A Sunny Warm Grateful Friday on Sanibel Island

It is SusanSusan reporting that all is well on Sanibel after a fearful few days of Dorian-watching. It certainly was heart-breaking to see the devastation in the Bahamas. The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors® has teamed with the Over Easy Café and is a drop-off point for Bahamas donations. The first two days of contributions at Over Easy have already been delivered to their next destination, with collections continuing for at least another week.

As probably expected, the holiday weekend here turned into a bust with many visitors/vacationers opting to cancel their plans. There has been very little traffic on Periwinkle all week. Some pretty spectacular sunrises and sunsets, though.

SanibelSusan Realty Associates

Though a quiet week, the team and I were happy to get a new listing in Sanibel Bayous over the weekend. Then, on Tuesday, teammate Dave got all of our listing “for sale” signs back in place.

The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors® transition to their new Multiple Listing Service continues for the second week with kinks continuing to be worked out as the system and its reports are fine-tuned to our geographic areas. If you previously received automatic email updates about a particular property type, those databases did not convert with the transition, but I am s-l-o-w-l-y setting up new searches so that you will begin receiving listings again.

The new system offers a Collaboration Center where both prospective buyers and sellers may access the system, make changes to their search criteria, save favorite listings, delete others, and request additional information. If you would like your email address to be set up for a search followed by automatic notifications, just let us know.

Mid-week, Dave and I visited a couple of condos at Sundial Resort. It was surprising to see so few vehicles there, but like at other complexes in September, associations are making good use of the downtime. At Sundial West, the building walkways and stairs were being pressure washed.

At our listing at Sanibel Arms West, the building is being painted this month, with no rental bookings allowed until Oct 5. Showings still will be permitted, however, so we are trying to drum some up. It gets tough with income-producing properties to get access “in season”, so now is a good time for those investors to be looking.

At the Caravan Meeting yesterday at the islands’ Association of Realtors®, there were few announcements, and no new listings were open for viewings. That break in the usual program provided a nice opportunity for me to pass along a couple of the “giving keys” that I purchased recently at the Florida Realtors® RPAC Jamboree. “Giving keys” are typical-looking house keys, but each is stamped with an inspirational word. Worn on a chain around your neck. “Giving keys” are to be enjoyed, then shared, by passing them along to someone else who also may be inspired by their message. I passed along three keys, “hope”, “trust”, and “strong” to Association members Kasey Albright, Megan Rose, and Mary Lou Bailey, encouraging them to also “pay them forward”.

After a couple of news items below, you will find an update of the activity posted in the Sanibel & Captiva Multiple Listing Service since last Friday.

Temporary Closings

The Chamber of Commerce has posted the below list of island temporary restaurant closures. As in past years, many take staff vacations now, do annual deep cleans, and fix-ups before “season”.

Restaurants	Closed
Blue Rendezvous French Bistro	Now through Oct
Blue Giraffe	Sep 2-16
Gramma Dot’s	Sep 3-26
Il Cielo	Now through Oct
Joey’s Custard	Sep 20-Oct 3
Lighthouse Waterfront Restaurant	Month of Sep
Over Easy Café	Sep 9-19
Pecking Order	Closed Sundays thru Sep
Sand Dollar (Sanibel Island Beach Resort)	Breakfast only Dinner only Fri & Sat
Schnapper’s	Sep 3-16
Sweet Melissa’s	Sep 8-30
Traders	Sep 16-30
T2	Sep 16-30
Traditions	Closed Sundays thru Oct 20 Closed Sep 1-22, & Nov 16

Island Cinema – Also closed temporarily for annual maintenance is Island Cinema in the Bailey’s Shopping Center. It is closed all month and expects to reopen in early Oct.

Rosie’s Café & Grill is back. After a year-long absence Rosie’s reopened recently in its former location in Palm Ridge Place. The restaurant dates back a few decades when it went by the name Rosie’s Deli & Market and was on Sanibel’s east end. The 4^th generation of owners, Joanne Fitzgerald and Irving Gavin, bought the restaurant in 2009 when it was still on the east end. (Gavin is the son of Eugene, of the well-known Gavin family that settled on Sanibel in 1914.)  The restaurant relocated to its current location, reopening in 2012 under the name Rosie’s Café & Grill. Currently serving breakfast and lunch; dinner will be available in-season starting in Nov. In addition to their former menu and Royal Scoop ice cream, Rosie’s now serves barbeque and soon will expand with a new bakery. Hours now are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and Monday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tues through Sat.

Upcoming Events

Captiva Triathlon – is this weekend, Sat and Sun Sep 7 and 8. As a reminder, Captiva Drive will be closed tomorrow at 6:45 a.m. and remain closed until the bike segment of the race is complete. The USAT-sanctioned adult sprint triathlon is a ¼-mile swim, 10-mile bike, and 3.1-mile (5K) run on Captiva. The swim will be in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the bike will cover the length of Captiva on closed roads, and the run will be on the golf course path along the Gulf and Redfish Pass at South Seas Island Resort. On Sunday, there will be three age groups for the USAT National Splash n’ Dash race:

• Ages 6-8: 100-yard swim, 0.5-mile run
• Ages 9 & 10: 100-yard swim, 1-mile run
• Ages 11-15: 200-yard swim, 1-mile run

The race is to benefit Community Cooperative’s Growing Healthy Kids and Mobile Food Pantry programs. More info at https://www.gearedup.biz/.

2^nd Annual Flip-Flop Family Scavenger Hunt – This Sanibel Sea School fundraiser will kick-off at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct 5, at Saint Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church at 2304 Periwinkle Way. At check-in, each scavenger team (up to eight individuals) will be given a book of clues and challenges, each worth a set number of points. Included are clues that could be easily solved by younger children. Through the hunt, participants will use their knowledge of the island, marine biology, and local folklore to earn points. Along the way, teams will visit several Sanibel locations, where they may be asked to take a photo or bring back a specific shell or artifact to prove the visit. The Sea School says, “The key to hosting a successful scavenger hunt is creating clues that can be solved by anyone in the family, no matter their age.” The event is expected to be completed by 3 p.m. At the finish line check-in station, staff will tally all points collected by each team. Those teams will be able to “buy” letters with their points earned in order to solve the final puzzle. The team that solves the final puzzle correctly first will determine the winner, but that might not necessarily be the team that tallies the most points. Cost to participate is $25 per person. Participants must provide their own transportation. All proceeds will support the nonprofit’s scholarship fund which provides ocean experiences to thousands of area children each year. Tickets may be purchased on line at www.sanibelseaschool.org/flipflopfundraiser or by calling 239-472-8585.

Annual CROW Classic Golf Tournament – Also on Saturday, Oct 5 at The Sanctuary is the annual CROW Classic Golf Tournament. Shotgun starts at 12:30 p.m. with check-in at 11 a.m. and lunch at 11:30. Player registration is open to 100 golfers. It features 18 holes, a helicopter ball drop, and chances to score prizes. Players may sign up as a foursome, or as individuals and will be matched up as a team. All of the proceeds from the tournament will benefit the animals at CROW, their care, public education, training, etc. The community is encouraged to sign up to play or purchase some helicopter balls. Players can register to play (through Sep 16) and players/non-players can purchase balls (through Oct 3) at www.CROWClinic.org.

Positive Trends for Florida Real Estate

Posted yesterday on LinkedIn by local Realtor® colleague Wendy Humphrey with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty:

“SALT, the cap on state and local tax deductions, is likely to lead to a Florida population boom according to estimates from Demographic Estimating Conference.

“The controversial $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions encourages moving cash from high tax northern states to lower-tax states like Florida while it remains in effect. It is due to expire in 2025.

“Then there’s actually some relatively good news for Florida and other southern states regarding global warming.

“Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which examines annual temperatures for the U.S. indicates warming is very uneven with some states barely warming at all.

“Northeastern states and Utah, Colorado and Wyoming have experienced extreme warming while many southern states have experience little change. Some have even cooled slightly. Florida has seen slight to moderate change. For the full report go to The Washington Post of August 13, 2019.

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity August 30 – September 6, 2019

Sanibel

CONDOS

4 new listings: Ibis at The Sanctuary #B102 2/2 $489K, Sanddollar #A101 2/2 $1.25M, Sundial #E108 3/2 $1.3M, Cyprina Beach #1 3/3 $1.45M.

No price changes or new sales.

2 closed sales: Seashells #42 2/2 $375K, Bandy Beach #B101 3/2 $1.185M.

HOMES

2 new listings: 1203 Kittiwake Cir 3/2.5 $539K, 1954 Roseate Ln 3/2 $599K.

3 price changes: 9195 Dimmick Dr 2/2 now $424K, 430 Old Trail Rd 3/2.5 now $599K, 743 Windlass way 3/2 now $669K.

2 new sales: 1305 Eagle Run Dr 3/2.5 listed at $998.5K, 2915 Wulfert Rd 5/.5 listed at $2.875M.

No closed sales.

LOTS

1 new listing: 4566 Buck Key Rd $149K (our listing).

2 price changes: 1219 Par View Dr now $299K, 1305 Seaspray Ln now $599K.

No new or closed sales.

Captiva

CONDOS

Nothing to report.

HOMES

No new listings, price changes, or new sales.

1 closed sale: 11530 Laika Ln 4/4 $1.797M.

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, wishing everyone a great weekend & week,

Susan Andrews aka SanibelSusan