It is another happy Friday at SanibelSusan Realty. Happier than last week because the sun is shining, the humidity is down, more showers have vegetation greening up, and best-of-all, a phased reopening of the island is underway. Periwinkle Way even had more vehicles this morning. Hooray!

Gulf waters are beautiful too and the local wildlife seem to be enjoying less human interaction. On the east-end, I have noticed more bunnies, while snowy plover hatchings in the area of Olde Sanibel, also are ahead of schedule. A large area of nests is roped off with itty bitty babies already running around.

Trasi from Over Easy Café recently posted a cool Facebook photo of a large bobcat crossing West Gulf Drive while Bridgit from The Pecking Order is forever capturing amazing animal close-ups during her dog-walking adventures. As mentioned last week, island sea turtle nests also are ahead of schedule with 13 nests now documented, including two rare leatherback nests (one on each island).

Sanibel City Proclamation Re: Covid-19

I listened live to both the Monday and Wednesday City Council meetings. Wednesday’s was a long one from 4 to 9 p.m. including almost two hours of public comments. The City’s earlier “State of Local Emergency” order was expiring. It closed public beach parking areas and most businesses (other than those deemed essential) and stopped occupancy by incoming vacation rental and hotel guests.

The Wednesday meeting resulted in the following proclamation changes.

• City-owned beach parking areas will remain closed until May 15.
• Restrictions on residential accommodations/lodging remains in effect until May 15.
• The Governor’s Executive Order for Phase 1 for Re-Opening Florida was adopted.

To clarify reopening of restaurants and outdoor seating, today the City issued guidance and is temporarily permitting Sanibel restaurants and food establishments up to 1,800 sq. ft. for outdoor dining, with social distancing and other required criteria. Go to www.MySanibel.com for all the details.

City Council has a regularly-scheduled meeting coming up on Tuesday at 9 a.m.  Their agenda and link to the audio also are posted on the City website. Listen in, if you have time. Our councilors and City staff really are working many extra hours for all of us.

In other Covid-19 news, this afternoon, Mayor Ruane posted the following message on his Facebook page: “Today Lee County Commission in coordination with the state of Florida announced the new Covid 19 testing site at the Twins Stadium starting on Monday to Friday from 9am-5pm drive thru testing, no prescription is requested and free to all people. Another location will also be at the Walmart in Lehigh through private labs with a cost to the patient. Lee County is looking out for our residents!”

Real Estate Happenings

I have been in the office most afternoons with teammate Elise and I crossed paths today for the first time in six weeks. Where have the weeks gone?

The details of all the action posted this week in the Sanibel and Captiva Multiple Listing Service follows a couple of news items below. The good news is, there were five new island sales, four on Sanibel and one on Captiva.

Since some island listings expired the end of April and a few others were withdrawn, below are inventory summaries with sales to-date as of today, May 1.

	Condos		Homes		Lots
	#	Price $*	#	Price $*	#	Price $*
Sanibel
For sale	115	775,591	164	1,400,585	70	794,631
Under contract	12	821,416	17	980,058	0	N/A
Sold/closed thru 5/1/2020	59	731,060	81	1,113,106	4	849,666
Sold/closed in 2019	127	694,392	211	949,790	15	372,200
Sold/closed in 2018	155	720,617	218	1,112,748	21	602,095
Captiva
For sale	44	1,067,769	42	3,231,880	3	3,563,000
Under contract	1	1,795,000	2	2,847,500	0	N/A
Sold/closed thru 5/1/2020	9	803,111	7	3,331,142	2	1,925,000
Sold/closed in 2019	29	1,037,077	17	2,737,503	1	1,375,000
Sold closed in 2018	27	797,532	25	2,127,352	0	N/A

Note: “For sale” & “Under contract” prices are asking prices.

Though the last few weeks saw few sales, I remain optimistic. The islands will bounce back, better than ever. Many stranded in less desirable locations, certainly will view it as more of an island paradise. If one must be stranded at home, it really is a wonderful place to be.

Social-Distancing Together in April 2020

If you are on social media where I advertise to attract those followers, you may have noticed my Facebook postings about a cookbook called “Social-Distancing Together in April 2020”. With recipes from SanibelSusan and Facebook friends, everyone that contributes recipe(s) gets a freebie cookbook which I hope will be a positive remembrance of the last month.

If you want to be included, please become a Facebook friend (I have both personal and business pages) and email me your recipe(s) this weekend, as it will go to the printer soon. It already has nearly 250 recipes!

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity April 24-May 1, 2020

Sanibel

CONDOS

1 new listing: Sundial #B406 2/2 $799K.

3 price changes: Sundial #F205 1/1 now $419K, White Caps #8 1/1 now $799K, Pointe Santo #A1 2/2 now $925K.

2 new sales: Loggerhead Cay #461 2/2 listed at $539K, Sand Pointe #111 2/2 listed at $679K.

3 closed sale: Casa Blanca #5 2/1 $425K, Sand Pointe #132 2/2 $690K, Tigua Cay #485 3/3.5 $1.95M.

HOMES

No new listings.

1 price change: 401 Lagoon Dr 4/4 now $899K.

2 new sales: 836 Donax St 3/2 listed at $549K, 1345 Eagle Run Dr listed at $1.049M.

7 closed sales: 1856 Ardsley Way 3/2 $470K, 1573 Sand Castle Rd 3/2 $503K; 500 Sea Oats Dr 3/2 $680K; 261 Ferry Landing 2/2 half-duplex $900K; 457 Lake Murex Cir 3/2 $900,050; 4739 Ruelle 4/3 $985K; 500 Sawgrass Pl 8/8/3 $2M.

LOTS

No new listings, price changes, new sales, or closed sales.

Captiva

CONDOS

No new listings, price changes, or new sales.

1 closed sale: Tennis Villas #3220 1/1 $309K.

HOMES

No new listings or price changes.

1 new sale: 11542 Wightman Ln 5/5 listed at $3.2M.

No closed sales.

LOTS

No new listings, price changes, new or closed sales.

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.

Below is our ad from today’s “Island Sun”.

Enjoy your weekend! Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan