That Was The Year That Was in Key West Real Estate - 2020

 

At the beginning of each new year I like to look back to share what I consider to be the best real estate sales in Key West for the prior year. Given the year we just had, we are all lucky to be here. I am serious about that. Things could be much worse - there could be more deal people, stores could have been overrun by hoarders and normal everyday citizens could have taken up arms against each other. Well, I guess that did happen to some extent. 

I am old enough to know that life really does go on no matter how desperate some things may seem at any given moment. The other day I tried to remember the trauma I went through at age 16. I couldn't. I know it happened, but I cannot remember it now. I do remember not having electricity or potable drinking water for over a week after Hurricane Irma slapped Key West in 2017. The tree canopy in Key West was decimated. My island looked like a war zone. Today Key West is as gorgeous as ever. We will get through this pandemic and the political insanity playing out in Washington. It will all go away.

Let's look at some of the best real estate deals in Key West for 2020.

2400 Linda Avenue

I cannot believe my own eyes. I missed this house when it sat on the market for seven months. I only found it as I was going through sold homes this past year. The 1,506 Sq Ft CBS home was home built in 1950. The pics show a well cared for house sitting on a 6,472 Sq Ft lot overlooking the Salt Ponds. Both house to the east (same vintage and lot sizes) have been spectacularly renovated in the past two years. The house sold for only $525,000.

1221 Royal Street

The house at 1221 Royal Street isn't all that much to look at right now. It's only 882 Sq Ft in size but it sits on a large 3,278 Sq Ft lot in the Old Town area north of Truman Avenue. Workers have cleared the lot and gutted most of the interior. The new owner paid $649,000 for this fixer. He has done several very nice renovation projects. I expect the same of him here. So why this house? Because the buyer got a good sized lot near Duval Street. He paid a little more than what he would have had to pay in Bahama Village or Mid-Town for a fixer, but this location gives potential for a much larger profit on completion of whatever he builds. 

Many first time buyers in Key West only look at the price they paid as the determining "value" for a property. It's not. In my opinion getting the property is the prize in itself. Not every property will appreciate but most do. And some increase beyond imagination. Read to the bottom of today's blog. You would not have anticipated such a price increase. A lot of people would not have even considered that property because of location or cost of renovation.  

1809 Seidenberg Avenue

I specifically remember the first and only time I saw this house. It was during Realtor caravan in January 2020. It was offered at $900,000 which I thought was aggressively high for the neighborhood, not the house. The house had been thoroughly renovated and it looked great. I remember other Realtors giving it a thumbs up as well. That does not always happen during caravan. We can be pretty opinionated. I also remember being surprised to see it sold very quickly after the price was reduced to $860,000. It sold for was $840,000 or $495 Per Sq Ft which is a real value in Key West. I selected this home for another reason. It is an indicator for house values in Mid Town which have dramatically increased in the past couple of years. There are many renovations and tear-downs and rebuilds going on in this area.

908 Washington Street

I wrote about this brand new Casa Marina Area listing the first full day it was on the market: 

"Just Listed - 908 Washington Street Key West. This 1.988 Sq Ft three bedroom, two bath mid-century home located in the Casa Marina Area will like sell this week. It is in original condition and might benefit from a good update - but not in need of anything substantial in cost or scope. A buyer seeking a renovation property should take a look immediately. I saw it this morning and two potential buyers were to look after I left."

908 Washington St was listed for $925,000 and sold at $931,000 or $6,000 over asking in two days on the market. This was one time waits for no one houses. 1420 Whalton Street, located one block to the east, sold for $1,118,747 in March 2020. That new owner then bulldozed that house to the ground and "banked" the lot. That is the value of land in the Casa Marina Area. It is no wonder that 908 Washington sold so quick in December 2020. 

1609 Sunshine Drive

This house is one of 14 homes built around 2013 in the Casa Marina East neighborhood near Higg's Beach. All but one of the houses are three bedroom, three bath and about 1,695 Sq Ft in size. All have private pools. The landscaping is maturing nicely as the neighborhood feel emerges. These homes are less expensive to maintain and to insure. That makes them more desirable to a good portion of the buying public.

1109 Olivia Street

This home was one of the very best deals last year. It was thoroughly updated by the designer/owner who does high end projects. To me his design was akin to buying the personal residence of a master contractor. Most regular buyers can't afford to pay for that talent especially at this price point.  This house had an existing pool. New landscaping enhanced the street appeal in a great Old Town location. This Mid Century Modern home with 1,124 Sq Ft of designer living space sold in less than one month for $965,000 or $859 Per Sq Ft. 

1213 Grinnell Street

This 1,506 Sq Ft 3/3 home with a private pool sits on a large lot at the rear of Grinnell Gardens in Old Town. The owner renovated the interiors during the prior four or five years. The house looked great. It went under contract the first week on the market and sold for $1,075,000 or $778 Per Sq Ft. 

714 Passover Lane

This was a fixer home located on a large but odd-shaped lot located across the street from the Key West cemetery. It was initially offered at $1,536,000 which way way too high a price, The price was later reduced to $1,249,000. It sold at $1,080,000. That was a bargain considering the lot size and location. I was inside this house a couple of weeks ago. It is incredible.

711 Elizabeth Street

Picture Perfect. This 2/2 home with a pool and off street parking sits on the top of Solaris Hill in Old Town just two blocks from Duval Street. It sold was totally renovated - very sleek contemporary design. It sold for $1,175,000 or $901 Per Sq Ft. This home is both a leader and a follower of a recent design trend in Old Town. The historic facade betrays the totally radical interior where original walls and layout were removed and re-invented with big open spaces and ultra- current interiors. I liked this house but wonder how the interior will be viewed in fifty years.

616 Ashe Street

Ashe Street is one of those streets you can't find unless you are looking for it. It is just three blocks long and run between Southard on the north and Olivia on the south. It's narrow and not much happens there. And that is what makes it so charming. It functions like a lane, but is called a street. The house was in good condition when it was purchased in 2017 for a flip. The renovator sellers received a Ceramic Gold Star for their efforts. I selected this house because it represents a trend of renovators who are buying houses in very desirable locations and doing superior renovations using fixtures, appliances, and materials of the 21st Century. This 1,776 Sq Ft houses and guest cottage sold for $1,750,000 or $994 Per Sq Ft.

As I scanned the solds to make my selections I realized the very large number of sales over $2,000,000. It was just a couple of years ago I was complaining about all of the houses priced above $2 million saying there just were not that many buyers. I was wrong about that. There were in fact 23 such buyers in 2020. All but two of the sales were for houses in Old Town or the Casa Marina Areas. (I did not include Sunset Key in the searches.) The average house was 3,125 Sq Ft in size, listed at $3,018,674 and sold at $2,843,59. Those numbers in the abstract are not all that helpful.

Nine homes located in the Casa Marina Area sold in excess of $2,000,000 with the average home listing at $2,693,611 and selling at $2,591,111 or $899.17 Per Sq Ft. That is why when I write about a home in the Casa Marina being offered for sale in the low $1,000,000 price range I suggest buyers run to buy it because someone else will and quickly.

1019 South Street

I don't have a favorite among the nine houses Casa Marina solds but feel 1019 South Street is a good representation of all. It was built new in 2008. It has big rooms, large bedrooms and ample baths, a beautiful pool, and sits amid a grove of palms and other tropical plantings. It is the type of home buyers seek in the Casa Marina Area - a large well built home on a large lot with pool. Casa Marina is an alternative to the historic homes of Old Town which some view as too congested. This home quickly sold for $2,850,000.

744 Windsor Lane

Twelve homes in Old Town sold for in excess of $2,000,000. I sold two of those including 744 Windsor Lane which sold for $4,700,000 on March 2nd just a short time before the City of  Key West and Monroe County shut down. The sales prices on this group of homes reflect the size of the homes, lot size, amenities, and location. Of course in Key West you can find a castle located next door to a taco stand. The average home listed for $3,164,000 and sold for $2,937,715 or $912.72 Per Sq Ft. (Casa Marina average price was $899.17 Per Sq Ft.)

707 South Street

I wrote about 707 South Street a couple of times over the years. It located on the very edge of Old Town and Casa Marina across the street. The street can be busy in the daytime but it is very quiet at night. It is the house where scenes from the James Bond film License to Kill were filmed. That house sold in March 2014 for $1,100,000. This past week it topped off the sales for 2020 at $5.312.007. The house was totally rebuilt and new landscaping designed by Craig Reynolds. Craig did the landscaping at 744 Windsor Lane as well. 

The good thing about Key West real estate is that it continues to be in demand. The bad thing about Key West real estate is that it continues to be in demand. Prices go up and that makes prices go up for everything and everybody.