We did it again! In a survey conducted by Portfolio.com Bradenton/Sarasota earns the designation as America’s most popular retirement destination. 
Portfolio.com devised a six-part formula to rank the most popular retirement destinations, using raw data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. The study encompassed all 157 metropolitan and micropolitan areas with at least 40,000 senior citizens. 

The [...]

The real estate crash has created some outstanding opportunities for property shoppers.
While the struggling housing market turns out to be a nightmare for many homeowners, it offers great opportunities to others who are planning to buy a home.  Lower home prices and low mortgage rates make housing much easier to afford than a couple of [...]

MANATEE — Bradenton/Manatee County has again been named among the nation’s 100 Best Communities for Young People because of its abundance of leadership and service opportunities for youth, according to America’s Promise Alliance, a partnership organization dedicated to youth and children.
The 2010 recognition marks the fourth win for Bradenton/Manatee County in the competition. Sarasota also [...]

SARASOTA – Bradenton:  Condor Airlines, a German air carrier that Sarasota-Bradenton International has wooed for more than two years, told the airport on Wednesday that it will not fly locally for now. Though Condor praised the airport’s “incomparable package” of incentives and efforts, the decision by the Frankfurt-based carrier nonetheless represents a major blow to [...]

Bradenton Market Trends
Today, July 5, 2010

Median Sales Price in Bradenton
Embed Info

1 Br
2 Br
3 Br
4 Br
All properties
1 yr 5 yr Max

No. Bedrooms
Apr – Jun ’10
y-o-y
3 months prior
1 year prior
5 years prior

1 bedroom
$42,500
-11.5%
$35,500
$48,000
$85,000

2 bedrooms
$99,500
+10.6%
$80,000
$90,000
$169,450

3 bedrooms
$152,000
-1.6%
$149,950
$154,500
$279,900

4 bedrooms
$235,200
+6.9%
$213,500
$220,000
$387,450

All properties
$134,000
+7.2%
$119,900
$125,000
$238,000

Select chart to embed:  
Median Sales Price
Number of Sales Copy & Paste HTML to embed [...]

The current issue of American Style magazine lists Bradenton in the Top 25 Small Cities for Art, the latest in a series of national recognitions of Bradenton’s arts and culture. 
Last year Art Calendar magazine ranked Braden­ton as one of the “10 great towns for working artists” and last fall Gallup’s “Soul of the Commu­nity” ranked [...]

AmericanStyle magazine lists Sarasota among the top 5  Small Cities for Art.

Sarasota, Fla., has long been known as a cultural destination. Credit: Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau
Coming in at number 11 last year, Sarasota climbed into the top five with the help of AmericanStyle readers. Home of numerous art museums—including the popular John and Mable [...]

There are so many reasons why to move to Bradenton, but here are some which exist for almost 100 years…

more to come…
If you have any questions about Bradenton, Manatee County, Anna Maria Island and Sarasota, do not hesitate to contact the INTERNATIONAL Bradenton and Sarasota Real Estate Company:
Weiss International Realty
Axel Weiss, Broker
T. (941) 866 1666
www.bradentonbroker.com

Bradenton, especially Downtown Bradenton and the Village of the Arts have been recognized by Boston.com. I reprinted the article below:

BRADENTON, Fla. – Turn onto 12th Street West, and it’s clear that this isn’t your average neighborhood. Instead of the usual bungalows, there is a riot of lime green picket fencing, a mural that pairs Frida [...]

The weekend includes one of the area’s most popular events, the 23rd Annual Taste of Manatee from 11-10 p.m. Saturday and 11-7 p.m. Sunday.  The ‘Taste’ is a two-day celebration along Bra­denton’s beautiful, downtown riverfront. Six live bands are scheduled to perform and dozens of vendors from local restaurants will pack Barcar­rota Boulevard.
More Information: www.tasteofmanatee.com