Even better news is that this is the first hurricane season in ten years without a storm in the Gulf or making landfall in the U.S. That seems to have already prompted more real estate activity. Inventory is shifting, pricing are changing, more new listings are coming on the market, and our phones are ringing. Hooray!

Winter Wonderland Festival of Trees

To raise funds to support affordable housing on the islands CHR (Community Housing & Resources) is presenting this event today and tomorrow (November 22) at The Community House on Sanibel. Today until 8 p.m. Community Day offers a variety of family-friendly activities plus viewing of the 20 trees and 18 wreaths decorated by community members, non-profits, and business owners. Tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m. there will be a ticketed social event with live and silent auctions for the trees/wreaths, plus paddle raise-up. For tickets to the Saturday event, visit https://sancapchr.org/festival-of-trees/.

More Openings & Special Offerings 

With accommodation reservations down, social media has exploded with ads from many providers offering discounts, free days, and other benefits for booking with them.

Casa Ybel Resort – Casa Ybel Resort manager JR posted a video saying that after three years, they have reopened – refreshed, reimagined, and ready to welcome visitors.

Island Time Wine – Island Time Wine at The Island Center, Unit #4, 2407 Periwinkle Way, had their ribbon-cutting and Grand Opening this week. This new boutique shop offers a 2000-bottle selection and also themed tastings and workshops.

Sanibel Island Golf Club – Under new ownership and following improvements, Sanibel Island Golf Club recently reopened their front nine to the public. Fancy new golf carts are available too.

Sundial Beach Resort & Spa – for 2026 bookings made before December 3, 2025, Sundial is offering 25% off and stays include their breakfast buffets.

Predictions for 2026

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) Annual Meeting was last week, this year in Houston. My friend and Florida’s own Christine Hansen with C21 Hansen Realty in Fort Lauderdale is NAR 2026 President-Elect.

In addition to committee and business meetings, their Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun made some real estate predictions.

·        A 14% increase with home sales in 2026.

·        New home sales also projected to rise 5% next year.

·        Prices expected to climb 4% in 2026, supported by job growth and persistent supply shortages.

·        Mortgage rates should average around 6%, down from roughly 6.7% overall average this year.

North Sanibel Beach Renourishment Project Begins Monday

Next week, the City is starting a beach renourishment project designed to strengthen and protect the Sanibel shoreline between Blind Pass and the western edge of Bowman’s Beach Park. It will place about 300K cubic yards of new sand along the northern stretch of the island, covering the area from near the former Mad Hatter Restaurant to the western edge of Bowman’s Beach The sand will be collected from a hopper dredge from a state-approved offshore sand source located about 8.3 nautical miles west of Captiva.

Once the new sand is in place, crews will install native dune vegetation to stabilize the dunes and support wildlife. Work is expected to begin Monday, November 24 with the contractor working 24/7 to shorten construction time and minimize disruptions. Barring any weather or equipment delays, it is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The staging area will be at the former Castaways property on San-Cap Rd, plus the Blind Pass Beach Park parking lot which is closing tonight.

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Real Estate News

Yesterday, the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association Realtors had their monthly membership meeting. It had more attendees than I remember at any meeting since before the 2022 hurricane – standing room only. Guest speaker was John Talmage, Director of the Lee County Economic Development Office. His comments overall were very positive. Some included:

·        Lee County has 861K year-‘round residents, that number is expected to reach 1M in six years.

·        Lee County also has the most seasonal homes in the U.S. In 2^nd place is Cape Cod, followed by Naples.

·       “Bones of recovery are finally here”

·        $10B are invested today in Lee County

·        The County has ten new schools, and 11 health-care facilities.

·        He considers Lee County to be the R&D Center for hurricane hardening.

Following the guest speaker, the Caravan Meeting included announcements of three new sales, plus 10 Sanibel East-End homes were open and available for easy viewing.

Looking at the SanCap MLS, since last Friday, eight new Sanibel sales have been posted:  four condos, three homes, and a lot. None on Captiva.

During the same time, there were a whopping 21 new listings and 26 price changes.

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 Nov 14-21

Sanibel

CONDOS

4 new listings: Sundial #F305 1/1 $465K, Mariner Pointe #1083 2/2 $549K, Blind Pass #G205 2/2 $649K, Wedgewood #303 3/3.5 $2.5M.

6 price changes: Spanish Cay #A3 1/1 now $380K, Sanibel Moorings #1412 1/1 now $450K, Loggerhead Cay #264 2/2 now $849K, Kings Crown #212 2/2 now $875K, Sunward #102 2/2 now $995K, Sanctuary Golf Villages 1 #1-2 3/3 now $1.095M.

4 new sales: Mariner Pointe #312 2/2 listed at $399K (SanibelSusan listing), Lighthouse Point #319 2/2 listed at $599K, Coquina Beach #F3 2/2 listed at $749K, Sandalfoot #5D3 2/2 listed at $879K.

2 closed sales: Mariner Pointe #1023 2/2 $425K, Sealoft Village #105 2/2 $883,750.

HOMES

11 new listings: 740 Elinor Way 2/2 $899K 611 North Yachtsman Dr 3/2 $949K, 731 Durion Ct 3/2 $999K, 1010 Kings Crown Dr 3/3 $1.05M, 1264 Par View Dr 3/2 $1.147M, 1076 Captains Walk St 2/2 $1.25M, 1987 My Tern Ct 3/2.5 $1.495M, 734 Sand Dollar Dr 3/3.5 $1.595M, 460 East Gulf Dr 3/2.5 $2.295M, 4383 Gulf Pines Dr 5/4.5 $2.498M, 4725 Rue Belle Mer 4/4.5 $7,495M.

17 price changes: 1444 Sandpiper Cir (1/2 duplex) 2/2 now $487K, 4560 Brainard Bayou Rd 3/2 now $624K, 490 Marian Rd 2/2 now $699K, 1390 Middle Gulf Dr #E (1/2 duplex) 3/3 now $724.9K, 486 Lake Murex Cir 3/2 now $749K, 421 Lake Murex Cir 3/2 now $749K, 771 Rabbit Rd (1/2 duplex) 2/2 now $789K, 838/840 Rabbit Rd (multi-family) 4/2 now $799K, 1105 Skiff Pl 4/3 now $860K, 4245 Gulf Pines Dr 3/2 now $1.079M, 645 Pine Ave 3/3 now $1.275M, 330 East Gulf Dr 3/2 now $1.375M, 4353 Gulf Pines Dr 3/2.5 now $1.45M, 706 Gopher Walk Way 3/4 $1.693M, 6440 Pine Ave 3/3.5.5 now $1.785M, 970 Victoria Way 3/3.5 now $2.29M, 848 Angel Wing Dr 4.4,5 now $2.85M.

3 new sales: 355 East Gulf Dr 3/2 listed at $1.15M, 1890 Middle Gulf Dr 3/3 listed at $1.495M, 1674 Sabal Palm Dr 3/4 listed at $1.999M.

4 closed sales: 653 Oliva St 3/2 $575K, 984 Black Skimmer Way 3/2 $800K, 1714 Atlanta Plaza Dr 4/3 $961,714; 213 Daniel Dr 4/3 $1.34M.

LOTS

3 new listings: 2372 Wulfert Rd $345K, 524 Lagoon Dr $549K, 466 East Gulf Dr $795K.

No price changes.

1 new sale: 4801 Tradewinds Dr listed at $1.2M.

No closed sales.

CAPTIVA

CONDOS

3 new listings: Tennis Villas #3224 1/1 $330K, Tennis Villas #3234 2/2 $749K, Gulf Beach Villas #2111 2/2 $1.15M.

No price changes, new, or closed sales.

HOMES

No new listings.

3 price changes: 16309 Captiva Dr 6/4.5 now $4.75M, 16979 Captiva Dr 7/7.5 now $4.9M, 941 South Seas Plantation Dr 3/3.5 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 in or participated in these transactions.

Enjoy your weekend & upcoming Thanksgiving holiday,

Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan