Apples and Oranges

I just received my April 2007 issue of Architectural Digest. On Page 140 of my issue (South Florida) there is a picture of a current listing of a Key West water view home priced at $5.995 million. The house was featured in AD in October 2001.

I mention this property because it is referenced in a paid advertising section disguised as an "Editorial Feature" of fine estates around the world. Realtors pay a fee to show their listings in this section. Nothing wrong with it. But the way it is presented is misleading in my opinion.

Other fine homes and estates are similarly featured each month. So the reader can do some comparison shopping in various price ranges around the globe. Other magazines have similar features and I think it is very interesting to compare what you can buck can buy in Key West as opposed to some other destination.

I will bet you dollars to donuts that you could almost buy an entire town in some area of Alabama for $5.995 million. But then who would want that? You may be able to buy tony townhouse in Manhattan for the price, but the price you pay to live in Manhattan is more dear considering all the people and all the pressure.

CLICK HERE to see a similarly priced home in Palm Springs, California. And CLICH HERE to see the Key West home in the current issue of Architectural Digest. Or CLICK HERE to do your own search of all Key West homes.

For the life of me I can't imagine why anyone would want to live in Manhattan, Alabama, of the desert. But I can give you tons of reasons why you should consider living in Key West.

One final point of note: something is going on in town. All of a sudden there is a flourish of real estate activity in Key West. There are 24 days left of prime selling time before the serious buyers go away until next season. The number of price reductions on existing listings has picked up. Sellers are getting serious about setting rational asking prices. And some buyers are responding by writing contracts. Properties in all price ranges are going under contract each day. The number of of listings still exceeds the demand, but the good news is that some properties are starting to sell.

Gorilla My Dream

Remember the Connie Frances movie Where the Boys Are? They are in Key West this month for Spring Break. Town is divided into four distinct categories: typical tourists that take up lots of space on sidewalks, people with money who tend to hang together, the breakers, and the locals --we tend to avoid Duval and all other tourist places like the plague (there so many people here right now!!!).

Our weather is so fair that the breakers have to dress for the beach all the time: meaning they hardly dress at all. If you are a father or mother with a son or daughter in Key West rest assured that your kid will return home with an all over tan. Without exception!

Tyler who works the morning shift at my gym arrived at work this morning at 6:00 AM. He just got off his other real job at one of the Duval Street bars. He said the breakers were fairly nice last night. He didn't have to 86 anybody. But, he said, they didn't leave until closing time which is 4:00 AM.

So you can see why I included the pics above. The breakers memories of Key West may be somewhat flawed. But they will surely recall that they had a great time.

Affordable Housing--in Key West. Are you kidding?

Key West is going to hold semi-annual elections later this year for City Commission and Mayor. The candidates are already calling for More Affordable Housing. The problem isn't getting politicians to agree on meeting the demand for affordable housing, but rather deciding on where to build it and how to pay for it.

Construction costs and land costs in Key West are so high and and building code and building restrictions so onerous that the construction of new affordable housing has become nearly impossible. When the city built the new Roosevelt Annex a few years back, it took longer and cost more to build than it should have. Pritim Singh developed an adjacent parcel within half of the time. (Singh developed the Truman Annex and other very successful projects throughout the Keys.)

One of the current topics on the county government level is for the school system to provide affordable housing for new teachers. And there are stories of doctors leaving town because they cannot afford to own a home here either. In fact, those are not stories. They are real life statements.

Key West is not alone in needing to find a solution to its housing dilemma. CLICK HERE to read an article on Affordable Housing For The Upper Middle Class presented in Matrix.

I have an idea for a quick and affordable partial solution to the affordable housing crunch: buy this 5 unit building at 1110 Eaton Street in Key West. It is listed by our office at the affordable price of $997,000. There are three studio units on the main floor and two studios with loft bedrooms on the second and third floors. Four of the five units have been remodeled. And there are three off-street parking spaces.
These units should rent for $1100 per month or more in today's market. Please call me toll free 1-877-778-7092 for more information on this great little housing opportunity or CLICK HERE.

Buy KEY WEST Real Estate in Your IRA

I learned a couple of years ago that you can use your IRA to purchase real estate investments. There is an article you can read on line by KELLI L. CLICK entitled Buy Real Estate in Your IRA. CLICK HERE to read the ARTICLE. Or do as I did and do a GOOGLE search to search for additional articles that explain the process.

I view the process as being somewhat akin to the IRS Section 1031 rules. There are specific rules regarding how the property must be acquired, held, financed, etc. If you follow the rules, you get to use your IRA to potentially make a huge investment gain in today's fumbling real estate market.

Today is March 13th and the website BEST MORTGE RATE is quoting 30 year fixed mortgages at 5.375%. That rate is not for a non-recourse loan such as would be required to purchase real estate for your IRA. But the rate is indicative of the current low market rates that should be encouraging real estate investment.

There are many properties in Key West that may qualify for a self directed IRA real estate investment. Do your own search of the current inventory of properties by CLICKING HERE

If you see something you like, please call me at 1.877.778.7092 for more information.

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda!

I Could Have. I Should Have. I Wish I Would Have!

Everybody has to have made a comment like that. But lots of folks make those comments all the time when they talk about buying property in Key West. Me included.

A couple of weeks ago some former customers who make at least one annual trek to Key West visited me at an Open House I was hosting at the Sea Isla Townhomes. They live in Connecticut and have four children that are matriculating through college. Their goal has been to get the kids through school, sell an investment property that they own in Connecticut and buy a second home in Key West.

About six years ago we looked at two adjacent houses in the 1000 block of Fleming Street. (One of the best blocks in town.) The houses had been hideously and cheaply redone a few years earlier, and needed some revamping. Her father had been a builder, so she was familiar with construction and saw the potential in the location and the properties in particular. But the money issues prevented them from investing in the project. Somebody else bought the properties and did an "over-the-top" redesign of the property. CLICK HERE to see what the property looks like today. It is offered at $4,395,000. In 2001 it sold for $660,000. The present owner did not put $3.8 million into improvements. But he did create real value by designing a very special property.

Not all stories play out like this one. Most people have fairly simple goals. They lay in a hammock on their guest house porch and dream about what it would be like to own a home or business in Key West. They may even go talk with a Realtor and pretend they intend to buy a house. They may even go so far as to write an offer to buy a house. But so many potential buyers find a reason to not do the deal.

Three years ago houses were selling like hot cakes in Key West. The demand was insatiable. Today, it is the exact reverse. Prices are down. Demand is down even more. I am even thinking of buying another property because I know that if I don't, some day I will say I Coulda, Shoulda,Woulda!

It's official: Now's the time to buy

CLICK HERE to read the full text of a just released study from the University of Florida advising hopeful homebuyers in Florida should act now: The price is right as the state’s single-family residential housing market bottoms out, according to a University of Florida study released March 9th.

SAW 3 -- Revenge of the Nerds

I am not a tree hugger by nature, but I do love trees. I grew up in Colorado and there are millions and millions of pine trees there.

So when I made my first trip to Ft. Zachary Taylor State Park at the southwestern end of Key West I was surprised to see Australian Pines. Lots of them. They were clustered near the beach. There were old fashioned wood burning fire pits and picnic tables that reminded me public campgrounds in the Colorado Rockies. But 30 feet fro the pines there was the Atlantic Ocean. The juxtaposition was mind boggling.

I just took the existence of the pines as a forever thing. Not so. The Key West Citizen reported today (March 10th)"Crews began toppling 88 Australian pines at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park early Friday, to the dismay of tree advocates. The state expects to complete this stage of the tree-removal project by the end of the weekend. Some of the felled trees will be chipped, others will be burned..."

The State of Florida oversees so much of what we do in the Keys. This is ridiculous. We are in an area of critical concern, so they say. So the state has to look out for our best interest. Some bureaucrat (NERD) made a decision that since Australian Pines are not indigenous to the Keys that they should be eliminated. News Flash: most of the vegetation on the Island of Key West is not indigenous either.

It took so long for those trees to grow and mature. It took minutes to destroy something so beautiful. For no damned good reason.

A Room with a View

3 Sunset Key Drive is the exception, not the rule, in Key West real estate sales today. Click the address and you can see what this ocean front home priced at $6.5 million has to offer. But the catch is: it SOLD in mid February 2007 for $5.8 million.

We have had several big sales on big houses during the past year. But the market on low-end and mid-range properties is stagnant. Very little is moving. The properties that are selling are either priced "to sell" or are special, such as the house on Sunset Key. There are several homes on Sunset Key currently available, but they are not waterfront and do not have the allure of the aforementioned home. It is unique.

The aerial photo at the upper right shows Sunset Key--just to the west of Mallory Square in Key West. The house that sold is just below the pier on the left side of the photo.


There are 26 days of prime selling time between today and Easter Sunday. The day after Easter most hotels and guest houses reduce their rates. The budget minded traveler's start their annual treks to Key West in search of sun and fun. They make toy with the idea of buying a home in the Keys, but my experience has been that people that are too cheap to pay full fare to come here during season are also too cheap to buy a house--no matter how deep the discount.

There are some very nice properties with great views available at reasonable prices. Why not plan a trip to Key West to check buy your dream home in Paradise.

Psst! Wanna Buy a Condo?

1402 Olivia Street is a heck-of-a-deal if you are looking for a condo in the Old Town area.

It is the entire first floor (1600 square feet)of a great older home that was converted into 4 condo units. It has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a newer kitchen, laundry, and private (exclusive) use of the pool and grounds.

The present owners must sell, and the price had just been reduced from $719,000 to $549,000 or $343 per square foot. The owners paid $590,000 in 2004 and must sell now.

The place needs a little tlc, but at the asking price, it is a real bargain. Call me if you would like more info on this property: 305-766-2642.

Deal or No Deal

In my previous post regarding "Handwriting on the Wall" I discussed the dramatic price reductions occurring that are becoming necessary to sell some properties. Today's blog is going to discuss what one smart developer is doing to avoid holding an inventory of over-priced and unsold properties sometime in the near future.

Atlantic Drive is a new neighborhood development being constructed just 750 feet from the Atlantic Ocean. These 2-story homes will each have a private entrance through a separate gated picket fenced yard. Each home will feature custom finished interior with 9-ft ceilings. Each home includes custom milled baseboards, crown moldings, exotic hardwood flooring, Thermador Professional Series kitchen appliances and Anderson doors & windows to create a light & airy expanse. The homes are designed to replicate the charm of Old Town Key West.

It sounds to me like these homes will have all the bells and whistles being offered by other developers in the Old Town area, but here's the rub: the developer is offering these 1950 square foot units at a pre-construction price of $1,295,000 or $666 per square foot. If you look back at some the other new properties currently being offered, you can see that this developer is not going to sit on his project. That my friends is a deal.

If you bould like more info on Atlantic Drive Townhomes, please call me at 1-305-766-2642.

Handwriting on the Wall

"There was so much handwriting on the wall that even the wall fell down." Christopher Morley

A Total of 46 residential properties (condos and single family homes) sold in Key West between January 1st thru February 28th in 2007. And there were an additional 4 commercial sales. Sales are down miserably from 2005 when there were 105 residential sales during the same time period.

Almost every day the number of new listings is exceeded by the number of listings with a price reduction.

It is a good time to buy, but it is a horrible time to sell. I think there is some panic setting in. Certain areas are seeing huge price reductions such as the golf course. Units that sold for $525,000 in 2005 are now re-selling for $355,000. That is scary. The seller took a $165,000 hit plus had to pay the commission and closing costs for about $25,000, so the total loss was $190,000 for two years of ownership. That is depressing. And the sad fact is that there are several units at the golf course on the market right now in exactly the same position. And the same holds true for single family homes Key West. These "short sellers" are having a negative impact on the rest of the market and are dragging down the market as a whole, because those sales impact the entire sales dynamic.

The picture to the right is used by Permission of the artist, Kimberlee Clark.