Covid-19 and its Delta and Omicron variants continue to impact our local luxury real estate sales. More Sanibel Island and Captiva Island homes, condominiums, buildable lots, and parcels sold in 2020 and 2021 than in past years. The above graph illustrates the total number of sales on Sanibel and Captiva Islands over the past 8 years. Prior to covid, 402 properties on average would close each year on Sanibel and Captiva.

• 2020 Sanibel & Captiva Closed Sales were 38% above average
• 2021 Sanibel & Captiva Closed Sales were 86% above average.

While many continue to attribute the buying frenzy to "low-inventory" that is a misnomer. Our market is moving at lightning speed and only those buyers who have a Realtor working diligently on their behalf are scooping up properties rapidly.

If you are serious about a purchase in the near future, please let us know your "must-haves" and "do not exceed budget", and we will alert you immediately when a property you should consider comes on the market. We are ready, willing, and able to help you navigate this historic real estate market to find and acquire the right home that suits your needs, timeframe, and budget. We are quickly pairing homes with families who have shared their dream home attributes with us, and we look forward to helping you too.

Factors continuing to fuel SWFL's real estate sales Include:

• New Inventory Rapidly Going Under Contract: The pace of property sales has produced the appearance of a low inventory market, which is now a misleading assessment. Due to our ongoing "Sellers Market" conditions, more owners have listed and sold this year than ever before.
• Historically Low-Interest Rates: Attractive mortgage interest rates continue to fuel sales. Many full cash buyers are leveraging loans after acquiring their ideal property.
• Desire to Social Distance Elsewhere: Many Buyers simply want to live where they can swim, bike, golf, boat, garden, jog, or walk the beach.
• Earlier Retirements: Many Baby Boomers have decided to retire a few years earlier answering the question "What am I waiting for?"
• Ability to Work from Home Anywhere with Internet Access: Social distancing forced many companies to embrace and encourage their professionals to work from home, and that home can be anywhere with reliable internet service.
• Over 950 people move to Florida every day. Experts expect these numbers to increase dramatically into 2022.
• Southwest Florida's Retirement Appeal. October 19th, 2021 CNBC study shows Florida is home to 8 out of the 10 top nationwide retirement destinations with Fort Myers, Sarasota, and Naples among these ten.