August 2009 Real Estate Sales Report - Key West

It ain't over till the fat lady sings. But she's heading for the mike.

There were 18 single family home sales in Key West during the month of August. Sales prices ranged from $280,000 for a 1240 sq. ft ranch on Harris Street in Mid Town to $1,795,000 for a 3600 sq.ft. waterfront property on Shark Key (sold by Preferred Properties). I eliminated all non Old Town, Meadows, and Casa Marina area sales to determine an average sales price or $421 per sq ft. That number, however, is misleading because of the disparity among the sold homes. Two of the sales were short sales and one (1119 Von Phister St.) was a bank foreclosure. (Congrats to Walt & Mitzi.) By comparison there were 11 single family home sales in 2008 at an average price of $512 per sq. ft. Two of those sales were short sales and, again, one was bank owned. The price per sq ft was skewed a bit because one of those sales included the Thompson Estate that sold for $3,312,500 or $912 per sq. ft. And in 2007 there were 16 single family homes sales (two bank owned properties that I know of) that sold for an average price of $545 per sq. ft.

Key West had 17 condo and town home sales in August 2009. Three were identified as short sales and five were bank owned. The average unit sold at $258 per sq ft. By comparison there were 8 condo and town home sales in 2008 with an average price of $425 per sq ft. (Sad to report one of those has become a new short sale in 2009!) In 2007 there were 4 sales at an average price of $589 per sq. ft. (other than several sold by the developer of the Beachside Resort that sold way over $1 million each).

There have been 46 new single family home listings that have gone under contract that are now shown as contingent or pending in since August first. Twenty of those listings are short sales and six are bank owned properties. That sounds discouraging, I know. But five of those contingent or pending sales are for properties priced at over $1 million with an average asking price of $715 per sq. ft.

Interestingly there are 36 condos and town homes shown as contingent or pending since August first. Twenty-four of those are shown as short sales and two as bank owned. One of the number is a market priced uber-expensive unit at Key West Beach Club. (That is important. Maybe, just maybe, the Beach Club will bounce back now. One bad sale can drive prices down. One really good sale can drive sales back up. Here is hoping!)

There has been a flurry of sales activity during the past month. If you have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the fat lady to announce the end of the down market, get up off your backside.

If you are a potential buyer and have not picked your property or better yet your Realtor, CLICK HERE to search the real Key West Association of Realtors mls website. If you see something you like, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or kw1101v@aol.com. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty Inc. in beautiful Key West Florida.