Protected Nature = Protected Home Values
with some mathematical simplification becomes:
Nature = Home Values
Sanibel’s emphasis on environmental protection does not just protect nature, I believe has protected home owners and their real estate investment.
Sanibel has not been hit as hard by the housing crash as our neighboring communities.
Why has Sanibel fared better?
The real estate boom and bust was fueled by speculative development. Communities saw massive amount of new housing with rapid price increases. However, many of these homes were bought and sold by speculators looking to make a quick buck, not residents or even income investors. This became a game of hot potato where you didn’t want to be the one holding on when the music stopped.
The Sanibel Plan created by our City’s founders, protects our wilderness and strictly limits development, keeping our island an oasis of near pristine beauty. No significant speculative development can occur on Sanibel. I believe this insulated our island from the worst of the boom and bust.
Nearby beach communities do not have protective charters and many have been heavily developed with high-rise condos and coast-to-coast development – coastal ecosystems replaced with concrete and asphalt. Additional development and re-development await these communities whenever the next building boom occurs.
I believe that Sanibel’s unique charter protects not just nature, but also our real estate values now and will create additional value into the future.
Does the biggest discount = best value?
Often goods that are heavily discounted for sale were overpriced to begin with. We have all picked through the clearance rack and found nothing worth buying. This is true for real estate as well. Some buyers fixate on the mark-down, not the intrinsic value of the property.
Some folks unfamiliar with Sanibel are surprised to see that our real estate has not dropped as much as other Florida communities. I believe this is due to the fundamental value of land on our protected barrier island is significantly greater than elsewhere – and the smart money knows this too!
As the chart shows, 2011 represented a 37% increase in volume over the prior year. And we have seen a dramatic influx of buyers in 2012 as many now realize that today’s lower (but stable) prices and great interest rates represent their opportunity to buy a dream vacation or retirement home – even if they are years from retirement!
We all realize that prices got ahead of true value in the heat of the boom. Prices have retracted – but not equally. Some markets are still looking for buyers as prices continue to fall. Other communities are seeing prices stabilize and transaction volumes increasing. Sanibel is the later as savvy buyers look for value, not the biggest discount.
Where do you want to invest?
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