Today, SanibelSusan is in Orlando finishing up at the Florida Realtors® Mid-Winter Business Meetings. Here’s hoping this week’s blog doesn’t look too different – I am producing it using my iPhone and iPad. Gotta love this on-the-road technology!

The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association’s leadership team was excited Wednesday night to make a clean sweep of the Florida PAC awards for a small board. Below is our 2018 President Dustyn Corace with the first of the trophies. Congratulation to our 2017 RPAC Committee co-chairs Realtor Tina DiCharia and Dave Arter (at left of Dustyn in photo) for leading the charge, and to our entire island membership for their participation and support! Also shown, in addition to the old gray-haired gal next to Dustyn, are our President-Elect soon-to-be-Mom Kasey Albright and her tall husband Realtor Brendan Albright, plus our Association Executive and CEO Bill Robinson.

My teammates have kept the office running smoothly the couple of days I have been here. Tuesday morning, I attended a preliminary closing just before heading out of town, while teammate Dave handled two others later in the week. The details on those, plus teammate Elise’s report of the week’s action in the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service follows a couple of news items below.

East Rocks Main Replacement

Here’s some scoop about The Rocks from the Winter “IWA Pipeline”.

“The East Rocks water main replacement, a portion of which was planned for completion in 2017, will now be started and completed beginning in the Spring of 2018. Since a majority of the country’s raw material for manufacturing PVC and HDPE pipe originates in the Texas area, Hurricane Harvey put a serious dent in the supply and price of this commodity. The portion of East Rocks Drive that was planned for 2017 was put off until 2018 when it will be completed along with the rest of the project.

“East Rocks had some streets partially upgraded years ago when fire hydrants were installed. This current project will remove all of the remaining thin-walled pipe and add a fire hydrant on Durion Court. As with the Brine Sump Replacement Project, this project will be paid for out of our reserves, with no assessments to members. This project has a budget of $280K.”

Home Water Treatment Systems

More about Sanibel’s water from the same “IWA Pipeline”.

“It has recently come to our attention that plumbing companies are attempting to sell our members expensive whole-home water treatment/softener systems. There is simply no need to install such a system to treat our water. The mineral content of our water is very low. In fact, after running through the Reverse Osmosis membranes, there are no minerals in the water. We have to add minerals in the form of a small amount of raw water back into our water to bring the total hardness up to between 30 to 60, depending on which wells we use. The state considers a total hardness of between 80-120 to be optimal. Anything below 100 is considered soft. Do not let a water treatment sales person try to tell you our water is hard.

“If the issue is chlorine residual, which is required by law, buy yourself a charcoal filter for the kitchen faucet or refrigerator water line for drinking water and ice. If you buy a whole-house charcoal filter, you will be removing the disinfectant from your house plumbing, which could lead to bacterial growth in your piping.

“If you would like your water tested, bring in a sample in a clean plastic or glass bottle, and we can test for chlorine residual and hardness. It should be at least a pint, at room temperature, and brought here as soon as possible. Chlorine degrades over time.”

Sanibel Library Update

The latest issue of the Sanibel Library newsletter had some interesting info too:

“Sanibel Public Library was recognized with a 2017 “Four Star” rating by “Library Journal”, the fourth time Sanibel has earned this national award. In statewide rankings of Florida public libraries, Sanibel Public Library ranked:

#1 for Material Available Per Capita: 13.11 (statewide average 1.86) Books, Movies, Music, Magazines
#1 for Public Computers Available Per 1,000: 4.6 (statewide average 0.82)
#1 for public space (square feet)
#2 for Circulation Per Borrower: 21.65 (statewide average 11.04)
#2 for Program Attendance Per Capita: 7 (statewide average 0.23)
#3 for Library Visits Per Capita: 18.51 (statewide average 3.79).”

Wondering what’s happening at the Library now?

“The award-winning Sanibel Public Library is a community anchor that encourages discovery, enrichment, and lifelong learning. The Library began with volunteers in the 1960s and is currently in its fifth home, which opened in 1994. In 2004 the building was expanded to its current size. Both the appearance and the quality of the structure are outstanding, but the infrastructure – HVAC, fire suppression, plumbing, lighting, technology, and flooring – are being upgraded for greater efficiency and sustainable design.

“As we take care of the infrastructure, we looked at the current use of the building, and how that use has changed over the past several years and how it will change in the future. Your Library Board of Commissioners is responding to these ever-changing needs while maintaining what is good about the last 50 years of library service on Sanibel, with a focus on fresh, new, dynamic services and programs.

“Reconfiguring the interior includes a user-centered service design with flexible, multi-purpose spaces for reading and research, collaboration, multiple technology access points, children’s story-time space, and more. The Sanibel Public Library will be positioned for the next decade of exemplary, innovative, and responsive library service.

“Your Library Reimagined has been in the planning since early 2015. The Library Board set a budget of $5.9 million, which is being covered by Library reserves, grants, and gifts. The project is currently in Phase I, half the Library is open to the public during the remodel. Phase I is nearing completion, and Phase II is expected to begin in February, with full completion expected by September 2018.”

2018 Florida Real Estate Trends

Here are a few notes from the session I attended yesterday at the Florida Realtors Governance Meetings. This one included presentations by:

● Dr. Tony Villamil, who was Governor Bush’s first Director for Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development. Previously, he was President George Bush’s U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs. Today, he is the founder and principal advisor at The Washington Economics Group, Inc.

● Kevin Foreman who leads INDRIX Big Data and GeoAnalytics. He is the General Manager of GeoAnalytics.

● Dr. Brad O’Connor, Florida REALTORS Chief Economist.

The following snippets are from Dr. Villamil’s presentation: “National & Florida Economic Outlook”. Next week’s update will include info from the other speakers’ presentations: “How Self-Driving Cars Will Impact Real Estate” and “Florida Residential Resale Market Update”. All were interesting, and confirm the real estate business continues to evolve – in a good way!

According to Dr. Villamil, the overall international business climate will not change significantly in 2018.

Positive factors in Florida’s economy include the state being pro-growth with increasing population and growing employment. Global economy is expanding at a moderate pace and the U.S. economy also will grow this year at a good clip.

His 2018 economic outlook has U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) up 3% and world output globally up 3.5%. Canada is doing well. The economy is expected to be up India (under new prime minister (democracy)) and China. Brazil is expected to be back in action too, but there is mixed outlook for Latin America.

In financial markets, inflation may be up 2%, but household net worths are doing very well, consumers will continue to buy, and real estate will remain in demand.

Much of Florida’s economy depends on open global markets. Watch for the modernization of NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement), and U.S./global markets going to “sunshine”.

Florida’s employment is growing faster than the rest of the nation. That should continue in 2018. Florida’s real GDP which is top among states also should continue to increase too and pass $1 trillion in 2018!

Dr. Villamil expects a positive environment for Florida’s 2018 real estate markets with the strong economic expansion to continue; population, employment, and visitor growth to be more than 2017; positive tax changes for Florida residents; and international visitors and foreign investment to increase.

Economic factors that need to be monitored include the Fed being less accommodating, inflation expectations, “hard” Brexit, the U.S. dollar exchange rate, trade/immigration policy, and 2018 national and state elections.

So overall, it should be another outstanding year for Florida business. Exciting changes are coming though. More info on that next week.

Sanibel & Captiva Multiple Listing Service Activity January 19-26, 2018

Sanibel
CONDOS
3 new listings: Donax Village #9 2/2 $499K, Pointe Santo #E35 2/2 $1.295M, Island Beach Club #340D 2/2 $1.379M.
8 price changes: Spanish Cay #A7 1/1 now $274K (our listing), Sand Pointe #122 2/2 now $649K (our listing), Nutmeg Village #201 2/2 now $999K, Gulfside Place #222 2/2 now $1.175M, Gulfside Place #123 2/2 now $1.198M, Gulfside Place #323 2/2 now $1.398M, Gulfside Place #124 2/2 now $1.225M, Poinciana #3C 3/2 now $1.725M.
5 new sales: Mariner Pointe #1073 2/2 listed at $499K, Sanibel Inn #3535 2/2 listed at $765K, Surfside 12 #A1 3/2 listed at $799K, Sundial West #E208 2/2 listed at $1.15M, By-The-Sea #C302 3/2 listed at $1.745M.
2 closed sales: Nutmeg Village #109 2/2 $665K, Bandy Beach #A101 3/2 $1M (our buyer).

HOMES
12 new listings: 1410 Sand Castle Rd 2/2 $639K, 5307 Ladyfinger Lake Rd 3/2.5 $645K, 1020 White Ibis Dr 3/2 $689K, 3837 Coquina Dr 2/2 $725K, 3825 Coquina Dr 3/3 $849K, 5410 Osprey Ct 3/2.5 $849K, 5739 Pine Tree Dr 3/3 $849K, 3050 West Gulf Dr 3/2.5 $979K, 542 N Yachtsman Dr 2/2 $989K, 824 Birdie View Pt 3/3 $1.198M, 3822 West Gulf Dr 3/2 $1.199M, 1316 Eagle Run Dr 4/3 $1.299M.
13 price changes: 1027 Sand Castle Rd 2/2 now $549K; 3784 Coquina Dr 3/3 now $599,995; 1478 Albatross Rd 3/2 now $639K; 998 Fish Crow Rd 3/2 now $644K; 1342 Junonia St 3/3 now $689K; 3323 Twin Lakes Ln 3/3 now $787K; 5280 Ladyfinger Lake Rd 3/2 now $849K; 4791 Rue Helene 3/2 now $849K; 707 Cardium St 3/2 now $879K; 478 Sea Oats Dr 3/3 now $1.195M; 805 Sand Dollar Dr 4/3 now $1.395M; 536 Lighthouse Way 4/4.5 now $3.195M; 3009 Turtle Gait Ln 4/4.5 now $3.299M.
5 new sales: 3021 Singing Wind Dr 3/2 listed at $499K, 1470 Angel Dr 3/2 listed at $920K, 789 Pyrula Ave 4/2.5 listed at $1.095M, 900 Almas Ct 3/3.5 listed at $1.199M, 4641 Rue Belle Mer 3/2.5 listed at $3.295M.
5 closed sales: 1817 Atlanta Plaza Dr 3/2 $385K, 545 Piedmont Rd 3/2 $585K, 241 Violet Dr 3/2.5 $685K, 1035 Kings Crown Dr 4/3 $1.71M, 1149 Paper Fig Ct 4/3 $2.179M.

LOTS
1 new listing: 1550 Centre St $225K.
No price changes.
1 new sale: Lot 27, Leisure Acres listed at $59K.
No closed sales.

Captiva
CONDOS
3 new listings: Sunset Beach Villas #2214 2/2 $620K; Captiva Shores #8B 3/2.5 $1.648M; Seabreeze #1253 3/3 $1,999,999.
1 price change: Marina Villas #610 2/2 now $699K.
1 new sale: Beach Cottages #1403 2/2 $1.195M.
1 closed sale: Captiva Shores #4B 3/2.5 $1.3745M.

HOMES
1 new listing: 16177/179 Captiva Dr 3/3 $3.75M.
2 price changes: 11535 Chapin Ln 4/3 now $1.395M, 16163 Captiva Dr 3/2 now $2.695M.
No new sales.
1 closed sale: 11526 Laika Ln 4/4 duplex $1.725M.

LOTS
Nothing to report.

This representation is based in part on data supplied by the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors® 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.

Until next week! Enjoy your weekends wherever you are & please contact the SanibelSusan Team for your real estate needs. We are always ready to help you!

Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan