Another Friday means another weather and real estate update from SanibelSusan. There were more summer showers here again this week, most coming across the state out to the gulf and often arriving after dark.

A local weather forecaster announced that this has been the wettest summer on record in SW FL with over 40” of rain which is double the amount from last year and more than has been recorded in a single season in 122 years. (Total to-date in Fort Myers = 43.87” compared to their average 29.47”.) No wonder swales are often full.

With Sept 10 being the peak of hurricane season, Floridians countdown after that to when that ends on Nov 30.  Five months might seem like a long time for hurricane season, but historically the most storm development time is mid-Aug through mid-Oct.

Since Sep usually is the quietest here for tourists, many businesses close then for fixups and staff breaks. Below is an update on some Sanibel closures/re-openings.

Update onTemporary Closures & Re-Openings

·        Congress Jewelers announced their Sanibel store in Periwinkle Place will reopen on Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving).

·        Lighthouse Café closed through Sep 10, reopening Sep 11 but also closed Mondays and Tuesdays through Sep. Back to regular hours beginning Wednesday Oct 2.

·        Mud Bugs Cajun Kitchen to be closed Sep 9 -12, reopening for dinner at 3 p.m. on Friday Sep 13.

·        Noah’s Ark Thrift Shop is accepting donations for their reopening. That is being rescheduled for some time after Oct 1. Drop items off as they have no pick-up service yet.

·        Over Easy Café will be closed Sep 9-19

·        Sanibel Historical Village & Museum closed through Oct 14.

Sanibel Awarded Over $28.5M in Disaster Recovery Grants

Posted Wed: On Sep 3, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners awarded grant funding for three Sanibel projects totaling approximately $28.5 million. These grants are part of $229 million in grants the County awarded through Community Disaster Block Grant – Disaster Relief funding which Lee County received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after Hurricane Ian (on Sep 28, 2022). Sanibel’s funded projects are:

·        City of Sanibel – Road reconstruction – $12.5 million

·        FISH of SANCAP – Building elevation, hardening and associated site improvements – $6.9 million

·        Sanibel Fire & Rescue District – Reconstruction of Sanibel Fire Station 171 – $9.1 million.

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors®

The local Association of Realtors did not have a Caravan this week, but the Professional Development Committee met Tuesday when more educational events were finalized for the year. Next week, the Association offers continuing education for license renewal (Fair Housing, Code of Ethics, Core Law, Environmental Considerations of Coastal Living).

At SanibelSusan Realty

Teammates Dave and Lisa have completed their continuing ed and renewed their licenses for another two years. Mine renews in March so I will be attending an Association class next week. Special that our organization offers them locally.

On the business front, I heard from more owners this week. Many wonder why inventory is so low now. Late summer/early fall often is when listings expire or sellers take their property off the market to “give it a rest”. Some think that when it goes back on the market it will look like a “new listing”, rather than one that was for sale that didn’t sell. Today’s technology is smarter than that.

We look forward to announcing more listings in the weeks to come as the islands get closer to “high season”. With restorations continuing, we trust that upcoming season will have more sales activity. In the meantime, our last home listing went under contact yesterday.

Below with data from the islands MLS are summary tables of the residential sales statistics, followed by the Sanibel/Captiva MLS action reported this week

SANIBEL RESIDENTIAL	CONDOS			HOMES			LOTS
	#	Avg Price	DOM	#	Avg Price	DOM	#	Avg Price	DOM
For sale:	67	1,080,976	143	81	2,873,606	150	29	1,003,306	254
Under contract	10	901,000	212	12	974,658	119	1	3,300,000	499
Sold 2024 to 9/6	56	836,687	113	137	1,457,299	107	12	1,402,166	147
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	28	1,535,053	146	16	6,239,187	299	1	12,000,000	372
Under contract	1	2,849,500	167	1	10,000,000	47	0	N/A	N/A
Sold 2024 to 9/6	12	1,700,000	186	6	4,453,750	150	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 Aug 30-Sep 6:

Sanibel

CONDOS

3 new listings: Mariner Pointe #321 3/2 $899K, Sanctuary Golf Villages #1-6 2/2.5 $1.148M, Sanddollar #A302 3/2 $1.9M.

1 price change: Oceans Reach #3B2 1/1 now $625K.

1 new sale: Sundial #R305 2/2 listed at $1.419M.

1 closed sale: Seashells #25 2/2 $430K.

HOMES

3 new listings: 1215 Periwinkle Way 1/1 $249.9K, 1806 Ibis Ln 3/2 $770K, 519 Kinzie Island Ct 4/3.5 $2.95M.

2 price changes: 9003 Mockingbird Dr 5/4 now $924.9K, 813 Angel Wing Dr 5/5.5 now $2,999,999.

2 new sales: 2479 Blind Pass Ct 3/2 listed at $999.9K, 668 Anchor Dr 3/2 listed at $1.545M (SanibelSusan listing).

1 closed sale: 1196 Sand Castle Rd 2/2 $725K.

LOTS

1 new listing: 4501 Waters Edge Ln $2.845M.

No price changes, new or closed sales,

Captiva

CONDOS

1 new listing: Bayside Villas #4204 1/2 $614.5K.

No price changes, new or closed sales.

HOMES

1 new listing: 16475 Captiva Dr 2/2.5 $13.99M.

1 price change: 16486/16488 Captiva Dr 8/8/5 now $12.995M.

No new sales.

1 closed sale: 11516 Andy Rosse Ln 6/6 $2M.

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