It’s Sanibel Susan, reporting that this week, the record-warm temperatures continued on Sanibel and Captiva Islands along with sunny weather. As the islands get busier, so do the bike paths and beaches with snowbirds and vacationers already enjoying pre-holiday festivities.

Weather reports say that a cool front is arriving later today (Friday) with a few occasional showers that may hang around over the weekend and Monday – possibly a few daytime temperatures down into the mid-70’s too. We are ready for that.

By Thanksgiving, it’s likely to be back into the low 80’s.

Below are a few news items followed by the action posted in the Sanibel and Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service since last Friday.

Red Tide

It certainly is not unusual this time of the year, after a rainy warm summer to hear about red tide blooms in Florida. But, it has been a few years since Sanibel has experienced what is occurring now. Fingers crossed that the upcoming cool front pushes it away. In the meantime here what the City posted late yesterday on www.MySanibel.com:

“City Reminds Private Property Owners Proper Pickup Techniques for Removal of Debris from Sanibel’s Beaches

“At this time, the City of Sanibel is experiencing moderate levels of Red Tide impacting a small portion of the Island. We are monitoring conditions very closely. Excellent sources of additional information on Red Tide are available at:

http://www.leevcb.com/sites/leevcb.com/files/red_tide_rack_card_generic_web.pdf

http://www.leevcb.com/content/water-quality-issues

http://coolgate.mote.org/beachconditions/

http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=usa&wwa=Beach%20Hazards%20Statement

https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/hab/

“Currently, Sanibel Public Works Department is picking up dead fish along the public beaches as conditions warrant. Property owners and managers authorized to remove dead fish from the beach along their respective properties. Anyone removing fish from the beach should adhere to the following guidelines:

• Only dead fish may be removed from the beach. This ensures that beach habitat for Sanibel’s wildlife is protected during the cleanup process.
• Dead fish may only be removed by hand, using hand tools such as pitch forks or grabbers. The use of shovels and mechanical equipment is strictly prohibited.
• All fish should be double bagged and placed in an onsite dumpster for disposal.
• At this time, NO large sea life has been impacted. If you have large fish, marine mammals or sea turtles that are too large to handle, please contact the City of Sanibel Police Dispatch at (239) 472-3111.
• No motorized vehicles are permitted on the beach and only those vehicles authorized by the City Manager may be used in cleanup activities.

For further information regarding this matter, please contact the City of Sanibel Natural Resources Department at (239) 472-3700.”

SanibelSusan Realty Happenings

Again this week, several of our listings had showings. On Sunday, I opened two homes for showings. A condo listing sold this week, we received a new canal-front home listing which had its first showing yesterday, and I met with some other owners also thinking of selling in 2016.

Teammate Dave has been attending inspections, holding open houses, and following up on sales that are in process, while Elise continues to follow-up on our listing activity and marketing material. Lisa will be manning the fort tomorrow updating our inventory documents as she does each week. All of us are off on Thanksgiving Day (we are only closed two days a year – Christmas will be next). The team also will have next Friday off, while I will be showing property, then in the office sending you next Friday’s real estate update.

I had lunch today at Sundial Resort. They have a new menu, with a Caesar salad big enough to share if you are looking for a meal with a view. The new Japanese restaurant there is not open yet and it was pretty quiet for a Friday afternoon, but plenty of check-ins are expected tomorrow. Here’s hoping they are all buyers!

(Picture below taken today from the dining deck at the Sundial Beach Resort.)

 

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors November Membership Meeting

Yesterday, was the monthly breakfast meeting of the islands’ Association of Realtors®. Held at The Sanctuary, we were treated to a terrific meal followed by a presentation by Ken Kouril, the Golf Club General Manager. His pitch centered on the upcoming 2016 Capital Project planned at The Sanctuary which will provide more outside dining, redecorating and refreshing the Clubhouse, and constructing a state-of-the-art Fitness Facility. Here are a few more details from his handout:

“Redecorate/Refresh the Clubhouse – Redecorating by Peacock & Lewis, a highly recognized and awarded architectural and decorating firm, will focus on such key components as the color palette, repainting, new carpets and drapes, reupholstering and replacing furniture, new lighting fixtures, improved acoustics in the main dining room, an audio-visual system, and modernization of the bathrooms.

“Outside Dining – The porch adjoining the Grill Room will be transformed into a pleasant dining venue for Members. The project will involve a minor renovation to eliminate visual obstructions (the lower wall) to improve the view, and a complete makeover (e.g. floor, ceiling, lighting, furniture, fans, etc.) of the space to create a comfortable and attractive setting in harmony with the Grill Room.

“Fitness & Wellness Center – A 5,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art Fitness & Wellness Facility will be constructed comprised of a 1,800 sq. ft. equipment room housing cardio and strength training equipment, a dedicated stretching room, a 900 sq. ft. group exercise room for Pilates, yoga, and similar activities, comfortable and well-appointed rooms for massage therapy, and restrooms. There will be a new outside pool (75’ long x 25’ wide) for recreation and lap swimming with both deep and shallow water. Aerobics classes also will be an addition to the existing wellness programs currently offered.”

So as not to interfere with the upcoming winter activities at the club, the demolition of the current Fitness Center and construction of the new one will not begin until May 1, 2016 (expected to take a year to complete), while the Clubhouse work will begin May 15, 2016 and be completed by mid-October. (The Clubhouse will be available during construction. Tennis will continue through construction, however, the Fitness Center will not be available during this time.) More info at www.sanctuarygc.net

If you would like to enjoy these upcoming improvements at The Sanctuary, our listing at 5743 Baltusrol Court overlooking the 9^th fairway to lake is available. This unique custom villa home has a spectacular grand foyer, stunning great room opening to expansive outdoor living spaces with pool and spa plus pool bath. Inside, the split floor-plan has 3 bedroom suites with separate office/den, utility room, gourmet kitchen, and powder room. An oversized 2-car garage (really 2-1/2-car) completes the picture. The adjoining lot also is available. Please contact me for more details – or click on the tab above.

Upcoming Island Events

With holiday celebrations beginning, here is the big event of the weekend:

Sun – Nov 22 – Annual Sanibel Thanksgiving Celebration – at The Community House, 2173 Periwinkle Way at 6:45 p.m. This is a non-denominational celebration of Thanksgiving in music, words, and song. Admission is free. Local community leaders and representatives from island churches take part. Singers include The BIG ARTS Community Chorus (SanibelSusan in the alto section). Cookies and apple cider follow the celebration. Guests are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food or monetary donation for FISH of Sanibel-Captiva.

For those that follow our community chorus, here are a few other upcoming performances:

Sat – Nov 28 – During the 25^th Sanibel Masters Art Festival (which is both Fri & Sat from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) on the grounds of The Community House, the Sanibel Chorus will perform a preview of their holiday concert twice on Sat morning, once at 10 a.m. and again about 11:30 following a short break.

Sat – Nov 28 – South Seas Tree Lighting is 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the entrance to South Seas. Free and open to the public, this kicks off South Seas holiday season with a tree lighting ceremony featuring the BIG ARTS Community Chorus, cookie and ornament decorating, and a reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. www.southseas.com

Fri – Dec 4 – 31^st Annual Sanibel Luminary Festival – from 3 to 5 p.m. before the Luminary Trail begins, The Sanibel Historical Village will celebrate Christmas will a free public event. The theme is “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, in recognition of the 70^th anniversary of the end of World War II. The event will highlight what it was like on Sanibel during Christmas 1945. The Sanibel Community Chorus Ensemble will perform and each village building will incorporate patriotic pieces of the time in celebration of the theme, with live interactive events.

Also on Sanibel Luminary eve, at approximately 6 p.m. there will be a surprise flash mob inside Bailey’s Store, followed by the singing of carols outside. (Hope I didn’t spoil the surprise.)

Sanibel Luminary Trail is from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, while Captiva’s Luminary is the next night, Sat Dec 5.

Sanibel & Captiva Multiple Listing Service Activity November 13-20

Sanibel

CONDOS

3 new listings: Sand Pointe #217 2/2 $789,999; Kings Crown #315 2/2 $899K; Gulfside Place #317 2/2 $1.495M.

2 price changes: Casa Blanca #6 1/1 now $250K, Snug Harbor #113 2/2 now $985K.

4 new sales: Seashells #28 2/2 listed at $365K, Sanibel Arms West #M8 2/2 listed at $519K, Sanibel Arms West #B1 2/2 listed at $525K, Sundial West #B206 2/2 listed at $579K (our listing).

2 closed sales: Lighthouse Point #221 3/2 $569.9K, Somerset #B201 3/2.5 $1.85M.

HOMES

8 new listings: 1429 Sandpiper Cir 3/3 half-duplex $429.9K, 9475 Beverly Ln 3/2 $534.5K, 1258 Par View Dr 3/2 $799K, 4215 Old Banyan Way 3/3 $825K, 918 Lindgren Blvd 3/3 $1.495M (our listing), 1688 Hibiscus Dr 3/3 $1.895M, 4190 Dingman Dr 4/3.5 $2.995M, 1196 Bay Dr 4/4.5 $3.195M, 2405 Blue Crab Ct 4/4.5 $3.295M.

1 price change: 1004 Fish Crow Rd 4/3 now $874.9K.

4 new sales: 2065 Wild Lime Dr 3/2.5 listed at $579K, 9445 Beverly Ln 3/2 listed at $699K, 236 Palm Lake Dr 3/2 listed at $879K, 5436 Shearwater Dr 3/3 listed at $989K.

3 closed sales: 426 Lake Murex Cir 3/2 $645K, 1490 Middle Gulf Dr 3/4.5 $1.583M, 2963 Wulfert Rd 4/6.5 $2.5M.

LOTS

No new listings, price changes, or new sales.

1 closed sale: Sabal Sands Rd, lot 8 $195K.

Captiva

CONDOS

4 new listings: Bayside Villas #5208 1/2 $287K, Marina Villas #807 2/2 $670K, Gulf Beach Villas #2127 2/2 $750K, Beach Homes #20 3/3 $2.595M.

No price changes, new, or closed sales.

HOMES

1 new listing: 14981 Binder Dr 3/3 $1.095M.

No price changes, 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 general real estate activity in the community and does not imply that SanibelSusan Realty Associates is participating or participated in these transactions.)

Until next Friday, Happy Thanksgiving!

Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan