Sanibel Luminary is Tonight!

It's that time of year again. Today, Friday December 7th is Sanibel Luminary night.

Be sure to join your friends and neighbors all along Periwinkle Way. Businesses and organizations will be hosting open houses with food, drink and entertainment. Partake in caroling and sightseeing!

We always have a wonderful time during Luminary, it just doesn't feel like Christmas without it!

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Walk Through Bethlehem

Sanibel Community Church will present the Walk Through Bethlehem experience on Luminary Night, Friday, December 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. and on Sunday, December 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They recreate the imagined strees of Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth. Different shops, clothing and customs of that era will be presented with encounters with Roman guards and the infamous Innkeeper.

“We present Walk Through Bethlehem to holiday weary families to remind them of the true reason for the season of Christmas. That is the birth of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago. We strive to remain as true to historical data as possible,” said Elaine Donovan, chairwoman and wife of Senior Pastor Daryl Donovan. “This year, we have added Sunday as an additional viewing day. The Friday night performances, on Sanibel Luminary Night, always have long lines that people do not want to stand in.”

Sanibel Community Church was begun on Sanibel Island in the 1880s. It is a non-denominational church whose mission statement is: “That every  person would come into a life-changing relationship with the person of Jesus Christ.”

Sanibel Community Church is located at 1740 Periwinkle Way, next to Jerry’s Market. For more information call 472-2684.

Island Sun (December 7, 2012)

Mortgage Rates Remain Near Record Lows

Rates on the average 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage hit a new low this week, falling to 2.66%, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

The 15-year is particularly popular with homeowners who want to refinance their old mortgages to a lower rate and pay off their loan more quickly.

Interest rates on 30-year loans, which are popular among first-time homebuyers, averaged 3.37%, a single tick above the record low of 3.36% set two weeks earlier.

Rates have inched down about 0.2 percentage points since the Federal Reserve announced plans in September to buy as much as $40 billion a month of mortgage-backed securities until the economic recovery started gaining momentum.

That may be happening already, according to Keith Gumbinger, of mortgage information company HSH.com.

"If the economy continues to show signs of improvement this fall, mortgage rates could firm a little more," he said. "For that to occur though, we'll need a lot more evidence that forward momentum is building."

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said rates remained unchanged this week as "home construction builds up steam."

He noted that construction on single-family homes continues to rise, as does homebuilder confidence, both of which point to an improving housing market.

CNNMoney (October 18, 2012)

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Ready for the Holidays?

The holiday season is a fun, magical time on the islands of Sanibel & Captiva. Kicking off the holiday season, 'Tween Waters hosts a Tree Lighting ceremony with food, drinks, like music and fireworks! Don't miss the spectacular event this Friday, November 24th 5p-7p.

Luminary is December 7th and 8th this year with lights, music, goodies and great sales up and down Periwinkle Way!

Don't miss the Golf Cart Parade on Captiva on Saturday, December 8th.

CLICK HERE for more information.

CLICK HERE for the Team Petel website.

Here are some great pictures from Holidays 2011 from Team Petel team member Ann:

Christmas Trees Are Coming Soon

submitted by at Lion, Bob

The annual Sanibel-Captiva Lions Charities Christmas Tree sale will be open for business on Sunday, November 25 at 10 a.m. The sale will continue every day thereafter from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until December 23 or sell out.

The sale is held at the Bailey’s Shopping Center between The Grog Shop and Island Cinema. These trees are all Fraser firs from the mountains of North Carolina. The trees range from five to 10 fee tall. At the time of purchase, the Lions will provide a fresh cut at the bottom of the trunk and trim off the lower branches so the tree can be placed in a stand. Delivery is available at an extra charge.

Customers are encouraged to shop early as longevity of a cut tree is best if the base is placed into water as soon as possible and kept out of the sun and wind.

All proceeds of the sale are used for the Lions charitable causes including help for the vision impaired and other local causes.

For more information about the Sanibel-Captiva Lions Club email alionbob@comcast.net

Island Sun (November 16, 2012)

Jingle Bell Walk Is Fun For A Good ‘Claus’

The Sanibel-Captiva Optimist Club invites you, your family, your friends and your leashed pet to walk/run on Sanibel’s Bowman’s Beach in the charity 5K Jingle Bell Walk to benefit local children’s needs. Start your walk anytime between 8 and 9 a.m. on Saturday, December 1.

Hey, kids! We hear that Santa will stop to see you at the beach. Bring the family with you to join in the fun.

Pre-registration is available online at www.sancapoptimist.org. Registration will also be at the beach starting at 7:30 a.m. Parking is free for participants as are T-shirts, water and refreshments. Registration donations are $20 per person while kids 10 and under and pets are free.

 Dogs that participated in past years’ Optimist’s Wave of Hope beach walks speak highly of the fun and are straining at their leashes to romp on the beautiful Sanibel beach, all for a great “claus.” People have fun, too.

Following the Jingle Bell Walk, the City of Sanibel Recreation Center will hold a free Block Party from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. open to everyone to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Rec Center.

The city’s Rec Center has been a partner for the Optimists in the Junior Anglers (kids’ fishing) and the Youth Basketball League.

Island Sun (November 16, 2012)

Mortgage Delinquency Rates Fall In 42 States

by Jann Swanson

TransUnion, a big three national consumer credit reporting agency, says that mortgage delinquencies of 60 days or more duration declined in the third quarter to 5.41 percent from 5.49 percent in the second quarter.  This was the third consecutive month that the rate declined and it is now 8 percent lower than in the third quarter of 2011 when it was 5.88 percent.

Rates in 22 states improved from the second quarter and 42 states saw an annual decrease.  However, only 49 percent of metropolitan areas improved during the quarter; in each of the first two quarters of 2012 more than 70 percent of metropolitan areas showed improvement. 

"Continued declines in mortgage delinquency rates are a welcome sign and reflect that relatively more homeowners are able and willing to make their mortgage payments each month," said Tim Martin, group vice president of U.S. Housing in TransUnion's financial services business unit. "However, we still have a long way to go to reach more 'normal' conditions of a delinquency rate in the 1-2% range for the U.S. average." 

The greatest annual improvement in the delinquency rate occurred in two of the states most impacted by foreclosures, Arizona and California.  Since the third quarter of 2011 Arizona's rate has dropped nearly 25 percent to 5.62 percent and California's rates is down 24 percent to 5.56 percent.  The largest increase was in the District of Columbia where the rate jumped 11 percent to 6.10 from 5.57 percent one year earlier.  Eight states also experienced annual increases with New Jersey registering the largest, nearly 10 percent to 8.33 percent.  The highest rates in the country are in Florida at 13.09 percent and Nevada at 10.93 percent but both of these states did show an annual improvement.

TransUnion expects the mortgage delinquency rate to fall again in the 4^th quarter, but only slightly. "It's generally tough to expect improvement in delinquency rates in the fourth quarter of the year given the extra demands on household income that many experience during the holiday season," said Martin. "However, we saw some improvement in the housing market in the third quarter with regard to house prices, home sales and increased refinance activity, and we believe we will start to see these numbers reflected in improved mortgage delinquency next quarter. As such, we forecast the year-end delinquency rate to improve to something in the 5.25%-5.35% range."

mortgagenewsdaily.com (November 13, 2012)