SanibelSusan Realty Associates

2242 Periwinkle Way, Suite 3 at Sanibel Square, Sanibel Island, FL  33957

Phone: 239-472-HOME (4663)

Fax: 239-472-4673

Toll Free:  888-603-0603

E-mail: Susan@SanibelSusan.com

Go back to Our Listings

3 closed sales: 710 Donax St 2/2 $380K (our seller), 3987 Coquina Dr 3/2 $494K, 1386 Sand Castle Rd 3/2 $500K.

LOTS

3 new listings: 355 Cowry Ct $295K (short sale), 513 Seawalk Ct $357K, 4415 Gulf Pines Dr $449K.

No price changes, new or closed sales.

8/20/2010

If we thought last week was quiet, it didn't hold a candle to this week. No Realtor Caravan yesterday & very little real estate action. Today one of the island rental managers told me that of the nearly 200 units in their rental program, there only are 15 check-ins tomorrow. Lee County schools start Mon so that always is a slow time. Rumor has it that "once it's all said & done" Aug rentals could be off as much as 50%. Sep is expected to be slow too. The "Island Sun" this week had a few more restaurant notices: Traders is closing for 6 weeks (from Sun until Oct 4), while McT's is closing (after 30+yrs), also on Sun. We might be brown bagging for awhile.
What We Are Doing When The Phone Isn't Ringing To make good use of the off-season, Dave & Elise are taking on-line classes & doing some database work which will expand our marketing campaign. I'm excited to have just been selected again for the 2011 state Professional Development & Professional Standards Forums. (Professional Development covers educational & informational trends, new technologies, & broker/manger/agent education, while Pro Standards provides Realtor members & boards/associations info & education on policies & procedures.) Also, one upcoming class for me is the Transnational Certification which was developed by the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations. It will expand SanibelSusan's international marketing & bring us more world-wide referrals.

FL Supreme Court Considers Amendment Yesterday, the FL Supreme Court heard arguments supporting & opposing, the ballot wording of proposed FL Constitution Amendment 3 which  was created in 2009 to boost home sales. If added, it would give buyers who have not owned a primary residency in the previous 8 years an additional property tax break. It also would lower the yearly tax appraisal cap for rental property & commercial real estate from 10% to 5%. The point of dispute is about how the wording would read on the ballot & whether it adequately explains what would happen should it become effective. Earlier, a lower court judge removed Amendment 3 from the ballot, saying the wording misled voters. The point of contention is the effective date of the tax break (Jan 1, 2010) which is not mentioned in the amendment. The judge feared some voters would opt to approve, thinking, incorrectly, that they would get the tax break if it passed. Florida Realtors filed an amicus brief supporting the amendment. While the Supreme Court justices did not issue a decision yesterday, few of the 6 justices present for oral arguments seemed inclined to place the amendment back on the ballot. Trey Price, a FL Realtors public policy rep, said lawyers advocating removal of Amendment 3 presented a strong case before the Supreme Court due to the omission of the effective date. A decision is expected by early Sep before absentee ballots are printed. "If Amendment 3 does, in fact, not appear on the Nov ballot, FL Realtors' State & Local Taxation Subcommittee is ready to discuss the next steps & plan for a better amendment for 2012," Price says. "Economists are telling us that commercial property assessments are unlikely to exceed 5% in the coming 2 years, so that is somewhat good news."

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SanibelSusan’s Weekly Blog

8/27/2010 (Cont’d)

HOMES

5 new listings: 1754 Windward Way 2/2 $559K, 1182 Kittiwake Cir 3/3 $719K, 1538 Royal Poinciana Dr 3/3 $825K (short sale), 246 Christofer Ct 4/2.5 $935K, 2294 Wulfert Rd 4/4 $1.289M.

13 price changes: 1672 Atlanta Plaza Dr 2/1 now $350K, 1730 Windward Way 3/2 now $474K, 1487 Sand Castle Rd 3/2.5 now $475K (short sale), 446 Lagoon Dr 2/2 now $479K (short sale), 1001 East Gulf Dr 2/2 now $494K, 490 (+460) Old Trail Rd 3/2 now $550K, 540 East Rocks Dr 3/2 now $599K, 6192 Henderson Rd 3/2 now $599K (short sale), 220 Palm Lake Dr 3/3 now $724.9K, 1320 Eagle Run Dr 4/3.5 now $899.9K, 1360 Eagle Run Dr 5/3.5 now $1.2M (short sale), 913 Kings Crown Dr 4/3 now $1.495M, 1209 Isabel Dr 5/4 now $1.595M.

3 new sales: 1012 East Gulf Dr 4/2 duplex listed for $335K (short sale); 662 Donax St 2/1.5 listed for $399,993; 1304 Seaspray Ln 3/2 listed for $3.149M (short sale).