The
Spring 2005
  Schuldenfrei
Serving
Sanibel &
Captiva for
over 29 years
 REPORT
About real estate on Sanibel and Captiva Going to 7,000 property owners and 18,000 Northern visitors.

David L. Schuldenfrei
CRS, GRI, RealtorŪ

Selling the Islands for
more than 29 years

THE MARKET IS FINE
We're pleased to report that, in spite of the visit we had from hurricane Charlie, the real estate market on your favorite islands is not only alive and well, it is thriving! While the short-term impact of Charlie made it virtually impossible to conduct normal business for a while it does not seem to have affected the interest in the islands as a destination and investment. Sanibel and Captiva islands continue to be very desirable properties. The listing and sale of real estate was more or less halted for the 30 to 60 days immediately following the storm but then it returned to the same or slightly higher level we saw before the storm. It is a remarkable picture of market strength and durability.
   

THE MARKET IS GETTING BETTER

You may recall in our last letter that we expected sales for the year 2004 to at least equal, and maybe exceed the pervious year. We felt that the several months following the storm would need only about 40% of prior year sales to meet that goal a task we thought was not only doable but easily doable. The market has more than delivered on that. The post storm months August through December actually performed at almost 70% of the prior year. Since we lost almost a third of the post storm period to sluggish or no sales activity the market was probably closer to 100% of the prior year sales. A strong statement of market resilience.
 . . . strong sales of gulf and bay front properties

HOUSES ARE ON THE MOVE
Single-family homes had unit sales in 2004 that were 16% ahead of 2003. About three quarters of the increase came from Sanibel with 25% from Captiva. This is particularly strong performance for Captiva since it represents less than 25% of the two-island population. The average sale price went up 20% because of the strong sales of gulf and bay front properties.

CONDOS ARE FOLLOWING RIGHT ALONG
The growth of condo sales was a little less than for houses about 9%. Considering that many of the condos are right on the gulf waters it is comforting that they could show any growth. The average sale price was about even with the prior year. In terms of size the three bedroom units continue to show the greatest growth while one-bedroom units showed the least. This is consistent with the trend to larger living space in properties.

AND LOTS ARE GOING STRONG
Unit sales are up 18% with the average sale price up 70%. The increase in the average sale price is due to the sale of many gulf front properties on Captiva, which is probably a one-time thing. We would expect that as things get back to normal the price of lots will follow suit.

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