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Island Update

South Seas Island Resort Yacht Rock Weekend

Yacht-Rock-2021

The countdown is on for Yacht Rock Weekend 2021 at South Seas Island Resort This Friday – Sunday, Sept. 3-5 {Labor Day weekend}

Click here for full schedule

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Island Update

Beach nourishment project update

The map illustrates that CEPD current plan is to commence with dredging and beachfill sometime this Tuesday, 9/1. The respective color-coded dates shown on the look ahead map represent a projection of expected progress; this is just an estimate and true rates of beachfill will vary slightly. All active work will be performed within a ~1000-foot zone that will be blocked off with temporary safety fence and continually shift along with the rate of beachfill progress.

CEPD Map

Click here for the full map

Visit https://www.mycepd.com/ for more info

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Island Update

SCCF: Loggerhead nests approach record level

The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation reported that sea turtle nesting season has started slower than 2020 — a record-breaking season — but current nest numbers are steadily climbing toward that record. As of Aug. 11, SCCF’s loggerhead nest count for Sanibel and Captiva was 896, while last year’s was 917.

At the start of season, this year’s numbers closely resembled the 2019 season. In 2021 and 2019, only one loggerhead nest was laid in April, compared to 15 in April 2020. May’s activity totaled 199 nests, compared to 203 nests in May 2019. In July — when nesting starts to pick up on the islands — 283 nests were laid. The total is higher than 186 nests in July 2020 and 218 nests in July 2019. The end of sea turtle nesting season is nearing, but 12 new nests have been documented since August started.

On Aug. 10 at 1:30 p.m., the Senkar family contacted SCCF’s hotline after spotting a loggerhead nesting in the dune. The sea turtle, named Flame Lily, was first seen and tagged on the islands earlier this season. Each season, the SCCF chooses a theme to guide the naming of the nesting females. This year the theme is flowers.

In addition, this season has provided sea turtle monitors with an opportunity to survey Captiva at night while relocating nests from the island to Sanibel in advance of a beach renourishment project. The SCCF reported that a side perk of the project is that monitors are able identify previously tagged turtles that would not have otherwise been seen.

Cookies and Cream, first tagged in 2017, was recently located on Captiva — the 11th sighting. She nested four times in 2019 and three times in 2017. Of the four nests she was observed laying this year, two hatched and were inventoried by SCCF volunteers and staff. One of her nests hatched with a 78 percent hatch success. Another nest was partially washed out during Tropical Storm Elsa and only 55 eggs remained. The nest continued to incubate, and 53 eggs hatched.

To report any issues with nests, nesting turtles or hatchlings, call the SCCF Sea Turtle Hotline at 978-728-3663. For tips on how to safely share the shore with sea turtles, visit SanCapLifeSavers.org

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Island Update

Fort Myers Film Festival kicks off 12th season

The Fort Myers Film Festival is kicking off its 12th season with the film series “T.G.I.M.” starting on Sept. 6 at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in Fort Myers.

Local celebrity judges and attendees get a chance to watch and then weigh in on how they feel about short indie films screened. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; the show begins at 7 p.m.

Grab a drink and intellectualize with host Eric Raddatz and co-host Melissa DeHaven, while mixing and mingling with other Southwest Florida film connoisseurs the first Monday of every month in season. Special guests, musical acts and interviews will be announced prior to each Monday night. Bring your ticket from the event and join the after-party at Blu Sushi downtown. The schedule is as follows:

  • Sept. 6: Dancer, choreographer, producer and founder of Glam Bam Burlesque Rose Burstein, actress Cassidy Reyes and the Collaboratory’s Tessa LeSage
  • Oct. 4: Food and travel writer Blakely Trettenero, artist Cesar Aguilera and TV host and anchor Amy Oshier
  • Nov. 1: WGCU’s John Davis, filmmaker Wendy White and Florida Repertory Theatre Associate Artistic Director Jason Parrish
  • Dec. 6: Philanthropist Marc Collins, Downtown Diva Stephanie Davis and filmmaker Justin Verely
  • Jan. 3: Singer Sheena Brook, editor Sheldon Zoldan and art therapist Ashley Randolph
  • Feb. 7: Filmmakers Anna Honorata, John Biffar and KT Curran
  • March 7: Musician Johnny Jensen, director Jim Griffith and ABC7s Amanda Lojewski

For more information or tickets, visit https://www.sbdac.com/tgim-landing-2022/ or call 239-333-1933.

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Island Update

John R. Wood to serve as sponsor

The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge reported that John R. Wood Properties is a Great Blue Heron sponsor for the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge’s 33rd annual “Ding” Darling Day celebration. The event will take place on Oct. 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lakes Park, at 7330 Gladiolus Drive, Fort Myers. The free community event will feature tours, activities and more. For more information about the event, visit

JRW Sponsor

https://www.dingdarlingsociety.org/. For information about sponsorships, contact April Boehnen at [email protected] or 239-472-1100 ext. 4.

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Island Update

Virtual Southwest Florida Reading Festival to kick off

The 22nd annual Southwest Florida Reading Festival in March will be a month-long, fully virtual celebration of the power of reading brought to the community by the Lee County Library System.

Nearly 30 acclaimed authors will provide nightly programming on March 1-12. Other highlights include the opportunity to video chat with headlining and local authors during the live booth hours on March 6 and March 13 from 1-3 p.m. Grab-and-go crafts, a reading program with festival bingo and online S.T.E.A.M. contests featuring Lego builds, art and creativity challenges are also part of the fun.

Patrons can log on to EventHub for a preview of the festival. Author presentations will broadcast on weekday evenings on March 1-5 and 8-12, with youth and teen authors at 6 p.m. and adult authors at 7 p.m. Each interview is followed by an interactive, live meet and greet to interact with authors and ask questions via video or text chat.

More opportunities to chat with authors will be offered during the live booth hours at 1 p.m. After live events conclude on March 13, attendees can watch recorded content on-demand through March 31.

Participants are encouraged to sign up for the online reading and activity challenge or complete the paper-based reading bingo for chances to win prizes and book baskets with festival author book titles. The deadline to log reading and activities is March 31.

S.T.E.A.M. contest prizes include numerous Lego sets, as well as arts and crafts supplies, with contest entries accepted through March 14. Online public voting will take place on March 15-31. The eligible entries with the most votes will win the prizes for each category.

The library system’s commitment to reading continues with providing each participating child and teen with a new free book. This year, the books will be distributed in age-appropriate grab-and-go craft bags, available while supplies last at the Lee County branches, including the Captiva Memorial Library. Adults will receive a book in their craft kits as well, which will incorporate various patterns to become part of a folded book art craft.

The lineup of award-winning authors scheduled to participate in the festival includes adult authors Jennifer Chiaverini, Gregg Hurwitz, Jayne Ann Krentz and Kyle Mills, as well as youth and teen authors J.C. Cervantes, Greg Pizzoli, Julie Berry and Ryan La Sala. The complete list of authors can be found at www.ReadFest.org.

The Southwest Florida Reading Festival is free and community-supported through donations, sponsorships and grants. To help ensure the continuation of the free community event by making a secure online donation, visit www.ReadFest.org or contact 239-533-4832 for more information.

Categories
Real Estate News

Southwest Florida July 2021 Real Estate Market Report

Below is a snapshot of July 2021 Southwest Florida Real Estate Market Report.

Closed Sales
Closed sales for the 12-month period ending July 31 were up 54.6% from the preceding 12-months. Year to date, closed sales posted a 58.6% increase over the same period last year.

Listing Inventory / New Listings
After several months of decline, the number of homes on the market stabilized in May and has since posted modest and steady increases. The 2,520 listings on the market as of July 31 were down 72.5% from the same date last year, and were up 11% since the end of May. Trends resulting in this increase slowly started to develop in recent months with a cooling of the feverish buyer activity that occurred early in the year and a greater than normal inflow of new listings.

Average Selling price
The average selling price for the 12-months through July 31 was $605,328, up 31.5% from the preceding 12-month period.

Summary
Our market continues to move in a positive direction. Demand, although having subsided somewhat from its previous intensity, remains strong. This, combined with favorable new listing activity, has stabilized listing inventory and provided more options for buyers. This is welcomed news for buyers who may have previously been reluctant to enter the market.

July 2021 SWFL Market Report

Click here for full market report

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Island Update

In Celebration of our Founder’s Life

It is with sadness that we report that John R. Wood, founder of the oldest active real estate brokerage in Southwest Florida, passed away this week. He was six weeks shy of his 92nd birthday. However, we are also joyful to celebrate such a full and long life.

John R WoodJohn was born in 1929 in a small town near El Dorado, Arkansas. Growing up during the great depression helped him learn to be both frugal and resourceful.

He and his one-year older brother Jim, and their cousin Thomas, together formed a trio that was infamous for causing mischief. One of their best shenanigans was when they decided to drive the car when they were around 5 years old. One of the boys worked the accelerator while crouching on the floor. The other two managed the steering wheel. John’s father was on the porch as he angrily saw them coast down the hill in front of the home, before having a minor crash. They were duly disciplined.

Notwithstanding some of his childhood, John was a good student, and began college at Louisiana Tech before a two-year tour of duty in the Navy, shortly after WWII. One of his tours was on an aircraft carrier, which always amazed him for being a floating city with several thousand residents.

After the Navy, he attended Henderson State College in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he met and married Wanda. To save money for graduate school, they worked at the local drive-in, with Wanda at the ticket booth and John in the concession stand.

After graduation, they went to the University of Arkansas, where Wanda earned her Master’s in English and John graduated from law school. They then returned to Arkadelphia, where Phil was born and John practiced law with his father-in­law. But after a few years, John decided that law was not his calling.

JRW associates

They packed up and followed some friends who had recently moved to St. Pete, Florida. But on a weekend jaunt, they discovered Naples with only a few thousand residents, and decided that was the perfect place. John’s father was living in Ft Myers at the time and encouraged him to go into real estate, because he thought Florida might have some good potential.

So Wanda taught in elementary school while John did his required one year as an agent. Then, in 1958, they opened John R. Wood & Associates, on Fifth Avenue South in the 600 block on the south side. Money was tight, so they rented a desk to John Gray State Farm Insurance, and another desk to No-Risk Chemical Pest Control, to help offset the rent.

There weren’t a lot of houses to sell in Naples, so many of their sales were lots or acreage. In the 60’s, many people were investing in acreage, and flipping the land within a year or two, almost always at a big profit. Thus, land was a big portion of the firm’s sales, although they also sold many homes in the still developing Aqualane Shores, and the newer developments of Port Royal, Coquina Sands, and the Moorings. Commercial sales, such as lots on U.S. 41 in the heart of town, also helped the cause, since they sold for enormous prices of around $50,000.

JRW Jeep

At that time, Florida was known for some less than scrupulous developers, so John focused the firm on ethics. He adopted a slogan of “Walk on it before you Buy”, so that acreage buyers would know they were not buying swampland. The firm had a number of 4-wheel drive jeeps over the years, available for the agents to show acreage, and the jeep always had the familiar slogan on the side.

John’s legal background was quite helpful as he did property exchanges and many land sales. He passed the Florida Bar just in case the real estate thing didn’t work out, but he never actually practiced law in Florida. The closest he came was a time when the one local judge went on vacation, and he had John fill in for a few days.

The town was still small. Total real estate sales for the entire Naples Board hit a record in 1963 at $4.6 million (the entire area). John was active in the local board, and served two years as President. He then went on to serve on FREC, then was President of FAR in 1971. In 1981, he achieved the ultimate honor, serving as President of the National Association of Realtors—quite likely the only NAR President from such a small town. JRW life

John also set the tone by being very active in various civic and philanthropic groups, including St. Matthew’s House, Junior Deputies, United Way, the Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts, Naples Community Hospital, the Conservancy, and many more, helping the small town grow and have the public benefits that government budgets could often not afford.

JRW with wifeHe mostly retired in the mid 90’s, but continued to be Chairman of the Board and serve on the Executive Committee. By 2005, when the company was setting pre-recession records, he was minimally involved since the firm now had a strong and diverse management team, and had grown to a size that he never could have imagined back in the 60’s.

In 2007, he was awarded the Naples Daily News Citizen of the Year, a special honor even though he had received numerous others in his time. And the company continued to prosper. Today, with 19 offices and over 700 total personnel, they have grown into the most successful real estate firm in the area.

While every other company from those early days has long since disappeared, John R. Wood Properties continues to thrive, thanks to the focus on service, ethics, and philanthropy that John Wood instilled as Founder of the company.

John R Wood

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Island Update

South Seas Rocks This Yacht Rock Weekend!

Celebrate Yacht Rock Weekend in style at South Seas Island Resort. Receive 25% off our regular rates, 15% off food and beverage, special Yacht Rock swag and access to all the weekend activities! Plus, you’ll receive a coupon book with over $250 in savings at Resort outlets!

Resort Yacht Rock Weekend

Click here to book

Offer cannot be combined with other packages, promotions, Homes of Distinction or group rates, and cannot be applied to existing reservations. Offer is subject to availability and may only apply to certain accommodation types. Resort fees and room taxes are additional.

Categories
Island Update

The Islands of Southwest Florida Part 2