants, and brokers. You’ll find a lot of potential in what you can buy here, and your investment experience will be more lucrative and less stressful than it would be in Miami or Tampa.
Choosing where to invest is an important part of making money on real estate. We can help you when you’re turning your attention towards Florida, and we welcome you to hear more about what investment property in Anna Maria Island can offer you. Please contact us at Anchor Down Real Estate & Rentals.