Key West Single Family Homes Under Contract - February 2020

Long time blog followers know I have my mood swings ranging from pessimism to optimism.  I think most Key West Realtors do. I say this because I talk to them. Or they ask me what I think only to tell me they think it is in a depression mode.

Town has been very, very busy with tourists ever since Christmas week. A friend at one of the small luxury hotels told me their business is going gangbusters. The Conch Trains are full. Those awful golf cart rentals are all over the streets as are scooters and people on rental bikes. The two weeks ago I started to notice more houses going under contract. The numbers are not staggering but they are on the uptick.

Let's take a quick look at the single family homes under contract in Key West as of February 5, 2020.

Number Under Contract    Price Point Range                    Average Price Per SF

3                                            $199,000 -  $500,000                     $976

21                                          $500,001 - $1,000,000                  $557
  
11                                          $1,000,001 - $2,000,000               $812

5                                            $2,000,001                                    $1,022

Total 40 

There are currently 207 single family homes on the market priced from $300,000 to 6,200,000. A couple of those houses are approaching their third anniversary of being offered for sale. That should tell you something about the house, the location, the owner, the listing agent, or all of the above.

I then checked to see how many single family homes were listed over $2 million - 49! Most of these homes are located in either Old Town or the Casa Marina Area,  One is in Bahama Village, one on Sunset Key, one on Hilton Haven, and several in The Meadows. The average asking price per square foot is $939. 

I meet a lot of "lookers" at open houses most of whom are tourists taking a nosy to see what houses look like and dream about owning one some day. Many of those people are from the upper Midwest, New Jersey and New York. They complain about the cold and taxes (state income and real property taxes) where they live - especially in comparison to real property taxes in Key West. Florida has no state income tax which I believe may be driving some of the higher end home purchases.

It will be interesting to see how many of the 207 single family homes sell (close) before August and how many unsold dogs are on the market in February 2021.