3529 Sunrise Drive - Key West - A Blast from the Past, A Chance to Recast

Sherman & Peabody and the WayBack Machine

3529 Sunrise Drive - walled & gated and surrounded by lush gardens

The lovely home at 3529 Sunrise Drive in Key West was built in 1963 and incorporates many of the styles and trends of that era. I pulled out the WayBack machine and recalled these events that occurred in 1963: the Beatles record their first album Please Please Me in a single session; Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique which re-launched the women's movement; General Hospital and The Outer Limits debut on ABC and My Favorite Martian premieres on CBS, Leave It To Beaver ended-he grew up; Martin Luther King was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama for parading without a license and later issues his Letter From Birmingham Jail; Gary Thomas saw President John F. Kennedy in Berlin; the US, UK, and USSR sign the nuclear test ban treaty; Martin Luther King delivers his I Have a Dream speech from the Lincoln Memorial; instant replay was used for the first time during the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia; John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and three days later Lee Harvey Oswald was killed on live TV.

Events, styles, trends, fads, they all last for a while but many impact our lives for years or decades into the future. When you are young, you tend to live in the moment. As you get older, you learn that not everything in the world revolves around you. As you get much older, you may learn that what you do or say or think is of no consequence to anybody. That's sort of what happens to styles, trends and fads-they get ignored or displaced or even replaced. Styles that were hip become passe. Maybe that's why for many people buying a house in the Old Town area of Key West is so safe: old is always popular there. Even cherished.

If you are old enough to remember the 1960s you will recall the space race and the New Frontier. You will remember the forward thinking we embraced. Our TV, our culture, our furniture and home goods, and our architecture reflected the hopes and dreams as aspirations of that time. Some homes today still have fallout shelters that were built in the 1960s, a different and sad face of the culture of that time.

The home at 3529 Sunrise Drive incorporates many of the features of large suburban homes built during the early 1960s including multiple living levels, large rooms, vaulted ceilings, and large outdoor living areas. The listing Realtor describes the property this way:

" Everything you want in Key West living. Plenty of room both inside and out for entertaining or just relaxing with the family. Vaulted ceilings and large rooms make the interior exceedingly livable. A walled lot, lush landscaping, large pool and several covered outside seating areas along with offstreet, covered parking make this an ideal property. This is a home that you can live in tomorrow or add personal touches to create your own island oasis."

Formal entry

Living room with vaulted ceiling - located off the formal entry

Sunken dining room

Classic open kitchen with lots of cabinets and work spaces

Note the dial telephone and built-in radio!

Master bedroom with en-suite bath

One of several outdoor venues plus a lovely pool

3529 Sunrise Drive is a big house located a on a large lot on the east side of Key West. It is far removed from the hub bub of Old Town. This is a family area and this is a very nice family home that looks to be in very good condition. The house has 3378 sq ft of living space and sits on a 8937 sq ft lot. The lot is surrounded by a large privacy fence. There is a large electrically operated gate for entry to the covered parking plus boat storage area. CLICK HERE to view a slide show with lots of photos of this home. This property is listed by Preferred Properties, but it is not my listing. It is offered at $899,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls data sheet.

If you would like to see this blast from the past, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a visit. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West, Florida. Check it out and see how you could recast this property into the home of your future.

The Key West Bank Dick - Part Two

I've complained before that the Key West Association of Realtors mls database does not automatically show bank owned properties. Some Realtors believe that lender-owners do not want to disclose to the public that a bank owns a piece of property. I guess that is possible, but having worked in the Special Assets division of two banks, I know that we advertised we were selling bank foreclosures. There is a segment of the market that wants to buy bank foreclosures: they think they are going to get a deal. They have watched those late night infomercials on how to buy real estate in a down market.

I decided to do my best imitation of W.C. Fields as The Bank Dick and went through the mls database and found the properties CLICK HERE that are bank owned. These properties are primarily single family homes in Key West. A couple of the properties are very nice. So there may be a real bargain if you play your cards right. I suggest that you look at 3 Casa Roma Lane and 1710 Bahama Drive, both are water properties and are located in Key West.
If you are interested in MidTown CLICK HERE to see 1300 Ashby. It is a large house with 3 beds, 2 baths, on a large lot at only $309,000.

If you are looking for commercial property, CLICK HERE. There is a Duval Street Transient Licensed property ($4,300,000), a Stock Island multi-unit property (2,300,000), and a Key Largo commercial property ($3,300,000) that are each Bank Owned. Bank financing of these properties may be available.

Most of the bank owners periodically reduce the asking price on properties that do not sell. Some of these properties are getting stale. They have been on the market a long time and nobody wants them. A couple actually look pretty interesting. Checkout the list and if you see a property that you like, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com. Let me be your Bank Dick and let's find a deal.

July Real Estate Sales for Key West

I have often reported that the best time to buy a home in Key West is during the summer when sales are low. There usually is not as large a selection because sellers typically wait until late fall to list hoping to sell in a more robust market.

Key West had only ten single family residential sales for the month of July. The least expensive was a 2 bed 1 bath home with 627 square feet. It was on the market only 27 days and was listed and sold at $390,000. The average home was a 2 bedroom 2 bath with 1309 square feet that was listed at $912,709 but sold for $826,591 after being on the market 186 days. The most expensive home for the period was a 3 bedroom 4 bathroom with 2,710 square feet that was listed and sold at $2,675,000 after 549 days on the market. There were 17 sales during the same time period in 2006 and 17 sales during 2005.

Condo sales were much worse. There were only 5 condos sold during that same time period. The least expensive was a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom on the golf course with 680 square feet. It was listed and sold after being on the market for over a year. It was re-listed at $392,000 and went under contract 4 days later. It sold for full price. The average condo was a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom with 1,036 square feet listed at $656,800 and sold at $584,200 after 239 days on the market. There were 13 sales during the same time period in 2006 and 18 sales during 2005.

The National Association of Realtors reported dismal sales results last week for the period ending July 31st and that sent (and other disappointing economic news) the DOW into a tailspin. There is no mistaking it: Key West real estate is in the dumps. Here is another interesting tidbit.

The Key West rental market isn't fairing much better. There seems to be an oversupply of homes, condos, and apartments for rent. Many would-be sellers have opted to rent there properties rather than trying to sell them in this market. That means that renters for once have an advantage because the rates are down for rentals as well or the rates have not risen by 10% over the prior year as is the norm.

The houses and condos that sold quickly during the month of July were priced to sell. Not priced to see how many cobwebs could be grown. There are some good deals in the Key West market. CLICK HERE to preview all current mls listings in real time and then give me a call to see if we can find a home or condo that suits your needs. Thanks.