As Lee County children went back to school this week, they had nice mostly sun-shiny weather with only occasional sprinkles. Daytime temperatures remain in the high 80’s/low 90’s (degrees F). fairly typical for this time of the year. (Often much warmer inland.)

There are few visitors here now, but reservations should pick up as northerners start thinking of winter weather. The SanibelSusan Team is ready for more business as we look forward to continued recovery progress and occupancy improvement. Below are some news items from this week:

Sanibel Scoop

Blind Pass condos bridge damaged by Ian – soon to be rebuilt

Bridge Over Clam Bayou – Blind Pass Condominiums posted on social media that they have approval to start rebuilding their bridge over Clam Bayou that was destroyed in Ian. They hope construction begins in September, finishing in October.

Jerry’s Market – Next week, from Sunday August 18 at 5 p.m. through Saturday, August 24 at 7 a.m., Jerry will close to upgrade electrical equipment.

 Public Beach Parking – The City announced mid-week that all the last public beach parking lots (including Turner Beach) had reopened following cleanup from the sand/flooding caused when Tropical Storm Debby passed by on August 3 and 4. Island-wide, some roadway swales still have some water, but many receded significantly. I took a ride through the Lighthouse Beach lots Wednesday, noticing many empty parking spots, probably indicative of kiddos being back in school.

SCCF (Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation) – posted good news Monday: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have signed a decision for the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM). This completes the final step in the approval process for LOSOM. This new water management plan will lower the number of damaging discharges to the Caloosahatchee River and Gulf of Mexico, providing greater operational flexibility to water managers and ultimately sending more water south to the Everglades and Florida Bay.

 Florida Realtors Think Tanks®

Last Thursday and Friday were the state Think Tank legislative meetings which preface the in-person business meetings and convention next week. The Think Tanks were held by Zoom again this year, During the Resort and Second-Home Specialist Breakout Group meeting, where I am a panelist, Denis Hanks, Executive Director of Florida Alliance for Vacation Rentals (FAVR) provided an update on the vacation rental market. Here are a few tidbits he shared:

·       Top Destinations: Kissimmee, Panama City Beach, Destin, Davenport, Anna Marie Island.

·       Fastest Growing Areas: Kissimmee, Davenport, Destin, Tampa, Jacksonville.

·       The number of short-term Florida rentals has increased to 389,805.

·       Comparing rentals to hotel rooms, there are over 1M today compared to 706,000 bedrooms.

·       Overall occupancy has dropped, but revenues are up.

DBPR (Division of Business & Professional Regulation) provides a lot of info for Vacation Rental license holders, but FAVR is pushing for even more education, not just for operators but also in developing industry relationships, better governance, and more proficient operators.  Their goal is to resolve top statewide complaints through comprehensive education for owners, property managers, government, tourism industry, public safety, and communities. With a county-by-county education initiative, they help local governments and operators with compliance, considering partnerships to be part of the solution. That education includes local rules and regulations (registrations, noise, parking, trash), state compliance, safety, taxation, insurance, general operations, and legal.

FAVR also offers a free certification (Mandatory Human Trafficking Awareness Training) which is required annually of all front-line employees in hospitality. They too offer 4-hour Safety Program training.

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors®

Upcoming Meetings – There was no local Caravan meeting this week. Also, none is scheduled next week when the leadership team is in Orlando at the 2024 Florida Realtors® business meetings and convention. The following week, on August 29, is a monthly membership meeting with guest speaker, John Talmage, Director of Lee County Economic Development Office. An Open House caravan of new listings will follow that meeting.

Changes Required by NAR Settlement – Today is the day that the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors®, in accordance with National Association of Realtors® (NAR) settlement, removed any reference to compensation (commissions) from their Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This resulted in some new/updated report formats and requires that active listings be modified.

SanibelSusan Realty

Listing Modifications – SanibelSusan Realty listing agreement modifications went out yesterday for electronic signature(s) through Florida Realtors® Form Simplicity Program.

The modification form itself is used for a variety of agreement changes, but in most cases does not change any terms of the original agreement except to add that “commissions are not set by law and are fully negotiable” and that commissions will not be posted in the Multiple Listing Service. (Any questions, please give me a call.) All other terms of the basic listing agreement do not change and still apply. New listing agreements from here forward will have updated language.

What Do These Changes Mean? – In my opinion, these mandated changes do not affect island sales much. Real estate commissions have always been and continue to be negotiable. Since our local Association does not use electronic lockboxes, our Realtors® already communicate with each other to schedule showings and discuss property details. Relaying the commission that is offered to a Buyer brokerage is an easy addition to those conversations.

Regarding the forms that NAR now requires for Buyer representation: Florida for years has required that agency disclosure forms convey relationships, fiduciary responsibilities, and be signed by a Buyer. Florida also, for many years, has used Transaction Brokerage in those instances where a company facilitates a transaction for both Seller and Buyer. That language already is included in our listing agreements and will continue.

(FYI, not all states are the same. Florida real estate contracts have improved so much in the 32+years that I have worked here. Ahead of many states, I think.)

At our last monthly local Realtor® membership meeting, I announced that SanibelSusan Realty welcomes all Realtors® to show our listings and that we will continue to offer compensation to Buyer Brokers. Realtors® may have more forms to complete now, but we encourage Buyer Brokers to work with us, to the benefit of both Buyers and Sellers.

This Week – 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.

Again, it was a slow week for sales, much like late summer most years. September also can be a slow month, with October usually when we start to see business perk up.

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity August 9‑16:

Sanibel

CONDOS

2 new listings: Oceans Reach #3B2 1/1 $650K, Mariner Pointe #941 3/2 $999K.

4 price changes: Sanibel Arms #D2 1/1 $350K, Sanibel Moorings #1422 2/2 now $789K, Sanibel Siesta #103 2/2 now $875K, Loggerhead Cay #212 2/2 now $875K.

2 new sales: Sundial #C310 1/1 listed at $625K, Sundial #H303 2/2 listed at $745K.

1 closed sale: Sundial #D401 2/2 $975K.

HOMES

2 new listings: 4752 Rue Helene 2/2 $1.47M, 829 Pyrula Ave 3/3 $1.8M.

2 price changes: 1719 Serenity Ln 3/2 now $759K, 1242 Par View Dr 3/2 now $1.079M.

No new sales.

3 closed sales: 1016 Fish Crow Rd 3/2 $550K, 938 Pecten Ct 3/2.5 $1.495M, 911 S Yachtsman Dr 3/3 $1.5M.

LOTS

Captiva

CONDOS

2 new listings: Tennis Villas #3135 1/1 $465K, Bayside Villas #4220 1/2 $659K.

2 price changes: Gulf Beach Villas #2011 1/1 now $730K, Captiva Shores #3B 3/2.5 now $1.395M.

No 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 weekend! Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan