Key West Home Stretch Sales Report

Rita Hayworth and Dick Haymes at the Casa Marina Resort in Key West - 1954

Last week I had a lengthy conversation with a customer who bought and sold a couple of properties from me. We discussed the current state of the real estate market in Key West. I told her I think our market is both under priced and over-heated. I know that sounds inconsistent. I have studied this market since 1984 when I first visited the island of Key West when the Curry Mansion was listed for an astonishing one million dollars. Town folk thought the seller must be insane. I have been a realtor here since 1996. In late December I will be celebrating 11 years in writing this blog about Key West real estate. We had our downturn along with the rest of the United States right after 2008 Recession.  We experienced a second jolt  in 2010 after the media incorrectly reported that the Florida Keys were impacted by the BP Oil Spill. I can affirmatively report the Key West real estate market has otherwise risen year after year and that I have learned not to underestimate it.


Let's look at the sales of houses and condos & town homes for the first ten months of 2015 and 2016. Some readers may have seen a recent sales report generated by the Key West Association of Realtors. That report includes home sales for homes in our sales area which extends beyond Shark Key. My search is limited to areas between Key West and Shark Key.

2015  Total Single Family Homes SOLD  312
Lowest Price: $222,500    Median Price: $791,987   Highest Price: $5,000,000

2016  Total Single Family Homes SOLD 250
Lowest Price: $168,000     Median Price: $699,000   Highest Price: $6,225,000

2015 Total Condos and Town Homes  225
Lowest Price: $160,650     Median Price: $380,000    Highest Price: $2,300,000

2016 Total Condos and Town Homes  210
Lowest Price: $140,000     Median Price: $450,000    Highest Price: $2,100,000

There is an upward shifting price buyers are willing to pay for better homes in our market.  For readers outside of Key West is may seem incredulous but it is true that a starter home or a fixer-upper will likely cost about $500,000. And there are very few houses priced that low.

I did a second search to determine how many single family homes sold in 2015 and 2016 (from January 1 to November 3) with price spreads in the one to two million range, two million to three million, and over three million. The results are amazing.

2015 Single Family Homes SOLD  by Price
$1,000,000 to $2,000,000:  65
$2,000,000 to $3,000,000:    8
$3,000,000 and beyond:        3
Total:                                    76

2016 Single Family Homes SOLD by Price
$1,000,000 to $2,000,000:  47
$2,000,000 to $3,000,000:  13
$3,000,000 and beyond:       9
Total:                                   69

I read these statistics to show we are in a price downturn. I think our market is over-priced and that has caused the decline in the total number of sales. We may also be sharing in the national decline in total home sales reported on September 22, 2016 by the National Association of Realtors®.  Our market is different than most of America because we have a limited land mass and severe governmental restriction of building new housing. A good portion of the Key West market involves the resale of historic old homes. Buyers in all price ranges are impacted by the governmental rules and regulations which in my opinion have a depressing effect on the price buyers are willing to pay for a home.  We are now in the home stretch. Maybe the last two months of sales will exhibit a tremendous surge in home sales and upward price spikes.