Island weather has been a tad cooler recently (into the low 70’s) and we had a couple of unusual overcast days this week, but overall it still is terrific, particularly when compared to the snowy conditions and deep freezes we keep hearing about elsewhere. (Island temps expected to be back in the low 80’s by Sunday/Monday.)

Here are a couple of news items, followed by the action reported in the Sanibel and Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service over the last seven days.

Another Doc Ford’s

South Seas Island Resort recently announced their newest dining option – Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grille. Already well-known for its Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach locations, the new Doc Ford’s restaurant will feature its traditional menu, along with new decor. Replacing the soon-to-be-closed Holy Smoke Heavenly Barbeque in the old Chadwick’s Center near the entrance to the resort and following a complete renovation, Doc Ford’s Captiva will debut this summer and be open to the public. More info at www.docfordssanibel.com and  www.southseas.com

Another Foodie Note – Changes at DQ

If you have noticed the new plantings at the island Dairy Queen, those are thanks to a newly-formed  partnership of owners. One of the original partners whose family has run the business since 1973 announced last week that he has now teamed up with a couple of other islanders, including Larry Thompson who launched the Lazy Flamingo chain, Sunset Grill, and The Santiva General Store. Our teammate, Lisa, still spends a few shifts each week at Larry’s Sunset Grill restaurant. That’s where she and Dave met back in the 90’s. Food’s great if you haven’t checked it out – breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Lighthouse Beach To Be Tilled

As a requirement of the State Department of Environmental Protection permits for the beach renourishment project completed at Lighthouse Beach, the beach must be tilled prior to the start of sea turtle nesting season. This work is done to ensure that the beach is not overly compacted and is of the appropriate compression to enable female sea turtles to excavate nest chambers in the beach sand to lay their eggs.

The contractor is scheduled to start work in the late Monday afternoon, Jan 28 at Lighthouse Beach and will take approximately 6 hours, extending into the early evening. Tilling will only occur on the San Carlos Bay side of Lighthouse Beach. The gulfside of Lighthouse Beach will not be affected.

“Rugose Spiraling Whitefly, A Guide for Homeowners”

Island property owners recently were mailed an educational brochure for Sanibel residents. Even island visitors have noticed and asked about defoliated trees. Here is the write-up from the City website with link to the brochure.

“The City of Sanibel has been impacted by a non-native pest known as Rugose Spiraling Whitefly. As we continue the effort in combating the fly’s spread educating the community is a priority. Today (Jan 14, 2013), the City of Sanibel released “Rugose Spiraling Whitefly, A Guide for Homeowners,” an educational brochure for residents on Sanibel. Residents and businesses can now view the brochure by clicking here. (pdf 291.65 kB)  For questions regarding the Rugose Spiraling Whitefly please contact the City of Sanibel Natural Resources Department at holly.downing@mysanibel.com or calling (239) 472-3700″

Fewer Young Homeowners in Wake of Housing Bust

An on-line article posted at Florida Realtors® yesterday, sourced “U.S. News and World Report.” Interestingly the day before at the Florida Realtors® Mid-Year Business Meetings here in Orlando, during a forward-thinking REThink presentation which looks into the future of real estate, it was pointed out that over half the world’s population is under the age of 30. First, here’s the “U.S. News and World Report” article:

 “The fallout from the housing crisis is still being felt today. One major casualty is the rate of homeownership in the U.S., which has fallen substantially. The picture is especially bleak for younger households who make up the bulk of first-time homebuyers. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the biggest decline in homeownership was in households headed by people under 35 years of age. Rates for this demographic group plummeted from a homeownership peak of 43.6% in summer 2004 to 36.3% in September 2012.

“Meanwhile, households aged 35 to 44 experienced a decline in homeownership from 70.1% at the start of 2005 to 61.8% as of last year’s third quarter.

“Two major issues contributed to the decline in homeownership among younger people. First, tight lending requirements and weak labor markets made homeownership unattainable for many.

“Second, foreclosures caused some in these groups to become renters or cease to be households entirely by moving in with friends or family.

“Declining homeownership rates among younger households can have a broad ripple effect on the economy, ranging from delays in marriage and having children to reduced wealth accumulation.”

On this same subject of age, here is a blog article by Erik Qualman. It talks about world populations and the resultant rise in social media. (If you’d like to see the stats go to his site at SocialNomics.net)

Over 50% of the World’s Population Is Under 30 – Social Media on the Rise

“Roughly 52% of the world’s population is under 30-years-old. It is estimated that the U.S. population of 310 million equates to 4.5% of the world population.  Meanwhile, China’s population of 1.33 billion represents almost 20% of the world population.  Please note that Google and Facebook don’t dominate China like they do other parts of the world, rather Baidu, QQ and Renren lead the way.

“Looking at the population in five-year windows reveals that 0-4 years-old is the largest segment.  This intuitively makes sense from a death rate perspective in developing countries.  As we look at the ages of anyone over 10 and under 60 the largest group is those 20-24 years of age.  The smallest group are those 55-59.                                                                                                                                 

“If we are to drill down into the U.S. data it differs from the world population in the fact that the 20-24 year-olds are the third largest segment after the segments of: 1) 45-49 and 2) 50-54.  96% of Generation Y indicate they have used social media tool.  Not sure how the other 4% somehow have avoided social media, but we will leave that for another day. The life expectancy of someone born in the U.S. today is 78.

“According to this data it’s predicted that Generation Y will outnumber Baby Boomers in July, 2010 (based on Census Bureau Projections). There is much debate on which years define each generation, but even running the numbers numerous ways shows that Generation Y will outnumber Boomers.  If you define Generation Y or Millennials as being born between 1980-2000 (10-30 year olds in 2010), the population equals 82,576,000.  The way the Census bureau breaks out data in 5-year increments this window keeps the data “whole.”  For Baby Boomers if you run the numbers to how the census bureau defines a Boomer  as the years 1946-64 (ironically people aged 46-64 in 2010) the population equals 79,590,000.  If you define baby boomers…as being born from 1943-1960 (50-67 years of age in 2010) the population equals 69,522,000 and that is giving the boomers two extra years (50-69 years of age in 2010).

“How Do I Live to 100? – Be Social

For kicks here are some bold predictions:

Facebook’s main competition may come from China

Physical paper newspapers will be done by 2014

Television as we know it today will be done by 2016 (served over IP)

Oh, and one last thing.  While Males start out as the larger population (107 index) females live longer and flip this (Male index goes from 107 to 23) by the time they are 100.  One of the top characteristics doctors have determined of centenarians (people that live to be 100) is that they have active social lives.  Isn’t it appropriate that females will be carrying the social torch for years to come?”

Sanibel & Captiva Multiple Listing Activity January 18-25

Sanibel
CONDOS
3 new listings: Sanibel Arms West #M3 2/2 $395K, Tarpon Beach #206 2/2 $599K, Anglers Key #201 3/3 $1.875M.
7 price changes: Colonnades #12 1/1 now $129K, Sundial #C201 1/1 now $219K (short sale), Sundial #G201 2/2 now $490K, Nutmeg Village #106 2/2 now $599K, Surfside 12 #C4 3/2 now $775K, Snug Harbor #121 3/2 now $997.5K, Ferry Landing #1 2/2 now $1.149M.
No new sales.
2 closed sales: Tennisplace #A34 2/1.5 $238.9K, Blind Pass #B103 3/2 $415.5K.

HOMES
4 new listings: 754 Donax St 4/2 duplex $399K, 970 Sand Castle Rd 3/2 $569K, 701 Heather Ln 4/3.5 $775K, 284 Ferry Landing Dr 3/2.5 $979K.
10 price changes: 1846 Ardlsey Way 2/2 now $319.9K, 1401 Sandpiper Cir 3/2.5 half-duplex now $399K; 9106 Mockingbird Dr 2/2 now $479K; 9446 Yucca Ct 3/2 now $539K; 747 Martha’s Ln 3/2 now $559K; 1660 Bunting Ln 4/3.5 now $945K; 1555 San Carlos Bay Dr 3/2.5 now $949K; 4207 Gulf Pines Dr 4/4.5 now $950K; 3635 West Gulf Dr 4/4.5 now $4.199M, 4461 Waters Edge Ln 5/5.5 now $4.995M.
6 new sales: 1245 Anhinga Ln 3/2 listed for $499K, 3311 Twin Lakes Ln 3/3 listed for $599K, 2540 Coconut Dr 4/3.5 listed for $740K, 569 Lighthouse Way 3/3 listed for $795K, 1878 Woodring Rd 3/2.5 listed for $2.19M, 1323 Seaspray Ln 4/4.5 listed for $2.348M.
3 closed sales: 1536 Bunting Ln 3/2 $425K, 1032 Lindgren Blvd 3/2.5 $590K, 549 East Rocks Dr 3/2.5 $690K.
 
LOTS
1 new listing: 5044 Joewood Dr $490K.
1 price change: Tarpon Bay Rd now $199K.
1 new sale: 437 Lake Murex Cir listed for $249K (our listing).
No closed sales.

Captiva
CONDOS
No new listings.
1 price change: Captiva Hide-A-Way #1C 2/2 now $579K.
No new sales.
1 closed sale: Sunset Beach Villas #2228 2/2 $525K.

HOMES
No new listings.
2 price changes: 16770 Captiva Dr 5/4.5 now $5.85M, 16428 Captiva Dr 7/8/2 now $12.45M.
2 new sales: 11490 Old Lodge Ln 3/3 listed for $979K, 11551 Paige 5/6/2 listed for $4.998M.
No closed sales.

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.