Another week of wonderful weather has flown by and here it is Easter weekend. Many islanders still are looking to spot the return of the marsh rabbits that were so plentiful on the island pre-hurricanes. I’m still watching for them but meanwhile enjoy the other colorful indicators of spring.

Local kiddos are looking forward to an event scheduled tomorrow (Saturday, April 19) at the Sanibel balls fields, next door to the school.

Gates will open at 9:30 a.m. for Sanibel’s 50^th Anniversary East Egg Hunt. There will be crafts, activities, picture-taking with the Easter Bunny, and Easter Egg drop from the sky. More details at The Rec Center.

Sanibel Stormwater Repair Project Begins

The City of Sanibel posted today that on Tuesday April 22 work will begin on the City stormwater repair project which is a component of the stormwater masterplan update. As part of the update, the stormwater system was inspected by Johnson Engineering and this project incorporates the results of those inspections and items identified by City staff.

The work consists of repairing damage to the stormwater system on Sanibel and includes, but is not limited to, sediment removal from swales and culverts, repair of catch basin inlets, and repair of pipe end treatments. This island-wide project will be carried out over several months and will be completed in areas within publicly maintained right-of-way and drainage easements. For more info, email sanpw@mysanibel.com.

Mucky Duck Update

Sometimes social media provides incorrect info, so it was nice yesterday to see a post with an update by The Mucky Duck Restaurant. It advises that they have just received their permits so restoration now may begin. In 1993, they were certified “historic” so may rebuild in basically the same footprint which is what they intend to do. The post said they are rebuilding “the way it was”. They hope to reopen by fall/next season but hope that it can be sooner. Their immediate focus is on rebuilding the foundation. The floor was ripped out months ago so now they can pour new footers and proceed. We all look forward to their successful completion and reopening!

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors

Wednesday at the Association Office, I attended the 2-hour Continuing Education Class sponsored by affiliate Attorney Gus Simmons of Simmon & Cook PLLC. Titled “A Real Estate Agent’s Guide to Florida’s Condo Safety Laws Post-Surfside”, the room was packed with both brokers and sales associates. Here are some take-aways:

After the collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside in June 2021, Florida legislature sought to limit possible future disasters by enacting requirements for stricter structural inspections for residential condo buildings and increasing the inspection frequency. The funding of repairs required following these inspections also have changed as new laws evolved.

First in May 2022, Florida Senate Bill 4-D, known as the Building Safety Act, required regular milestone inspections of buildings three stories or higher. It mandated that condo associations maintain adequate financial reserves for building maintenance and repairs. It also established a framework for reporting and addressing structural deficiencies.

It also allowed association budgets then to be adopted as normal, pushing the requirement to fully fund reserves and abide by any Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) recommendations to budgets established on or after January 1, 2025.

In June 2023, Senate Bill 154 provided more clarity, adding to the previous bill, and revising the milestone inspection requirements for condo buildings that are three or more stories. (A question was asked, “If the lower floor is garage space does that count as a floor?” The answer was “yes”.) Without getting into the nitty gritty, many island condos were required to have milestone inspections done before December 31, 2024, if they were 30 years old by that date.

In July 2024, House Bill 1021 was enacted which increased accountability for condo associations and increased DBPR’s (Department of Business & Professional Regulation) ability to address complaints.

Now, they also are to get a copy of the current inspector-prepared summary of the milestone inspection report and the association’s most recent structural integrity reserve study. Additionally, we were advised that buyers likely will request copies of meeting minutes from the last 12 months.

With many condo associations now posting this information on portals accessible only by owners, it has become important for listing agents to be provided with all of these documents when they get a condo listing. With many associations still sorting all of this out, the presenter suggested that we be proactive in getting this data so it can be shared quickly with prospective buyers. It’s a lot, but important for safety, so if you have your condo listed for sale, please be sure to provide any new info as it is provided to you. Full disclosure is important!

At the weekly Association of Realtors meeting yesterday, attendance was not as great as during the educational session, but a condo sale was announced and a West-End Caravan followed the meeting with four Sanibel homes open for easy viewing. Wink news also filmed at the meeting and then interviewed our CEO Bill Robinson.

Next Thursday as “high season” wraps up, is the April Membership Meeting with guest speaker Dr. Brad O’Connor, Florida Realtors Chief Economist. I think we’ll hear that many of the same local market problems are being experienced state-wide but stay tuned for that official update next Friday.

Real Estate Scoop

The chatter again at the meeting yesterday included: Why aren’t there more sales? Where are the buyers? Are you getting any showings? Anyone at open houses? As Bill described in his interview with Wink news, it is a buyers’ market, like in a lot of Florida – and much of the nation. We look forward to the market improving, know that it will, and agree that hurricane recovery is just taking longer than expected.

As much inventory as there is now, there are plenty of other owners waiting for the market to improve before listing. In the interim, if you want to know exactly what residential island condos, homes, and lots have sold/closed this year, the list of closings to-date from the island MLS is below.

2025 Residential Island Sales (from Sanibel & Captiva Islands MLS 4/18/2025)

Sanibel Condos:

Captains Walk #C6        $200K

Colonnades #51            $212K

Captains Walk #A2        $250K

Captains Walk #F2        $280K

Captains Walk #A4        $310K

Blind Pass #C101          $350K

Blind Pass #A106          $400K

Seashells #26               $411.5K

Sundial #F105               $475K

Sandalfoot #5B2            $575K

Cottage Colony W #139 $575K

Lighthouse Point #317   $585K

Sandalfoot #4D3           $600K

Oceans Reach #2B2     $625K

Sayana #203                 $799K

Oceans Reach #4D1     $840K

Pointe Santo #B25        $849K

Oceans Reach #1A4     $850K

Loggerhead Cay #162   $880K

Oceans Reach #4C2     $889K

Heron #1A                    $900K

Lighthouse Point #323   $905K

Oceans Reach #4C3     $910K

Loggerhead Cay #142   $962,813

Sundial #K403               $975K

Beachcomber #C201     $1M

Oceans Reach #4D2     $1.075M

Gulfside Place #209      $1.125M

Tanglewood #5A           $1.15M

Seascape #302             $1.4M

Heron #3B                    $1.45M

Sandpiper West #4        $1,967,665

Captiva Condo:

Tennis Villas #3120       $400K

Sanibel Homes:

969 Fish Crow Rd         $520K

1712 Sand Pebble Way $520K

1125 Captains Walk St  $540K

490 & 460 Old Trail Rd  $570K

209 Robinwood Cir        $585K

2105 Sunset Cir            $590K

812 Rabbit Rd               $625K

1322 Sand Castle Rd    $670K

1950 Periwinkle Way     $679.6K

3898 West Gulf Dr        $700K

2604 Coconut Dr           $725K

1866 Farm Tr                $758K

1677 Sabal Sands Rd    $775K

589 Rabbit Rd               $790K

5297 Punta Caloosa Ct $804K

4372 Gulf Pines Dr        $810K

660/664 Periwinkle Way $830K

1550 Wilton Ln              $880K

5769 San-Cap Rd         $900K

9475 Beverly Ln            $912K

1048 Fish Crow Rd        $930K

706 Nerita St                $1.149M

436 Glory Cir                $1.15M

1154 Harbor Cottage Ct $1.15M

920 Snowberry Ln         $1.19M

761 Nerita St                $1.215M

345 East Gulf Dr           $1.27M

557 Lake Murex Cir       $1.35M

229 Daniel Dr                $1.375M

862 Beach Rd               $1.44M

746 Nerita St                $1.55M

539 N Yachtsman Dr     $1.595M

815 Birdie View Pt         $1.617M

803 Lindgren Blvd         $1.655M

5250 Caloosa End Ln    $1.675M

1044 Whisperwood       $1.87M

1052 Whisperwood       $1.95M

2688 Coconut Dr           $2.348M

589 Kinzie Island Ct      $2.4M

2960 Wulfert Rd            $2.625M

5606 Baltusrol Ct          $2.9M

837 Sand Dollar Dr        $2.9M

6195 Henderson Rd      $3.3M

5045 Joewood Dr          $3.45M

6211 Starling Way         $3.475M

1083 Bird Ln                 $4.3M

4039 West Gulf Dr        $4,781,150

Captiva Home:

11527 Wightman Ln      $910K

Sanibel Lots:

466 East Gulf Dr           $775K

6015 Clam Bayou Ln     $975K

4501 Waters Edge Ln    $2.3M

Below, with data from the island MLS are summary tables of the residential sales statistics, followed by the details of the MLS action reported this week.

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity Apr 11-18

Sanibel

CONDO

4 new listings: Sanibel Moorings #811 2/2 $650K, Gulf Beach #204 2/2 $749K, Sandpiper Beach #402 2/2 $775K, Sundial #O303 2/2 $1.15M.

13 price changes: Tennisplace #B31 2/1.5 now $474K, Sanibel Moorings #212 1/1 now $489K, Blind Pass #F104 2/2 now $499K, Cottage Colony West #110 1/1 now $525K, Blind Pass #A203 3/2 now $599K, Sanibel Moorings #232 2/2 now $689K, Oceans Reach #3X1 1/1 now $699K, Sandalfoot #4D1 2/2 now $699K, Sandalfoot #1A2 2/2 now $869K, Sandalfoot #5D2 2/2 now $869K, Sundial #A308 2/2 now $869K, Sanibel Surfside #223 2/2 now $895K, Sandalfoot #5D3 2/2 now $899K.

3 new sales: Colonnades #1 1/1 listed at $239K, Sandpiper Beach #505 2/2 listed at $750K, Beachcomber #C301 2/2 listed at $1.395M.

4 closed sales: Seashells #26 2/2 $411.5K, Oceans Reach #2B2 1/1 $625K, Sayana #203 2/2 $799K, Oceans Reach #4D1 2/2 $840K.

HOMES

6 new listings: 1932 Roseate Ln 3/2 $600K, 1457 Sand Castle Rd 2/2 $619K, 910 Fitzhugh St 4/2 $629K, 9436 Kava Ct 2/2 $699K, 1890 Middle Gulf Dr 3/3 $1.495M, 2190 Camino del Mar Dr 4/3.5 $2.595M, 5751 Baltusrol Ct 3/4 $2.648M.

20 price changes: 1314 Tahiti Dr 3/2 now $639K,1978 Roseate Ln 3/2 now $749K, 974 Greenwood Ct S (1/2 duplex) 3/2.5 now $769K, 1674 Bunting Ln 3/2 now $779K, 9298 Kincaid Ct 3/2 now $820K, 9247 Dimmick Dr 3/2 now $899K, 4619 Rue Bayou 3/2 now $945K, Moonshadows #1A 3/3 now $989K, 592 Sea Oats Dr 3/2 now $1.149M, 1062 S Yachtsman Dr 3/3 now $1.299M, 3131 Twin Lakes Ln 3/2 now $1.379,997; 544 Sea Oats Dr 4/4 now $1.45M, 780 Beach Rd 3/3.5 now $1.795M, 865 Birdie View Pt 4/4.5 now $1.949M, 4988 Joewood Dr 4/4 now $2.375M, 918 Limpet Dr 4/4.5 now $2.8M, 4090 West Gulf Dr 5/3 now $2.9M, 1004 Bayview Dr 5/4 now $4.095M, 628 Lighthouse Way 4/5.5 now $4.4945M, 3611 West Gulf Dr 4/4.5 now $6.489M.

3 new sales: 575 Hideaway Ct 3/2 listed at $699K, 588 Hideaway Ct 3/2 listed at $790K, 604 Sea Oats Dr 4/3 listed at $899K.

1 closed sale: 1083 Bird Ln 4/2.5 $4.3M.

LOTS

Nothing to report.

CAPTIVA

CONDOS

1 new listing: Sunset Beach Villas #2323 1/1 $685K.

1 price change: Beach Homes #29 4/4 now $3.099M.

No new or closed sales.

HOMES

No new listings.

2 back-on-market: 16632 Captiva Dr 5/4 $6.25M, 16500 Captiva Dr 6/6.5 $7.25M.

No price changes, 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 in or participated in these transactions.

Enjoy your Easter weekend, I’ll still be watching for a bunny!