​Single family (SF) home sales in Old Town Key West, areas south and west of White St. (see map), remain sluggish through February 28, 2013. Only 17 single family homes have sold, 5 of them over $1M. There are two likely reasons; inventory of SF homes for sale is down and those homes that are on the market are overpriced. 2012 was the third year of rebounding prices, especially for larger homes, and sellers are trying to capitalize. Yet, Buyers remain very selective, viewing many and taking few. The below charts show sales of the seven most popular bed/bath combinations in Old Town Key West from Jan 2000 to Feb 2013.
The graphs here are for single family homes west of White St. and cover the neighborhoods the Meadows, Old Town, Truman Annex and Casa Marina but not Sunset Key. You can view a neighborhood map here. The seven bed/bath combinations below contain enough sales to measure and evaluate trends before, during after the real estate Bubble.
One, 1 Bed/1 Bath homes has sold in the Old Town area thru 2/28/2013. Inventory of 1/1 homes is down as many were bought in the early 2000's and upgraded to 2 Bed homes. Owners of unimproved homes have not discounted fix-up costs. Also, first-time buyers have turned away from small Old Town homes, buying elsewhere or renting.
Two, 2 Bed/1 Bath homes have sold thru 2/28/2013. The average sale price of $275,000 is down 25% from 2012. Price per square foot was down 8% to $357. There are eleven 2/1 homes for sale with prices up to $910,000. The chart shows a clear basing of prices and a return to higher prices, but not that high.
One, 2 Bed/2 Bath homes has sold thru 2/28/2013. The sale price of $507,000 is 17% less than 2012. Price per sqft was $395, 23% less than 2012. There are eleven 2/2 homes for sale ranging in price from $325,000 to $995,000. As the chart reveals, 2012 was the second year in the last four where sale prices have increased. Will that continue?
Two, 3 Bed/2 Bath homes have sold thru 2/28/2013. The average sale price of $512,000 was down 14% from 2012. The price per sqft fell 7% from 2012 to $389, though it is the first drop since 2009. The chart shows overall strength in price since the bottom in 2009. As with the 2 bedrom homes, there are many homes, fourteen, for sale. The price range is from $499,000 to $2.2M.
In 2012, more 3 Bed/3 Bath single family homes (27) sold in the Old Town area then ever before.
Five, 3 Bed/3 Bath homes have sold thru 2/28/2012, well exceeding the historic trend of 11 annually. The average sale price of $888,000 was down 3% from 2012. The average price per square foot of $478 is slightly above the five year average. When combined with 3/2 homes, there is a clear trend towards 3 bedroom homes as value buyers purchase larger homes to stay in with friends and family.
Two, 4 Bed/3 Bath homes have sold thru 2/28/2013 at an average sale price of $907,000. This is 26% less than 2012 but the price per sqft was up 10% to $515. Last year twelve 4/3's sold, exceeding the historic trend of 9 sales annually and continuing the trend towards larger homes.
Two, 4 Bed/4 Bath homes have sold thru /28/2013. The historic trend is 5.5 annually. The average sale price of $2.011M is up 125% over 2012 which was down 32% from 2011. The average size of 3060 sqft is the largest recorded and the price per sqft of $657 is 70% higher than 2012. Again, demand for larger homes remains strong and value buyers looking for three and four bedroom homes have excellent, albeit pricey, options on the market.
Perspective
All told, seventeen single family homes have sold in the Old Town area thru Feb 28, 2013. Looking back in 2012, 2011 and 2010 those numbers were 18, 19 and 17. Also, thru Feb 28, 2013, five homes have sold for over $1M. In 2012, 2011 and 2010 those numbers were 4, 3 and 5.
Sluggish sales - yes - but historically off line - no.