Remember Key West was hit by Hurricane IRMA on September 10 2017 and that Puerto Rico was devastated by MARIA a week later. The entire country watched countless hours of television coverage of both storms. Key West missed the devastation that destroyed so many homes only a few miles to the north. Not much else happened in Key West for the month of September 2017 which is the starting point of my inquiry.
Single Family Homes SOLD YEAR Number Avg Price Avg Price Per Sq Ft
2017 1 $680,000 $267
2018 15 $1,119 $731
2019 9 $955 $587
2020 12 $973 $613
All of these numbers relate back at least a month earlier than September of the year and more likely relate back two months or longer. Labor Day 2017 fell on Monday September 4th. Nobody I know works on the Friday before Labor Day Weekend. Hurricane Irma had been churning around in the Atlantic for the couple of weeks prior. It was predicted to hit somewhere in south Florida on Sunday September 10. About half of the locals evacuated. I stayed in Key West. I saw no use fleeing north along with 20,000,000 other Floridians. Almost all businesses including title companies and real estate closing attorneys closed. Most bars and liquor stores stayed open. Hurricane Irma made actual landfall on Sunday morning September 10th. Key West was without water or electricity for a least the follow week. That explains why there was only one closing during that fifteen day time period.
While the national media painted a bleak portrayal of Hurricane Irma damage to the Florida Keys, when tourists returned to Key West they saw a different reality. Town was spared significant damage. Sales picked up throughout 2018 including three high end sales that closed in early September 2018 which explains the higher average sales price.
There were only nine closings in same time period solds in 2019 - three less than 2018. Both the average sold price and sold price per square foot were down as compared to 2018.
The year 2020 is probably the worst year of most of our lives. Most of us, no matter where we live, have been cooped up inside our homes for over half this year. Tourists were kicked out of the Keys during in March during our busiest time of the year. But the buyers came back as soon as the gates were opened. They started to buy houses once again. The closings for the first two weeks in September reflect an optimistic outlook for the future. There are 55 current contingent or pending single family homes shown in the Key West MLS with an average listing price of $1,084,940. I believe this reflects an optimism about the future of Key West. What happens in the national real economy will prove the correctness of my belief.
I will stop right here and not going to become a Karen. There are enough of them.
Gary Thomas, Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. 305-766-2642. Representing buyers and sellers. And an occasional Karen.
No comments:
Post a Comment