Happy birthday, America, and best wishes from SanibelSusan for a safe and happy July 4th. My team is off today for the long weekend, but I am in the office doing what I like best. I’ll be here tomorrow too, working with buyers.

Undoubtedly you have heard the news that COVID-19 cases in Florida, Lee County, and on Sanibel have increased. Reports are so conflicting, and the news so biased that it is hard to know what to believe. Unfortunately, most of us know someone who has had this illness and though the majority seem to be following recommended precautions, we keep hearing that it only takes “one” unknowing person to pass it on.

My Realtor® friend from Cape Coral who was hospitalized with it for many days, acknowledging she had simply let her guard down. Thankfully she came home this week but is struggling through a tough recovery. Hearing from her was enough to keep me from attending the special Sanibel City Council meeting on Tuesday. The state of emergency proclamation was expiring that day, so the meeting was called to discuss what further steps might be necessary to combat the virus.

At that meeting, the City extended the proclamation through the holiday weekend and voted to make face coverings mandatory in public places where social distancing is not possible. There are some exceptions, but masks are required inside businesses (except when eating). Read the full explanation on www.MySanibel.com.

The other emergency measure that passed was to reclose the City “pay” public beach parking lots from today through Monday. The goal here is to stop congestion on the beaches. Since the parking lots reopened a few weeks ago, particularly on weekends, the beaches have been packed. With the holiday weekend, many beaches in Florida closed, and island accommodations reporting reservations at capacity, it was considered a smart precaution to try to limit the number of beachgoers.

Yesterday, Traders restaurant (a personal favorite) posted this message: “Due to the escalation of COVID-19, and out of an abundance of caution, beginning today, Traders is closed for the July 4th holiday week. We will reopen Tuesday, July 14th. We apologize for an inconvenience. Stay safe + stay healthy!”

In the office, while wearing masks and practicing social distancing, we again had good action this week. Unusually busy for this time of year and we are grateful. The months certainly are flying by. Hard to believe 2020 is half over.

To wrap up the first half of the year, below is a quick summary from the Sanibel-Captiva Multiple Listing Service of island inventory today and the sales action in 2020 as compared to the same time frame the last few years. These years have been unusual. The after effects of Hurricane Irma in 2017 affected early 2018, then Florida’s red tide in late 2018 affected 2019. Then to top things off, there is the pandemic this year. It still looks like it is helping our market, but those affects may not be fully realized until later. In the meantime, we continue to welcome new business and look forward to more sales.

The activity posted in the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service is shown below, followed by our ad from today’s “Island Sun”.

CONDOS

2 new listings: Loggerhead Cay #212 2/2 $589,985; Sand Pointe #116 2/2 $899K.

2 price changes: Mariner Pointe #813 2/2 now $579K, Sand Pointe #227 2/2 now $729K.

4 new sales: Sanibel Arms #A7 1/1 listed at $359K, Seashells #36 2/2 listed at $380K, Sundial #T301 2/2 listed at $845K, Loggerhead Cay #514 2/2 listed at $995K.

3 closed sales: Casa Blanca #6 1/1 $325K, Seawind #107 2/2.5 $500K, Loggerhead Cay #191 2/2 $740K.

HOMES

4 new listings: 2985 Island Inn Rd 2/2 $599K (our listing), 721 Durion Ct 3/3 $649K, 1610 Sabal Sands Rd 3/2 $724.9K, 5439 Osprey Ct 4/3 $1.789M.

7 price changes: 4044 Coquina Dr 2/2 now $529K; 9455 Beverly Ln 2/2 now $529.9K; 3131 Twin Lakes Ln 2/2 now $789,031; 3751 Coquina Dr 3/2 now $859K; 1430 Sanderling Cir 4/3.5 now $899K; 790 Beach Rd 4/3.5 now $1.399M; 4577 Waters Edge Ln 4/3 now $3.049M.

9 new sales: 9465 Calla Ct 3/2 listed at $499K, 1361 Tahiti Dr 2/2 listed at $535K, 433 Lake Murex Cir 3/2 listed at $569K, 1813 Farm Tr 3/2 listed at $629K, 5659 Sanibel-Captiva Rd 2/2 listed at $790K, 2417 Wulfert Rd 3/3 listed at $944.5K, 3850 Coquina Dr 3/3 listed at $1.048M, 5419 Osprey Ct 3/3.5 listed at $1.095M, 2284 Troon Ct 4/4.5 listed at $1.799M.

8 closed sales: 499 Peachtree Rd 2/2 $450K, 1774 Bunting Ln 3/2 $626K, 1826 Ardsley Way 4/3 $626.5K, 987 Sand Castle Rd 4/3.5 $650K, 3323 Twin Lakes Ln 3/3 $760K, 5757 Pine Tree Dr 3/2.5 $775K, 1271 Par View Dr 3/3 $860K, 5044 Joewood Dr 4/4.5 $1.85M.

LOTS

1 price change: 2486 Wulfert Rd now $129K.

No new or closed sales.

CONDOS

1 new listing: Beach Villas #2422 1/1 $545K.

No price changes:

1 new sale: Bayside Villas #5234 1/2 listed at $510K.

2 closed sales: Sunset Beach Villas #2227 1/1 $510K, Lands End Village #1651 2/2 $1.14M.

HOMES

1 new listing: 16596 Captiva Dr 7/8.5 $10.5M.

2 price changes: 16163 Captiva Dr 3/2 now $2.395M, 17101 Captiva Dr 7/6.5 now $2.695M.

No new sales.

1 closed sale: 13500 Palmflower Ln 4/4 $2.4M.

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.

Enjoy your holiday! Stay safe & be well!