It has been another busy week for The Sanibel Susan Team. Lisa and Dave were both out showing property again yesterday, while I (Susan) have been working on contract negotiations with a new island buyer. Just got it done too! Perfect ending to a Friday!
Gulf beach at Sundial Beach & Golf Resort
We got a nice price reduction this week on our club suite listing at Sundial. If you are an investor looking for a like-new easy-living end-unit on the first floor and just steps to the above beach, this condo is now priced at $349,900. It grossed nearly $40K last year in the on-site resort rental program which offers full amenities and is completely vacation-ready! Single photo below and a full-page of info with stream video through the above tab, Listing at Sundial Resort.
Looking back into living room from lanai at Sundial I-101
Sanibel & Captiva Real Estate Update
Our Realtor® Monthly Membership Meeting yesterday again had plenty of price reductions announced and several new sales reported too. Some were the result of recent price adjustments. That is a good testament to what happens when the price is right. Generally correct positioning brings “near perfect” offers too. (Most sellers consider “perfect” to be full price, cash, closing tomorrow.)
Insurance Update
Also at our Monthly Membership Meeting yesterday, we had a panel of affiliate members in the insurance industry give us an update on recent changes affecting island property. You may have heard that Citizens (Florida’s insurance provider of last resort for wind insurance) is no longer insuring homes where the replacement cost is estimated to be over $1M. That is a change from their previous threshold of $2M. Replacement cost is not determined by an appraisal or estimate from a general contractor or builder, but rather calculated through a specialized program that is used by the insurance industry. Pool cages and other auxiliary structures like gazebos, tiki huts, also are no longer being covered by Citizens. Being an election year, the consensus was that some of these changes have political implications, but it probably is not good that a state is in the insurance business anyway.
February 1 also brought a new revision to the Wind Mitigation Report that is prepared to document a property’s storm protection and which can bring insurance credits. Do not be surprised if you receive a request for an updated report. If you currently have your wind insurance with Citizens and receive a change or cancellation notice, there are other options. I would be happy to provide you with contact information for our Association’s affiliate contacts in the insurance business.
Mobilizing for Housing
Our National Association of Realtors® President and Florida colleague, Moe Veissi, posted the following message to our organization last week. “Congress is considering raising the costs of mortgage loans issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA to pay for extending the payroll tax break. REALTORS® have to mobilize and tell Congress to reject measures that hurt housing. We want to populate Washington, D.C. like never before, at our Midyear Legislative Meetings in May. We want to tell lawmakers that we’re concerned not just about us, but about America’s home owners, 75 million strong. We want a recovery that’s durable and a healthy economy.”
Homestead Exemption Reminder
If you purchased a Florida property in 2011 as your owner-occupied primary residence, you are eligible for the homestead exemption as long as that property is your permanent home as of January 1st. The homestead exemption and other exemptions lower a property’s taxable value and, ultimately, the taxes due on that property (as determined by the County Property Appraiser). You have until March 1, 2012 to file with your County Property Appraiser’s Office so please do not forget. Answers to your questions and a form for filing can be found on the Lee County Property Appraiser’s website by clicking this link: www.leepa.org
Florida Tops U.S. Market for Interest From Foreign Buyers
SanibelSusan Realty posts their listings on a variety of web sites. One is called Point2 which is a real estate marketing solutions provider with listing data aggregation and syndication to multiple listing services and real estate associations across the U.S. and Canada. Point2 posted an interesting article this week about Florida buyers.
“If online searches for homes are any indication of buyer interest, the state of Florida is the most attractive U.S. destination for international buyers, according to residential property syndication service, Point2. The company posted its first U.S. International Real Estate Traffic report a few months ago. The latest report shows that Florida, Arizona and Nevada were once again top traffic destinations for international buyers. Florida attracted 31.04% of all international traffic to the U.S. while Arizona increased its share to 19.44%. Nevada held the 3rd place spot with an 8.61% share of traffic. “Those who are searching are also buying,” says John Sebree, Senior Vice President of Public Policy for the Florida Association of Realtors®. “As many as 25% of all home sales in Florida are to an international buyer. Florida has been ‘on sale’ for several years and the word has spread.”
“According to Teresa Kinney, CEO of the MIAMI Association of Realtors®, Miami set an all-time new record for number of sales in 2011 and leads the state of Florida in terms of the number of international buyers. “Sixty percent of all buyers in Miami last year for resale homes were international buyers, and as much as 90% of new construction buyers,” says Kinney.
“Canada was the source of the greatest number of online visits to all top 10 states, followed by the UK and Mexico. Sebree notes that in addition to Canadians and British buyers, the state sees large numbers of buyers from Brazil, Germany and Venezuela, among others.” The full report is available.
Shellabration 2012
Shellabration 2012 is well underway as are many other “high season” entertainment events and fundraisers. Be sure and check our blog and web site, if you are here and want a quick list of what is happening on a particular day, check out the events tab above at http://sanibelsusan.com/island-events-calendar/
If you are at the Shellabration Fashion Show on Monday at The Sanctuary, you will catch SanibelSusan there in the alto section of The BIG ARTS Community Chorus.
Sanibel & Captiva Multiple Listing Service Activity February 17-24
Sanibel
CONDOS
6 new listings: Coquina Beach #4G 2/2 $405K, Blind Pass #E208 3/2 $499K, Loggerhead Cay #152 2/2 $690K, Yacht Haven #2 3/2 $845K, Sundial #E305 2/2 $879K, High Tide #A301 2/2 $1.775M.
12 price changes: Lake Palms #9 2/2.5 now $225K (short sale), Sanibel Shores #E 2/2 now $279K, Seashells #6 2/2 now $345K, Sundial #I-101 1/1 now $345K (our listing), Loggerhead Cay #481 2/2 now $422K, Mariner Pointe #142 2/2 now $439K, Seawind #A103 2/2.5 now $460K, Sanctuary Golf Villages I #3-3 2/2 now $540K, Sand Pointe #211 2/2 now $599K, Sand Pointe #212 2/2 now $629K, Junonia #301 3/2 now $1.599M, Seascape #105 3/3 now $2.195M.
5 new sales: Island Beach Club #320F 2/2 listed for $429K, White Caps South #2 1/1 listed for $474.9K, Sealoft Village #108 2/2 listed for $549.5K, Sundial #S301 3/2 listed for $629.9K (our buyer), Pointe Santo #C25 3/2 listed for $799K.
3 closed sales: Donax Village #18 2/2 $330K, Loggerhead Cay #513 2/2 $835K, Wedgewood #102 3/3.5 $1.87M.
HOMES
8 new listings: 1657 Sand Castle Rd 2/2 half-duplex $349K, 918/920 Main St 5/5 multi-family $549.9K, 1271 Sand Castle Rd 3/2.5 $649K, 982 Whelk Dr 3/2 $749K, 440 East Gulf Dr 3/2 $879K, 999 East Gulf Dr #103 4/3 $1.29M, 985 Oyster Ct 4/4 $1.395M, 4577 Waters Edge Ln 2/3 $3.15M.
11 price changes: 966 Fitzhugh St 2/1 now $349K, 476 Las Tiendas Ln 3/2 now $599K, 560 Boulder Dr 3/2 now $625K, 317 Palm Lake Dr 3/3 now $650K, 5885 Pine Tree Dr 3/2 now $689K, 1339 Par View Dr 3/2 now $690K, 5742 Pine Tree Dr 4/2 now $849K, 2294 Wulfert Rd 4/4 now $1.037M, 2749 Wulfert Rd 3/3.5 now $1.045M, 1743 Venus Dr 4/3.5 now $1.259M, 1102 Harbour Cottage Ct 3/2 now $1.4M.
4 new sales: 565 East Rocks Dr 3/2 listed for $448K, 6101 Castaways Ln 4/2 listed for $545K (short sale), 2624 Coconut Dr 2/1 listed for $660K, 836 Sand Dollar Dr 3/2/2 listed for $1.199M.
4 closed sales: 1214 Par View Dr 2/2 $465K (our listing), 935 Lindgren Blvd 3/2 $554K, 1290 Par View Dr 4/2 $580K, 3746 West Gulf Dr 4/4.5 $1.2M.
LOTS
2 new listings: 1815 Ardsley Way $212,555; 5290 Punta Caloosa Ct $349K.
3 price changes: 1657 Sabal Sands Rd $279K, 1304 Eagle Run Dr now $279K, 1344 Eagle Run Dr now $299K.
1 new sale: 335 East Gulf Dr listed for $299.9K.
1 closed sale: 513 Sea Walk Ct $296K.
Captiva
CONDOS
1 new listing: Bayside Villas #5208 1/2 $278.5K.
3 price changes: Tennis Villas #3219 1/1 now $219K, Tennis Villas #3229 1/1 now $235K, Captiva Shores #6B 2/2 now $735.4K.
No new sales.
2 closed sales: Captiva Shores #3A 3/2.5 $550K, Beach Villas #2628 2/2 $580K.
HOMES
1 new listing: 15361 Captiva Dr 5/4 $2.3M.
4 price changes: 56 Sandpiper Ct 2/2.5 now $675K, 28 Urchin Ct 2/2 now $789K, 16849 Captiva Dr 6/6/2 now $2.495M, 16310 Captiva Dr 4/5.5 now $4.5M.
2 new sales: 14981 Captiva Dr 3/3 listed for $849K, 15158 Wiles Dr 5/4 listed for $1.995M.
1 closed sale: 16205 Captiva Dr 4/4 $1.9M (foreclosure).
LOTS
Nothing to report.
You must be logged in to post a comment.