If you are a die-hard fisherman and you don’t live on Sanibel or Captiva Island, then what are you waiting for?

Homes couldn’t be better priced… ummm, can you say “serious buyers’ market”?  There is great inventory and, as you know, interest rates are at all-time lows.

Over this past two weeks, including the long 4th weekend, our resident “Fisherman Reporter”, Captain Bill Russell, reports that fabulous catches are being snagged early morning, before the heat and thunderstorms set in.  This summer’s been a hot one so far.

Tarpon season may be ending, but they are still plentiful, alongside 20+ inch trout, redfish, bluefish and Spanish mackerel… Amazing!

You can read all about it here: Hot Days, Few Anglers, Good Fishing

So, if you’ve been pondering a move to this one-of-a-kind fishing paradise, Sanibel and Captiva, then stop making excuses and hop on it.  We’re just a quick and friendly phone call away!

Have a great weekend,

Sandy and Rob

p.s.  Your Sanibel Beach Home Awaits…

Ok, take it for what it’s worth, but it seems that Barron’s magazine has voted us into the Top 10 locations in the U.S. for building a second home.

It quotes our median home price as being $3.5 million, but that seems a bit high for me, especially working directly with homeowners every day, and the likes of a home in that price range are few and far between.

I’m going to check our MLS numbers this week and update this post with our actual numbers, but I would probably say off the top of my head that our median home price on the Islands is more around $1-$1.5 million of late.  We’ve seen a few for more than that price range, but the median range is probably somewhere in there.

So, I guess we’re in the right spot for the future, if people should want to come and build/invest here…  but, then again, we already knew that, right?  :)

So, have a super weekend and we’ll catch up with you next week!

Sandy and Rob

p.s.  We have deals in ALL price ranges if you stop by our website at SanCap One Source today!

Yes, it’s true.  With the economy the way it is and with everyone pulling in the strings a bit, one fact remains, and that is that people still need a break from their routine in the form of a vacation, or even a mini-vacation.

So, the obvious choice for most Floridians is to see what else this great state of Florida has to offer its residents by taking a short or medium drive to somewhere they’ve never been.

Good news for us here on Sanibel and Captiva because our reputation precedes us when it comes to people looking for a fun, action-packed (or super relaxed) mini-vacation experience.

We have so much to offer people that they cannot find anywhere else, such as one of the world’s top 3 shelling locations, an incredible wildlife preserve including all of our turtle nests and one-of-a-kind bird-watching, not to mention our great land and fishing excursions.

Top restaurants, great local music scene and super friendly residents make for the perfect escape!

Now, let’s just hope that some of them love it so much that they want to move here or invest here and buy a beautiful house from Rob and I!! 

Have a great long Labor Day weekend and we’ll see you next week,

Sandy and Rob

p.s.  SanCap One Source Realty is on  the move for YOU!

You would not believe how many times a week Robert and I are asked about the “health” of the real estate market here on Sanibel and Captiva.

The truth of the matter is that prices have softened a bit, but not much!

Relative to all of Florida Real Estate and particularly in Southern Florida, we are doing pretty darn good and I’ve got the proof in the pudding to show you!

In the top half of the chart above, you can see that the price of Residential Homes have dipped a tad, especially as you look at the SP:LP ratio (Sales Price:List Price Ratio) going down from 93% to 91% from 2007 to 2008 when the recession kicked into full gear!  Two percent is not too shabby when looking at the rest of the Florida and more so, the entire country, which is in the 5-25% range!

As you can see, condos have also softened a bit, a little more than residential, going from 93% to 88.75% from 2007 to 2008.

The last column for both sections is also very telling, in that, you can see that it’s taking longer to sell each property with the average “Days On Market (DOM)” going from around 6 months (180 days) to around 8-9 months (248-278 days).

The good news is that interest rates are at an all-time low, which could be a great opportunity for the right buyer/investor.

Also, as people need to sell a property for whatever reason;  health, moving, need to invest in another venture, etc.,  it certainly never hurts to make an offer on a property that you like.  You just never know…. Times are such that the situation may work out in your favor based on the circumstances, so it never hurts to ask or make an offer!

Ok, that’s it for this week…

Hope you have a great weekend,

As promised, we want to update those folks following the Blind Pass Dredging Project on Sanibel and Captiva Islands.  We realize that this is a rare “Wednesday” post for us, but we thought of no better way to say good-bye to 2008 than to look forward to the new projects that will benefit everyone in 2009 and beyond!

As you will read below, there’s lots of activity in the area, and despite some mechanical slow-downs, great progress is being made!

I’ve included screenshots of the actual December report, page by page, just in case you were not able to download it.  But, there is definitely a link at the bottom of this post allowing you to download the entire document in PDF format if you so choose to, for your own personal use.

Here you go…

Here’s the Blind Pass Project Update link to download the above information in a PDF document.

Also, here’s the link to our original post on Blind Pass written on Nov. 14th

Robert and I want to thank you for a great year!

We’re both very excited for all of the events of 2009 to unfold and we look forward to seeing you on the “Islands”.

Happy New Year to you!! 

Yes, it’s true!  They have finally begun work on the dredging of Blind Pass, Wulfert Channel and part of Roosevelt Channel.  Wow, this was a long time in coming, but it will all be finished in less than 6 months according to the contractors.

Well, we don’t have to tell you what this means, other than cleaner waters for all of the ecosytems and habitats in the area, more recreational activities for locals and tourists alike and most importantly for our real estate business, is the appreciation in land value now that the properties in the area will all have direct access to the Gulf of Mexico…  This is excellent and we are very excited!

If you are interested in finding out more, or if you want to follow along with the progress that they are making, you can visit the Lee County website for all of the details.

Hope you have a great weekend,

Rob and Sandy

p.s.  Don’t forget to make your way over to our main website for all of your Sanibel and Captiva Island Real Estate needs.  See you soon!