It’s SanibelSusan reporting another sunny Friday on the islands. A little chilly this morning at 59 degrees, but warming up to the mid-70’s and expected to remain that way for at least the next five to six days.

Traffic has picked up noticeably, so the new Sanibel web cam app can help you plan which route to take when traveling the island. Called “Sanibel Bound” and free on iTunes or Google Play, to install the app, simply go to http://www.mysanibel.com/live-street-cams from your mobile device. For the Android App, click on the button “Get it On Google Play”. To Install the Apple App, click on the button “Download on the App Store”.

Sanibel & Captiva Island Association of Realtors®

Yesterday, there was a big turn-out at our weekly Caravan Meeting at the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors®. Almost as many affiliate business members were in attendance as Realtors®. Sometimes, “it takes a village” to get a property closed – inspectors, insurance providers, mortgage brokers, title companies, etc. We sure have good ones partnering with us on the islands. A big thank you to Amanda Curran of Superior Title who recently got a tough one closed for our buyer.

Only four properties were on Caravan (it was a West-end tour) – shows how few new listings come on the market this time of the year. Many price changes were announced. I announced the price reduction of the lot 9441 Peaceful Drive. (Some aerials below of this large wide parcel backing to conservation land in Gumbo Limbo. Great private spot for a small or large home, with or without pool. Backyard faces west & sunsets! Price now $274,000)

Next week is East-end Caravan and the monthly membership meeting, so it likely will bring an even bigger turn-out. I will announce the price reduction at Lighthouse Point #129 then. (That’s the ground-level spacious bay-view three bedroom condo shown below. Now priced at $574,000.)

More info on the action posted this week in the Sanibel & Captiva Multiple Listing Service follows a few news items below.

Lots of Happenings

In typical high-season fashion, there are lots of happenings now for locals and visitors to enjoy. Here are a few reminders, others are posted on under the “Upcoming Island Events” tab above.

• Art on the Veranda – tomorrow Feb 11 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – at Bailey’s Center, presented by San-Cap Art League.
• CHR’s Mardi Gras – tomorrow night Feb 11 – Community Housing & Resource (CHR’s) only fundraiser of the year at The Dunes. Tickets at www.sanibelchr.org/mardigras or call 472-1189.
• BIG ARTS “100 Years of Broadway” – tomorrow night – 2017 benefit – www.bigarts.org or call 395-0900.
• 15^th Annual Clothesline Art Show – Sunday Feb 12 – at The Community House, presented by San-Cap Art League.
• Valentine’s Dinner Dance – Feb 14 – hosted by the Stroke Recovery Foundation at The Community House. Reservations needed by Monday. Call 395-2661 or email GBaker9367@aol.com.
• Annual Arts & Crafts Fair – Feb 18 & 19 – presented by Rotary Club of Sanibel-Captiva – at The Community House, Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. www.SanibelArtFair.com
• Kiwanis Annual Spaghetti Dinner – Feb 25 – at The Community House from 4 to 8 p.m. Tickets in advance from Kiwanians for $8 or at the door for $9.
• 80^th Sanibel Shell Festival – Mar 2, 3, & 4 – at The Community House.
• 10^th Annual Sanibel Uncorked – Wine & Food Fest – Mar 5 – 1 to 5 p.m. – fundraiser by the Sanibel-Captiva Optimist Club at Lily & Company.
• A Peek at the Unique – Mar 11 – Zonta’s 16^th home tour & fundraiser. Limited tickets available at ZontaPeekTickets2017@gmail.com

Sighting at “Ding” Darling

Last week hundreds of visitors came to J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on the lookout for a Great While Pelican that was spotted there last February and reported to have again returned this year. Within just 24 hours of the February 1 sighting, birders came from near and far, but not many spotted her. With a wing span up to 11.8’ and weighing as much as 33 pounds, these rare birds are native to Africa, Europe, and Asia. Birding experts say that this one is far off its usual migratory route, I say it’s just another smart winter vacationer.

 

SCCF Hosts Water Forum

From an email received this morning from Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation:

“Weighing in on the Water, a February 9 town hall event, was hosted by SCCF at the Bailey Homestead Pavilion and moderated by SCCF’s Natural Resource Policy Director Rae Ann Wessel. In introducing U.S. Congressman Francis Rooney and Sanibel Mayor Kevin Ruane, she framed both the economic and ecological impacts from poor water management as key issues that must be addressed at the local, state, and federal levels to improve water quality in the Everglades and Southwest Florida.

“There is insufficient capacity to store, treat, and move water,” said Wessel. “We need new ways of doing restoration, and science needs to be the basis of all the solutions we pursue.”

“Congressman Rooney briefed approximately 200 constituents on his efforts to address Southwest Florida’s water quality issues at the federal level.

““We don’t need new legislative authorization, we need funds to be appropriated for multiple Everglades Restoration projects authorized since 2007,” said Rooney.

“The Congressman went on to say his first acts since taking office on January 20 were all focused on water quality for his district and Florida. He cited his one-on-one visits with members of the House Appropriations Committee, arguing for Everglades restoration funding. He also shared the letter he crafted and sent to President Trump, on which he secured the signatures of every member of Florida’s House delegation on Capitol Hill. (See a pdf of the letter here). The letter asks that the Trump administration’s fiscal 2018 budget “strongly support Everglades restoration projects, especially those within the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (CERP).”

““This was an extraordinary achievement for a recently arrived freshman member of Congress,” said Wessel.

““The letter was bipartisan and included every House member representing Florida in Washington.  Advocates fighting for Everglades restoration and water quality have never had that demonstration of unanimous congressional support before Congressman Rooney brought this focus on water to Washington.”

City of Sanibel Mayor Kevin Ruane expressed his appreciation for Congressman Rooney’s efforts at the federal level, particularly in the way they complement the efforts Ruane is working to spearhead.

““We have worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and have gained their commitment to accelerate – to 2018 rather than 2021 – the design and planning process for a flow way for storage and cleaning south of Lake Okeechobee,” said Ruane.

“The Mayor went on to speak in detail about his initiative to engage the 19 counties and 163 cities affected by poor water quality. These counties and cities represent 55% of Florida’s real estate values. Combined with their tourism income, the economic impact of poor water quality is $2 trillion. “If you’re in Tallahassee, that number is hard to ignore,” said Ruane.

“The mayor has taken a leading role in bringing together the cities to work together in seeking state-level support, such as advancing the passage of Senate Bill 10 (SB10) to purchase 60,000 acres south of Lake O. He told the audience to watch for planned efforts to highlight these issues during the Florida legislative session beginning March 7.

“SCCF encourages you to forward this email to friends and neighbors, asking them to sign up for SCCF action alerts and become engaged in pressing our elected officials to take positive actions for moving restoration forward to protect our economy and water resources. Click here to sign up for our Action Alerts.”

NAR RPAC Hall of Fame

I received a surprise congratulatory letter this week. It seems I was nominated by the state for induction into the NAR RPAC Hall of Fame. The nomination was accepted, so I will be an official member of the Class of 2016 National Association of REALTORS®’ RPAC Hall of Fame. The induction is in May after which a plaque with my name will be on the rooftop of the NAR building in Washington, D.C.

I didn’t think that we have had anyone from the islands ever make the “Hall of Fame” so it prompted me to look on-line to see how many fellow Floridians are Hall of Fame members. In Florida, today there are 47 Realtors in the Hall of Fame. From my home state of Maine, there are only two, and from my former state of Virginia, there are just 15.

Since 2004, the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) has raised more than $100 million dollars to support pro-REALTOR^® Party candidates running for Congress. The amount of money RPAC spends to support candidates makes it one of the top trade association PACs in the nation.

Though REALTORS® are a key part of the American Dream – property ownership, they increasingly face forces that threaten their work – the economy, property tax burdens, increasing insurance premiums, rent controls, impact fees, etc.

RPAC helps REALTORS^® make sure their concerns about these and other issues are heard and understood by public officials. On the islands, where 99% of our members contribute to RPAC, we don’t just give dollars, we see those dollars put to good use in the ongoing fight for better water quality, lower insurance costs, and more.

Investing in my profession helps me and other homeowners too.

Sanibel & Captiva Multiple Listing Service Activity February 3-10, 2017

Sanibel

CONDOS

1 new listing: Royale Tern #103 3/3.5 $2.295M.

7 price changes: Seashells #38 2/2 now $368K, Mariner Pointe #712 2/2.5 now $480K, Sundial West #D305 1/1 now $539K, Lighthouse Point #217 3/2/2 now $539K, Lighthouse Point #129 3/2 now $574K (our listing), Kings Crown #208 2/2 now $749K, Tanglewood #1A 3/2 now $1.0749M.

4 new sales: Loggerhead Cay #253 2/2 listed at $549K, Sundial East #L402 2/2 listed at $749K, Bayview Village #1A 3/3 listed at $789K, Sundial East #Q404 2/2 listed at $899K.

1 closed sale: Somerset #302 3/2.5 $1.55M.

HOMES

8 new listings: 1895 Farm Trl 3/2 $615K, 215 Palm Lake Dr 3/2 $798.9K, 1311 Sand Castle Rd 2/2 $799K, 2628 Coconut Dr 3/2.5 $1.43M, 1995 My Tern Ct 4/2 $1.495M, 3615 West Gulf Dr 3/2 $2.995M, 1320 Seaspray Ln 4/4.5 $3.55M, 3009 Turtle Gait Ln 4/4.5 $3.999M.

16 price changes: 998 Greenwood Ct 3/2.5 half-duplex now $437K; 3043 Poinciana Cir 4/2 now $579K; 376 Lake Murex Blvd 3/2 now $589K; 9247 Dimmick Dr 3/2 now $599K; 5305 Umbrella Pool Rd 3/2 now $599,995; 5292 Umbrella Pool Rd 3/2 now $629K; 1295 Par View Dr 3/2 now $725K; 1334 Junonia St 3/2 now $729K; 3152 Twin Lakes Ln 3/3 now $735K; 698 Spartina Ct 3/2 now $895K, 243 Southwinds Dr 3/2.5 now $875K; 1396 Tahiti Dr 4/3 now $939K; 518 N Yachtsman Dr 3/3 now $1.399M; 696 Kinzie Island Ct 4/5 now $2.15M; 6494 SanibelCaptiva Rd 3/2 now $2.2495M; 1206 Bay Dr 4/4.5 now $3.899M.

11 new sales: 980 Sand Castle Rd 3/3 half-duplex listed at $489K, 976 Sand Castle Rd 3/3 half-duplex listed at $495K, 1631 Sand Castle Rd 3/2.5 half-duplex listed at $499K, 1714 Bunting Ln 3/2 listed at $499.9K, 1851 Farm Trl 3/2 listed at $525K, 2134 Egret Cir 3/2 half-duplex listed at $559K, 660 Durion Ct 3/2 listed at $910K, 1089 Skif Pl 3/2 listed at $1.089M, 785 Birdie View Pt 3/2.5 listed at $1.149M, 5639 Baltusrol Ct 4/4.5 listed at $1.695M, 2118 Starfish Ln 4/5 listed at $1.849M.

2 closed sales: 2401 Shop Rd 2/1 $205K, 2142 Egret Cir 3/2 $485K.

LOTS

1 new listings: 5251 Indian Ct $789K.

3 price changes: 9441 Peaceful Dr now $274K (our listing), 6411 Pine Ave now $363.5K, 602 Boulder Dr now $439K.

1 new sale: 2502/2504 Wulfert Rd listed at $239.9K.

No closed sales.

Captiva

CONDOS

1 new listing: Beach Home s#2 3/2 $2.199M.

No price changes or new sales.

1 closed sale: Beach Villas #2322 1/1 $480K.

HOMES

1 new listing: 11530 Laika Ln 4/3 $2.2M.

No price changes.

2 new sales: 11539 Wightman Ln 2/2 listed at $1.575M, 16237 Captiva Dr 5/5.5 listed at $3.95M.

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 Valentines’ Day!

Still time to buy your sweetie a piece of paradise before Tuesday. I’m working…

Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan