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NEWS FROM
July 20, 2010 Volume Five. Issue Four.
	"It's Paradise … for buyers" headlined a recent Fort Myers News Press article We all know what the big news is in the Gulf. And it doesn't just concern vacationers. We'd be naïve not to realize that homebuyers, although they have a longer horizon of interest, would be wondering about the effect of the BIG Spill on property values on Sanibel and Captiva. Since we had planned to dedicate this issue of the Islands Telegraph to the local real estate scene anyway, let's launch right into it. The article referenced above is accompanied by a photograph of a Periwinkle Way motel, recently sold for $1.75 million. (Unstated in the article is the fact that the sale of the motel was brokered by Royal Shell Real Estate.) We are on the leading edge when it comes to knowing what is happening on the islands and making it happen. We've seen average prices for single family homes on Sanibel recede to 2004 levels. Single family homes on Captiva are at 2001 levels. Condo prices on both Sanibel and Captiva are back to those of 2002. At Royal Shell Real Estate, we are seeing generally good news on Sanibel and Captiva. Cases in point: For 2010 year to date, listings sold are up 40% over the same period in 2009. The total dollar volume of sales YTD 2010 is up 10.37%, while the average sale price is down 21.15%. Analysis: This is a superb time to buy real estate on Sanibel and Captiva. Real Estate sales are up; Real estate prices are down. Average prices are down to where they were well before the real estate "bubble" drove them up. Case in point: Royal Shell Real Estate has current condo listings as low as $185,000. And the larger, more luxurious homes on the islands are moving well. A Captiva 3/3/1 bayfront private home sold for $2,500.000, 20% below the listed price. A 3/3/0 Beach Villas condo on Captiva sold for $780,000, about 6% below listed price. A sweet 2/2/0 condo unit at Sanibel's Loggerhead Key sold for $416,000, almost 13% below the listed price. Here's one waiting to be snapped up: $2,350,000 on Captiva's Roosevelt Channel, after a $100,000 price reduction. Check with our Captiva office for details. As you can see, the prices are good, the values are great, the traffic is active. Local mortgage brokers are placing loans on all types of properties and 30-year fixed rate mortgages are at the lowest since they started tracking them decades ago. This is an excellent time to tap into a deal on your home, second home or investment home on Sanibel-Captiva. Here's good news for vacationers too. Mote Marine Laboratory, out of Sarasota, has been running underwater robots out in the Gulf, about 25 miles off the Southwest Florida Gulf Shore as far out as the eastern edge of the loop current (about 150 miles). They have found no evidence of oil in the water there. None. So, as tragic as the oil leak is for our colleagues on the northern Gulf shores, we not only don't have any oil on our beaches, there is no oil even close. What's Going On? Got a dress you love but not enough to keep it? Here's what to do with it. Bring it to Tahitian Gardens, the shopping plaza on Periwnkle Way, on Tuesday, August 10th and donate it to the "Love That Dress" fundraiser for Pace Center for Girls. Here's why: They are having a Collection Party. That's right, "parTAY", from 5 to 7 pm at Tahitian Gardens. There'll be wine, hors d'oeuvres, chocolate and a Chinese Auction. Bring a "gently used" dress for admission. The accumulated dresses will be used to raise funds for Pace Center at a September 1 benefit at Embassy Suites in Estero. (More about that later). Pace Center is a 501 (c3) non-profit organization that assists and aids young women 12-18 who are in foster care, abused or come friom homes where there is a history of incarceration. These young women need help and Pace Center provides it. Let's run through the details one more time: Event: Collection Party for "Love that Dress" fundraising event. Date/Place: August 10, 2010 / Tahitian Gardens, 1975 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel Time: 5 pm to 7 pm Inducements: Wine, Hors d'oeuvres, Chocolate, Chinesse Auction Admission: One gently used dress, from formal to "sun". RSVP and Information: 239-333-3575 or events@RoyalShell.com PS: Bring a digital camera or cell phone to participate in a photo scavenger hunt. Royal Shell Companies are happy to join Norman Love Confections and the Timbers Restaurant and Fish Market as sponsors. By the Way - Another Free Week Getaway is in the Works. Stay tuned for more details. And follow us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/RoyalShellVacations) for ways to enter. Rely on Royal Shell to give you the treatment you expect; the treatment you deserve. Keep your mailbox open and your spam filter unfiltered for future editions of The Islands Telegraph. Comments? Contact us at Bill at Royal Shell to register your opinions.  Follow us on FaceBook for Vacations here and for Royal Shell Real Estate here Copyright 2010 Royal Shell Vacation Rentals 1547 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, FL 33957