It’s SusanSusan reporting that it was another fairly quiet week on the islands – but with gorgeous weather, occasional afternoon showers, fabulous sunsets, and probably more people on the island than we typically see in mid-June. The activity posted since last Friday in the Sanibel and Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service follows a few news items below.

June Membership Meeting – Sanibel/Captiva Islands Association of Realtors®

Though it had been three long weeks since our last local Realtor® Caravan Meeting, attendance was light at our monthly breakfast meeting on Thursday.

Two affiliate members spoke during the professional development segment of the meeting: Art Monahan with Seacoast Cottage Company discussed the various window types and designs used on the islands. “It’s amazing”, he said “how many consumers don’t realize that the windows used in Florida are different from those in homes in northern states.” Here we want to keep the heat out. There they want to keep the heat in. The impact resistant windows required here now are tested to 170 mph, many have three layers of glass and an inner shatterproof Mylar membrane which is what keeps the elements from penetrating a home even when the glass may break.

Jeff Carroll with Tradewinds Custom Homes discussed the three varieties of home exterior finishes popular in Florida because of their easier maintenance and durability (as compared to wood): vinyl siding, Hardie board, and Boral. He brought samples. Most of us recognize vinyl siding, it’s been popular for years. Hardie board, perhaps not as well know, was developed by James Hardie and is a siding made of fiber cement. Cement is combined with sand, water, and cellulose wood fibers to make a solid building material well suited for protecting building exteriors. We see a lot of Hardie board here. I hadn’t heard of Boral until Jeff’s presentation. He said that it is a relatively-new product that does not change even when submerged in water. His sample was in a jar of water and had been for two months, without compromising its integrity. Jeff said that Boral is made from fly ash and resin. He also described it as a true green product from cradle to cradle, meaning no nasty byproducts or gases are produced during its manufacturing. Sounds like a perfect material to be used on homes in hot humid Florida. In comes in a variety of shapes and sizes too, so can look like wood shakes, shingles, beadboard, and a variety of lapboards, etc.

LCEC Island Vegetation Trimming

Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) has advised the City of Sanibel that circuit crews will begin trimming vegetation on Sanibel and Captiva the week of June 22, 2015. Crews expect to be trimming vegetation for approximately three months, weather permitting.

The trimming will begin near East Gulf Drive and Bella Vista Way and proceeding through Sanibel to Sanibel-Captiva Road.  See LCEC’s map below showing where trimming will occur.

As part of this vegetation trimming process, LCEC crews will make efforts to contact home/business owners prior to trimming. Door hangers will be left where person-to-person contact is not possible.

Vegetation management is part of the ongoing LCEC electric system maintenance and reliability improvement plan and is critical to reducing outages and ensuring safety. Residents with questions should call LCEC directly at 239-656-2200.

F.I.S.H. Moving to New Location

According to an article in today’s “Island Sun”, F.I.S.H.’s soon-to-be-occupied new headquarters at 2430 Periwinkle Way, behind Bleu Rendez Vous French Bistro will give them more than 1,000 sq. ft. than their current location.

F.I.S.H. of Sanibel-Captiva, Inc. is a nonprofit, non-sectarian, human services organization focused on “neighbors helping neighbors” on Sanibel and Captiva islands.  From their web site “The mission of F.I.S.H. is to lend a helping hand to those in need who live, work or the islands. Their objective is to make a social investment in our community that assists our neighbors to live independently with dignity in their homes.”

Founded in 1982, F.I.S.H. operated out of volunteers’ homes until their first office in The Village Shops. They have been in their second and current location at 1630 Periwinkle Way since 2007. The move to their own building later this month will allow them to expand their walk-in center to better serve their employees, volunteers, and clients.

The “Island Sun” article reports their success by giving some statistics from last year. “In 2014, FISH impacted the lives of 1,317 households representing 1,737 individuals. Las year, 86% of its annual budget was used for client programming. This included 386 senior households which benefitted from FISH programming such as Alzheimer’s assessments, daily well-check calls and prepared meals, emergency financial assistance, health equipment loans, non-emergency medical related appointment transportation and workshops. Also during the past year, 931 households – including 192 children – benefitted from FISH programming such as adult education assistance, community resource referrals and counseling, emergency financial assistance, ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) instruction, notary services, VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) tax assistance, youth lunches, and scholarships.”

This wonderful hardworking organization is led by its 2015 President and CEO, Maggi Feiner, and Board Chair, John Pryor (also a fellow singer in the BIG ARTS Community Chorus & Ensemble). If you have the time or the wherewithal, please support them. They are always looking for volunteers and contributions, their web site also has a list of the food pantry needs. Today, it says canned proteins (tuna, chicken, beef), milk, juices (boxed for kids), paper towels, and toilet paper. When finishing up an island visit or prepared your hurricane box for the summer, it’s a good time to thin out your pantry and bring those non-perishable not-expired items to FISH.

Best wishes to FISH in their new location!

(You will be pleased to try Bleu Rendez Vous French Bistro too. I tried it a couple of weeks ago and it is divine. New décor, authentic yet reasonably-priced French menu. Open 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Hosts are Chef Christian and Mari Vivet. Check out their menu and be sure to make a reservation. http://www1.bluerendezvousbistro.com/)

Housing Solutions for Emerging Markets

No related to island real estate, but interesting info in this on-line article posted last Friday on “DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS”:

“Housing markets all over the world are dealing with a lack of affordable housing options. In many developing markets, builders are creating innovative properties that seek to solve the growing affordable housing and urbanization issue, as well as provide shelter for at-risk populations that battle natural disasters on a regular basis.

“Floating structures, monolithic domes, and even housing made from paper are just a few of the inventive housing creations that have popped up in emerging markets in order to solve various housing crises, according to global online real estate portal Lamudi, which focuses exclusively on emerging markets.

“Here are some examples of these housing solutions:

Paper Refugee Shelters, Rwanda – After the civil war in Rwanda left more than two million people homeless, Shigeru Ban, an award-winning modernist architect, decided to use low-cost paper tubes to build shelters for those in need. This inexpensive solution helped to conserve trees and avoid deforestation, and inspired Ban to make paper shelters all over the world in areas of need.

Paper Log Housing, Philippines – Paper tubes were also a solution after Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines, destroying 130,000 homes in the process. Shigeru Ban Architects were able to create emergency housing that included beer crates filled with sandbags, floor panels made of coconut wood and plywood, and paper tubes as the structural frame.
Makoko Floating School, Nigeria – In Lagos, urbanization and lack of space is a big problem. To confront this issue, NLÉ designed a prototype for a floating school to be built in the water community of Makoko.

Earthquake-proof Housing, Indonesia – A devastating earthquake in 2006 inspired the partnership of Domes for the World (DTWF) and the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO) in building 80 monolithic domes in Indonesia. These structures are made to withstand various natural disasters and provide a secure shelter for those most as need in the area.

Ecovillage, Uganda – Earthbag construction technology was the solution for the growing environmental, economical, and social challenges in Uganda. More than three million people near Lake Victoria are at-risk for violence and natural disasters, and this earthbag ecovillage was created specifically to provide protection from bullets, fire, wind, and rain.”

Upcoming Events

Father’s Day – Captiva Cruises is offering free travel to Dads with a paid child on June 21, Sunday. Trips to Useppa Island or Cabbage Key, dolphin/wildlife adventure cruises, half-day shelling trips, and more. Reservations needed, call 239-472-5300.

Mango Tasting at The Community House – June 24, Wednesday, 6 p.m.  The owner of FruitScapes on Pine Island will be there with ten different types of mangoes for attendees to sample. Bring your own potluck item to share with about six people. RSVP at The Community House at 2173 Periwinkle Way, 239-472-2155.

90% of Properties Now Have Equity

More positive recovery news was posted on-line Wednesday at “Daily Real Estate News”:

“As home prices rise, more home owners are regaining equity. During the first quarter of this year, about 254,000 properties regained equity, according to CoreLogic’s latest equity report. That now brings the total number of residential properties with a mortgage that have equity to about 44.9 million – or 90% – by the end of the first quarter.

“Five states alone accounted for 31% of negative equity in the U.S., according to the report. Those states with the highest percentage of properties with a mortgage in the negative equity position in the first quarter are: Nevada: 23.1%, Florida: 21.2%, Illinois: 16.8%, Arizona: 16.8%, Rhode Island: 15.7%.

“About 90% of home owners now have housing equity and, as a result, have experienced an increase in wealth, which can spur additional consumption and investment expenditures,” says Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “The remaining 10% of owners with negative equity will find their home value rising while they continue to pay down principal on their amortizing mortgage loan.”

“The still elevated number of home owners who have negative equity remains a concern, however. The number of negative equity households stood at 5.1 million, or 10.2% of all properties with a mortgage in the first quarter of this year, according to CoreLogic’s report. That represents a slight drop from 5.4 million homes, or 10.8%, that had negative equity in the fourth quarter of 2014.

““Many home owners are emerging from the negative equity trap, which bodes well for a continued recovery in the housing market,” says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “With the economy improving and home owners building equity, albeit slowly, the potential exists for an increase in housing stock available for sale, which would ease the current imbalance in supply and demand. There are still about 5 million home owners who are underwater and we estimate that a further 5% appreciation in home values across the U.S. would reduce the number of owners with negative equity by about one million.”

“The following states had the highest percentage of properties in the positive equity territory by the end of the first quarter: Texas: 97.7%, Hawaii: 96.9%, Alaska: 96.8%, Montana: 96.8%, North Dakota: 96.2%.

“In general, the majority of positive equity properties are centered at the high end of the housing market, according to the report. For example, 94% of homes valued at greater than $200,000 have equity, compared with 85% of homes valued at less than $200,000.”

Sanibel & Captiva Multiple Listing Service Activity June 12-19

Sanibel

CONDOS

1 new listing: Sanibel Inn #3522 2/2 $749K.

1 price change: Sanddollar #C101 2/2 now $870K.

1 new sale: Sunset South #9C 2/2 listed for $449K (our listing).

6 closed sales: Colonnades #41 1/1 $185K, Spanish Cay #A7 1/1 $230K (our listing), Sundial #F303 2/2 $460K, Cottage Colony West #102 1/1 $611K, Sand Pointe #214 2/2 $715K, Island Beach Club #P2E $720K.

HOMES

1 new listing: 4221 Gulf Pines Dr 2/2 $589K.

6 price changes: 1024 S Yachtsman Dr 3/2 now $589.9K, 9032 Mockingbird Dr 3/2 now $598,150, 1388 Tahiti Dr 3/2 now $639K, 420 East Gulf Dr 3/3 now $698K, 2969 Wulfert Rd 6/7.5.5 now $2.15M, 1253 Anhinga Ln 4/4 now $3.7M.

7 new sales: 9106 Mockinbird Dr 2/2 listed for $499K, 1314 Tahiti Dr 2/2 listed for $525K, 1593 Sand Castle Rd 3/2.5 listed for $529K, 1521 Wilton Ln 3/2 lissted for $549K, 1409 Albatross Rd 3/2 listed for $595.9K, 1710 Sand Pebble Way 3/2 listed for $645K, 4241 Old Banyan Way 3/2 listed for $739K.

7 closed sales: 9446 Beverly Ln 3/3.5 $600K, 741 Nerita St 3/2 $625K, 1528 Angel Dr 3/2 $730K, 5076 Joewood Dr 3/2 $795K, 518 N Yachtsman 3/3 $995K, 1101 Schooner Pl 3/2.5 $1.089M, 5290 Caloosa End Ln 4/3 $1.4M.

LOTS

No new listings or price changes.

3 new sales: 9239 Dimmick Dr listed for $139K, 1429 Albatross Rd listed for $269K, 3411 West Gulf Dr listed for $3.74M.

1 closed sale: 1336 Eagle Run Dr $250K.

Captiva

CONDOS

1 new listing: 2416 Beach Villas 1/1 $535K.

No price changes.

2 new sales: Marina Villas #707 2/2 listed for $595K, Lands End #1616 3/3 listed for $1.99M.

1 closed sale: Marina Villas #902 2/2 $620K.

HOMES

1 new listing: 7 Sunset Captiva Ln 2/2.5 $2.195M.

1 price change: 11530 Paige Ct 4/5.5 now $3.79M.

1 new sale: 11516 Andy Rosse Ln 6/6 listed for $2.349M.

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 general real estate activity in the community and does not imply that SanibelSusan Realty Associates is participating or participated in these transactions.

 Happy Fathers’ Day weekend!