How Island Realtors® Can Tell It Snowed Somewhere

At SanibelSusan Realty, last weekend when New England was getting their first accumulation, there also was a flurry of activity with multiple offers on our Tarpon Beach condo listing and multiple showings at our new home listing on Olga Ave. Both properties now are successfully under contract.

It always happens after cold weather hits up north, as the remainder of the week brought more inquiries and showings at other listings. The number of listing internet viewings also are up.

This website, Realtor.com, and Zillow usually get the most hits, but it was interesting to get my monthly report from ListHub (which syndicates to some 47 lesser known real estate sites). Through them, our listing hits increased from 24 in September to 1,005 in October. Another good sign that Sanibel sales are picking up.

Unfortunately, as traffic has increased, with more arrivals, COVID-19 cases have increased too. More info about that below, followed by other news items, then the action in the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service since last week.

City of Sanibel – Emergency Declaration, COVID-19

Again, Sanibel’s Mayor extended the declared state of emergency due to COVID-19, now it goes until November 10, 2020, unless further extended. (Per State Statute, the maximum duration for a Mayoral Declaration of Emergency is seven days and thus must be updated weekly as the emergency exists.) Additionally, the City face covering mandate was reaffirmed and remains in effect through the period.

Per the Florida Department of Health, Sanibel’s total accumulative number of COVID-19 cases since March 26 is 67. (That is an increase of five since I posted last week. Please stay vigilant – continue social distancing, hand washing, mask wearing, and avoid group gatherings.)

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors  Annual Meeting

Yesterday was our first local Realtor® Association annual meeting via Zoom. Zoom meetings certainly are not as much fun as networking in person. The 2021 slate of officers and board of directors were approved with reports provided by outgoing President Mike Badenoch, Treasurer Amy Wainright, Executive Officer Bill Robinson, RPAC Co-Chair Dave Arter, and Governmental & Political Affairs Co-Chairs Eric Pfeifer and Dave Schuldenfrei.

RPAC – Big congratulations to the RPAC Committee for their recent successful Zoom auction fundraiser. In addition to the amounts raised and percentage of goal reached during such a challenging year, rumor has it that our percentage of member participation puts the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors® within the top “10” in the nation. Even when the going gets tough, you can always depend on our island association rallying. Thank you to all who worked so hard, sponsored, donated, purchased, and made it another banner year for the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors® RPAC.

Though we still await some election results, 95% of Florida Realtors® PAC-endorsed candidates won their elections, including ten Realtor® Legislative Caucus members. That means our Association is well-positioned to successfully advocate for the profession and real estate industry in the upcoming legislative sessions. On top of that news, Amendment 5, which Florida Realtors® supported, was approved by 74.5% of Florida voters. As a result, beginning on January 1, 2021, accrued Save Our Homes benefits may be transferred for three years, instead of the previous two. This increase in the portability period will benefit some homeowners by allowing them to maintain their property tax benefits longer as they transition between living situations.

Caravan – This was the first week in many when properties could be held open for a morning Realtor® caravan of new listings. Just four properties were held open. At SanibelSusan Realty, we continue to follow CDC and state guidelines, opening properties with precautions, no in-person Open Houses for us yet. It does not seem to be hurting our sales though, as I was happy to announce that five of our listings have gone under contract since our last meeting. (Next Zoom Caravan is in two weeks, November 19.)

Governmental & Political Affairs Committee Report

Here are a few tidbits from committee co-chairs:

Seawalls – An offshoot of the Planning Commission, Land Development Code Subcommittee, is discussing a new seawall repair method. Many original island concrete seawalls are aging and deteriorating. One way to repair them is to install a vinyl corrugated material on the waterside of the walls to prevent further damage. Questions have come up regarding this type of installation both from environmental and coverage angles. Will the material increase the size of the lot, thus affecting coverage limits? Make the canal traffic path smaller? If you have an opinion or want to attend the next meeting, Planning Commission meets Tuesday, November 10 at 9 a.m. at City Hall, the subcommittee meeting follows.

Sanibel Budget – With income reduced from COVID shutdowns, the City budget had to work around a $6 million deficit.

No Red Tide – Regarding water quality, the news is good, though bayside water has a brown tint right now from recent Lake O releases. The good news is that so far there is no red tide, with the Army Corps of Engineers slow in its water releases into the estuary. More lake water is being released than preferred right now, because of recent heavy rain resulting in high water levels in the lake. Unless there is a huge rain this weekend from Hurricane Eta, the releases should lessen. The funded reservoir projects (east, west, and south) are on schedule as is the project to raise Route 41, with the eventual goal of sending more water to the Everglades.

Algae Solutions – Regarding blue green algae (which can grow in fresh, brackish and marine water) and has been found in Lake O, a contract has been signed with an Israeli company called BlueGreen Water Technologies. This company has been successful in other countries working to eliminate the algae in both large and small bodies of water. It is unknown if their methods will work on red tide (which is in salt water), but tests are underway. In the water world, this is better news than in a long time. Thanks to our local committee folks for keeping us informed.

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity October 30-November 6, 2020

Sanibel®®

CONDOS

5 new listings: Spanish Cay #F3 1/1 $325K, Sundial #D309 1/1 $434K, Blind Pass #G201 2/2 $540K, Loggerhead Cay #411 2/2 $599K, Sunset South #9D 2/2 $599K.

2 price changes: Sundial #D305 1/1 now $519.9K, Atrium #103 2/2 now $1.175M.

5 new sales: Sanibel Arms West #K6 2/2 listed at $579K; Loggerhead Cay #212 2/2 listed at $589,985; Loggerhead Cay #222 2/2 listed at $599K; Sundial #H203 2/2 listed at $739K; Tarpon Beach #207 2/2 listed at $899K (our listing).

1 closed sale: Sundial #D204 1/1 $430K.

HOMES

4 new listings: 1125 Captains Walk St 3/3 $739,937; 509 Lake Murex Cir 3/2.5 $1.225M; 1308 Eagle Run Dr 4/4 $1.695M; 819 Tulip Ln 5/4 $2.995M.

4 price changes: 1764 Bunting Ln 2/2 now $524K; 3935 Coquina Dr 4/3 now $879,978; 9426 Sage Ct 3/3 now $995K, 1245 Isabel Dr 3/3.5 now $2.099M.

4 new sales: 555 Rabbit Rd 3/2 listed at $599K, 1467 Sand Castle Rd 3/3 listed at $789K, 1120 Olga Ave 3/2 listed at $950K (our listing), 1237 Isabel Dr 5/6.5 listed at $2.749M.

10 closed sales: 1752 Serenity Ln 3/2 $430K; 9036 Mockingbird Dr 3/2 $530K; 934 Cormorant Cir 3/2 $685K; 702 Durion Ct 3/2 $799K; 1170 Buttonwood Ln 4/2 $868K; 1777 Serenity Ln 5/4.5 $895K; 1724 Bunting Ln 3/3.5 $912.5K; 1081 Captains Walk St 4/2.5 $932,050; 595 West Rocks Dr 3/3 $1M; 5757 Baltusrol Ct 3/3 $1.52M.

LOTS

No new listings.

2 price changes: 0 Bunting Ln now $229,555; 1837 Buckthorn Ln now $499K.

2 new sales: 1048 Fish Crow Rd listed at $340K, 4995 Joewood Dr listed at $2.45M.

2 closed sales: 489 Ponce De Leon Rd $210K, 2501 Tropical Way $658.5K.

Captiva

CONDOS

1 new listing: Ventura Captiva #2B 3/3 $979K.

No price changes or new sales.

4 closed sales: Bayside Villas #4204 1/2 $375K, Bayside Villas #5228 1/2 $380K, Bayside Villas #4220 1/2 $390K, Beach Villas #2422 1/1 $525K.

HOMES

No new listings.

1 price change: 11541 Paige Ct 3/4/2 now $4M.

2 new sales: 11521 Laika Ln 3/3 listed at $1.385M, 17101 Captiva Dr 7/6.5 listed at $2.695M.

1 closed sale: 1124 Longifolia Ct 4/5 $2.5M.

LOTS

No new listings or price changes.

1 new sale: 11525 Murmond Ln listed at $795K.

No 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”.

Don’t forget to remember Veterans on Wednesday!

Until next week, Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan