Memorial Day, the traditional day to kick off the summer season, just passed. Tomorrow is June 1, which also has tradition attached to it – the beginning of hurricane season.

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season gurus are predicting an above average season with 11 to 17 tropical storms, five to nine hurricanes and two to four major hurricanes. Manatee County and Anna Maria Island has been spared the devastation of a major hurricane for decades, but as we are continually warned during this time of year, it only takes one to change history.

Along with the traditional heat of Florida's summer and the tension of potential hurricanes is another tradition, the slow-down of the real estate market. It's been a busy season on Anna Maria as both asking and selling prices keep pushing upward, so now it's time for my three-month, million-dollar and over report covering the three cities on Anna Maria and Cortez.

As always, the on the market statistics are from the realtor.com website, which generally reflects what is listed on the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee multiple listing service. The closed sales are from the Manatee County Property Appraiser's office. The months analyzed are January, February and March of this year and include listings and sales over $900,000, which I feel are close enough to a million to be significant.

Cortez did not have any sales over $900,000; the previous three months there was one.

The city of Anna Maria had four sales from $900,000 to $1,685,000 during the first quarter of the year; the last time there were six.

Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach closed six properties from $900,000 to $2,200,000 in January, February and March; the previous three months they closed nine in this price range.

On the market and pending sales are as of this writing and again are analyzed starting at $900,000 for the first quarter of this year.

Cortez has eight properties on the market starting at $1,150,000 to $1,795,000, one is pending; during the previous three months there were also eight. The list price on the pending property is $1,549,000.

Anna Maria city has 54 available properties from $949,000 to $4,250,000; the previous three months there were 50. In Anna Maria there are 19 pending properties with the top four pending between $3,675,000 and $2,495,000.

Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach have 89 on the market from $945,000 to $10,990,000; previously they had 93 properties. As of this writing, there were 14 pending properties with the top four between $4,859,000 and $3,495,000.

As you can see, the market for both listing properties and sold properties is pretty steady in volume and in pricing for both listings and closed sales. April and May can be active months for closing properties after the winter sales season, so the next quarter will be interesting to look at.

In the meantime, start getting ready for hurricane season. Store extra water, batteries and food; backup computers; review your insurance policies and other important paperwork so they are handy in the event of a storm. Keep a full tank of gas in your vehicles during this time of year, have some extra cash on hand and have a plan with your family about where you will meet or evacuate to if necessary. Also, have your quick get-away kits together for both you, your children and your pets, and most of all, evacuate if it's called for and be safe.