Happy New Year to all and we hope you had a fantastic holiday season! This January will be a month of big change. It will bring in a new president; and along with it comes high hopes for change in the Country, the economy, and our industry...Real Estate. Time will tell, so let's wait and see....
 
We're often asked how the Real Estate market is doing on Sanibel and Captiva, and we honestly have to reply "fine", as it truly is. The Islands are a very different "micro-market" than the rest of Lee County and to a great extent most of SW Florida, or even Florida. Sure it has "softened" a bit, but nothing compared to the rest of SWFL. Back in February, the New York Times was quoted, as saying that Sanibel and Captiva are "The Two Ports of Stability in Florida Real Estate" and we still believe that to be true. So how good are we doing? Well, you can see for yourself. As an example, you can see the Sanibel residential market (not condo) has softened about 6.5% from the past three years, and the condo market is pretty much following the residential with a 7.6% softening from the previous year. Where you see a big disparity is in the number of units sold and the "days on market" or DOM, with both markets averaging ¾ of a year before sale.

  Year   # List      Total Sold         Average       SP:LP     Average
            sold       $ Volume         Sale Price                       DOM
2003    187   $120,700,966      $645,460        N/A          209
2004    205   $131,435,633      $641,149        94.5%     202
2005    232   $175,973,630      $758,507        95.5%     146
2006    143   $123,976,943      $866,972        95%        116
2007      87     $68,090,000      $782,644        93%        170
2008      94     $67,951,600      $722,889        88.7%     278

Actually, I'm pretty impressed by these numbers and feel confident things will only get better. Heck, with the incredible interest rates as they are...and coupled with some great prices we are seeing, no better time than the present to make Sanibel or Captiva your home, second home, or investment. What Robert and I are telling our buyers is quite simply this..."don't be embarrassed to MAKE AN OFFER!" Offer what YOU feel it is worth to YOU, regardless of the market, the economy, or whatever, is doing. We have seen some amazing deals happen lately. You never know why someone wants or has to sell, and your offer may trigger that sale in YOUR favor.