by Sarah Ashton, Real Estate Broker Associate
Ashton Kirchner Group, Keller Williams Group
2024 is off to a slow start with respect to Real Estate sales on the islands. For the first two months of the year there have only been 21 houses and 10 condos that have closed sales on Sanibel. There were 2 of each on Captiva for the same period. By comparison 2023 and 2022 saw more than double these numbers on Sanibel.
Comparative Closed Sales - January & February| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanibel Homes | 40 | 60 | 21 |
| Sanibel Condos | 30 | 24 | 10 |
| Captiva Homes | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Captiva Condos | 7 | 1 | 2 |
There are likely several reasons for our market to be so slow.
1. The nationwide slowdown in Real Estate sales from 2023 has finally arrived on the islands. Island real estate had been flying high pre-Ian arriving. After a brief lull immediately after the storm, things picked up with investors jumping in and those buyers who had been waiting for their opportunity to get island property enthusiastically buying. During that time, the rest of the country was experiencing a slow down in buyers with 2023 seeing the fewest closed real estate transactions, nationwide, in over a decade.
2. The area affected by Ian is still in recovery with many fewer accommodations for visitors. The majority of our buyers want to see what they are buying. With many of our island and off island accommodations still in repair, we have fewer visitors to look at our properties.
3. The cost of ownership is up and the cost ceiling is unknown. Whether it is insurance, condo fees, cost of remodeling/rebuilding or other factors – the cost of owning an island property has gone up and we are not sure where it will end up. This is causing some pause with potential buyers.
These are just some of the factors affecting the mindset of island property buyers. Will March be better? There will likely be more properties put under contract in March as it is our busiest month for visitors. More likely, as more of the island recovers and more visitors come to stay, the numbers of properties selling will increase in the 4th quarter of 2024. Patience is a virtue and this virtue has been truly tested since 9/28/2022.
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