John vanZandt

There was a "Flash of Green" Sunday night in Holmes Beach, Florida.

Christine and I were sitting near the waterline as the sun was going down on Sunday, October 26, at our favorite beach location, where 77th Street runs into the beach cabana at the dune line here on Anna Maria Island, Florida.

Hundreds of common terns were skirling and diving into the bait-fish which were near the surface in the first little swale closest to the sand. Dozens of laughing gulls were also swooping about, harassing the terns and trying to get them to drop their catch. Meanwhile, small flocks of sandpipers or sanderlings were dodging in and about the foam line, a solitary American oystercatcher stalked the shallows, and willets probed the sand, one by one.

The air was crystal clear. Only a few jet contrails marred the azure bowl that was the sky. As the sun began to sink lower and lower in the sky, Chris said, "We could see a flash tonight."

She was speaking of the "flash of green" that sometimes can be seen just as the sun is setting. Usually, atmospheric conditions have to be just right and the viewer must be slightly elevated above the waterline. Sometimes it happens, sometimes not. But as the sun sets, the apparent color fades from red to orange to yellow and then, just as the orb's final limb disappears below the horizon, the yellow goes to white, and -- Eureka! -- a bright green.

We DID see the flash last night. And we sometimes can from the beach here on the West Coast of Florida, in Holmes Beach. Is it a special occurrence? You bet it is. And we love seeing it every time.

In a related development to sales on Anna Maria Island, it may be instructional to see how sales on Perico Island at the gated condominium community, Perico Bay Club, compare for the last six months versus the same period a year ago. Here are the charts.

Selling prices per square foot have dropped some 16 percent during the same period. Of course, we have to consider that there are a lot of units now for sale in that development:

And at this time, there are relatively few under contract waiting to close:

Note also that the average listing price is pretty significantly above the recent selling price average. And with a pending to active ratio of 3/56, there's a lot of inventory and not many sales.

Can we believe that there will be a rush to purchase the better 'deals' in Perico as the traditional season (winter and early spring) come to a close?

Call or email me and we'll talk about it.

Based upon Manatee Board of Realtors data garnered from the Multiple Listing Service, we see a slight increase in numbers of sales over the same period in 2007. Below, see a summary of sales for the first two months of 2008, and below that, a similar summary for the first two months of 2007.

We note a 20 percent increase in number of sales, but the average price per square foot across the board is down about 16 percent. Single family prices are holding their value; condos are down nearly 30 percent; multifamily (duplexes, mostly) have too few sales to be statistically significant.

As of March 5, we see hopeful signs for future sales. There are many properties under contract, pending closing at this time, and anecdotal evidence is that business activity is increasing, particularly among the 'deal seekers.'

For more analysis on what these data indicate, don't hesitate to call John at 941-778-6066, or toll free at 1-877-778-6066.

This property, at 245 Willow Ave. in the City of Anna Maria, closed after eight months under contract and a year-and-a-half listing time. Formerly the home of H. Patterson Fletcher, a Frank Lloyd Wright Fellow, the new buyer plans to keep it as-is.

Four bedrooms, three and a half baths, 2200 square feet under air, at the intersection of two deep, saltwater canals with unobstructed access to Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, this home featured scads of tidewater cypress, aquarium-corner windows, and state-of-the-art construction (from 1976) that still bests hurricane standards in Florida today.

Listed for $1,549,000 originally, reduced to $1,349,000, the selling price was $1,075,000. For more information, visit my website at www.calltheislanders.com/245willow.