Home & Garden

Buy now, “while interest rates are still reasonable. Prices have not been spiking,” he said, “but they are moving up.” —Marty Stokes, South Seas Sanibel & Captiva Properties realtor

play, the pelicans and osprey diving for lunch—island living just can’t be matched,” Marty said.

Marty and his wife, Joni, a licensed broker, work as a team. “The differences in our personalities give us an edge. She is gentle and wise,” he said affectionately. “Together we can help all kinds of people from every walk of life.”

In Marty’s and Joni’s hands, transactions run smoothly and frictionfree. “We back up our verbal agreements with good documentation. We always work things out,” Marty said.

Marty cautioned about a supply-anddemand situation coming island wide, in discrete categories of real estate. “This is the result of the huge numbers of baby boomers nearing retirement who are headed this way.”

Marty’s advice? Buy now, “while interest rates are still reasonable. Prices have not been spiking,” he said, “but they are moving up.”

Islanders get their pick of beautiful beaches. Causeway Park has luminous views of the bay and Gulf. Lighthouse Beach Park is the site of Sanibel’s historic Lighthouse Beacon, built in 1884. Turner Beach, where waves crash continuously into a breakwater, is just across Blind Pass at Captiva’s front door. Gulfside City Park and Tarpon Bay Beach are great for picnicking, and Bowman’s Beach and Blind Pass are perfect spots for serious shellers. The Sanibel beaches can all be accessed by bicycle or foot along the 25-mile-long shared-use path. Sanibel is a cyclist’s paradise.

For more information, visit royalshellreal estate.com and southseasrealestate.com.