415 Margaret Street - Old Town - Key West - Present Perfect

 415 Margaret Street - Key West - May 2012 - Present Perfect!

415 Margaret Street - Key West - A view from the Past - 1979

Wikipedia defines the grammatical term 'present perfect' as a  combination of the present tense and the perfect aspect used to express a past event with present consequences.  I think the two above photos eloquently demonstrate that term.

Roger Emmons at Truman and Company describes his present perfect listing at 415 Margaret Street:

"This is one of those very special homes where all of the elements come together to create an incredible setting for the perfect Key West lifestyle. The home is a beautiful combination of historic restoration and superior renovation with a wonderful floor plan that includes three ensuite bedrooms including the master suite which is located in a private wing overlooking the landscaped gardens and 40 foot pool. At the rear of the property is a spacious guest cottage complete with living room, kitchen, bedroom and secluded hot tub. Thoughtful details include large shady porches, Chicago brick patios and pathways that meander through the tropically landscaped gardens. Very private with off-street parking."

 Bricked Off Street Parking

 Gracious Front Porch that Wraps Around the House

 25 Foot Entry Hall that leads to the Family Room and Pool Beyond

The Arts and Crafts style home was built in 1929 and thoroughly remodeled and expanded around 2000. A generous addition was built at the rear of the originate house, and an expansive new master suite addition was added. A separate guest cottage with a mini-kitchen, living room with vaulted ceiling, bedroom and bath was built at the far rear of the lot. (Total lot size is quite large for Old Town - 56' frontage by 201' depth or 10,679 sq ft.) The renovation included porches, loggias, two outdoor showers, and other amenities folks in the 1920s and 30s did not even imagine. The result is gracious home with both formal rooms from the past and new spaces from the current which was designed for the easy Key West lifestyle.

 Formal Living Room with French Doors onto Wraparound Porch

Formal Dining Room

Rear Addition includes Family Room and Kitchen

 The stairway shown above leads to two bedrooms with en suite baths.  Both play off the simple original design of the historic house.

 One of the two guest bedrooms with en-suite baths

The new master suite addition, however, is a different matter. The suite is located off a private alcove whereupon you enter into the bedroom chamber with vaulted ceiling and French doors that open out to a private porch overlooking the pool and gardens.  The extra large en-suite bath includes his and hers sinks, shower, bathtub, and an outdoor shower.

 Master Suite with Private Porch overlooking the Pool and Gardens

Entry Alcove

Imagine Waking Up to this View!

 An Outdoor Shower is a Key West Essential! This One is Present Perfection!

The Guest Cottage is shown below

 With a Guest Cottage this sweet, your friends and family may never leave. And when they sit on their front porch in the morning sipping coffee, they get to look onto the pool and the main house and dream what it might be like to live here all the time.

View from Guest Cottage Porch

415 Margaret Street is indeed present perfect. The 3459 sq ft property is offered at $2,995,000. CLICK HERE to view a slide show of photos I took of this property earlier this week. And CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet and wonderful listing photos.

If you would like to see this perfect Key West home please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to arrange a showing.  This is the type of property many dream of owning - someday. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

524 Margaret Street #3 - Old Town Key West

 The Pool at 524 Margaret Street - Key West

Just listed, but not by me, 524 Margaret Street #3 in Old Town Key West.

I dug into the old shoe box and found a black and white photo (below) that was taken back in 1965.  Compare the old pic with the color photo just below it. You will notice the windows are different, shutters have been added, the chain link fence has been replaced by a white picket fence, and an exterior stairway added to the left side.  These readily observable changes don't tell the whole story, however. As prices on real estate escalated in the early 2000s a lot of large single family homes and some places that had earlier been converted into apartments were then made into condominiums. Such was the case for 524 Margaret Street when it was sold by author Nancy Friday in April 2002 to two Key West Realtors who then converted the four apartments into condominiums.  Their design captured the attention of the real estate market and the units quickly sold.

 Unit #3 is located in the rear and has two bedrooms, a good sized living room, a recently updated kitchen with vaulted ceiling, the ever popular Dade County Pine walls, and French doors that open out to the private deck that overlooks the shared pool. The unit has 652 sq ft of living space and is offered at just $250,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet.

 Private Deck circles the property to the south and east

 Recently remodeled kitchen with vaulted ceiling

 Living room

Second bedroom or office - opens out to deck

Pool is really, really nice. A great feature of this small 4 unit condo.

CLICK HERE to view more photos I took.  If you would like to see this unit, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West. 

1021 Johnson Street - The Casa Marina Area - Key West

1021 Johnson Street - Casa Marina Area - Key West

1021 Johnson Street is located on one of the best blocks in Key West, just a one block walk to the Casa Marina Resort and the Atlantic Ocean is only to blocks to the south. I found an old aerial photo taken of the area in 1970 that shows the edge of 1021 Johnson Street. You will note that the house is located just a couple of blocks north of the great Atlantic Ocean and Higg's Beach. The Casa Marina Resort is just a block to the west.


The house was originally constructed in 1958, but it has been updated several times over succeeding years. It received the 2006 Historic Restoration Award. For those readers who were born sometime around 1958 I am sure you are delighted to know that people of your era are now deemed "historic".

1021 Johnson is a big ranch house set back from the street and surrounded by a large privacy fence. The house has lots of room for either a local family or for a second home buyer who wants a lot of space for family and guests.

The living areas have large open spaces with terrazzo floors and flying ceilings. The master suite is located at the east rear of the house. That space is extra large. It has immediate access to the pool. There is a nice sized second bedroom at the east front which has its own bath. The house has rare double garage on the west side plus two large guest bedrooms above. The pool is sunny and inviting - a must for you sun worshipers. The covered lanai offers respite from the sun. CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet on this property which is offered at $1,890,000.

I often drive potential buyers through the Casa Marina area. We usually go past Louie's Backyard and Salute Restaurant on the beach. Louie's is high-end and expensive. Salute is cheap. Both serve good food and both are located about five to seven minutes away by foot from 1021 Johnson. Several gyms and yoga studios are located about six blocks away. Good food and a place to work off the fat nearby. What a winning combination.

Please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, if you would like to see this home or any other property in Key West. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

1709 Washington Street - Key West, Florida

I recently showed some potential buyers the really charming house at 1709 Washington Street which I told my buyers was located in "the country".  Up north in America the term country evokes the image of wheat or corn fields, cows and chickens, and a quite pastoral lifestyle.  Down here in Key West country conjures up houses with big lots located on one of the side streets with no sidewalks and tropical landscaping in the area just east of White Street on the south end of the island.  We met the listing broker at the house and she shared with us a similar feeling about the location and this particular house as having a country feel.  In her listing, the broker describes 1709 Washington Street this way:

"This charming historic home features two bedrooms, two baths plus a large eat-in kitchen, high ceilings with crown moldings and a wrap around porch. There is a spacious covered porch that functions as an outdoor living/dining room and opens to the sunny decked pool area. Easy to see."

The single story home at 1709 Washington Street has 1017 sq ft of living space under air. It sits on a 52' x 94' (4862 sq ft) lot near the corner of Ashby Street. That's in the general area where Mid Town Key West begins. Most of the homes in this area are single family and most of those are owner occupied. The lots tend to be larger than Old Town so the density is much less in this area. This home is offered at $585,000.  CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls datasheet and to view more listing photos.

This home has a really nice back area with a semi-enclosed deck area with orchid garden. The pool is extra large and ought to remain quite sunny during most of the day. Buyers who like to actually swim in a pool will love this pool. And there is even an outdoor shower. Move to Key West and you will learn to really love taking showers under the sun or moon.

If you would like to see 1709 Washington Street or any other property in Key West, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. in Key West, Florida. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

Key West "Selling Season" - a Perspective

 For Sale By Owner in Key West

The traditional Key West Selling Season (the time period between Christmas and Easter) just closed. I realize that many contracts that were written before January 2012 actually closed after then and that contracts written in April may not close for another month or longer. This analysis looks at the total closed transactions between January 1, 2012 and May 1, 2012 in the single family and compares the results to the same time period in 2010 and 2011. I used the Key West Association of Realtors mls database which shows only transaction where Realtors represented one or both parties. Private sales were not included.  I also counted only sales from Key West to Stock Island as I do not consider the areas outside of Key West to be part of our market.  My analysis may look different from what other reports may tell you.

There were 85 single family home sales in Key West between January 1, 2012 to May 1, 2012. The median sales price was $600,443 with an average price per sq ft of $376.00. I then narrowed the focus to the core Old Town, Casa Marina, and Meadows areas. There were 37 sales in this target area in the same time period. The median sales price in this select group was $829,991 with a sales price of $537 on a per sq ft basis. 

During the same time period in 2011 there were 93 single family home sales that sold at the median price of $672,462 with an average price per sq ft of $370.  The core area of Old Town, Casa Marina, and the Meadows areas had 51 single family homes sales in this period with a median price of $757,873 and sold at $423 per sq ft.

I then went back to 2010 to find that there were 92 single family home sales in the January 1 to May 1 time period. The median price then was $598,313 and the average sales price on a per sq ft basis was $376.32. Next I zeroed in the core areas of Old Town, Casa Marina, and the Meadows where I found there were 41 single family home sales at the median price of $806,878 at an average price per sq ft of $482.

By mid March I was getting very bothered by what I considered the sparsity of single family homes sales in Key West. I could tell we were not selling as much as we had in previous years.  And then something happened. I don't know what it was or what caused it. Sales started popping.  Houses that sat on the market for months and months started to go under contact. Then near the end of the month some of the bigger houses, the more expensive homes, went under contract. Moreover, newly listed properties got a lot of attention and quick response from buyers who were looking for properties to buy. While some buyers ignored our supply of houses for months, other buyers pounced on new listings as if there might not be any new listings for a long time to come.

We are now headed to the slowest time of the year for selling homes in Key West. Hurricane season is approaching and that always bothers the real estate market in Key West.  We have Presidential election that is gearing up. Both sides are firing off salvos at the opposing side. Very little will likely get done in Washington and that will likely cause an already jittery economy to remain on the edge. Potential buyers who fear the future will hold off buying during the short term as they will perceive the market is too unsteady.  They expect a future decline. They could be right. However, buyers who see other peoples' fears of the future as a buying opportunity will look at the uncertainty as a reason to shop for bargains while others are shaking in their boots.

If you are not afraid of the future and want to find a place in Key West, please contact me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or send me an email at kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.