Sanibel · Captiva · Fort Myers Beach · Bonita Beach
The islands are a buyers' market, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.
There is 19.4 months of inventory on Captiva and 5.5 in Bonita Springs. Homes are taking 106 days and closing at 92.1% of what they asked. If you own here, that is the market you are selling into, and there are still ways to sell well in it.
Where things actually stand
Four markets, not one.
People talk about "the islands" as though Captiva and Bonita behave the same way. They do not, and the gap is wide enough to change what you should do.
Captiva
Median of 42 sales in a year
Highest sale $10,000,000 · 71% on the water
Sanibel
Median of 363 sales in a year
Highest sale $9,700,000 · 67% on the water
Bonita Springs
Median of 1,884 sales in a year
Highest sale $15,500,000 · 45% on the water
Fort Myers Beach
Median of 393 sales in a year
Highest sale $6,900,000 · 80% on the water
Across all four, 2,682 homes sold in the last year and 1,651 are on the market today. Under three months of supply is a sellers' market. Every one of these is well above that.
What actually decides your price out here
Four things, and only one of them is the house.
Elevation, and the certificate that proves it
Since Ian, a buyer's first question is how high the finished floor sits above the base flood elevation. If you have an elevation certificate, it is worth more to you than a new kitchen. If you do not, get one before you list, because the buyer will get one anyway and you would rather know first.
What the insurance actually costs now
Wind and flood on a barrier island are a different market from the mainland, and a premium that surprises a buyer in week six kills the contract. We put the number in front of them in week one instead.
Whether the work was permitted
An enormous amount of repair happened here in a hurry. Work that was not permitted and closed out becomes the buyer's problem, then their lender's, then yours. It is far cheaper to sort out before a contract than during one.
Rental history, if you have one
A property with documented rental income is valued differently from one without, and the rules differ by island and sometimes by street. Bring the numbers. They move the price more than most people expect.
If you are selling into this
Pricing is the whole game when there is a year of inventory.
With 19.4 months of supply on Captiva, a buyer has a great deal of choice and no reason to hurry. Anything priced hopefully simply becomes the house that makes the correctly priced one look good.
The median sale is closing at 92.1% of asking, so the negotiation is happening whether you plan for it or not. Better to plan for it.
We will tell you what we think it will fetch and why, and if the answer is that you should wait a year, you will get that answer too. It costs nothing to hear.
Not selling? Then this is just information.
Most people on our list are not going anywhere, and that is fine. Knowing what your place is worth and what it costs to insure is worth knowing whether or not you ever sell it.