It's too soon yet to say what effect the current credit crisis will have
on island prices, but so far it doesn't seem as dramatic as elsewhere in
Florida.
While properties on the mainland in Fort Myers have dropped some 41
percent, island prices have decreased less than ten percent. Over five
years our average sold prices are still up nine percent on Sanibel and
even more on Captiva.If the number of
properties sold continues its present trend, numbers should be down only
slightly from last year. So far this year 250 properties have sold on
Sanibel and Captiva. If this rate of sales continues, 313 properties
will have sold by the end of the year, representing a small 4 percent
decrease from 2007.
Of course, we are down significantly from four years
ago but numbers and prices seem to be leveling out. The average sold
price of homes on Sanibel overall in the first nine months of this year
is $928,497, ten percent less than last year. The average price of near
beach homes, however, actually increased by 4 percent.
On Captiva the average price of sold property
decreased 9 percent with near beach homes showing the greatest decline
of 34 percent.
These statistics should be considered with caution.
Many properties selling now are those at the bottom of the market and
frequently owners have been in financial difficulty. While foreclosures
are still rare on the islands, there have been a few, something I had
never before seen in 18 years of real estate on the islands.
