It has been another week of beautiful summer-like weather on the islands.
Photos below taken by JMA Photography at Gulfside Place where The SanibelSusan Team has a new listing overlooking this beautiful Gulf of Mexico beach. On the 2nd floor, this condo was just remodeled top-to-bottom.
Island traffic and occupancy are down a little, making the Periwinkle trek more manageable than in recent weeks. For buyers, now through Memorial Day is an excellent time to both look and purchase.
The action posted since last Friday in the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service follow a couple of news items. Inventory on both islands remains high with vacation rentals tapering off as northern weather improves and snowbirds head home.
Sanibel Historical Village Remains Open During BIG ARTS Construction
Last week, the traditional entrance to the village was closed off and a new temporary entrance made, just west of the former exit drive. That drive will now function as both an entrance and exit access. Signs were added at both places.
Condos, Rentals, Etc.: If You Break It, You Fix It
“April 1, 2019 – Question: The tub in my condo flooded and my kitchen and the public hallway were damaged. I do not have insurance. My association wants me to pay for the repairs. Do I have to? – Alina
Question: I replaced the shutters on my condo with impact windows. Am I responsible for fixing the holes on the exterior? – Trish
“Answer: If your actions cause damage to another person or business, you are responsible. While your condominium association is responsible for repairing and maintaining the common areas, it is allowed to seek reimbursement if someone purposefully or negligently caused the damage.
“This idea does not just apply to condos; it is consistent throughout the law. If you drive over your neighbor’s mailbox, leave your tools out and someone trips, or are texting and bump into another car, you can be held responsible and be asked to pay for the damage you caused.
“If you purposefully caused the damage, like the reader leaving holes in the exterior of her unit, you will need to pay for the repair. If you do not, the association will hire someone to do it, and the bill will probably be higher than if you hired the contractor. It is always easier to spend someone else’s money.
“The analysis can be more complicated when the damage was not intentional. A flood can be caused by many reasons. If the tub overfilled because you left it on and forgot about it when the phone rang, you can count on footing the bill. If it flooded because a pipe burst that should have been maintained by the building, you may be off the hook. Sometimes bad things happen, and there is no one to blame.
“You should talk with your association about the damage and try to come to a compromise that you both can live with. See if they can get their insurance involved and offer to split the deductible or find a competent contractor that is more reasonably priced than the one your community wants to use.
“I cannot recommend strongly enough that you should get insurance even if you live in a condo. While no one likes to pay insurance premiums, it is much harder to pay for accidental damage or write a big check to a lawyer because your unnoticed leak ruined the apartment below you and they decided to take you to court.
“About the writer: Gary M. Singer is a Florida attorney and board-certified as an expert in real estate law by the Florida Bar. He practices real estate, business litigation and contract law from his office in Sunrise, Fla. He is the chairman of the Real Estate Section of the Broward County Bar Association and is a co-host of the weekly radio show Legal News and Review. He frequently consults on general real estate matters and trends in Florida with various companies across the nation. © 2019 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Gary Singer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.”
What Does a ‘Normal’ Housing Market Look Like? This One
“NEW YORK – April 2, 2019 – The spring home-buying season could be the best in years, with falling mortgage rates and rising inventory already reducing bidding wars and resulting in price cuts.
“”It’s been a rough go for homebuyers since the bottom of the housing market, and there are signs we’re entering a period of normalcy,” says CoreLogic Deputy Chief Economist Ralph McLaughlin.
McLaughlin believes current conditions could be the most favorable for buyers since the housing market bottomed in 2012.
“However, economists say that even as activity rises, it’s unlikely that the market will return to a period of booming home sales. Nationally, home prices have jumped more than 50% since the bottom of the market in 2012, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which has made affordability a challenge for many buyers.
“Economists note that inventory is rising – not necessarily because more homeowners are putting their homes on the market but because homes are taking longer to sell.
“”All the signs are pointing to the fact that people are just having a harder time selling their homes,” says Trulia chief economist Issi Romem.
“However, it appears that buyers are reaching deals faster, with Redfin data showing that the time it takes a buyer to find a home has hit a six-year low of 73 days.
“Mike McCann, an associate broker at Keller Williams Philly, notes: “It’s a good time to buy as long as you’re going to stay in the property five-plus years.””
Upcoming Island Events
Annual PoetryFest – Monday, April 8, at 3:30 p.m. in Room Four at the Sanibel Library.
“Southern Comfort” – End-of-Season 5th Annual CROW Fundraiser, next Friday, April 12, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Community House. Includes dinner, games, auction, raffles.
8th Annual “Beer in the Bushes” – SCCF fundraiser on Saturday, April 20 from 6 to 10 p.m., reservations at www.beerinthebushes.com
What You May or May Not Want to Know About Termites
From Nov 2018 “Connect” magazine by the Royal Palm Coast Realtor® Association, by Jason Woodbury, Infinite Pest Solutions:
“If there’s one thing every homeowner dreads – it’s termites. It may be a topic you’ve heard a lot about but don’t necessarily KNOW a lot about. Southwest Florida is one of the “hottest” areas in the entire world for termite activity. Given that fact, there is a lot of misinformation about termites as well, so here are some fast facts about the different types of termites.
“Subterranean termites have very high moisture requirements, so they need contact with the soil. For this reason, mud tubes are created to move between the soil and wood. Inside damaged wood, you will see soil as well. A “mature” colony will have about 60,000 to 3 million individuals and takes 4-10 years to become mature. They can eat 2.5 feet of 2×4 wood in a year, and basically eat WITH the grain. Due to the high moisture content, these can be detected with visual inspection, moisture meters, and infrared cameras. Subterranean termites can be treated with soil or spot treatment, as well as fumigation and baiting. All new homes built in the state of Florida are required to be pre-treated for subterranean termites.
“Drywood termites are completely aerial, meaning they do not need contact with the soil. Due to lower moisture requirements, they are not as easily detected with moisture meters and infrared cameras. Visual detection such as finding termite swarmer wings or termite droppings is how a drywood colony is found. Drywood colonies will have up to 3,000 individuals and it takes up to 15 years to become fully mature. Being significantly smaller colonies, they eat much less wood than Subterranean termites. Drywoods eat ACROSS the grain of the wood. New construction in Florida is NOT required to be pretreated for drywood termites….
“There are also a couple of invasive species of termites that are less common but are taking over the habitat in this area. These are Formosan and Asian Termites. It has been confirmed that they have been able to hybridize in the wild (swarming at the same time). These termites are significantly more aggressive than native species, eating up to 50 feet of 2×4 wood each year, and having 10 million individuals in a colony. If you are interested in learning more, the University of Florida has an interactive map of locations where invasive species have been identified by an entomologist. This can be found at: http://www.flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/termites-in-florida/termite-distribution/ “
Note from SanibelSusan – Because most Sanibel/Captiva property is built on sand (rather than soil), termites here generally are the drywood variety. When I came to Sanibel over 27 years ago, rarely were termites discovered during a home inspection. Today, it’s more unusual for them NOT to be found.
The tropical rough-headed drywood termite swarms at night, from April through July. The tropical smooth-headed drywood termite can swarm any time of the year. Most of those colonies swarm in the afternoon between March and May. The western drywood termite has been identified during the day along both coasts in Florida.
Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity Mar 29-Apr 5, 2019
Sanibel
CONDOS
4 new listings: Seashells #31 2/2 $439K, Mariner Pointe #321 3/2 $579K, Sanibel Arms #F2 1/1 $599K, High Tide #101 2/2 $1.495M.
11 price changes: Sundial #H210 1/1 now $389K, Loggerhead Cay #471 2/2 now $544K, Pointe Santo #D21 2/2 now $650K, Snug Harbor #312 3/2 now $658K, Loggerhead Cay #223 2/2 now $669K, Kings Crown #213 2/2 now $799K, Shell Island Beach Club #7C 2/2 now $819.9K, Oceans Reach #3A1 2/2 now $924.9K, Pine Cove #C 2/2 now $1.059M, Plantation Village #312 3/2.5 now $1.49M, Wedgewood #203 3/3.5 now $2.495M.
3 new sales: Loggerhead Cay #322 2/2 listed at $569K, Sanctuary Golf Villages I #3-1, 2/2.5 listed at $640K, Villa Sanibel #2G 2/2 listed at $685K.
6 closed sales: Seashells #3 2/2 $425K, Spanish Cay #C2 2/2 $450K, Sundial #B407 1/1 $492K, Loggerhead Cay #233 2/2 $675K, Pointe Santo #B3 2/2 $650K, Shorewood #3C 3/2 $1.31M.
HOMES
5 new listings: 6141 Henderson Rd 2/1.5 $424.5K, 1607 Sand Castle Rd 3/2.5 half-duplex $579K, 9401 Beverly Ln 3/2 $769K, 4791 Rue Helene 3/2 $850K, 4709 Rue Belle Mer 3/2 $3.4M.
17 price changes: 970 Greenwood Ct 3/2.5 half-duplex now $436.5K, 1442 Sand Castle Rd 3/2 now $649K, 5747 Pine Tree Dr 3/3 now $750K, 702 Durion Ct 3/2 now $779K, 3050 West Gulf Dr 3/2.5 now $799K, 247 Christofer Ct 3/2 now $799K, 9393 Peaceful Dr 3/2.5 now $824K, 501 Lagoon Dr 3/2 now $899K, 1307 Par View Dr 3/3 now $989K, 772 Birdie View Pt 3/3.5 now $1.199M, 2282 Wulfert Rd 4/4.5 now $1.245M, 430 Glory Cir 4/5.5 now $1.295M, 532 Sea Oats Dr 4/4 now $1.298M, 532 Sea Oats Dr 4/4 now $1.298M, 1351 Middle Gulf Dr #2C 3/3 now $1.495M (our listing – view in below photo), 815 Limpet Dr 3/3 now $1.649M, 1743 Venus Dr 4/3.5 now $1.67M.
10 new sales: 9446 Arum Ct 4/2 listed at $549K, 922 Pepper Tree Pl 2/2 listed at $599K, 697 Birdie View Pt 3/2 listed at $739K, 4787 Rue Helene 4/3 listed at $895K, 6123 Starling Way 3/2.5 listed at $954K, 5411 Osprey Ct 3/2 listed at $999K, 2984 Wulfert Rd 3/4 listed at $1.195M, 2510 Harbour Ln 2/2 listed at $1.199M, 1159 Golden Olive Ct 3/2 listed at $1.295M, 2502 Wulfert Rd 4/4.5 listed at $1.849M.
9 closed sales: 5260 Caloosa End Ln 3/2 $530.2K, 955 S Yachtsman Dr 3/2 $650K, 1225 Seagrape Ln 3/3 $695K, 3136 Twin Lakes Ln 3/2 $865K, 225 Violet Dr 3/2 $925K, 1230 Par View Dr 4/2.5 $1.05M, 1248 Par View Dr 4/4.5 $1.1M, 1653 Hibiscus Ln 3/2 $1.3M, 2251 Starfish Ln 4/3.5 $1.375M.
LOTS
2 new listings: 9345 Dimmick Dr $365K, 1837 Buckthorn Ln $699K.
1 price change: 6141 Starling Way now $947K.
2 new sales: 9441 Peaceful Dr listed at $249K (our listing), 1770 Dixie Beach Blvd listed at $649K.
No closed sales.
Captiva
CONDOS
1 new listing: Tennis Villas #3220 1/1 $355K.
1 price change: Sunset Captiva #103 2/2 now $839K.
No new or closed sales.
HOMES
No new listings or price changes.
1 new sale: with contingencies: 16548 Captiva Dr 4/4 listed at $4.5M.
No closed sales.
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, here’s wishing you wonderful weather too! If it’s not, come to Sanibel & Captiva Islands where we love to share island life & the weather!
Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan