Happy Friday! The “Jan/Feb 2025 Sanibel & Captiva Islands Real Estate Guide” comes out today. Our ad is above. If you’d like to see the full document, here’s a link to it on-line: https://www.sanibelrealtors.com/real-estate-guide
Island Weather
The novelty of wearing jackets and sweaters is over with the lowest temperature at my home registered both Wed and Thurs mornings at 45 degrees F. Warmed up to 47 degrees this morning.
Even so, there have been plenty of bikers and joggers in shorts with daytime temps into the breezy 60’s/low 70’s some days. Most local and visitors are thankful to be here, away from the more serious cold/white stuff up north and the terrible fire devastation in CA.
The forecast for next week is much the same as this, with most days not expected to be out of the 60’s, but with blue skies and sunshine still generating smiles.
Final Paving of Causeway
A Wed notice from Sanibel City Manager said, “Final paving of Sanibel Causeway begins tonight, Jan 8.” With details provided by the FL Dept of Transportation it continued to say that the work includes the causeway islands and bridge approaches. “Motorists should expect one lane of travel with a flagging operation during the overnight hours of 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. This work is anticipated to occur during these nighttime overnight hours through the end of January.”
My Travel Across Causeway Yesterday
I had a quick errand in Ft Myers after our Realtor Caravan Meeting yesterday. The drive turned out to not be too quick. At noon, going from the Assoc of Realtors building to the toll booth took 55 minutes (usually 15). But no workers or holdups were noticed anywhere, just continued stop-and-go traffic. Maybe that was during a worker lunch break as when I returned about 30 minutes later, there was a flagger on the Sanibel side of the toll booth and heavy equipment on the causeway with concrete side barriers being moved. Traffic was moving OK in both directions, but the City later posted a “heavy traffic advisory” for the rest of the day and evening, saying it was due to FDOT crews completing underground causeway inspections. More restoration progress!
Sanibel Natural Resources Dept Updates
Blind Pass – Also on Wed, Jan 8, the City provided an update on some post-Milton recovery efforts. Following that storm, the City’s disaster contractor Crowder Gulf removed sand from the roadway that was impacting access to/from Captiva. They have screened and stockpiled 3 to 4 thousand cubic yards of sand at Turner Beach. Now Crowder-Gulf will be removing additional sand from the right of way and returning the clean screened sand back on northern Sanibel beaches to restore critically eroded areas adjacent to the road protection wall. That work has begun and is expected to take about a week, but no lane closures are expected. Flaggers will direct traffic as equipment and sand are moved across the roadway.
Lighthouse Beach – Phase II of the City’s beach renourishment project at Lighthouse Beach resumed this week, after a holiday break. Crews will continue to place the remaining 105K tons of sand on the bayside of Lighthouse Beach Park to strengthen the beach coastline and protect the Sanibel Lighthouse. Work should be completed by mid-Feb. Both bayside parking lots are closed while the remainder of this sand is moved, but the gulf-side parking lot is open. Crews will temporarily close portions of the beach to the public while placing sand. (That work is being accomplished Mon-Fri from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
Sanibel & Captiva Islands Real Estate News
At the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors first Caravan Meeting of the year yesterday, there was chatter about the judge’s decision this week to deny the motion for the summary judgement filed and argued by Lee County and South Seas Resort. That essentially means that the total number of units at South Seas Resort remains and cannot exceed 912, or at least the county will not issue permits for more than that number. (That’s probably not the end of this issue though, some think South Seas may now apply for a zoning change to allow building higher. Stay tuned.)
We also heard that South Seas has sent existing owners notices of cancellation of their previous rental agreements. They are offering new agreements to owners who sign-up quickly, with an incentive of not requiring the $50K initial resort membership fee. The annual price to then use the resort amenities has yet to be clarified, proving again that it always pays to do your homework when signing contracts. We can help with that.
The other continued topic of conversation among colleagues was the volume of inquiries many are getting from owners looking to list. One long-timer said, “We need to start getting tough with these sellers. Many don’t recognize how much the market has changed.”
When our members get together, it also is a popular Realtor topic to ask each other about how many buyer inquiries and showings their listings are getting. Many are getting none – and have never seen a market like this. We agree and understand that frustration. Attracting potential purchasers often requires attracting their Realtor. (One listing agent recently emailed about a commission increase (to a level not seen here in many years). Another has copied that, as I received another notice this morning about a new listing offering the same.)
A pal also got them said “If we don’t have buyers, it doesn’t matter how much sellers are willing to pay us. Besides, we are obligated to introduce buyers to all the listings that match their requirements.”
During the Caravan Meeting, just one sale was announced, but there were many new listings and price reductions. Following the meeting,13 Sanibel homes and a condo were open for easy viewing. Next Wed is the Association 2025 Installation/2024 Awards Banquet. The next Caravan is in two weeks, on Thurs Jan 23.
Below, with data from the islands Multiple Listing Service (MLS) are summary tables of the residential sales statistics, followed by all the Sanibel/Captiva MLS action reported this week.
Again, this week, there were no Captiva sales, but on Sanibel five homes and one condo went under contract. Those compare to a whopping 30 new and back-on-market listings and 22 price changes.
My crystal ball says the Florida real estate market will start to stabilize this year. From the recession to the pandemic to hurricanes, to real estate rules changing nationally, there have been so many ups and downs that it will be positive to see stabilization. With election uncertainty over, many are feeling better economically, as that further improves and the islands continue to bounce back, more sales should follow. Fingers crossed (just in case).
|
SANIBEL RESIDENTIAL |
CONDOS |
HOMES |
LOTS |
||||||
|
# |
Avg Price |
DOM |
# |
Avg Price |
DOM |
# |
Avg Price |
DOM |
|
|
For sale: |
123 |
992,048 |
131 |
202 |
2,036,454 |
98 |
35 |
983,565 |
245 |
|
Under contract |
5 |
938,800 |
105 |
17 |
1,727,411 |
62 |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Sold to 1/10/25 |
1 |
1,967,665 |
397 |
5 |
1,132,400 |
37 |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Sold 2024 |
75 |
818,493 |
117 |
164 |
1,471,981 |
115 |
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: |
38 |
1,288,815 |
174 |
21 |
6,025,095 |
157 |
1 |
12M |
498 |
|
Under contract |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
1 |
999,999 |
34 |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Sold to 1/10/25 |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Sold 2024 |
13 |
1,728,846 |
185 |
8 |
4,887,187 |
182 |
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 Jan 3-10:
Sanibel
CONDOS
7 new listings: Sundial #F105 1/1 $499K, Sandpiper Beach #505 2/2 $750K, Oceans Reach #2B2 1/1 $789K, Oceans Reach #4C2 2/2 $989K, Sealoft Village #105 2/2 $995K, Lighthouse Point #323 3/2 $1.025M, Beachcomber #D201 3/2 $1.125M.
1 back-on-market: Somerset #D201 3/2.5 $1.725M.
3 price changes: Captains Walk #A2 1/1 now $250K, Tantara #202 2/2 now $895K, Nutmeg Village #211 2/2 now $990K.
1 new sale: Tanglewood #5A 3/2 listed at $1.149M.
1 closed sale: Sandpiper West #4 3/2.5 $1,967,655.
HOMES
12 new listings: 1315 Par View Dr 3/2 $999K, 1925 Roseate Ln 2/2 $999,900; 971 Main St 3/2 $1.149M, 1113 Sand Castle Rd 3/2 $1.149M, 4619 Rue Bayou 3/2 $1.195M, 3131 Twin Lakes Ln 3/2 $1,419,999; 640 Periwinkle Way 3/2 $1.449M, 3711 Agate Ct 3/2.5 $1.449M, 5243 Indian Ct 2/2 $1.689M, 930 Kings Crown Dr 4/3 $2.4M, 1730 Jewel Box Dr 4/3 $3.8M, 3611 West Gulf Dr 4/4.5 $6.995M.
3 back-on-market: 220 Palm Lake Dr 3/3 $1,199,999; 978 Oyster Ct 4/4 $2.749M, 4513 Waters Edge Ln 3/2.5 $5.45M.
13 price changes: 209 Robinwood Cir 3/2 now $629K, 1322 Sand Castle Dr 3/2 now $699K, 2105 Sunset Cir 3/2 now $699K, 1846 Farm Trail 3/2 now $875K, 588 Hideaway Ct 3/2 now $890K, 1677 Sabal Sands Rd 3/2 now $895K, 9247 Dimmick Dr 3/2 now $949K, 560 Boulder Dr 3/2 now $995K, 1048 Fish Crow Rd 3/2 now $1.199M, 5300 Umbrella Pool 3/3 now $1.325M, 1311 Par View Dr 3/3 now $1.35M, 1310 Par View Dr 3/3 now $1.45M, 1985 Wild Lime Dr 3/2 now $1.689M.
5 new sales: 3898 West Gulf Dr 3/2 listed at $795K, 557 Lake Murex Cir 3/2.5 listed at $1.44M, 746 Nerita St 4/2 listed at $1.595M, 1870 Woodring Rd 3/3.5 listed at $2.498M, 2960 Wulfert Rd 5/5.5 listed at $2.989M.
4 closed sales: 490 & 460 Old Trail Rd 3/3 $570K, 2604 Coconut Dr 3/2 $725K, 761 Nerita St 3/2 $1.215M, 2688 Coconut Dr 3/2 $2.348M.
LOTS
2 new listings; 1377 Jamaica Dr $425K, 460 Sawgrass Pl $925K.
1 back-on-market: 2807 West Gulf Dr $819K.
No price changes, new or closed sales.
CAPTIVA
CONDOS
No new listings.
1 back-on-market: Lands End Village #1650 3/3 $2.399M.
3 price changes: Tennis Villas #3135 1/1 now $429K, Tennis Villas #3132 2/2 now $699K, Gulf Beach Villas #2011 1/1 now $710K.
No new or closed sales.
HOMES
2 new listings: 15161 Captiva Dr 4/4.5 $6.495M, 16500 Captiva Dr 6/6.5 $8.495M.
1 back-on-market: 16632 Captiva Dr 5/4 $6.25M.
3 price changes: 58 Sandpiper Ct 3/2 now $1.525M, 11550 Paige Ct 5l5.5.5 now $6.5M, 16979 Captiva Dr 7/7.5 now $7.5M.
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.


On the plus side, more vegetation that survived the recent storms is greening up. This month marks 33 years since my family moved to Sanibel, but I don’t think I will ever get used to seeing tropical growth and flowering over the holidays.
It was chilly this morning (50’s) but up to 75 mid-afternoon. Tomorrow (Sat) reports are that temps may not get out of the 60’s but warmer weather is expected again Sun and Mon, or until another cold front arrives early Tues. After that, forecasters say nighttime temps will be in the 40’s, with days only in the 60’s, through next week and into next weekend.
As far as Multiple Listing Service activity, it was another week with many more new and back-on-market listings and price reductions (37 in total). This compares to just five new sales. There again were none on Captiva. On Sanibel, no new lot sales, but three homes and two condos went under contract.
Sanibel
Enjoy your weekend,
It was a quiet Christmas week here on sunny Sanibel. With roadways often vehicle-free and most gulf-front accommodations still not open, the contractor vehicles seem to outnumber the holiday visitors. Now that FEMA-funded debris removal is over and Lighthouse Beach has reopened, there is continued evidence of storm recovery progress, albeit slowly. Seeing 2024 in the rear view mirror will be a plus!
Meanwhile, southwest Florida weather remains some of the best in the nation. Daytime temperatures have been in the mid-70’s (degrees F) with colder days not forecast until after the New Year. The few bikers and joggers are usually in shorts, while we locals enjoy the rare use of our sweaters and jackets. It has been a little overcast today, but 78 degrees mid-afternoon.
Re-opening & Holiday Sightings
The local Association of Realtors did not meet this week, but it was great last Saturday to see many colleagues at the Celebration of Life for our Realtor pal, Mary Lou Bailey. The stories shared and memories highlighted were a tribute to her island success for more than 45 years.
Happy New Year!
On the causeway islands, it was a change this week to see many of the concrete construction barricades lining the roadway being moved. Those areas still are under construction and not accessible, but newly installed wooden stakes and grass edging now give a glimpse of how those islands may look eventually.
BIG ARTS Holiday Family Film – This free event to see the movie “The Polar Express” in the BIG ARTS Christensen Performance Hall is Monday, Dec 23 at 6:30 p.m. For tickets, visit
Christmas Eve service will be held outside at 6 p.m. with holiday music beginning at 5:30.
At the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors last 2024 membership meeting yesterday, guest speaker John Lai from the islands Chamber of Commerce provided updates on recovery, tourism, accommodations, and island promotion.
Looking to 2025, John encouraged attendees to register for the Chamber’s upcoming State of the Islands breakfast event which will be Jan 22 at the Mariott Sanibel Harbor Resort and Spa. With a variety of speakers, it will highlight the Economic Outlook. This is the second year for this event. Next year, it will be back on island.
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas!
Special Island-Wide Roadside Cleanup – tomorrow, Saturday, Dec 14 from 9 to 11 a.m. the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s Coastal Watch in partnership with the City of Sanibel has organized an event, as part of Sanibel’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. Participants will work in designated areas focusing on clearing debris from roadways, conservation land adjacent to roadways, and right-of-way areas.
Expanded Holiday Hours at Tarpon Bay Explorers – The Refuge concession at Tarpon Bay will be open every day from Friday, Dec 20, until Saturday, Jan 4. Kayak tours will be available throughout the day (times vary according to tides). Tram tours will run Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. For those that like exploring on their own, bike rentals also are available.
I hope you Friday the 13th was lucky & that you enjoy your weekend,
Luminary Festival – After a 2-year storm delay, Sanibel’s Luminary Stroll is back – tonight from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Tomorrow at the same time is the Captiva Stroll.
including a Kids Fun Run at the Community Park. Later tomorrow evening, a beach concert and fireworks will be at Tween Waters Resort & Spa on Captiva.
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.
Enjoy your weekend,

Last weekend, I had dinner with a couple of long-time friends, fellow altos from the BIG ARTS Community Chorus. Between the pandemic and hurricanes, we haven’t been singing or together in several years, so it was great fun catching up. Unlike the restaurant yesterday, Traders continues to serve consistently wonderful meals – and their lobster bisque is still terrific.
Captiva Tree Lighting Celebration – is tonight from 5 to 9 p.m. at Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa.
Commerce is hosting its 36th annual Luminary Festival next weekend, Friday, Dec 6 on Sanibel and Saturday, Dec 7 on Captiva. The Luminary Strolls (from 5:30 to 9 p.m.) are island-wide holiday events that bring together residents, visitors, businesses, and organizations promoting goodwill and community spirit. As you stroll the luminary trails, look for many fun places to stop and enjoy. There are music and activities for the entire family, including a live nativity and photo opportunities.
Sanibel
It is time for another Friday update. This one with more positive news about island restoration efforts. Photo above taken this afternoon at the park at the end of Dixie Beach Blvd. The osprey on the platform is probably watching for lunch!
Vacation Rental Scoop – Local vacation rental managers advise that they already are getting bookings from new winter visitors. Many who usually stay further north in Florida and elsewhere have had their reservations cancelled due to storm damage and are looking instead to come to Sanibel and Captiva. I bet when those newcomers discover what a wonderful place the islands are, they will not want to go back to more congested areas. Fingers crossed that they love it here and also decide to purchase!
At SanibelSusan Realty – We posted a new commercial condo listing this week, Lime Tree Center #2 which is 1200 sq. ft. and all new inside. Conveniently located at 1640 Periwinkle Way, this unit offers great office space in a handy central island location, wiith parking just outside the front door. (Priced at $424K)

Yesterday at home, LCEC did my disconnect and Sanibel Air & Electric was on it at the crack of dawn, replacing and adding new equipment. Power was restored late yesterday which will ensure dry out is complete and repair work more comfortable. (I can’t praise this company and its employees enough. Having used them personally and recommended them for years, they honestly are the most professional caring bunch. Please be sure and use locals like Sanibel Air & Electric if you need services. Businesses here need your support now, more than ever.)

Held this afternoon at City Hall under generator power, Mayor Johnson, Councilmembers DeBruce, Henshaw, and Smith were in attendance and all spoke. Restoration updates also were provided by City Manager Souza, Acting Police Chief Thompson, Island Water’s Diana Wilson and Tricia Dorn from LCEC. Some points below
Of course, the islands Association of Realtors office has been closed, but business continues. I received a new signed listing Tuesday but was waiting for the storm to pass before getting key/pictures/posting.