Key West First Quarter 2021 Real Estate Sales Report

I am better at making pies than pie charts. I did not make the apple pie above. I found the photo and added the graphic to show I can do elementary math. The pie looks delicious.

The first three months of 2021 were extraordinary in so many ways. I was watching MSNBC on January 6th when I saw live footage of the first protesters walking around inside the capitol. I was shocked by the first views and transfixed by what happened for the next few hours. I watched late into the night trying to understand what and why what happened was allowed to happen. The day was so unbelievable and horrific for our country. It was like 911 all over again.

A couple of weeks later President Biden was sworn into office. Many policy changes were announced in the following days. The rhetoric changed. The political tone changed. People started to get vaccinated. Then millions and millions were vaccinated. It started to feel like we would actually get out from under the pandemic and maybe there would be less anger toward each other.

At the same time people from what seemed like all over America were coming to Key West to escape the pandemic and find a way to recreate. Others came here hoping to find a new place to call home or maybe to buy that second home they had dreamed of owning. Many people discovered they could work from home and decided they would prefer to live in Key West than Peoria - or wherever. I started to get emails and phone calls from potential buyers. So did just about every Realtor in Key West. Our typical selling season was anything but typical. Many properties went under contract within days of being listed. And some very old stale listings went under contract as well. The intensity of the sales played out daily.

I searched the Key West MLS for sales to single family homes from January 1st until April 1st. I only considered houses on the island of Key West. I went through the sales and eliminated sales on Stock Island and beyond. There were 132 single family homes sales that closed during this time period.

The least expensive house was a 460 Sq Ft house at 817 Terry Lane in Bahama Village. It was listed at $499,000 but sold at $460,000 or $1, 095 per Sq Ft. The same house re-sold the same day for $525,000. The statistical average house was 1,836 Sq Ft and sold for $1,453,800 or $786 per Sq Ft. The most expensive home was located at 13 Sunset Key Drive on Sunset Key, of course. It had 2,480 Sq Ft and sold for $5,200,000 or $2,097 per Sq Ft. Consider the view from the master bedroom.

For years it seemed that most seasonal buyers wanted to buy a home in Old Town or Casa Marina. As prices grew higher and higher, some buyers decided to expand their search areas to Mid Town and New Town. I believe those buyers were shopping by price more than location. And as we know the universal key word in real estate is location. So let's look at the sold prices for single family homes in those three locations.

Old Town by my definition includes White Street west to Truman Annex Waterfront Park and United Street north to the Gulf of Mexico. I included Sunset Key, but it is a diffident animal. I did not include any sales in the Meadows - the houses are essentially the same as Old Town but the streets are more narrow and the buying public view the location as too far from where they want to be. There were 50 single family home sales that sold at an average price of $1,649,000 or $917 per Sq Ft. I must always point out there is no such thing as an average price per sq ft because every house in Old Town is different in size, condition, lot size, location, and so on. Agents tell buyers not to make decisions based on price per sq ft yet many agents list houses based on this factor. Or at least they consider the price per square foot multiplier and figure out how to justify it to the public. 

517 Elizabeth Street - 2013

I blogged about 517 Elizabeth Street (above) when it was listed for sale after being freshly renovated in 2013. In that blog I mentioned Charles Olivieri, a former resident at 517 Elizabeth Street. He was a night - caller, whatever that was, back in the day. 517 Elizabeth Street sold for $1,975.000 in 2013. It re-sold in January 2021 for $2,550,000 or $50,000 over asking price. It never even hit the MLS. I assume this was a pocket listing. They still occur. They occur frequently.

Several houses in problematic locations in Old Town sold during this three month time period. Some houses priced over one million dollars that do not have parking finally sold. Some houses in the boondocks sold. Just about every house in every price range with every type of size or condition issue sold. The supply of single family homes shrank to near nothing. Many new listings went under contract within days of being listed.

I searched the Casa Marina Area which I define as White Street west to The Reach Resort and United Street south to the Atlantic Ocean. There were 13 single family homes that sold during this three month time frame. The least expensive was 907 South Street, a cheerful 720 Sq FT house with no pool on a small lot. It sold for $850,000 or $1,167 per Sq Ft. Remember, no pool!

I will do a shameless plug at this point. I have had a very good start to 2021. I sold three properties, each cash, since January 1st, including 727 Washington pictured above. It sold for $3,250,000 or $843 per Sq Ft. It is huge - 3,855 Sq Ft on an enormous 15,336 Sq Ft lot in the heart of the Casa Marina.

1100 Flagler Avenue was the most expensive sale during the first three months of 2021. It sold for $3,800,000 or $1,079 Per Sq Ft. This same property sold at $4,500,000 in November 2019. The new owners added personal touches and then decided Key West was not the place for them. It sold at a loss. Not because of the house or location. Well, location I suppose. It is located in Key West and that is where that owner decided was not the right spot. Go figure.

I combined the Mid Town and New Town single family homes sales into one search. There were 60 such sales with an average sales price of $1,111,511 or $627 per Sq Ft for a 1,760 Sq Ft home. Most of these home were renovated and several were recently renovated a second time. The renovated house at 2600 Patterson Avenue sold in one day on the market at asking price of $949,000 or $598 per Sq Ft.

Ten of the Mid Town and New Town homes sold for $2 million or higher including 1214 Olivia Street pictured above. That house is bigger than most people need. Many buyers might find the location too far from Duval Street while others would say the farther away the better. The 4,152 Sq Ft house sold for $3,455,000 or $832 per Sq Ft.

0 and 2 Go Lane were originally listed for sale at $5,269,500 and were required to be sold as one sale. That was revised and the price later reduced to $4,469,500 for 0 Go Lane. It was later reduced to $2.999,000 and eventually sold at $2,600,000. I never had to opportunity to show this home built in 2019. It is located on the highly desirable convergence of the Riviera and Sunrise Canals at the end of the Island of Key West.

There are 96 single family homes in the Key West MLS currently identified as contingent or pending sale. Prices range from $539,000 for 1707 South Street to $6,200,000 for a waterfront manse on Sunset Key. That is quite a disparity. Consider that $539,000 would buy a pretty substantial home in many parts of the country. I tried to show the $539,000 property. The agent said he had multiple cash offers over asking. The place is a tear down. I presume a new house will be built on the lot and re-sold for a lot of money in a year or two from now. This is life is Key West real estate in 2021 - pay high now or pay higher later. 

If you are thinking of buying a place in Key West and are not working with a Realtor, please consider working with me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or by email at garyethomas@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. Buy a house from me and I will bake you a pie. Or something better.