It’s been another week of wonderful weather on Sanibel and the islands continue to be busy. Shops and restaurants are hoppin’ and many of us have resorted to the “always turn right” traffic pattern to ensure getting around. Funny how we always forget what really happens February 1st when it seems the flood gates open and visitors arrive in full force. The extreme weather elsewhere has obviously contributed to additional island business this year. It’s all good!

We got another nice listing this week, a wonderful canal-front home near the beach. At Sellers’ request, it will not be posted in the Multiple Listing Service until Monday, but if you know of anyone looking for an east-end easy-living property with pool and 2 boat lifts, please have them give me a call. Teammate Dave has already taken some terrific photos. Here are a few:

We had some very good showings this week too. So far, we have two offers to show for them and I am working on those negotiations. A few more showings are scheduled for the weekend too. Some of those are getting more complicated in the investment-type condos that have tenants, particularly the ones with long-term renters. So far, we were pretty lucky with that though, and this week we managed to convince two month-long tenants that we had “real” prospective buyers. One resulted in one of the offers. An offer is possible on the second one too!

Here are some news items followed by the Sanibel and Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service activity for the past seven days.

Nearly Every U.S. City Can Expect a Good 2014

If you missed the article in “USA Today” last week, it was repeated in our REALTORS ® “Daily Real Estate News” on January 23.

“Nearly every city in the U.S. is expected to see economic growth in 2014, according to a new report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The city expected to lead the country in economic growth and job gains is Naples, FL. 

“Other large cities expected to see big growth this year: Raleigh, NC; Atlanta; and Austin, TX, according to the report, which was conducted by IHS Global Insight. 

“Cities that were hit hard by the decline in manufacturing or the housing crisis are also forecasted to see a big turnaround. For example, Youngstown, OH, and Buffalo, NY, are expected to see economic growth of 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively.

“”The key thing in the northeast was the stabilization of housing,” says Jim Diffley, a senior director at IHS and lead author of the report. “When prices normalized and people weren’t underwater anymore, small but positive job growth has been able to stimulate spending.”

“One of the biggest turnaround towns is expected to be Shreveport, LA, which, the report shows, will grow by 1.6% after a 5.2% decrease last year.

College towns, such as Austin, Charlottesville, VA, and Lawrence, KS, are expected to be strong performers this year. However, large urban areas, such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, are expected to grow more slowly than the national average. Diffley says that many large cities such as those have already recovered many of the local jobs that had been lost in the recession, and that’s why they likely will only experience slow growth this year.

“Overall, IHS predicts that 340 of 363 metro areas will see their economies grow by at least 1% this year. That’s an increase from 183 metros last year. What’s more, 69 of those metros are expected to see growth of 3% or more. Only seven of the 363 metro areas will likely not see their economies grow this year, still an improvement over last year’s 97 metros that saw their economies stagnate. 

“”Two thirds of metros have still not gotten back to 2007 or 2008 peak levels of employment, and half of those won’t get there for another three years,” Diffley says. “Financial crises do not produce normal recessions in the U.S.””

Shell Harbor Entrance Channel Dredging Begins

This is an old photo take some years ago when the canal entrance was similarly sanded in.

The City of Sanibel announced yesterday that the dredging of the entrance channel to Shell Harbor begins today. The channel will remain open during the dredging; however, there may be short periods when boat traffic will need to be stopped. Boaters are advised to be alert and aware of the construction operations taking place. The work will take a few weeks to complete.

Official Opening of The Bailey Homestead Preserve’s Shipley Trail

The February issue of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) Member Update announced that on Thurs morning, March 6, at 11 a.m. SCCF will officially open the Bailey Homestead Preserve’s Shipley Trail, Conservation Gateway Kiosk and the boardwalk that SCCF and the City of Sanibel created to connect the Bailey Homestead Preserve to the City’s Pond Apple Park.

The opening of the rest of the homestead will be announced at a future date. Watch www.sccf.org for more details.

(Photos here taken by Andy Johnson, owner of Sanibel Surveys, who performed their post construction survey work. Thanks for sharing your pictures, Andy!)

Prices May Not Return to Peak Levels Until 2021

An articled posted on-line at www.FloridaREALTORS.org advises that “Clear Capital says there’s no housing bubble.” Sourced to a HousingWiring article posted on Monday, it says:

“Though home prices are projected to grow at a 3% to 5% appreciation rate, economists at Clear Capital say there should be no worries about a housing bubble brewing any time soon. In fact, according to Clear Capital’s Home Data Index, if home appreciation continues at its current pace, prices may not return to peak levels until 2021.

“The National Association of Realtors reported in its December existing-home sales report that home prices rose 11.5% in 2013 compared to 2012. That marked the strongest gain since 2005, when median prices for existing homes rose 12.4%.

“Following the double-digit growth in home prices last year, however, Clear Capital economists predict that national home prices will now fall into line with inflation and follow more historical rates of growth. “Double-digit gains over the last year, while similar to rates of growth in the run-up to the bubble, are off a much lower price floor,” says Alex Villacorta, vice president of research and analytics at Clear Capital.

“However, Villacorta did note that Phoenix and Las Vegas are showing signs of overheating and should be watched closely. Both markets saw yearly gains around 30%, but home prices have since been cooling. Home prices in Las Vegas remain 20.8% below 2000 levels when adjusted for inflation, but prices in Phoenix are about 1.9% above 2000 levels, according to Clear Capital.

“Home prices at the metro level, when adjusted for inflation, reveal 46 out of 50 metro markets have home price levels that are at pre-2003 levels. Twenty-five of 50 markets are reporting prices below 2000 levels. “With the majority of metro markets still so far below peak prices, it’s time for conversations surrounding price trends to shift away from the 2006 peak as the point of reference, and back to current trends and forecasts,” says Villacorta. “While there are certainly investors and homeowners holding real estate assets that will be underwater for seven years or more, the current housing market is positioned to behave very similar, or even below, historical norms, given the current economic climate.””

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity January 31-February 7

Sanibel
CONDOS
8 new listings: Sundial #D307 1/1 $268K, Sundial #G305 1/1 $339K, Loggerhead Cay #461 2/2 $509K, Sandpiper Beach #302 2/2 $599K, Sundial #Q302 2/2 $649K, Nutmeg Village #105 2/2 $689.9K, Pointe Santo #E21 2/2 $725K, Pine Cove #C 2/2 $839K.
2 price changes: Beach Road Villas #103 2/2 now $359K, Kings Crown #210 2/2 now $649K.
1 new sale: Kings Crown #218 3/2 listed for $1.25M.
2 closed sales: Sundial #L304 2/2 $930K, Golden Beach #2 3/2.5 $1.05M.
 
HOMES
14 new listings: 531 Birdsong Place 3/2 $448K, 1555 Bunting Ln 2/2 $449K, 2186 Egret Cir 3/2 $475K, 315 East Gulf Dr 2/2 half-duplex $479K, 317 East Gulf Dr 2/2 half-duplex $499K, 460 East Lake Rd 2/2 $589K, 923 Pepper Tree Pl 3/2 $729K, 3351 Barra Cir 3/2.5 $939K, 231 Daniel Dr 3/2.5 $998.5K, 1740 Middle Gulf Dr 4/3 $999K, 660 Anchor Dr 3/4 $1.2M (short sale), 3400 West Gulf Dr 4/3 $1.249M, 829 Pyrula Ave 3/3 1.279M, 1048 Kings Crown Dr 4/4 $1.395M.
8 price changes: 966 Fitzhugh St 2/1 now $334K; 236 Hurricane Ln 3/3 now $549K; 1213 Par View Dr 3/2.5 now $770K; 501 Sea Walk Ct 3/2 now $849K; 512 Periwinkle Way 3/3 now $950K; 2520 Harbour Ln 3/2.5 now $1.195M; 909 Lindgren Blvd 4/3 now $1,199,999; 696 Kinzie Island Ct 4/5 now $2.549M; 1206 Bay Dr 4/4.5 now $3.495M.
7 new sales: 9459 Begonia Ct 3/4 listed for $549.9K, 1705 Serenity Ln 3/2.5 listed for $574.5K, 9474 Balsa Ct 3/3.5 listed for $895K, 988 Whelk Dr 3/2.5 listed for $1.095M, 5423 Osprey Ct 3/2.5 listed for $1.479M, 2964 Wulfert Rd 5/5.5 listed for $1.947M, 906 Snowberry Ln 4/4.5 listed for $4.35M.
3 closed sales: 984 Sand Castle Rd 3/2.5 $332.5K, 420 Lighthouse Way 3/2 $475K, 6123 Starling Way 3/2.5 $805K.
 
LOTS
4 new listings: 2486 Wulfert Rd $219K (short sale), 9232 Dimmick Dr $235K, 3334 Saint Kilda Rd $325K, 9066 Mockingbird Dr $410K.
2 price changes: 3037 Poinciana Cir now $199,555; 761 Donax St now $219K.
1 new sale: 3351 Saint Kilda Rd listed for $349,555.
No closed sales.
 
Captiva
CONDOS
1 new listing: Beach Homes #3 3/2 $1.899M.
No price changes.
2 new sales: Bayside Villas #5132 1/2 listed for $273.9K, Ventura Captiva #2B 3/3 listed for $799K.
No closed sales.

HOMES
3 new listings: 11541 Laika Ln 4/4 $1.65M, 11527 Andy Rosse Ln 4/4 $2.695M, 17130 Captiva Dr 4/4 $4.949M.
1 price change: 11490 Dickey Ln 3/2 now $849K.
No new or 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.