Susan here, once again touting Florida’s wonderful summerlike weather, alerting you about the traffic, and complaining that we don’t have enough inventory for the many buyers looking to rent or buy on the islands.

Below is an update of the island inventory today (Feb 25, 2022, data from Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service). After that are a few news items, followed by all the action posted since last Friday in the MLS.

Looking at just residential property, only 15 condos, 13 homes, and 12 lots are for sale on Sanibel. Just 2 condos and 6 homes on Captiva. With 84 closed sales and another 95 properties under contract, the sellers’ market continues to thrive.

Status	SANIBEL						CAPTIVA
	Condos		Homes		Lots		Condos		Homes		Lots
	#	Avg $	#	Avg $	#	Avg $	#	Avg $	#	Avg $	#	Avg $
For sale	15	1,547,733	13	2,929,846	12	588,583	2	1,397,500	6	8,665,833	0	N/A
Under contract	25	971,694	43	1,708.439	11	531,363	7	1,457,785	9	4,262,666	0	N/A
Sold to-date 2022	39	946,106	34	1,700,794	4	988,500	5	1,513,800	2	4,084,750	0	N/A
Sold 2021	287	875,127	355	1,341,881	69	698,862	64	1,150,373	44	2,988,520	2	2,950,000
Sold 2020	192	733,876	290	954,718	23	606,233	47	821,713	27	2,923,148	4	2,537,500

SanibelSusan Realty Scoop

Here at the office, we continue to get buyer requests. It was great to put another home under contract on Sunday. On the other hand, it really hurt Monday when I had to tell a long-time visitor with a budget of $1M, that there are only three Sanibel condos and one home for sale with that price limit. Those listings probably would already be under contract, but they are occupied with guests so difficult to show.

One of our last sales was on the typical “as is” contract with a 15-day inspection/cancellation. The property is a seasonal rental and as luck would have it, the 15-day period coincided exactly with a renter reservation. So, after making nice with the property manager, we delivered a note of appreciation with $ to the guests, thanking them for their cooperation in allowing the inspector, buyer and their Realtor® to come in during their stay. A few days after that, it was a nice surprise to get a text from that guest saying they used the gift toward a meal out at their favorite island restaurant. She included a couple of beach photos from their stay too. Island visitors really are the best!

We were happy to have another closing this morning and continue to beat the bushes looking for new listings. Dave and Elise got half of our huge annual bulk mailing out yesterday. The other half is in the works. Every Saturday, Lisa updates our island inventory summary, so any time you want a copy, either mailed or emailed, just let us know. It includes all the residential property posted in both the local and regional MLS for Sanibel and Captiva. In addition to what is currently available, it also shows the properties under contract and recent sale prices. Some are jaw-dropping!

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors®

Yesterday, was the February Monthly Membership Meeting of the local Association of Realtors®. James Evans, new CEO of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) was the guest speaker. James has a wonderful history on the islands from when he first began working for the city, two decades ago, as Natural Resource Director. He later was SCCF Environmental Policies Director, when last November, he was selected as their new CEO, a position he assumed in January.

James reminded the audience that SCCF began in 1967 and today owns/manages ~2,000 acres, about 1,200 on Sanibel, with about 2/3 in conservation. A whopping 84 acres were added in 2021. In 2019, the Sanibel Sea School merged with SCCF. Other upcoming changes include the installation of new RECON (River, Estuary, Coastal Observing Network) 2.0 sensors and a cooperative agreement with data sharing from SCCF’s Marine Lab and the Center for Coastal Solutions (CCS) at the University of Florida.

James also encouraged Realtors® and the public to attend the March 10 South Florida Water Management District governing board meeting which will be held at The Community House. It begins at 9 a.m. Islander Chauncey Goss, chairs that board.

During the general announcements section of the meeting, no new listings were announced, no price reductions, and only one home was open for Realtor® Caravan viewing.

Sanibel Island Crime

Though not our favorite subject, it was informative to read the Police Chief’s annual report to the City Manager which was posted on-line this week on www.MySanibel.com. Here are some excerpts:

“In 2021, more than 3.5 million vehicles came through the Sanibel Causeway. This number is the highest amount ever, and 19% higher than our five-year average (2016-2020) of 3.3 million. This increase in people visiting our island was statistically significant and drove many of the changes you will see in the following pages…

“Analysis of the 2021 data shows a slight increase of 7% in the overall number of federally reportable crimes over our five-year average of 71 to 76 in 2021. Within the federally reported offenses, there are several noteworthy statistics. The reports of vehicle thefts were up by 1, with 1 in 2020 and 2 in 2021. There was a 44% decrease in reported burglaries from 16 in our five-year average to 9 in 2021. There was a 2% increase in thefts from 43 in our five-year average to 44 in 2021.

“The total non-Federally reportable crimes include reported crimes, such as trespass, drug violations, DUI, criminal traffic violations, criminal mischief, and harassment. This crimes category also includes City ordinance violations and criminal citations. The total number of crimes reported in 2021 was 910 which is a 28% increase over our five-year average of 713.

“We experienced a significant number of DUI arrests, up 50% from 18 in our five-year average to 27 in 2021…

“Similar to past years, 19% of those arrested on Sanibel were residents of Sanibel, 51% were from other areas in Lee County, 12% were from different locations in Florida, and 19% were from all other states. These were no arrests of non-U.S. citizens….”

How ‘Tax-Friendly’ Is Florida Compared to Other States?

Posted Wed, Feb 23 at FloridaRealtors® on-line. Sourced to WFLA, Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc.

“A MoneyGeek study including IRS, state, property and sales taxes listed Fla. as the No. 4 least-expensive tax state. Total tax costs are about 5.6% of total income.

“TAMPA, Fla. – It’s tax filing season and depending on where you live in the U.S., you could be forking over a very different-sized chunk of your income. An analysis by MoneyGeek ranked every state by how “tax-friendly” it is. The analysts didn’t just look at income tax – they also factored in property taxes, plus state and local sales taxes.

“To determine where people pay the highest tax burden, MoneyGeek looked at a hypothetical average family: a married couple with one kid, earning the median national income of $82,852, owning a $349,400 home. The study breaks down how much this fictional family would pay in taxes in every state.

“The states with the lowest tax burden, according to the analysis, were:

• Wyoming (estimated taxes: 4% of income or $3,279)
• Nevada (estimated taxes: 4.7% of income or $3,879)
• Alaska (estimated taxes: 5.4% of income or $4,507)
• Florida (estimated taxes: 5.6% of income or $4,632)
• Tennessee (estimated taxes: 6.5% of income or $5,377)
• Washington (estimated taxes: 6.5% of income or $5,414)
• North Dakota (estimated taxes: 6.7% of income or $5,556)
• Arizona (estimated taxes: 6.8% of income or $5,665)
• South Dakota (estimated taxes: 7.2% of income or $5,938)
• Delaware (estimated taxes: 7.3% of income or $6,074)

“The states with the highest tax burden were:

• Illinois (estimated taxes: 16.8% of income or $13,894)
• Connecticut (estimated taxes: 15.1% of income or $12,545)
• New Jersey (estimated taxes: 14.3% of income or $11,872)
• New Hampshire (estimated taxes: 14.1% of income or $11,694)
• New York (estimated taxes: 13.9% of income or $11,495)
• Iowa (estimated taxes: 13.8% of income or $11,398)
• Wisconsin (estimated taxes: 13.2% of income or $10,976)
• Vermont (estimated taxes: 12.6% of income or $10,453)
• Nebraska (estimated taxes: 12.6% of income or $10,446)
• Michigan (estimated taxes: 12.4% of income or $10,239)

“Based on its analysis, MoneyGeek also gave every state a letter grade on its “tax friendliness.” The states with A grades have the lowest tax burden on an “average” family, while the states with D or E grades have the highest tax burden. MoneyGeek’s estimates only hold true for that hypothetical family,earning about $82,000 a year with a $349,000 house. A family who just bought a $1 million house in California would probably be paying a lot more in taxes, while a single person earning $40,000 in Texas would be paying less.”

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity February 18‑25, 2022

Sanibel

CONDOS

1 new listing: Pelicans Roost #202 2/2 $1.295M.

2 price changes: Gulfside Place #210 2/2 now $1.499M, Junonia #301 4/2 now $2.75M.

2 new sales: Tennisplace #D33 1/1 listed at $425K, Pelicans Roost #104 2/2 listed at $1.299M.

4 closed sales: Villa Sanibel #1D 2/2 $810K, Blind Pass #F203 3/2 $845K, Sundial #M303 2/2 $1.275M (our listing), Pointe Santo #D37 2/2 $1.395M.

HOMES

4 new listings: 3015 Singing Wind Dr 2/2 $959K, 5435 Osprey Ct 4/3.5 $2.4M, 911 S. Yachtsman Dr 3/3 $2.485M, 5089 Joewood Dr 5/5 $5.75M.

No price changes.

6 new sales: 707 Durion Ct 2/2 listed at $985K, 4563 Brainard Bayou Rd 3/2 listed at $1.35M, 1178 Harbor Cottage Ct 3/3 half-duplex $1.395M, 2620 West Gulf Dr 3/2 listed at $1.395M, 3716 Coquina Dr 3/2 listed at $1.395M (our buyer), 5435 Osprey Ct 4/3.5 listed at $2.4M.

3 closed sales: 593 Lake Murex Cir 3/3 $1.395M, 5415 Osprey Ct 3/3 $2.525M, 435 Bella Vista Way E 3/3 $4.8M.

LOTS

No new listings or price changes.

2 new sales: 2486 Wulfert Rd listed at $229K, 2356 Wulfert Rd listed at $280K.

No closed sales.

Captiva

CONDOS

No new listings or price changes.

1 new sale: Beach Cottages #1404 2/2 listed at $1.4975M.

1 closed sale: Captiva Hide-a-Way #1A 2/2 $1.45M.

HOMES

No new listings or price changes.

1 new sale: 11549 Wightman Ln 3/4 listed at $3.395M.

1 closed sale: 5 Sunset Captiva Ln 2/2.5 $3.375M.

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”.

Until next Friday, enjoy your weekend & here’s hoping your days also are sunny & full of smiles!