It’s SanibelSusan reporting another nice often-sunny Sanibel Friday with temperatures in the mid-70’s. Visitors and vacationers continue to fill the roadways, bike paths, beaches and waterways, as snowbirds and locals readjust to their annual “plan ahead & share” mode – a certain necessity here every February and March.

With continued good weather in the forecast, more folks are arriving all the time.

We had some 1^st time island visitors come into SanibelSusan Realty this week inquiring about real estate. We like those. It’s always fun when they say they are staying at West Wind Inn, where Dick and I stayed during our first visit 30-some years ago.

I was at their Normandie Seaside Café today for lunch and noticed their new sign. It’s a great spot for a quick meal away from the hustle-bustle.

Island Real Estate Happenings

There was a big turnout yesterday at the local Sanibel & Captiva Islands Realtors® Thursday morning Caravan Meeting. The week’s activity in the Multiple Listing Service is posted after a few news items below.

Teammate Dave held several Open Houses again this week with another marked increase in the number of visitors. We are getting good showing action and inquiries with our listings too. I’ve been out showing and will be at it again this weekend. Photo below taken along the entrance to Chateau Sur Mer yesterday afternoon where lots of birds were along the bayous.

The “high season” craziness here has begun. Woohoo! (That also means from now through Easter, it makes sense to make a reservation or call-ahead before you go out to dinner.)

Update of Sanibel’s Shared Use Path System

From an article in this week’s “Sanibel-Captiva Islander”:

“Extending more than 26 miles and spanning from Lighthouse Beach Park on the east end to the Blind Pass Bridge on the west end, the Shared Use Path system is one of the City of Sanibel’s unique gems.

“And city staff, in partnership with the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization is seeking feedback from residents and visitors – pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists – on the operation.

“The city and county recently kicked off a project to update the master plan for the Shared Use Path. The current version was adopted in 2009 and has guided the implementation of updates to the system over the past decade. A Project Advisory Committee has been established to assist with the process.

“On January 31, the eight-member group held its first public meeting with officials and staffers…” The group’s goal is to “identify gaps or needs in the system – current challenges – then determine how to go about addressing the recommendations, including exploring funding options.”

Look to wrap up by June, City Council must sign off on it. This Committee will organize Open Houses, hold pop-up events at farmers markets and festivals, and an on-line survey, plus will question path users. On February 11, the online survey will launch at www.sanibelbikeped.com. Visitors to the website have until April 30 to complete the survey and have their feedback considered. The site also features info on the plan update and project, background on the existing path system, and an interactive wiki map tool.

On February 16, the team will conduct its path intercept surveys, which will include stopping users at multiple locations along the system to ask them to participate in a questionnaire.

“Prior updates to the system have focused on areas like widening paths, making markings and crossings more consistent and uniform, and updating amenities along the path such as adding shelters, benches, and water fountains.” They also looked at “incident data, including bike versus bike, bike versus vehicle, and falls.”

“There are five common challenges when looking at paths and trails…space, speed, surfaces, signage, and social behavior.” Some additional and emerging challenges are “congestion and user conflict, bicycle parking, shared active transportation and micro-mobility and ACES (autonomous, connected, electric, & shared) vehicles. Check the website for more info and to provide your feedback.

Island Events

Now that it’s February, the schedule of island events is staggering. BIG ARTS often has sold-out performances, while the classes, beach walks, conservation talks, current events discussions, recreation and fitness opportunities, lessons, games, arts, and crafts go on and on. Many island fund-raising and annual meetings happen this time of the year too, so be sure and check the events tab above for links to some of them.

Asian Buyers

When I attend our state leadership team meetings in Orlando and talk to other colleagues around the state, they often ask if we are seeing an increase in Asian buyers on the islands. That answer has always been “no”, but recent real estate news from other areas indicates that those buyers are purchasing more and more in the U.S.

I have often explored more advertising in that overseas market, some recent news may mean the time is right. Here are a few tidbits from a recent article.

More and more Koreans are parking their money in real estate overseas as their domestic economy wallows in the doldrums. According to the Bank of Korea, individual Koreans and business spending on properties abroad last year, was up a whopping 47% or 3.8 times more than five years ago. In 2008, that government lifted restrictions on buying overseas real estate. The U.S. is their most popular destination for real estate investment, followed by Vietnam, Canada, Thailand, and Japan. Property in major cities in the U.S., Japan and most advanced countries is considered a stable source of rental revenues. For cash buyers, the estimated rate of return is four to five percent compared to interest on savings of around one percent.

In Japan, which will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, real estate prices are rising, while their economic policies have resulted in ultra-low interest rates, prompting many investors to turn to real estate.

My Transnational Referral Certification which gets our listings promoted on WorldProperties.com now has partnerships with the real estate organizations in Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, India, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, and United Kingdom. The Far East may be next.

‘Aging In Place’ Keeps 1.6M Homes Off Market

I saw this article posted this morning on Florida Realtors®. Interesting study:

“Freddie Mac’s February Insight identifies a key factor contributing to today’s housing shortage: seniors choosing to age in place. It calls this shortage “an important barrier to young adults buying their first homes.” “We estimate that approximately 1.6 million more senior households are staying in place than would have been the case if they had behaved like previous generations of homeowners,” says Sam Khater, Chief Economist at Freddie Mac. “For scale, 1.6 million units is roughly the same as the number of new single-family and multifamily housing units built each year, and it represents more than half of the current shortfall of 2.5 million housing units that we estimated in our December Insight.”

“Khater says the increase in home-holding older adults will “increase the relative price of owning versus renting, making renting more attractive to younger generations.”

“Seniors born after 1931 are staying in their homes longer, resulting in higher homeownership rates for this group relative to previous cohorts.

“Estimate: 1.1 million existing homes have been held off the market through 2018 by those born between 1931 and 1941; 300,000 are held off the market by those born between 1942 and 1947; 250,000 are held off the market by those born between 1948 and 1958.

“To provide context for the 1.6 million existing homes being held off the market due to seniors aging in place, the Urban Institute recently estimated that 3.4 million millennials are missing out on homeownership.

“The trend of seniors aging in place is likely to grow as both the number of seniors increases and the barriers to aging in place are reduced. More older Americans prefer to age in place because they’re satisfied with their communities, their homes and their quality of life.”

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity Feb 1-8, 2019

Sanibel

CONDOS

4 new listings: Sundial #D204 1/1 $419.9K, Oceans Reach #3A1 2/2 $949K, Atrium #103 2/2 $1.495M, La Playa #1B 3/2 $1.55M.

8 price changes: Mariner Pointe #122 1/1 now $379.9K, Sundial #J101 1/1 now $449K, Sanibel Shores #A2 2/2 now $459K, Loggerhead Cay #233 2/2 now $699K, Yacht Haven #2 3/2 now $1.079M, Villas of Sanibel #A102 3/3 now $1.459M, Cyprina Beach #1 3/3 now $1.695M, White Pelican #133 3/3 now $1.785M.

5 new sales: Tennisplace #C32 2/1.5 listed at $305K, Tennisplace #C23 2/1.5 listed at $319K, Pointe Santo #B3 2/2 listed at $729K, Sundial #A201 2/2 listed at $899K, Tarpon Beach #112 2/2 listed at $1.149M..

2 closed sales: Sanibel Moorings #1641 2/2 $560K, Island Beach Club #320F 2/2 $639K.

HOMES

9 new listings: 5745 Pine Tree Dr 2/1 $538K, 681 Rabbit Rd 3/2.5 $645K, 280 Southwinds Dr 3/3.5 $769K, 3861 Coquina Dr 3/3 $819K, 1550 Sand Castle Rd 3/3 $1.235M, 1717 Venus Dr 3/2.5 $1.35M, 2332 Troon Ct 4/5 $1.595M, 815 Limpet Dr 3/3 $1.795M, 2284 Troon Ct 4/4.5 $2.15M.

21 price changes: 1805 Ibis Ln 2/2 now $529K, 659 Donax St 2/2 now $575K, 9248 Dimmick Dr 3/3 now $619.9K, 724 Rabbit Rd 2/2 now $625K, 945 S. Yachtsman Dr 2/2 now $635K, 1476 Sand Castle Rd 3/2 now $695K, 9444 Cotten Ct 3/2.5 now $699K, 5303 Umbrella Pool Rd 3/2.5 now $719K, 1212 Sand Castle Rd 3/2 now $724K, 198 Southwinds Dr 3/2 now $739.9K, 1755 Jewel Box Dr 3/2 now $779K, 1677 Sabal Sands Rd 3/2 now $779K, 702 Durion Ct 3/2 now $799.9K, 5747 Pine Tree Dr 3/3 now $819.5K, 1740 Middle Gulf Dr 4/3 now $825K, 513 Lake Murex Cir 3/2 now $845K, 569 Lighthouse Way 3/3 now $1.185M, 4992 Joewood Dr 3/3.5 now $1.365M, 2282 Wulfert Rd 4/4.5 now $1.3958M, 2251 Starfish Ln 4/3.5 now $1.479M, 1520 Angel Dr 5/5.5 now $1.695M.

2 new sales: 747 Martha’s Ln 3/2 listed at $559K, 4755 Ruelle 3/3 listed at $785K.

2 closed sales: 2969 Wulfert Rd 6/6/2 $1.95M, 4689 Rue Belle Mer 5/6.5 $6.45M.

LOTS

No new listings.

1 price change: 2486 Wulfert Rd now $149K.

No new or closed sales.

Captiva

CONDOS

2 new listings: Bayside Villas #5128 1/2 $399K, Marina Villas #708 2/2 $749K.

2 price changes: Sunset Captiva #103 2/2/2 now $849K, Seabreeze #1253 3/3 now $1.7999M.

No new sales.

1 closed sale: Beach Home s#13 4/4.5 $3.75M.

HOMES & 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 Friday, don’t forget there’s still time to get your Valentine a piece of paradise. I’m working all weekend if you need help with that!

Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan