Key West is on Fire - In A Way

Photo from Dale McDonald Collection December 1984 of fire at 1019 Duval Street.  The fire I am writing about is going on right now. Businesses are not burning nor are houses. The fire this time is the real estate market which got stifled after the world shut down in March in response to Covid 19. I remember the day I got a phone call telling me the city was shutting down. I said something like "They can't do that!" Followed by "What about all of the people staying here?" They can and they did. The tourists left. The main only highway into the Keys was blocked by the Monroe County Sheriff. People that did fly in were scrutinized before allowed to enter town.

On June 3, 2020 I posted a blog about the real estate sales for the first five months of the year. I limited my report to the Old Town and Casa Marina areas and compared 2020 sales going back to 2013. CLICK HERE. I knew prices had risen dramatically but suspected sales there would have been fewer sales in both areas in 2020. I was wrong.

The road block came down June 1st the tourists returned to town and the other Keys. It was gradual at first and then they tourists came back with a fury. I have gripped that the tourists have not been safe. That is a separate story. Today I am writing about real estate sales in the past 40 days.

A total of 37 single family, condos, and town homes sold/closed between June 1 thru July10 at an average sold price of $768,541. The least expensive sale was a small cottage condo at 1012 Varela Street that sold for $247,000 or $1,025 per sq ft. 714 Passover Lane (pictured above) originally listed at $1,536,000 sold for $1,080,000 cash. It was a fixer in a superior Old Town location. A house built in 2017 on Albury Street sold for $1,670,000 after having been on the market for three years. Another house on White Street which had been on the market since February 2019 starting at $2,100,000 sold for $1,650,000. A large number of the closed sales sat on the market for quite a long time period (two years or more) or were located in difficult locations. 

I noticed that nine of the sales were recent listings as opposed to some the aforementioned dogs. Four sold below $418,000 low priced houses seem to always sell first. Four properties sold between $540,000 to $600,000. One new listing from two weeks ago closed yesterday for $925,000 cash.

There are 70 properties identified in the MLS as contingent or pending at an average list price of $896,945. Several of these properties have been on the market for several months while others went under contract within ten days of being listed including ever-popular Truman Annex properties.

I have been talking to other Realtors who are reporting increased activity in their business. What was despair a couple of months ago has turned into enthusiasm as our real estate market improves. I know some potential buyers expected our prices to tumble. That did not happen. We do not have fire sale prices. We do have a return of active buyers.

If you are thinking of buying a permanent home or an investment property please think about call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. (I also list houses.)

1307 Elizabeth Street, Key West Florida - Just Listed

The listing Realtor describes 1307 Elizabeth Street this way:

"Once in a lifetime, does a historic Conch Home, in old town Key West, on a very quiet lane, with all the luxuries of a new build come on the market. Now is that time. This amazing, cute, and fully functional home is located just steps away from Dog Beach, world-famous restaurants, Downtown Key West and all that Key West has to offer. Perfectly located on a very quiet one-way lane. Just recently updated, it's just like moving into a new home but this home has an amazing past. Original hardwood floors, brand new kitchen, updated bathroom, and new paint, are just a few of the upgrades this Historic home has to offer. Are you ready to kick back and live the Key West Dream? Well then this is your home. Call today for your private showing and see it for yourself."

The freshly renovated house hit the Key West MLS on Friday just in time for the 4rh of July rush. I got to see it on Sunday afternoon while playing tourist in my hometown stay-cation.  A young couple was leaving the driveway just as I entered. They said hello and said "You'll like it!" 

People who saw the house  a year ago or so will be impressed to see the once over-grown lot has been cleared and cleaned. What appeared an ominous task wasn't as big a deal as feared. The grounds are now vacant and ready for a new owners' gardening fantasy to take root.

There is a brand new kitchen, new bathroom, and floors throughout. Clerestory windows in the family room fill this room with light. Glass panel doors at the rear open out to the backyard which is large enough for a small pool. The shed a the rear is plumbed for washer and dryer. The interior and exterior are freshly painted as is the privacy fence which surrounds the yard.

The "front porch" is actually a private outdoor sitting area off the bedroom. Entry to the house is on the side as shown in the earlier photo set. Now that the entry is located at the middle of the house, the front room is a much larger bedroom with adjacent bath. There are windows on three sides of the bedroom giving it a cheerful ambience. A large textured window gives the bathroom diffused sunlight in the daytime. You cannot see out nor in. I peeked to no avail.

If you'd prefer sitting on a beach rather than putting in a pool, South Beach and Higg's Beach are both within easy walking distance. This home would make a great little monthly vacation rental. It is close to all the attractions but far enough away not to be a part of the hoopla.

1307 Elizabeth Street is still a part of Old Town. This block runs only one block long from United Street at the north to South Street, naturally, at the south. Simon Street is the neighbor to the west and Villa Mill Alley is the street to the east. By the way the adjacent to the rear (1316 Villa Mill Alley) sold in February 2020 for $3, 245,575. There goes the neighborhood!

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and more listing photos of 1307 Elizabeth Street, Key West. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. More people arrived just as I departed yesterday. This house will sell quickly now that the guesswork is gone.

912 Fleming Street, Key West - Sunday Open House

Are you looking for a home big enough for all your little'uns with separate bedrooms for each and a beautiful garden and pool?  Head over to the Open House at 912 Fleming Street Key West between 12 to 2. Please remember to wear your face mask.

The 3,228 Square Foot House has 6 bedrooms, 5 1/2 bathrooms, a 30 Ft Heated Pool and Spa situated on 113' X 50' Sq Ft lot in the Heart of Old Town. The pool is totally private - no prying eyes and it has a multi-million dollar view. You really need to check it out. CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS.

CLICK HERE  to view the Key West MLS data sheet for more information.  Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, is the listing agent at Preferred Properties Key West will be hosting the open house.

Razing 1420 Whalton Street, Key West Florida

I blogged about 1420 Whalton Street  In September 2019. It is large corner lot located in the highly sought after Casa Marina Area. The Mid-century house had its benefits and flaws, but most of all it had the desirable location. 1420 Whalton St sold in March 2020 for $1,182,747 or $277 per sq ft.  Three days ago bulldozers and dump trucks descended upon the site to raze the house. The story is the new owner purchased the property to prevent the lot from being over-developed with some monstrous contemporary home.

It will be interesting to see what the new owner does build. Stay tuned.

For buyers thinking about buying a home in Key West, please consider contacting me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a full time buyers agent at Preferred Properties Key West. There are buying opportunities in Key West including nice homes in the Casa Marina area that are move-in ready and that will not bankrupt you.

Cooties Revisited

I was at the gym earlier this morning when another Key West Realtor entered the door. He swiped his membership card and walked over to hang up his keys. He came over to where I was working out to say hello and asked if I have been busy. Not I said. It's been dead. He said the phones have stopped ringing.

I asked if he had checked his cooties at the door. He smiled. He is 25 years my junior. I asked if he even knew what cooties are. Yes. Then he added his wife is a school teacher. She said her kids are playing Corona-Tag. So much for explaining the virus to them.

That made me think back to when I was in elementary school. I wrote about this before but since the real estate market is slow, I'll repeat my story for anyone who may be interested.

It was fall 1959.  I was in the sixth grade at Mountain View Elementary just a few miles east of the front range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Mr. Albert Morrison was my sixth grade teacher. He had fought in World War II. He was a member of the Kiwanis Clubs and got his organization to provide our school with yellow rain slickers, Army surplus helmets painted yellow, and white safety belts which the sixth grade boys wore while on safety patrol. Mr. Morrison also assisted Dr. O'Day who was our Boy Scout troop leader. Mr. Morrison took our troop up to Eldorado Canyon (Colorado) for a three day weekend camping trip where I saw him smoke and heard him swear. He was mortal. I was shocked.

I guess every school has a kid that is a bit different. Our kid was Tommy Myers. He always looked and smelled like Pig-Pen. He was never really scrubbed clean like the other boys. I am certain he had cooties. Really!

Mr. Morrison did not like Tommy. Not one bit. One day Mr. Morrison got so mad at Tommy that he suddenly walked from the front of the classroom to Tommy's desk where he grabbed Tommy by his dirty little arm and yanked him out of his desk and dragged him through the classroom like a rag doll and kicked him out the door! We were shocked. We had never seen Mr. Morrison or any teacher ever treat a student like that. Mr. Morrison was three or four times the size of that kid. He had been in the war. He could have killed the kid. Yeah, he smoked. He swore. He beat up a little kid. Today he would have been arrested. Nothing like that happened back in 1959.

One time Tommy gave me a twenty dollar bill to bribe me to be his friend. That night I was ironing my money so it would look crisp. My big brother saw my stacks of ones but got really bossy and demanded to know where I got that $20. That got my mother in on the conversation. They probably thought I stole it from them. I never did anything like that. I told my mother that Tommy had given it to me. She made me return the money to Tommy's mother. Twenty dollars in 1959 would be worth $174.78 in 2020. I would have been rich if I hadn't been such a neat freak or my brother had not been so bossy.

Cooties. If only life was so simple.

Garage Sailing in Key West

This blog is now twelve years old. I have taken (literally and figuratively) thousands of photos of Key West properties over the years. I have stored them on several websites including Photobucket which was clumsy to use so I migrated Flickr which is my primary host now.

Yesterday I was searching my old Photobucket photos which go back about decade and found images of houses that have been renovated to the extent that I forogt how bad they used to look. That is why I do my continuing blog The Projects of Key West which I will be updating soon. I digress.

I came upon the photo above that I took years ago inside a cute little house on Elgin Lane. I just love the kitsch. Too wonderful for words. That's why I took the picture. It was of the one-of-a-kind lamp. I immediately recognized that lamp!

You may recognize the photo two above. It shows the living room of my new listing at 1213 Grinnell Street Key West. Look at the lamp next to the sofa. It's the same lamp that used to be at the Elgin Lane house except that it belongs to a totally different owner who bought it at a garage sale.

The owner told me that he and his wife love to go garage sailing. He has picked up some incredible one-of-a-kind items at bargain prices. He pointed out some of the pieces he bought and the amount he paid.  I was sitting on the above sofa as he described his purchases. I looked down at the sofa and told him a true story of two sofas of a similar design that I used to own.

I moved to Key West Christmas week in 1993. I had purchased the former Eaton Lodge guesthouse located at 511 Eaton Street. The building had been shut down for about two years while the property was being foreclosed upon by the Small Business Administration.  The windows and doors were boarded up to keep thieves and the homeless out.  The former owners left all of the furnishings including antique pieces of furniture acquired by their predecessors plus two white slip covered sofas of recent origin which were located  in the living room of the house once  owned William Warren, the town doctor. After we took possession we decided to keep the Eastlake pieces and all of the wood furniture but opted to put the two sofas out on the street. We knew someone would want those sofas even if we didn't.

We had barely got the second sofa placed on the sidewalk when this older man stopped and asked what we were doing and inquired if he might have the sofas. We had not had time to put the cushions on the sofas. He was delighted to learn that the sofas had cushions as well. Then he asked if we could hold the sofas until he could get a friend to help him move the sofas. I said yes. My partner and I moved the sofas back inside until the man returned with a younger man in his late thirties or early forties. I helped the younger man put these sofas in his aged Toyota. He made several trips carrying the sofas and cushions to some other location. The older man introduced himself as David Wolkowsky.

A year or so later my partner and I started to look at houses in Key West including a a newly built spec house on Admirals Lane in Truman Annex. I recall the asking price was $500,000.  The builder was David Wolkowsky. My two former sofas were located in the living room of this house. I laughed. I did not buy the house. I should have. That house is now worth around $2,000,000.

A few years later I saw the same two sofas inside a house David Wolkowsky had renovated on Washington Street in the Casa Marina East area.

I saw those same two sofas for the very last time on March 15, 2015 during an early evening Realtors Open House at a home Wolkowsky had just finished renovating on Johnson Street. This time they were located poolside near the giraffe. 

I got a phone call a couple of years ago from David. He had just finished a renovation on property on Eisenhower Drive which abutted a house I had listed on Albury Street. He called me to discuss the outrageous price I had on my listing. I told him the seller set the price, not me. He sounded genuinely angry at the price. He barked "Do you know who I am?" I said I did. He sold his house. My listing did not sell and has still not sold.

Some people recycle lamps. Some people recycle sofas. I recycle stories of Key West kitsch and characters. Go garage sailing. Buy somebody else's treasure. It's got to have a story behind it.

1012 Varela Street, Key West

Attention Bargain Hunters: 1012 Varela Street may be the bargain you have been looking for. Here's why. This two cottage assemblage is located in the Viva Varela Condominiums just a stone's throw south of Truman Avenue in the Old Town area of Key West. The front cottage consists of a good sized living room with two story vaulted ceiling. The walls and ceiling are Dade County Pine. Thee is a small bedroom downstairs and the master bedroom is on the second floor. It is accessed by a spiral stairway from the living room. The master bedroom is open to the downstairs so both spaces have a very open feeling. The one bath is located on the first floor. The kitchen is quite large. It has two sets of French doors that open on to the rear bricked courtyard. (There is also a laundry closet in the kitchen.)

The Viva Varela Condominiums is an assemblage of smaller homes grouped together for purpose of creating a common walkway providing ingress and egress to otherwise land lock cottages. The association maintains the common area and includes water. Owners are responsible for paying their own insurances and home maintenance.

I found the black and white photos of the front and rear cottages as photographed 55 years ago. Like in Key West was much less hectic and certainly much less expensive. As Key West became more popular and housing prices increased, home owners and developers created compounds and limited feature condo associations to provide a bit of cover from compliance with strict building code rules especially in creating common swimming pools or walking access lanes as in the Viva Varela example.

The second cottage sits near the rear of the lot. It has a good sized bedroom and large bath with a glass block wall that lets lots of light into the area. There is a deck to the rear of that cottage which has a separate gate that provides private entrance into the cottage without going through the main house. That would be an excellent place to put your guest so they won't disturb you after they return from a night on the town. That cottage does not have a kitchen. The living space is vaulted and has French doors that look out toward the bricked courtyard which separates the two cottages. That courtyard is large enough for a pool.

 CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet and listing photos of 1012 Varela Street Key West offered for sale at $749,000. Then please call me, Gary Thomas, Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West, to schedule a private showing. While this house does not have off street parking, it beats a lot of places similarly priced for charm, space, and privacy.