It may be the longest day of the year, with plenty of sunshine on Sanibel today, but the island sure has thinned out. Looks like the last of the snowbirds have headed off to other summer locations. Too bad. The water is looking fantastic as evidenced by the below photos taken yesterday afternoon near the end of Dixie Beach Blvd overlooking Pine Island Sound and San Carlos Bay. The water was so pretty I couldn’t decide which photo to post.

Island weather this week has included partly cloudy days with on and off showers. It sure didn’t take long for the dry island vegetation to perk up. Before long, it will be “mow your lawn twice a week time”. But, before that happens, the forecasters say we are in for a hot dry weekend. Florida summer weather = continually changing.

Lee County Mosquito Control already is back to work, tracking when it rains, and keeping us skeeter-free, while the island is gearing up for the July 4^th holiday with plenty annual celebratory events in the works. More details on the parade, scavenger hunt, and fireworks next week.

SanibelSusan Realty Happenings

This was an off week for the islands’ Thursday morning Realtor® Caravan meeting. Instead teammate Dave accompanied a home inspection, while teammate Elise got her report ready with the Multiple Listing Service action since last Friday. Dave held several Open Houses again this week too. Attendance at those has slacked off, as have sales. There was just one new sale on Sanibel this week, none on Captiva.

The “Island Sun” gave me some good press with the following article on page 28 of today’s paper.

“Broker Makes Commitment to Excellence

“Susan Andrews, RSPS, SCIS, TRC, Eco-Broker, and Broker/Owner of SanibelSusan Realty Associates, Sanibel, FL, has earned the Commitment to Excellence from the National Association of Realtors®. This endorsement goes to Realtors® who have demonstrated knowledge and competency in 10 core areas of real estate practice.

1. Client service
2. Professional reputation
3. Real estate law
4. Realtor® Code of Ethics
5. Equal service to all (Article 10 of the Code)
6. Advocacy of real property ownership
7. Trust and integrity
8. Use of technology
9. Data privacy
10. Areas of practice

“Launched in November 2018, this innovative program sets the standard for what it means to be a professional in the real estate brokerage business.

“The C2EX endorsement is available only to Realtors®. It is earned through a self-directed program that enables real estate professionals to assess and build on their competency in each of the core areas. As a broker-owner, in addition to demonstrating competency in all 10 areas, Susan Andrews was required to show a commitment to creating and maintaining an environment that promotes excellent customer service consistent with these standards.

““Earning the Commitment to Excellence endorsement is a true accomplishment and an affirmation to consumers that you stand for ethics and professionalism in your work,” says 2019 NAR President John Smaby. “Advances in technology and online user experience are making our business more and more seamless, and that’s fantastic,” Smaby says, “But with new technology can come vulnerabilities. A C2EX endorsement offers consumers the ease of mind that they have a skilled adviser, committed to conducting business at the highest standards, helping them through what may be the largest purchase or sale in their life.”

“The National Association of Realtors® is America’s largest trade association, representing over 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

“This is Susan’s 30th year as a Realtor®, first in Virginia and on Sanibel for 27 years. At the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors®, she has served as their President and received recognition as their Realtor of the Year, “Top Gun”, Community Service Award, and she is a 26-year member of their Honor Society. At the state level, as a member of their leadership team since 1998, she also is a 20-year member of the Florida Realtors® Honor Society. At the national level, Susan is the first island Realtor® inducted into the NAR Hall of Fame. Now, she also is first to earn the C2EX Endorsement.”

Shell Market (Bourse) This Weekend

This weekend during the Conchologists of America 48^th Annual Convention at South Seas Plantation, is an event known as the largest shell market, “The Bourse”. With free admission and parking, it will feature about 30 vendors selling marine-related items and shells from all over the world. The word “bourse” dates back to the 1500’s in France and means “an exchange”. The Bourse will be open from Saturday June 22 from 1 to 8 p.m. and Sunday June 23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the South Seas Island Resort Convention Center, next to Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grill, on Captiva. Several island Shell Club pals are volunteering at the event.

Sanibel’s Five-Star Library

Did you know that in 2018, Sanibel Public Library was given the five-star designation? One of just 257 libraries in the nation, Sanibel Library is the only Five-Star in Florida, and one of only three in Florida who have earned Star designation. This is an objective ranking bases on overall circulation, circulation of electronic materials, library visits, program attendance and public internet computer use. With more than 140,000 visits per year and usage rates that consistently rank it at or near the top of all libraries in the state of Florida, locals and visitors alike treasure the Library as a vital community asset.

Library Hours in the summer are:

• 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays & Thursdays
• 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Fridays
• Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Here are some fun summer events and programs for children and youth:

These are all on Tuesdays in June & July at 3 p.m.

• June 25 – Showtime for Kids – All family & kid show with comedy, magic audience participation, & balloon sculpting.
• July 2 – Tampa Bay Bats – Educational presentation & chance to see live bats.
• July 9 – Stories & Slime – Stories & slime-making (for school-aged children)
• July 16 – Sculpture Craft with the Kellys – Styrofoam sculpture crafting (for elementary school-aged children)
• July 23 – World of Reptiles with John Storms – With real reptiles, big & small.

Movie Matinee Mondays at 1 p.m. – June 24, July 1, 8, 15, & 22.

Wednesday Family Storytime at 11 a.m. – June 26, July 3, 10, 17, & 24.

Wednesday VIP After-Hours for Teens at 6 p.m. – June 26, July 3, 10, 17, & 24.

Why Aren’t Boomers Downsizing Their Homes?

This article was posted on-line Monday at FloridaRealtors®:

“NEWARK, N.J. – June 17, 2019 – It’s always been a sort of final chapter of the American dream: Get married and have kids. Buy a house. Move to a bigger house. Downsize to a smaller one. But a growing number of aging baby boomers are saying, “No, thanks” to downsizing, choosing instead to remain in the same sprawling houses in which they raised kids and created lifelong memories. “We’re just not seeing that much downsizing,” says Alexandra Lee, a housing data analyst at Trulia, a real estate research firm.

“While many older Americans are still stepping down to smaller homes, they’re doing so later in life. The trend is contributing to a housing supply shortage across much of the country. A more modest home typically means less upkeep and a potential financial windfall as a big chunk of the proceeds from the sale of the larger property can help bolster retirement nest eggs. Boomers, however, are defying the traditional bounds of advancing age just as they rebelled against the establishment in the 1960s and work- and family-centered values in the 1970s in favor of self-fulfillment. “They have refused to follow what the traditional expectations were,” says Barbara Risman, a sociology professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“There are other forces at work. Boomers, generally those age 54 to 73, are working longer and putting off retirement. Many of their millennial children are living with them well into adulthood. And there’s a dire shortage of less expensive, entry-level houses across the country, pushing up prices in that category and making the trade-off less appealing.

“Fifty-two percent of boomers say they’ll never move from their current home, according to a Chase bank survey of 753 boomer homeowners released earlier this year. Chase doesn’t have comparable data from an earlier period. An Ipsos/USA TODAY poll of 45- to 65-year-olds in 2017 found 43% anticipated remaining in their current residence through their retirement, possibly indicating the share of non-downsizers is rising.

“Many boomers are staying in their longtime homes and communities because they’re deferring retirement. About 20% of Americans 65 and older are working or looking for jobs, up from 12.1% in 1996, Labor Department figures show. Older people are staying in the workforce because they’re healthier and will need bigger nest eggs to finance longer retirements, according to Jennifer Schramm, senior strategic policy adviser for the AARP Public policy Institute. Also, many older workers’ retirement savings were hammered a decade ago, she says….

“The tendency to age in place is also rooted in boomers’ better health and desire to stay active.”Baby boomers don’t want to become old in a way that has negative connotations,” Risman says. “Remaining in one’s old house is part of remaining in the prime of one’s life longer.”

“Even when they retire, boomers are staying engaged through volunteer work and other activities, says Phyllis Moen, a sociologist at the University of Minnesota. “They are in the space opening up for the first time in history between the career-and family-building years and the frailties associated with old age,” Moen says. Boomers’ penchant to stay in their long-time homes is likely playing a role in low housing supplies, says Danielle Hale, chief economist of realtor.com. The crunch has improved since last year, but housing stocks are still well below normal levels.

“To be sure, many aging Americans are moving to traditional retirement havens like Florida and Arizona. But even among those who plan to move, 43% want their next home to be the same size as their current one, and 22% want it to be larger, according to a January survey of 50- and 60-year-olds by Del Webb, which builds communities for age 55-plus Americans.

“Trulia analysts believe older Americans are simply deferring downsizing. Both in 2005 and 2016, 5.5% of households 65 and over moved, with that share evenly split between those moving to single-family and multifamily homes, according to a Trulia analysis of Census Bureau data. But in 2016, the youngest age at which seniors moving to multifamily homes began to outnumber those moving to single-family houses was older (late 70s) than it was in 2005 (early 70s)….

Other reasons many boomers are staying where they are:

• Millennial kids in the house – Millennials have lived with their boomer parents longer than prior generations as those graduating college between 2008 and 2010, in particular, struggled to launch their careers. In 2016, 16.1% of senior households had younger generations living with them, up from 14.4% in 2005, according to Trulia and Census figures.
• Starter home crunch – The housing supply shortage is especially curtailing the inventory of the kind of smaller, less expensive homes that boomers may target, Hale says. That makes it harder to find a compact house and pushes up its price, reducing the net profits of any downsizing. From 2012 to February 2019, the bottom third of homes with the lowest prices appreciated an average 8.03% a year, versus 6.39% for mid-level homes and 5.01% for the most expensive units, according to a Trulia analysis.
• Many upgrading, not selling – Many boomers put off renovations during and after the housing crash because they couldn’t take out home equity loans as prices plunged, says Amy Bonitatibus, chief marketing officer for Chase Home Lending. Now that home prices have more than recovered from a skid in prices, the Chase survey showed nearly nine in 10 boomers are looking to make improvements. As a result, many boomers are focused on upgrades rather than downsizing.
• Many boomers have finally paid off their mortgages and don’t want to start making house payments again.”

Copyright © 2019 North Jersey Media Group Inc.

Don’t Feed Algae

Did you know Sanibel fertilizer ordinances to protect waterways, they include a blackout period from July 1 to September 30. During that time:

• Fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus CANNOT be applied.
• Fertilizers cannot be applied within 25’ of a body of water.
• Fertilizers cannot be applied to impervious surfaces such as roads, driveways, and sidewalks.
• Fertilizers cannot be applied to storm-water conveyance systems.

Lenders Must Accept Private Flood Insurance Policies After July 1

Posted on-line Tuesday on FloridaRealtors®:

“WASHINGTON – June 18, 2019 – The threat to home closings during a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) shutdown may be muted or nonexistent should Congress fail to extend the program in the future. After July 1, a federal law forces mortgage lenders to accept private coverage if it satisfies criteria outlined in the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.

“In February, five federal regulatory agencies – the FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, National Credit Union Administration and Farm Credit Administration – issued a joint final rule to implement provisions of the Act, which outlines the new private flood insurance mandate and the steps insurance companies and mortgage lenders must follow.

“The rule, which takes effect July 1, 2019:

• Implements the Biggert-Waters Act requirement that regulated lending institutions accept private flood insurance policies that satisfy criteria specified in the Act
• Allows institutions to rely on an insurer’s written assurances in a private flood insurance policy stating the criteria are met
• Clarifies that institutions may, under certain conditions, accept private flood insurance policies that do not meet the Biggert-Waters Act criteria
• Allows institutions to accept certain flood coverage plans provided by mutual aid societies, subject to agency approval

“Private flood insurance could be offered as a stand-alone policy or as an endorsement attached to a full property insurance policy. Lenders won’t have to verify that a flood policy or endorsement is acceptable, providing it includes the following endorsement: “This policy meets the definition of private flood insurance contained in 42 U.S.C. 4012a(b)(7) and the corresponding regulation.”

“However, the law also allows a lender to do its own due diligence if it prefers not to rely on the statement.

A full copy of the 90-page order is posted on the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency website.”

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity June 14-21, 2019

Sanibel

CONDOS

No new listings

1 price change: Compass Point #221 2/2 now $699,999.

No new sales.

2 closed sales: Spanish Cay #F7 1/1 $249K, Sundial #G405 1/1 $375K.

HOMES

2 new listings: 1159 Golden Olive Ct 3/2 $1.59M, 852 Lindgren Blvd 3/3 $1.595M.

7 price changes: 1731 Serenity Ln 4/3 now $639K, 823 Birdie View Pt 4/3 now $824K, 760 Cardium St 3/2 now $839.5K, 5659 Sanibel-Captiva Rd 2/2 now $875K, 1345 Tahiti Dr 3/2.5 now $1.15M, 1730 Jewel Box Dr 4/3 now $1.499M, 815 Limpet Dr 3/3 now $1.599M.

1 new sale: 705 Rabbit Rd 3/3 listed at $569,555.

5 closed sales: 3350 Barra Cir 3/2 $620K, 406 Lighthouse Way 3/3.5 $630K, 728 Windlass Way 3/2 $845K, 434 Lake Murex Cir 4/3 $850K, 3850 Coquina Dr 3/3 $980K.

LOTS

1 new listing: 1048 Fish Crow Rd $414.9K.

1 price change: 0 Bunting Ln now $219,555.

No new sales closed sales.

Captiva

CONDOS

No new listings.

2 price changes: Tennis Villas #3217 1/1 now $320K, Lands End Village #1608 3/3 now $2.385M.

No new sales.

1 closed sale: Marina Villas #901 2/2 $750K.

HOMES

No new listings.

2 price changes: 16801 Captiva Dr 3/3.5 now $2.095M, 16596 Captiva Dr 6/8.5 now $6.499M.

No new sales or 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.

Here’s hoping that you enjoy your longest day of 2019 & say cool!

Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan