The word must be out that the Sanibel & Captiva Islands real estate market is starting to rebound, as many of the seasoned Realtors like SanibelSusan already are getting calls from island owners thinking of selling this winter. Most years, those calls don’t begin until fall/or when the first snow flies somewhere. We loves getting those listings early. Here are SanibelSusan’s three reasons why.

First, I want to have my listings photographed professionally, including aerials and filmed for stream videos. These make the best first impression in all marketing, but especially on the internet which today is the source that brings the most buyers. Good marketing, takes time, not to mention that our island papers are just weekly periodicals while most of the real estate papers and magazines are monthly. Actually, most properties film best in last summer/early fall too, when the islands have bright blue skies, big white popcorn clouds, sparkling Gulf waters in shades teal, and the landscape is lush and green.

Second, I like to have my high-producing Realtor colleagues well-versed in my listings before “high season” begins, when they get busy showing property. To have them fresh in their minds, it pays to have new listings on a Realtor Caravan Open House so they are easy for Realtors to preview at their leisure. Those Realtor Open Houses also are a great opportunity to educate them in the special features of each property.

Finally, the early snowbirds often are prospective buyers too. These are the folks who may be thinking of moving up or making a change. Most arrive in early October, often returning back to the northern states for Thanksgiving and Christmas; so we want our new listings to be ready for them to see.  They like having “first crack” at the new listings each fall, often wanting to purchase quickly so they can enjoy the property that same winter.

So the message here is, if you have an island property that you are thinking of selling this winter, please call us soon, so we can get the wheels in motion early. It definitely is to your advantage to list now and The SanibelSusan Team is looking for new listings. Call us anytime for a free market analysis and our proposal on why we can serve you best.

Here are a couple of real estate tidbits followed by the real estate action reported in the Sanibel & Captiva Islands MLS this week.

Did You Know?

Investors are moving back into the market as they look for super deals on distressed properties. In fact, investors are expected to outnumber traditional homebuyers three to one in the next two years, according to a recent study by Move, Inc. A recent Inman News analysis of hundreds of real estate markets found that two of the top five markets for real estate investors were in Florida. Ranking No. 3 was Gainesville and No. 5 was Tallahassee.

Short Sales & Foreclosures

I like this tidy definition from the August issue of Florida Realtor® magazine: Many people fail to realize that a foreclosure or short sale is not a single transaction but two transactions. The first part is a “sale of exchange” of the subject real property for a sale price equal to the property’s fair market value. The second transaction is forgiveness of the debt that exceeds the property’s fair market value.

Your E-Mail Personality Type

It helps in the real estate business to recognize a prospective buyer’s or seller’s personality-type so that you can be prepared to work with them on their terms. Usually that recognition is made from a face-to-face meeting. Now, so much business is transacted through the internet, that I had to chuckle when I read in “AGBeat” about the following ways to understand five e-mail personality types.

1. The “open to experience” e-mail type is willing to entertain new ideas, enjoys exploring fantasies and adventure, and appreciates the arts. They are whimsical, use abbreviations, often short. They hate capitalization and may be the accidental “reply all” email rusher.

2. The “conscientious” e-mail type is punctual, neat, and attentive to detail. They can be counted on to complete what they start. This type of e-mailer is more thoughtful. They write detailed, often long e-mails and respond rapidly, often keeping an empty email inbox. This type also properly edits their emails.

3. The “extraverted” e-mail type says “Hi!” rather than “Dear”. Exclamation points are common and most emails are enthusiastic in nature. This type is usually the first to initiate follow-up after first meeting and frequently shares their inner thoughts and feelings. These people are outgoing, sociable, and willing to self-disclose. They are typically happy and optimistic.

4. The “agreeable” email type says “yes” to everything in order to accommodate and doesn’t read much into other e-mailers’ motives despite potential tone. This type is polite and fair, evenly tempered and never passive aggressive. These easy-going people are immune to aggravations that come from everyday annoyances. People high in agreeableness also are calm and level-headed. You won’t hear much complaining from them.

5. The “neurotic” e-mail type over analyzes everything from their own behavior and details of interactions to the “signs of possible criticism or hidden meaning” within an e-mail. This type reads an e-mail several times before sending, not for grammar errors but to be sure they haven’t said anything that could be read into improperly by others. This is perhaps the darkest of the five personality types. There are the folks that are prone to excessive worry, anxiety, and feelings that others don’t like them. They are pessimistic, always expecting the worse. They tend to ruminate over their perceived failures and are high in self-doubt.

Sanibel & Captiva MLS Activity Jul 27- Aug 5

Sanibel
CONDOS
2 new listings:  Sundial #G206 1/1 $290K, Gulfside Place #104 3/2 $1.195M.
4 price changes:  Sundial #J201 1/1 now $460K, Loggerhead Cay #311 2/2 now $529K, Sanctuary Golf Villages I #6-3 3/3 now $709K, Sedgemoor #202 3/3.5 now $2.499M.
1 new sale: Seashells #35 2/2 listed for $249.9K.
3 closed sales:  Captains Walk #B8 2/2 $275K; Shell Island Beach Club #7B 2/2 $538,635; White Sands #15 2/2.5 $725K.

HOMES
2 new listings:  545 Lake Murex Cir 3/3 $649K (short sale), 5235 Indian Ct 4/3.5 $1.15M.
3 price changes:  4628 Rue Belle Mer 3/3 now $739K, 1339 Par View Dr 3/2 now $775K, 1281 Par View Dr 3/2 now $899K.
2 new sales:  with contingencies:  1247 Par View Dr 3/2 listed for $749K, 618 N Yachtsman Dr 3/2 listed for $899K (short sale).
5 closed sales:  1236 Sand Castle Rd 2/2 $397K, 566 Boulder Dr 3/2 $520K, 1320 Eagle Run 4/3.5 $730K, 2391 Wulfert Rd 4/5 $1.96M, 4249 West Gulf Dr 5/5.5 $4.35M.

LOTS
1 new listing:  1344 Eagle Run Dr $340K.
1 price change:  971 Main St now $110K (foreclosure).
No new or closed sales.

Captiva
CONDOS
1 new listing:  Bayside Villas #5134 1/2 #299K.
1 price change:  Beach Villas #2613 1/1 now $450K.
No new or closed sales.

HOMES
Nothing to report.

LOTS
Nothing to report.

This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service.  Neither the association nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy.  Data maintained by the association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.  The information provided represents the general real estate activity in the community and does not imply that SanibelSusan Realty Associates is participating or participated in these transactions.  If your property currently is listed with another broker, this is not intended as a solicitation of that listing.