It has been another week of above average temperatures here on Sanibel and Captiva Islands. After several beautiful sunny blue-sky days, it was a surprise to wake up yesterday to heavy fog. It is rare to see any fog here, and especially rare that it did not burn off shortly after sunrise. Local forecasters say this was because of the mild temperatures, light winds, generous humidity (for Dec), and an absence of any strong cold fronts moving in the region. The photo below was taken at the lighthouse as the fog was starting to disappear, about 1 p.m. yesterday.

Daytime temperatures next week also are expected to be warm – into the low 80’s. It was blue sky, sunshine, and 82 degrees F, when I returned to the office today at 1 p.m. Santa better be readying his shorts and sandals.

National Association of Realtors® Economist Reaction to CPI

Always a fan of National Association of Realtors Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, here is his instant reaction to the Consumer Price Index info posted today (Dec 10, 2021):

“If you are younger than 40 years old, then you never have experienced such high inflation. Consumer prices rose 6.8% in November. We are already well aware of higher food and gasoline prices, up 6% and 58% respectively from a year ago. Rents are up 3% and accelerating at better than 5% on an annualized basis. The heating bill will not be pretty, as natural gas prices are higher by 25%. This rapid inflation is the reason higher mortgage rates are expected in 2022. The Federal Reserve will have to raise interest rates to contain them. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is likely to reach 3.7% by the end of 2022 from the current near 3% rate.

“One aspect of inflation is that real estate has proven to be a good hedge. In the 1970’s, a high inflationary period when CPI averaged 7.1% per year, home price gains outpaced inflation with a 9.9% gain. Even when interest rates soared in the 1980’s and thereby crushed home sales, home prices still held up to consumer price inflation: 5.5% versus 5.6%. That’s because rents were soaring. Other decades also show similar patterns. Therefore, for those concerned about the loss in purchasing power of money and savings, be assured that real estate has proven to be a good hedge against inflation.”

At SanibelSusan Realty

SanibelSusan listings had some good action this week, with Dave continuing to hold Open Houses. The activity posted since last Friday in the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service follows a couple of news item below.

The team and I also got some things completed on a couple of sales in our pipeline. The buyers flew in to see the Sanctuary home they are closing on in January. Their timing was perfect as they got to hear details about the property directly from the sellers who built the home. It is not often here that buyers and sellers meet, so it was special.

Dave and I also attended the Gulf Pines home inspection with buyers for the home they put under contract last week. The seller’s agent was there too, while Lucas Stokes with Allied Building Inspection Services performed the inspections. We always recommend inspectors that also are authorized to prepare 4-point inspections and wind mitigation reports needed for insurance. When those inspections are done at the same time as other property inspections, it saves $.

More Island Holiday Fun

New landscaping is going in at Bank of the Islands. Here is a photos of one of their holiday “dog” decorations.

South Seas Island Resort 9th Annual Holiday Stroll – This is when the resort opens to the public and invited to view thousands of twinkling lights, visit Santa, taste s’mores, listen to live music, and watch holiday movie classics. The remaining days open to the public are tonight and tomorrow night, Dec 10 and 11, plus Dec 17 and 18 – from 6 to 9 p.m. Stroll tickets are $10 per adult with proceeds helping Captains for Clean Water. Tickets are complimentary for resort guests.

Captiva Chapel by the Sea 11^th Annual Community Carol Sing – Sunday, Dec 12 from 6 to 7 p.m. with seating both outside and inside the chapel. More info at http://www.captivachapel.com.

Sanibel Public Library Again Ranks High

For about 15 years, The Sanibel Library has been at or near the top ranking in Florida. This year is no exception. The state library rankings are out, and the Sanibel Library ranked number one per capita (per 1,000) for circulation (number of books or items borrowed), availability of print, audio, video, and other materials to check out, website visits per capita, and square footage availability. The ratings are based on Florida Library Statistics which measures 82 libraries and library systems.

In addition to the state rankings, the library has won annual Star Library awards (top 200 public libraries of 9,000 measured nationally) from the Library Journal in five of the last 10 years. It has been No 1 on TripAdvisor for “Things to do on Sanibel” and has earned TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence awards.

The library is open Mondays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Visit www.sanlib.org for more information.

Fun Facts About Florida

Perfect Lawn & Pest Control’s November/December 2021 newsletter highlights some fun facts about Florida. I bet they don’t mind if I give them a shout-out and share them:

• “Florida is similar in size to England and Wales COMBINED.
• Key West has the highest recorded average temperature in the United States.
• Florida has 1,197 statue miles of coastline and 663 miles of beaches.
• No matter where you are in Florida, you are never more than 60 miles from the ocean.
• Clearwater is the city with the highest rate of lightning strikes per capita in the United States. It also is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for having the most days of sunshine.
• Florida is the flattest state in America.
• Siesta Key beach won an award in 1987 for having the finest whitest beach sand in the world – It is 99% pure quartz crystal and is, therefore, cool to the feet.
• A woman can be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer in Florida – The salon owner can also be fined.
• State law dictates that, if an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.
• Doors to public buildings in Florida must open outward – In case of an emergency, exiting the building is more efficient.
• Walt Disney Resort encompasses 30,500 acres, making it approximately the same size as San Francisco.
• Can you guess the number of stones in Cinderella’s Castle? Zero – the whole shell of the building is fiberglass.
• Happy Hour begins at 9 a.m. at the Schooner Wharf Bar in Key West.
• Florida has more golf courses than any state in America and has over 30,000 lakes.
• An unmarried woman is not permitted to parachute on Sunday. She can face a fine or even be arrested.
• There are no dinosaur fossils in Florida.
• Florida’s oldest tree is 3,500 years old and is still standing – It is a cypress tree called “Senator” located just north of Longwood at Big Tree Park.
• Once a year, thousands of Floridians stand at the state line and toss dead fish into Alabama – It is the annual Mullet toss sponsored by Flora-Bama Beach Bar in Pensacola.
• In 1996, Miami installed the first bank ATM in Florida specifically designed for rollerbladers who couldn’t go inside the bank.”

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity December 3-10, 2021

Sanibel

CONDOS

2 new listings: Tarpon Beach #106 2/2 $1.095M, Pointe Santo #D5 2/2 $1.3M.

No price changes.

2 new sales: Lighthouse Point #212 3/2 listed at $929K, Nutmeg Village #308 2/2 listed at $1.2499M.

5 closed sales: Sundial #F407 1/1 listed at $569K, Sanibel Arms West #J1 2/2 listed at $679K, Oceans Reach #4C1 2/2 listed at $875K, Sand Pointe #228 2/2 $1.05M, Compass Point #133 3/2 listed at $1.625M.

HOMES

2 new listings: 644 Lake Murex Cir 3/2 $869K, 697 Birdie View Pt 3/2 $1.495M.

No price changes.

6 new sales: 1841 Ibis Ln 2/2 listed at $628.5K, 697 Birdie View Pt 3/2 listed at $1.495M, 1245 Par View Dr 3/2.5 listed at $1.575M, 853 Tulip Ln 3/2 listed at $1.735M, 1356 Eagle Run Dr 5/5.5 listed at $2.295M, 1304 Seapray Ln 3/2.5 listed at $4.695M.

6 closed sales: 2138 Egret Cir 3/2 $710K, 2548 Wulfert Rd 3/4 $934.5K, 4619 Bowen Bayou Rd 3/2 $976K, 4077 Coquina Dr 3/2 $1.299M, 1665 Sabal Palm Dr 3/2 $2.22M, 1237 Isabel Dr 6/6.5 $3M. 

LOTS

No new listings or price changes.

1 new sale: 3308 St. Kilda Rd listed at $649K.

No closed sales.

Captiva

CONDOS

1 new listing: Bayside Villas #4306 3/3 $850K.

No price changes, new, or closed sales.

HOMES

1 new listing: 57 Sandpiper Ct 2/2 $1.399M.

No price changes or new,sales.

1 closed sale: 11529 Andy Rosse Ln 4/4 $2.625M.

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.

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

Enjoy your weekend! Until next Friday, Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan