Maine to Key West - January 2011

Maine January 2011

South Beach - Key West - January 2011

I have two active buyers I am working with right now that live in Maine. One is buried under 20 inches of snow in Maine, and the other is spending the winter in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Both dream of buying a place in Key West. They are like many other buyers in New Jersey and the northeast and others in the midwest that want to buy their dream home in Key West. A buyer in New Jersey told me last week he is waiting until his daughters finish high school and then he and his wife are moving here. He already has a house here, but he is going to enhance his Key West holdings. He stated emphatically he has had it with the cold. I remember those sentiments exactly.

For those of you who keep putting off buying your place in Key West, I offer the following statistics that I just culled from the Key West Association of Realtors database and Monroe County Clerk of Court website.

In the time period between December 1, 2010 to January 21, 2011 there were 160 new listings (single family, condo, townhome, duplex) in the Key West mls database (yes, some are re-listings of previously unsold properties, but most are new). During the 58 day time period, 83 properties went under contract and are shown as 'contingent' or 'pending'. And 35 of the 83 properties that were listed (or re-listed) during the 58 days are now under contract. If I did my math correctly, 42% of the new listings went under contract since being listed on or after December 1, 2010.

The Monroe County Clerk of Court shows that only 6 properties in Key West became 'bank owned' in the time period between December 1, 2010 until January 14, 2011. (That is the last date of recorded transactions.) During the same time period only 6 new lis pendens (the legal document that gives public notice to the world that an action adverse to the owner of real property - e.g. foreclosure) were recorded for Key West properties. This is a signal to me that our market is on the way to recovery.

Every Realtor in Key West is busy right now. It may be snowing and blowing where you live. But down here the buyers are buying and buying. Don't miss the present opportunity to buy your dream home in Key West. If you are not working with a Realtor please consider contacting me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or by email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida where the is never any snow.