What Gloom and Doom?

The Bradenton-Sarasota housing market showed no ill effects from the expiration of federal homebuyer tax credits, with sales of previously occupied homes hitting their highest point since the building boom, according to figures released Thursday.

A total of 1,068 existing single-family homes changed hands in June, the most since August 2005, the Florida Realtors trade association said. It also was the fourth consecutive month of 1,000-plus sales, something that also hasn’t happened in five years.

“That’s just absolutely phenomenal,” said Cindy Greco, the Manatee Association of Realtors’ president and an agent with Wagner Realty.

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12th Annual Sarasota Film Festival Premieres Today!

On most nights of the year the beautiful Florida skies provide stellar views, but for a week each April Laurel Park residents are given a front row seat to a different sort of stargazing. The Sarasota Film Festival is now in its 12th year, and the 2010 edition promises to be even better than last year’s. A vast assortment of films—from star-studded features to international documentaries to innovative shorts—are slated to show at nearby venues, including the Hollywood 20 Cinemas, Van Wezel Performing Arts Center, even Whole Foods! Most events can be reached on foot from Laurel Park Management’s downtown Sarasota apartments.

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