On Sunny Sanibel, Royal Poinciana Are Blooming

As more Sanibel and Captiva bright sunshiny days have continued, traffic is down considerably – an obvious sign that snowbirds are departing and visitor occupancy is down. That usually continues until summer vacations begin.

Forecasters are predicting that Florida may receive some much-needed rain this weekend. They say the odds of showers here are 50% on Sunday. Fingers crossed that we get some.

On the critter front, sea turtle nesting season began April 15 (through October). With 700+nests usually recorded on the 18 miles of beaches here, SCCF (Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation) sea turtle volunteers are out daily recording turtle activity. Last I heard, the turtles didn’t get the memo, as no nests have yet been spotted.

On the causeway islands, SCCF also is looking for weekend and holiday volunteers to educate visitors about the least terns that nest there in the summer. These are state-threatened birds with over 200 nests recorded on the islands last year. Least terns are colonial nesters, meaning they nest in large groups as a strategy to protect eggs and deter predators. These migratory seabirds arrive to Southwest Florida in April and depart in August, and they require large, open areas to nest.

This week, I saw only my 2^nd squirrel on the island (in my 34 years living here). It was on my street too. But surprise, surprise, yesterday when teammate Dave was opening our new Gulf Shores listings in Gulf Shores for Realtor Caravan, he spotted one on a tree, looking at him.

I am still on the lookout for bunnies (missing them since 2022) but have recently enjoyed seeing many osprey and their young in their nests and hearing their high-pitched calls.

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors

Yesterday was the last Realtor Association weekly Caravan meeting until fall. (Through the summer, there will be two Caravan Meetings a month.)

Guest speaker was Sanibel City Councilor Holly Smith. Holly is President this year of Florida League of Cities which was formed in 1922 to represent the 411 cities, towns, and villages in Florida. Holly is the first Prez from SW FL in all these years. As former Sanibel Mayor, Vice Mayor, and now Councilor she always has islanders at heart. She updated us on what is happening with Florida legislature which like much of politics these days is pretty difficult to predict. A special session may yet occur to cover real estate tax bill recommendations.

During the Caravan segment of the meeting, though Realtor attendance was good, not a single new sale was announced. That is discouraging, though not such a surprise with the island so quiet. There were some sales posted in MLS since last week, more on that below.

The next Caravan meeting is May 14.

Island Real Estate Scoop

Looking at the residential real estate activity posted in the SanCap MLS, since last Friday, there have been 13 new sales posted: six Sanibel homes, five Sanibel condos, and two Captiva condos.

During the same time, there were eight new residential listings and 25 price changes.

With the first four months of 2026 over, many listing expired at the end of April which resulted in inventory going down a bit. Today on Sanibel, there are 173 condos, 198 homes, and 55 vacant lots for sale. At the current rate of sales, that is 16 months of condo inventory, eight months of homes, and two-plus years of residential lots. Typically, the real estate market doesn’t pick up here again until early fall, but with restoration still underway in many communities, we are optimistic that sales will continue this summer.

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 Residential	CONDOS			HOMES				LOTS
	#	Avg Price	DOM	#	Avg Price	DOM		#	Avg Price	DOM
For sale	173	962,059	204	198	1,606,299	156		55	1,417,889	291
Under contract	20	1,062,277	178	40	1,817,237	132		2	7,399,500	247
Sold to 5/1/2026	44	794,333	179	100	1,606,387	153		8	521,750	221
Sold 2025	104	755,564	153	159	1,291,016	140		7	952,857	252
Sold 2024	75	818,493	117	165	1,472,757	114		15	1,403,533	192
Sold 2023	98	955,261	65	263	1,267,390	73		24	920,645	76

CAPTIVA Residential	CONDOS			HOMES			LOTS
	#	Avg Price	DOM	#	Avg Price	DOM	#	Avg Price	DOM
For sale	49	1,559,487	194	29	6,382,120	272	3	10,166,666	534
Under contract	3	858,333	51	0	N/A	N/A	0	N/A	N/A
Sold to 5/1/2026	13	956,451	153	5	3,815,000	257	0	N/A	N/A
Sold 2025	16	931,187	214	12	2,480,375	90	0	N/A	N/A
Sold 2024	13	1,728,846	185	8	4,887,187	182	0	N/A	N/A
Sold 2023	17	834,176	98	17	2,716,647	70	0	N/A	N/A

Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service Activity Apr 24-May 1

Sanibel

CONDOS

4 new listings: Sandpebble #4C 2/2 $520K, Donax Village #19 2/2 $649K, Seawind #A101 2/2.5 $699K, Coquina Beach #2C 2/2 $1.035M.

8 price changes: Spanish Cay #F2 1/1 now $350K, Lighthouse Point #216 2/2 now $599.7K, Lighthouse Point #214 3/2 now $639K, Kings Crown #213 2/2 now $799K, Sunset South #3D 2/2 now $850K, Pointe Santo #D6 2/2 now $895K, Sunset South #5C 2/2 now $1.399M, Sundial #O306 2/2 now $1.75M.

5 new sales: Sandalfoot #2C2 2/2 listed at $675,555; Sunset South #12C 2/2 listed at $800K, Sanctuary Golf Villages #1-PH5 listed at $995K, Gulfside Place #210 2/2 listed at $1.265M, Island Beach Club #P5D 2/2 listed at $1.495M.

4 closed sales: Captains Walk #E2 2/1.5 $295K, Sundial #C307 1/1 $475K, Lighthouse Point #315 3/2 $650K, Sanddollar #B303 3/2 $1.4M.

HOMES

3 new listings: 589 Rabbit Rd 2/2 $799K, 207 Daniel Dr 3/2 $1.19M, 1406 Sanderling Ci 3/2 $1.425M.

1 back-on-market: 734 Anchor Dr 3/2 $995K.

11 price changes: 1457 Sand Castle Rd 2/2 now $499K, 4619 Rue Bayou 3/2 now $799K, 1167 Sand Castle Rd 3/2.5 now $834K, 513 Rabbit Rd 3/2 now $839K, 1113 Sand Castle Rd 3/2 now $899K, 1076 Captains Walk St 2/2 now $1.099M, 2667 Coconut Dr 3/3 now $1.775M, 1490 Middle Gulf Dr 3/4.5 now $1.995M, 896 Limpet Dr 3/3 now $2.295M, 1543 San Carlos Bay Dr 5/4 now $2.399M, 1581 San Carlos Bay Dr 4/3.5 now $2.999M.

6 new sales: 887 Casa Ybel Rd (multi-family) 5/4 listed at $699K, 1105 Skiff Pl 4/3 listed at $699K, 3351 Barra Cir 3/2.5 listed at $1.299M, 779 Pyrula Ave 4/2.5 listed at $1.3M, 2179 Starfish Ln 3/3.5 listed at $1.499M, 5703 San-Cap Rd 3/2.5 listed at $1.65M.

6 closed sales: 4560 Brainard Bayou Rd 3/2 $545K, Moonshadows #1A 3/3 $590K, 941 Pecten Ct 3/2 $1.435M, 5750 San-Cap Rd 3/2 $1.71M, 1517 Sand Castle Rd 4/2.5 $1.735M, 918 Limpet Dr 4/4.5 $2.2M.

LOTS

No new listings.

1 price change: 1331 Par View Dr now $445K.

No new or closed sales.

1 new listing: Lands End Village #1638 3/3 $3.495M.

4 price changes: Tennis Villas #3132 2/2 now $634K, Lands End Village #1659 2/2 now $1.149M, Lands End Village #1647 2/2 now $1.375M, Beach Homes #27 5/4.5 now $4.495M.

2 new sales: Bayside Villas #4122 1/2 listed at $295K, Sunset Beach Villas #2216 1/1 listed at $585K.

1 closed sale: Gulf Beach Villas #2004 2/2 $975K.

HOMES

No new listings.

1 price change: 16632 Captiva Dr 4/5 now $5.699M.

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,

Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan