After a quick shower Wednesday, a breezy cool front arrived on the islands with temperatures dipping into the low 40’s (degrees F) Thursday morning. Thankfully, it warmed up today, so that chill was short lived.
Last Friday, Sanibel Luminary was a big success. Islanders were thrilled to have this annual event return after missing it the last two years. The weather was delightful. Many businesses and organizations went all out with decorations, music, festivities, food, family activities, sales, and more. Kudos also to Kiwanis members who handled distributing the luminary bags. They were out early and plentiful, lining the Periwinkle shared-use paths from Tarpon Bay Rd to the East End shops.
On Saturday morning, the F.I.S.H. Jog N Jam reported a record number of runners. I saw a few local Realtors were in the 5K including Kerri Maw, Mary Bondurant, Joel Goodman, and Kelly Huguenin. The later evening beach concert and fireworks on Captiva at Tween Waters also were well attended and another win.
Congratulations to the many supporters and volunteers that made these events possible. As community spirit here thrives and grows, these were more steps in returning to normalcy.
Upcoming Island Events
Holiday Movie Night on the Lawn – tonight, Friday, Dec 13 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on the grounds of the Sanibel School. Hosted by the school PTA, it is free and open to the public, featuring a showing of “Arthur Christmas”, along with food truck offerings and concessions. Bring your own chairs/blankets. The movie begins at 6 p.m.
Arts & Crafts Fair – Sunday, Dec 15 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sanibel Community House. Free admission and parking.
Guided Native Vegetation & Landscaping Tours – at Sanibel City Hall resumed this month. Though City Hall grounds were damaged from Ian and recent storms, its ongoing garden recovery provides an opportunity to view groundcover, shrubs, and trees that require little maintenance and are well adapted to Sanibel’s unique environmental conditions. Scheduled through the end of April, these walking tours begin at 9 a.m. in front of the main entrance to City Hall. Registration is not required. The next ones are Saturday. Dec 28, and Wednesday, Jan 8.
Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors
Superior Title of Sanibel team, Chelsea, Amanda, & Dustyn
There was no Realtor Caravan Meeting this week, but Tuesday, Superior Title of Sanibel hosted a “Lunch & Learn” at the Association Office where Old Republic Title provided a 2-hour continuing-education class on “Fraud and Scams Affecting Real Estate Transactions”. The event was delayed 30 minutes by an accident on the causeway that backed up on-coming island traffic for miles. The delay provided more networking time for the early birds. Well attended by both sales associates and brokers, there was commiseration about the shortage of buyers, showings, and sales. But there was optimism that the market would improve as the islands further recover, accommodations become available, and visitors come back.
One important class take-away is for us to remind buyers and sellers that SanibelSusan Realtors will never provide wiring instructions. Those always come from the title company. Superior Title of Sanibel holds our escrow deposits. We have a long successful relationship with them.
So, if you ever receive an email about a change in wiring instructions, talk to the title company personally, before sending any money. Be aware that title companies rarely, if ever, change their wiring instructions.
Anther tidbit: Did you know that today most of the crooks successfully stealing proceeds from fraudulent transactions are in Nigeria and the money is funneled to terrorists? It totals billions of dollars a year.
We all can always be more careful when responding to emails, texts, and calls. With AI, any email may be polished to appear “real”. Always be on the lookout for red flags in any unexpected correspondence.
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 the Sanibel/Captiva MLS action reported this week.
Again, this week, there were more new listings and price reductions than sales, but it was good to see a few sales. No sales on Captiva, and no condo or lot sales on Sanibel, but seven Sanibel homes have gone under contract since last Friday – a huge improvement over last week.
On the commercial side, the former gas station at 1067 Bailey Rd on the corner of Periwinkle, near the 4-way stop is again under contract (third time). The asking price is $2.5M.
| SANIBEL
RESIDENTIAL |
CONDOS | HOMES | LOTS | ||||||
| # | Avg Price | DOM | # | Avg Price | DOM | # | Avg Price | DOM | |
| For sale: | 102 | 951,916 | 137 | 163 | 2,034,405 | 101 | 30 | 1,029,993 | 256 |
| Under contract | 7 | 1,144,857 | 110 | 11 | 1,268,909 | 16 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| Sold to 12/13/24 | 71 | 878,446 | 122 | 161 | 1,479,192 | 116 | 15 | 1,403,533 | 192 |
| 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: | 35 | 1,182,742 | 156 | 20 | 6,882,650 | 251 | 1 | 12M | 470 |
| Under contract | 0 | N/A | N/A | 2 | 5,499,999 | 40 | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| Sold to 12/13/24 | 13 | 1,728,846 | 185 | 7 | 4,203,214 | 185 | 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 Dec 6-13:
CONDOS
2 new listings: Blind Pass #A106 2/2 $435K, Sanctuary Heron #III-3A 3/2.5 $1.35M.
1 back-on-market: Sanibel Moorings #1112 2/2 $949K.
1 price change: Donax Village #19 2/2 now $589K.
No new sales.
1 closed sale: Sanibel Siesta #804 2/2 $736K.
HOMES
9 new listings: 2115 Sunset Cir 3/2 $625K, 1657 Atlanta Plaza Dr 3/2 $749K, 660/664 Periwinkle Way (duplex) 4/2.5.5 $869K, 662 Donax St 2/2.5 $995K, 575 Hideaway Ct 3/2 $999K, 706 Nerita St 3/2.5 $1.195M, 799 Birdie View Pt 3/3 $1.649M, 5753 Pine Tree Dr 3/4 $1.695M, 1290 Bay Dr 3/2 $3.85M.
2 back-on-market: 9226 Kincaid Ct 3/2 $879.9K, 2960 Wulfert Rd 5/5.5 $2.989M.
7 price changes: 2105 Sunset Cir 3/2 now $744K, 4660 Brainard Bayou Rd 3/2 now $895K, 2441 Shop Rd 4/3.5 now $929K, 1018 S Yachtsman Dr 3/3 now $1.079M, 1646 Middle Gulf Dr 3/3 now $1.195M, 4752 Rue Helene 2/2 now $1.25M, 811 Birdie View Pt 3/2.5 now $1.595M.
7 new sales: 567 Rabbit Rd 2/2 listed at $798K, 2604 Coconut Dr 3/2 listed at $800K, 761 Nerita St 3/2 listed at $1.179M, 345 East Gulf Dr 3/2.5 listed at $1.399M, 862 Beach Rd 3/2 listed at $1.449M, 229 Daniel Dr 4/3 listed at $1.45M, 2688 Coconut Dr 3/2 listed at $2.395M.
No closed sales.
LOTS
No new listings, price changes, or new sales.
1 closed sale: 4657 Rue Belle Mer $3.05M.
CAPTIVA
CONDOS
Nothing to report.
HOMES
2 new listings: 11523 Andy Rosse Ln 5/6.5 $5.2M, 944 South Seas Plantation Rd 3/3 $5.95M.
2 price changes: 11505 Gore Ln 6/6 now $3.795M, 16512 Captiva Dr 7/5.5 now $9.45M.
No new or closed sales.
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.
Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan