Key West Beachside Resort - Bank Owned Unit

Key West Beachside Resort

Just listed, but not by me, a luxurious Bank Owned unit at the Key West Beachside Resort. And this particular unit is more beachside than most located here as it has direct water view and beach access via spiral staircase down to the beach.

The listing Realtor describes Unit # 111 this way:

"Beautiful end unit with a private staircase that leads to the breath taking beach. Property has great water views from each room. Property offers open and spacious floor plan. This unit comes fully furnished along with a transient rental license."

The Beachside Resort is located at the east end of the island of Key West. It's close enough to drive to Old Town to see a play, to dine at a great eatery, or to party with friends. It is conveniently located near our three shopping centers. The airport and several marinas are all within a mile or so. And the Key West Golf Course is only five minutes away.




The Beachside Resort has all of the amenities you would expect including a private beach, huge pool with poolside bar and grill, gym, lush tropical gardens, private parking, plus the hotel amenities including concierge service and restaurants. Imagine the convenience of having all of that available every day.

Unit No. 111 is Bank Owned and the asking price was just reduced to $364,900. or $448 per sq ft for this 814 sq ft one bedroom, one and one-half bath luxury condominium with features that exceed what you will not likely find elsewhere in Key West and certainly not in this price range. The unit comes furnished.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West mls listing data sheet and photos for Unit No. 111. Be sure to notice the monthly association fees of $1821.29 which include "Exterminating, Trash Removal, Building Exterior Maintenance, Building Insurance, Common Area Maintenance, Pool Maintenance, and Security".

I've been to the Beachside Resort many times. The place is a total class act each time and all the time. You will be proud to have your friends and family visit you. The unit comes with a Transient Rental License which permit rentals on a daily basis. A new owner may opt to rent the unit through the on site hotel management company, or through a property management company, or keep this special space all to yourself.

Compare this bed, bath, and the view beyond to what you might expect to see in a similarly priced condo elsewhere in Key West. No comparison!


If you would like to see this unit or any other property in Key West, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyer's agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc. in Key West.

4125 Eagle Avenue - Key West

 4125 Eagle Avenue - Key West

Just listed by Preferred Properties, but not by me, 4125 Eagle Avenue on the sunrise side of Key West. I know most of my readers will only consider buying a place in Old Town. Some will consider the Meadows and Casa Marina areas. And a few bargain buyers know the best values on a per square foot basis are homes at the Key West golf club. I truly hope some reader will take the time to look through today's blog and click the photo link that will appear later, because if you do, you may just fall in love with this gracious home that has so much to offer.

Many out of area readers may not be familiar with the location.  I dug deep into the old shoebox and found a couple of aerial photos of the area taken a few decades back. The first photo (immediately below) shows the U.S. Navy Hospital and the grounds immediately west of what is now South Roosevelt Blvd. 4125 Eagle Avenue would be in that general area.

The next photo below was taken in the 1970s and shows the same general area. 


 Better than that, click GOOGLE MAP and take a current aerial view of the area and then use the toggle switch to see a street view 4125 Eagle and the surrounding homes. You will be likely be impressed.

The listing Realtor describes 4125 Eagle Avenue thus:

"Circa 1926, this classic Spanish Deco has peerless curb appeal! Located in a prime New Town neighborhood, the home with sprawling lot and manicured lawn commands admiration. The main house has two bedrooms, three full baths, remodeled kitchen, formal dining room, living room, den and study. A lovely portico provides covered outdoor sitting and connects the main house to a detached garage. The expansive grounds feature tropical foliage, fish pond and a secret garden! The delightful two-story cottage features a downstairs workshop with an inviting one bedroom one bath apartment up. Other amenities include garage with door, built-in vacuum, ample storage, and much more. This is a truly unique New Town property with historic value."

4125 Eagle Avenue offers 2268 squre feet of living divided between two floors in the main house plus a stand alone guest cottage at the rear of the huge 80' x 120' (9600 sq ft) lot.  Not included in the square foot calculations is the stand alone extra large garage of portico that welcomes friends and family to this seductive property.

Family Room

The main floor of the home features an inviting living room that has a real log buring fireplace (original to the home), an adjacent office, and family room for watching TV.  The kitchen has been remodeled and provides lots of counterspace for meal planning and preparaiton. The kitchen even has a large walk-in pantry. 

My jaw dropped when I saw the dining room for the first time. It is truly breath taking. Really!  The dining room sits at the rear of the house and and features French doors on two sides with muted views out to the lush gardens. Tucked back into one corner is a wet bar and  the powder room is nearby. You can tell that this space has been often used for grand entertaining.

Dining Room, Wet Bar, and Powder Room

Upstairs you will find two equally eloquent master suites, each with en-suite baths. The front bedroom has a small second floor terrace as well.

The second bedroom occupies the back half of the house and includes an extra large bath area.

Rear Master Suite with Extra Large En-suite Bath

The guest cottage at the rear of the property offers several different scenarios for living including presumed use as guest accomodation; living space for a mother-in-law or teenage with a desire to be left alone; or living space for a caretaker, nanny, or other live-in.

There are babbling ponds and water features in several locations throughout the property. I found hidden gardens where other owners would have ignored the spaces. I could see that this home and this yard have received the kindest of care for years. But that is not to suggest there is any deferred maintenance, for I saw none. Everything I saw looked bright and clean and well cared for.

What the house does not have is a swimming pool. There is plenty of room for a pool and decks.  This is the only thing I can think of that a new owner might spend money on. CLICK HERE to view a slide show of photos I took of this lovely home.

4125 Eagle Avenue is offered at $1,350,000. CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls database on this property.  If you would like to see this special home in person, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West.

Key West Mid-Year Sales Report

 I did a quick search of the residential real estate sales in the Key West area for the first six months of 2012. The sales area I used was from Mile Marker 0 (Old Town at Mallory Square) to Shark Key. I excluded Big Coppit sales as I do not think they represent the Key West market.  A total of 138 single family homes sold in this area at a median price of $670,850 or $374 per sq ft. During the same time period in 2011, a total of 139 single family homes sold at at the median price of $640,203 or $358 per sq ft. 

I then went back to the 2012 data and looked at only the Old Town, Meadows, and Casa Marina areas to determine the sales for these areas more preferred by second home buyers. I found there were 63 sales with an median sales price of $829,022 or $494 per sq ft.

Since most people who read my blog are looking for their dream house in Old Town, I narrowed the focus to single family houses in Old Town priced over $500,000. Thirty two single family homes sold in this area at an average sales price of $943,328 or $521 per sq ft. Next,  I narrowed the focus even further and looked for houses that sold that were listed less than one year. I found 24 sales at an average price of $890,268 or $515 per sq ft with an average 95/105 days on the market. I excluded all listings over 31 days and found 11 single family houses sold within one month of listing date at an average price of  $915,000 or $523 per sq ft. Several of these houses went under contract within a couple of days after listed. (The lesson here is watch the new listings and be prepared to act fast.)  Finally, I searched only houses that had been listed for over 500 days. Readers will recognize some of threse because I wrote about some of them several times. Nine such houses finally sold at a median  price of $850.611 or $463 per sq ft.

At the beginning of 2012 I was very optimistic about the selling season, but I became more pessimistic as the months dragged on.  I think I sensed the apprehension many buyers still had. I actually lost a couple of sales because buyers feared a possible double dip recession and voiced concern over what was (or still is) going on in Europe.  Our inter-connected world probably caused other buyers to hold off making purchases now sensing that times may get tougher.  

Currently there are 78 single family homes shown as contingent or pending in the Key West area. Forty of these properties are either bank owned or short sales awaiting final bank approval. Several of these properties have been shown as contingent or pending for well over half a year or longer. The remaining 38 sales are traditonal market sales. 

The biggest obstacle I see to selling real estate in Key West at the moment is lack of inventory. Most of the buyers I work with want the Key West getaway place that they can occaissonally rent for a bit of income to help suppliment the costs of buying the property. If you look back at the house sales for 2012 you will see aggressive buying for new listings under 31 days on the market. And you will see stale inventory getting purchased as well. The buyers are there. The inventory is shrinking and buyers are looking for something (almost anything) to buy.

If you are among the many who buy a place in Key West, CLICK HERE to search the Key West Association of Realtors mls database. Put in your own search criteria and see what you find.  If you see something that interests you, please consider contacting 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. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.

707 Southard Street - Key West Cottage - Back on the Market

707 Southard Street - Key West, Florida

This special little home at 707 Southard Street is located in the heart of Old Town Key West and is back on the market. (It's been on and off a couple of times since it was listed this spring.) You can't beat the location for convenience. Most of the neighboring homes are equally charming and certainly much pricier. The asking price will fit the budget of many buyers who want a simple getaway place: asking $565,000.

The house next door to the east

The listing Realtor describes this special property this way:

"The Quintessential Conch Cottage on one of the best blocks in the center of Old Town. Utterly charming. Relax on your front porch and watch the world go by. Just a block to Sarabeths and two blocks to Duval. Separate outdoor building houses the original kitchen. The interior was just updated with refinished bath with stone floors, new fixtures, completely repainted interior, refinished wood floors. Outdoor shower and laundry."

The funny thing is I walked by this house on Monday and thought to myself I wish a place like this or its neighbor on either side were for sale. All three look absolutely perfect. Serendipity, perhaps?

The roof is composed of two sawtooth gables plus a rear shed addition. The home is painted a bright white. The blue shutters contrast the white so perfectly that the resultant appearance is crisp and clean. The front porch provides an excellent perch for viewing the continual people parade. I can imagine sitting there sipping an iced tea greeting passersby as they say things like "I love your home!" or other such words of praise and envy.

The house itself is small, just 606 sq ft. The living area is quite spacious and tastefully designed. Six over six window provide light on the south and east walls. The master bedroom is located front west and when the bedroom door is open the filtered light from that room adds additional light to the living area. So what one might assume to be a small space actually appears quite large. There is a smaller second bedroom at the rear. Both bedrooms have private baths. The dining area is nestled between the main house and the historic cook house at the rear which is housed in a smaller building. The cool pool is located to the west of the cook house. What a delightful place to spend the spring, or summer, or fall, or winter, or the rest of your life. 707 Southard Street may be everything you need in a picture perfect setting and located near where ever you want to go. CLICK HERE to view photos I took of this charming cottage home.

Dade County Pine walls and ceiling plus six over six windows equal Key West Classic

Sophisticated but not stuffy

Master bedroom (above) master en suite bath (below)

The second bedroom (below) has private bath and a view of the darling pool

Dining is nestled between the main house and cook house

The cook house is located in a separate building at the rear

The pool

Sarabeth's is just a block away to the west. The Cafe Marquesa is a five minute walk. The Monroe County Library is around the corner: perhaps a three minute walk. Ten minutes if you stop to speak to neighbors. Five Brothers is located a couple of blocks east. You can be almost any place in Old Town within a five to fifteen minute walk. And that's why living here is so great. Your needs are less and they are fulfilled without a lot of to-do.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West Association of Realtors mls datasheet and to view the listing Realtors photos. Better yet, please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 to schedule a visit to see this place. Don't wait. This cottage home is one of the lower priced ready to move in homes in Old Town offered at the price point where many buyers are prepared to buy. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Coastal Realty, Inc.