It’s SusanSusan reporting that it has been another busy holiday week on the islands. The check-ins last Saturday brought island occupancy to as close to 100% as I remember and the “day trippers” early in the week added to the traffic madness. The traffic tie-ups subsided as the week as progressed. Likely things will get back to normal tomorrow when the New Year revelers check out and head back home. Following a few general news items below is the activity posted in the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Multiple Listing Service over the past seven days.
Happenings at SanibelSusan Realty
We had a handful of showing requests this week, though not many, considering the traffic. Our colleagues report the same, indicating that many here during holidays make the trip to have fun and enjoy the islands. Experience shows that more serious lookers will be here later in the month, then it should stay hoppin’ until Easter.
Next week our Association of Realtors® is back to their Thursday morning meeting schedule (Jan 8th), following which our two new east-end listings, 9477 Peaceful Drive and Sundial Resort #R401, will be open for Realtor® Caravan from 9 a.m. until noon. 5743 Baltusrol Court will be on Caravan the following week (Jan 15th), when the tour rotates to west end.
Sanibel & Captiva Islands Real Estate Statistics
Below is a comparison of how island sales in 2014 stack up with the previous two years. Current inventory and properties under contract, but not yet closed, also are included. Real estate market recovery here continues at a nice solid pace.
SANIBEL CONDOS HOMES LOTS
Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg.
# Price DOM # Price DOM # Price DOM
Available 120 $716,119 436 152 $1,259,596 266 84 $512,690 802
Pending sales 20 $640,848 256 32 $976,767 305 6 $497,250 598
Sold/closed in:
2014 163 $653,365 287 205 $841,055 265 27 $424,198 495
2013 161 $573,557 326 197 $910,321 287 26 $416,502 475
2012 151 $551,244 407 183 $823,598 289 33 $487,687 521
CAPTIVA CONDOS HOMES LOTS
Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg. Avg.
# Price DOM # Price DOM # Price DOM
Available 37 $868,603 432 48 $3,598,835 336 7 $2,510,000 292
Pending sales 2 $640,000 24 2 $6,125,000 231 0 N/A N/A
Sold/closed in:
2014 22 $624,068 421 23 $2,826,717 364 0 N/A N/A
2013 36 $659,185 421 18 $2,522,056 355 2 $675,000 1,080
2012 35 $836,129 381 26 $1,536,019 609 3 $1,221,667 208
Island Events
If you are on island and looking for things to do, be sure and check out the additional and varied programs and events being offered this year. The “Upcoming Events” tab above brings up a calendar list. I have updated it to include the new 2015 education programs at CROW.
Upcoming Audubon lectures at The Community House will be added as they are advertised too.
Captiva Beach to Be Tilled
As part of the conditions of the beach renourishment project on Captiva that finished up last year, the renourished beach must be tilled at the end of the project and for three years after.
Tilling lessens the impact of compacted sand on sea turtle nesting and hatching activities as turtles like soft sand for digging their nests.
The first tilling was done last December at the end of the project. The next one is scheduled to begin January 5, so as not to interfere with piper plover nesting which begins February 1 and sea turtle nesting which begins May 1.
The project will do the renourished portion on Sanibel first, then move to the north end of Captiva. From there, it will work south toward Blind Pass. The entire process is expected to take just a week, working from dawn to dusk, weather permitting. Residents and beach goes are required to remove all obstructions from the beach during the process and to stay a safe distance away from the tractor which is performing the work. See more info at www.mycepd.com
Legal Hot Line Re: Full Disclosure
Florida Realtors® Legal Hot Line often posts questions and answers in their magazine. Here’s a good one from the Jan/Feb 2015 edition:
“What are the minimum facts that a seller of residential property is required to disclose to a buyer in Florida when completing a seller’s disclosure form? The Florida Supreme Court held, in Johnson vs. Davis, that a home seller who knows of facts materially affecting the value of the property, which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, is under a duty to disclose them.”
Law & Ethics
Here is some additional info from the same Florida Realtors® mag. This article is geared toward a Realtor® reader, but this info is important for Buyers and Sellers too.
“Are you the selling agent of a fully furnished home? If so, that sale may be subject to sales tax, which your broker is obligated to collect. While the sale of real property in Florida is not subject to sales tax, a sale that includes tangible personal property may be. If sales tax is due, the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) requires the seller’s broker to register as a dealer and collect and remit the tax.
“Whether sales tax is owed depends on how the transaction is structured. Sales tax is due when the personal property items, such as furniture, artwork, lamps and area rugs, are listed separately in the purchase sale contract, bill of sale or other document…A real estate broker is obligated to collect sales tax only when the tangible personal property is described and priced separately. The total sales tax collected must include both the state 6% sales tax and the applicable discretionary sales surtax, if any, levied in the county where the property is located….”
Top Real Estate Stories of 2014
From Florida Realtors® on-line:
“The real estate industry changed in 2014 – in some ways, significantly. Florida Realtors® has put together its annual recap of the top news stories that impacted Florida’s real estate….
http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/2014-Top-News-Stories.cfm “
Sanibel & Captiva Multiple Listing Service Activity December 26-January 2
Sanibel
CONDOS
4 new listings: Sanibel Arms #E7 1/1 $380K, Blind Pass #A102 2/2 $439K, Sundial #A301 2/2 $869.9K, Kings Crown #216 2/2 $940K.
1 price change: Sedgemoor #206 3/3.5 now $2.675M.
4 new sales: Sundial #D307 1/1 listed for $239K, Captains Walk #A2 1/1 listed for $245.9K, Sanctuary Golf Villages I #6 2/2.5 listed for $684K, Gulf Beach #102 2/2 listed for $749K.
1 closed sale: Sundial #G101 2/2 $420K.
HOMES
2 new listings: 1188 Harbor Cottage Ct 3/3 $945,555; 518 N. Yachtsman 3/3 $1.2M.
4 price changes: 2407 Shop Rd 2/1 now $320K, 1825 Ardsley Way 3/2 now $515K, 3168 Twin Lakes Ln 3/2 now $559K, 5076 Joewood Dr 3/2 now $949K.
3 new sales: 320 Palm Lake Dr 2/2 listed for $424K, 1130 Seagrape Ln 4/3 listed for $827K, 5721 SanCap Rd 3/3/2 listed for $1.595M.
4 closed sales: 1426 Causey Ct 3/2 $670K, 501 Sea Walk Ct 3/2 $790K, 1717 Jewel Box Dr 3/3.5 $1.7M, 1520 San Carlos Bay Dr 4/3.5 $1.92M.
LOTS
Nothing to report.
Captiva
CONDOS
Nothing to report.
HOMES
1 new listing: 16183 Captiva Dr 4/3.5 $3.995M.
No price changes.
1 new sale: 16428 Captiva Dr 7/8/2 listed for $9.5M.
No closed sales.
LOTS
1 new listing: 15879 Captiva Dr $2.995M.
No price changes, new or closed sales.
This representation is based, in whole, or in part, on data supplied by the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Association of Realtors® or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the association nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Until next Friday,
Susan Andrews, aka SanibelSusan