The islands had no rain again this week. As much as we never want to see another hurricane, it would be nice to get an occasional quick shower to give the critters and vegetation a drink. When I need to add water to my pool twice a week, I know summer weather has arrived before the rainy season.

On the plus side, without rain stirring things up, the gulf waters remain clear and turquoise. The roadways were quiet over the holiday weekend, but the public beach access parking lots were full. Also when teammates Dave and Lisa were out boating Monday, they sent me beachside photos of some condo restoration progress. It was nice to see many of those beaches also occupied.

Another plus is that the spring-blooming trees have been spectacular much longer this year. After recently posting blog pictures of the apple blossom cassia at Sanibel Moorings and the royal poincianas at Sanibel Arms and Captains Walk, Dave and I have been on the lookout for other eye-catching bloomers. My winner today is another beauty, a golden shower tree at Sanibel Moorings while Dave spied the pink one near the boat ramp.

Sanibel Pick-Up Softball

Following their reopening last week, this week the Sanibel Recreation Center announced pick-up adult softball begins June 3 from 6 to 8 p.m., weather permitting, at the Sanibel ballfields, 3840 Sanibel-Captiva Rd.

Monday nights are for ages 50+, while Wednesdays are for ages 18-49. Participation is free, just bring your glove and wear closed-toe shoes.

J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge

The Refuge announced this week that beginning Sat, June 1, Wildlife Dr hours will be lengthened since sunsets are later. June through the end of July, Wildlife Dr will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Note, but still closed on Fridays.)

Also beginning June 1, Refuge staff and volunteers will lead FREE summer programs, offered weekly through July. Those include Wildlife Drive Caravans Tour, Beach Walks, Restorative Nature Walks, Insect Insanity, and Monday’s Ranger Choice (which changes each week). Check their weekly calendar on-line for details and sign up at http://www.DingDarling.EventBrite.com.

Island Water Association

Diana Wilson, General Manager of The Island Water Association (IWA) was the guest speaker yesterday at the May Membership Meeting at the islands Association of Realtors®. She was new to IWA just a few years ago, in time, as she mentioned, to negotiate their first union contract, and then lead IWA through the pandemic and Hurricane Ian. It probably goes without saying that after being hit with those challenges, updating our Realtor organization was probably a walk-in-the-park. Good info was provided which attendees will share with new customers and clients. Here are some of my takeaways.

• Island Water has been providing water to Sanibel & Captiva since 1965. It is a private member-owned non-profit. They are not part of the City or County but work in coordination with them.
• They treat & distribute potable water for in-home use, irrigation, drinking fountains, etc.
• They are governed by five member-elected directors and have just 30 employees. Their goal is to provide quality water, with exceptional service at a reasonable price. Their water rates have not changed since 2009.
• Today, there are ~5,200 connections to their system. She described the process they use in producing the water as “fresh squeezed”. How Florida is that?
• IWA facilities in addition to the administrative offices and reverse-osmosis (RO) treatment facility on Sanibel-Captiva Rd include 15 production wells, one 3,100’ deep injection well, five storage tanks (15 MG capacity), three booster stations, and a distribution network with piping from 2” to 20” in diameter. (We got to view these examples of these pipes.)
• The source of the raw water extracted by the production wells is from the upper Floridian aquifer.
• The RO plant can produce 6 million gallons/day. The treatment first involves a filtering process that removes any silt/sand or other particles. It removes anything larger than 1 micron. (As reference, a red blood cell is 5 microns and a typical hair is 7.5.) Next, the RO membranes filter out salts, viruses, and most minerals. The final step is for disinfection, PH adjustment, and corrosion. (We also got to view samples of these membranes.)
• The five IWA storage tanks include two at the RO treatment plant, one on Periwinkle, one on Wulfert, and one at South Seas.
• For consumers, IWA has updated their website and installed smart meter devices on every property connection. This allows users to check their water usage 24/7. Through a member portal, one can sign up for a leak alert so you should never be surprised again with a big water bill due to a pool, irrigation, or other leak causing high usage.
• One of our Realtor attendees confirmed that her HOA discovered leaks thanks to these new devices, potentially saving their Association thousands of dollars.
• Another Realtor asked about the quality of the water IWA produces. Interestingly, we learned that the requirements for that water is significantly more stringent than what is sold as bottled water. She said the bottle of water provided to her at our meeting was the first one she had sampled in a very long time. Our tap water is better!

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors®

It was fun Wednesday to teach again at the Association Office. There were 16 attending the Resorts & Second Homes module for the 2024 SCIS (Sanibel & Captiva Islands Specialist) designation. Some are working on earning the designation, others recertifying.

There are 12 modules to earn the certification, with recertification needed every three years. That requires three classes.

The modules include eight taught by representatives from the following organizations. Most include tours of their facilities.

• Bailey Matthews National Shell Museum
• BIG ARTS
• Captiva Erosion Protection District
• City of Sanibel – City Hall
• R.O.W. (Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife
• History of the Islands
• N. “Ding” Darling Wildlife Refuge
• Sanibel & Captiva Conservation Foundation.

The remaining four are taught by local Realtors®, Greg Demaras, Eric Pfeifer, yours truly, and Jeff Burns.

• Differences Selling the Islands Vs Mainland Lee County
• Marketing Condos on the Islands
• Resorts & 2^nd Homes
• Waterways & Beaches.

More Island Real Estate Scoop

Below, with data from the islands Multiple Listing Service (MLS) are summary tables of the residential sales statistics, followed by all the Sanibel/Captiva MLS action reported this week.

It again was a quiet one for sales. On Sanibel, two new sales were posted, a home and a lot. Ten Sanibel homes also had price reductions as did a Sanibel lot, while both a condo and a home were newly listed. There also was a handful of closed sales. No new activity this week on Captiva.

Many comments at yesterday’s Caravan Meeting echoed the same: “no showings, no offers, no inquiries”, but plenty of worries about what may happen with the condo market. For Realtors®, whether working with buyers or sellers, those now require more homework. You can be sure I stressed that at Wednesday’s class, attendees agreed.

SANIBEL RESIDENTIAL	CONDOS			HOMES			LOTS
	#	Avg Price	DOM	#	Avg Price	DOM	#	Avg Price	DOM
For sale:	94	1,083,536	162	143	2,171,148	132	36	784,080	229
Under contract	6	1,213,000	158	16	2,095,843	113	3	2,514,333	39
Sold 2024 to 5/31	40	842,763	126	96	1,435,932	94	8	1,869,500	174
Sold 2023	98	955,261	65	263	1,267,390	73	24	920,645	76
Sold 2022	123	1,136,199	44	185	1,602,745	52	26	779,528	223
Sold 2021	287	875,127	113	355	1,341,881	89	69	698,862	442

 

CAPTIVA RESIDENTIAL	CONDOS			HOMES			LOTS
	#	Avg Price	DOM	#	Avg Price	DOM	#	Avg Price	DOM
For sale	32	1,516,906	176	18	7,300,833	219	2	13,750,000	204
Under contract	3	1,823,333	242	2	3,122,500	130	0	N/A	N/A
Sold 2024 to 5/31	8	1,828,125	117	4	5,368,125	132	0	N/A	N/A
Sold 2023	17	834,176	98	17	2,716,647	70	0	N/A	N/A
Sold 2022	28	1,458,983	52	22	5,636,386	133	0	N/A	N/A
Sold 2021	64	1,150,373	145	44	2,988,520	261	2	2,950,000	731

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity May 24-31

Sanibel

CONDOS

1 new listing: Sanibel Arms West #I7 2/2 $815K.

No price changes or new sales.

2 closed sales: Sanibel Siesta #605 2/2 $820K, Sanibel Moorings #721 3/2 $1.125M.

HOMES

1 new listing: 5438 Shearwater Dr (1/2 duplex) 3/3.5 $1.795M.

10 price changes: 3898 West Gulf Dr 3/2 now $875K, 1813 Long Point Ln 4/2.5 now $940K, 1426 Sanderling Cir 3/2 now $995K, 1125 Captains Walk St 3/3 now $1.025M, 3180 Twin Lakes Ln 3/3 now $1.095M, 3822 Coquina Dr 4/3.5 now $1.195M, 5422 Shearwater Dr (1/2 duplex) 3/2.5 now $1,387,007; 4340 West Gulf Dr 5/3.5 now $1.85M, 1828 Buckthorn Ln 4/4.5 now $1.925M, 2255 Troon Ct 4/5.5.5 now $2.65M.

1 new sale: 5414 Osprey Ct 3/2 listed at $1.387M

5 closed sales: 1113 Sand Castle Rd 3/2 $700K, 753 Nerita St 3/2.5 $990K, 9470 Balsa Ct 3/2 $995K, 930 Strangler Fig Ln 5/3.5 $1.3M, 6424 Pine Ave 2/2 $1.35M.

LOTS

No new listings.

1 price reduction; 4801 Tradewinds Dr now $1.8M.

1 new sale: 1801 Olde Middle Gulf Dr (former site of Clam Shell condos) listed at $6.999M.

1 closed sale: 6217 Starling Way $1.5M.

Captiva

CONDOS, HOMES, 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.

Enjoy your weekend, Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan