There are four name "neighborhoods" in downtown Key West. Routinely, sellers in these areas tell me their home should be marked up a few percent because of where they live. Recently, I gave a listing presentation to a seller that included detailed pricing data and my Premium Marketing Plan. Every fact and figure was fully justified and the sellers were comfortable enough to tell me their story of how they got here and why now they are leaving. Still, I detected some hesitation. In response they said, "You didn't include something extra for our area."
Which downtown neighborhood is the priciest?
An economist or businessman might explain the perception of the Seller as that of "goodwill". Porsche, Mont Blanc, Chanel, athletes, models and the Key West zip code, 33040, all carry some measure of added worth merely by their presence. Fair or not, over time and based on performance, the consumer has established a value above and beyond the actual value of the asset, aka Goodwill.
OK then, what about the value of the seller's fine neighborhood and how does it compare to the other neighborhoods that comprise the mostly downtown area of Key West?
The priciest neighborhoods in Key West are The Meadows, Old Town, Casa Marina and Truman Annex. The Meadows is the smallest of these. In the late 1800's and early 1900's The Meadows was underdeveloped grassland and contained a few homes, several cigar factories, a few stores and the Key West dairy. In the early 1900's, the neighborhood blossomed as homes were built by and for workers for Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad.
Old Town contains the first homes of Key West which generally are wood frame structures from the mid 1800's to 1930's. A fair number of these homes were even built in the Bahamas, then dismantled and brought to Key West. Old Town homes often remind people of homes in the NE US with their porches and open, airy construction.
Casa Marina is a newer section of downtown. It lays south of Old Town and was an area established by Old Town's well-to-do in the 1930's and 40's who wanted some elbow room, in other words, Key West's first suburb. These homes are mostly concrete and have larger yards than Old Town.
Truman Annex sits on former US Navy property. After the Navy departed, the property lay fallow for years until bought and developed in the late 1980's. Truman Annex is somewhat of a gated community and operates as a Homeowners Association. Homes here were built to specifically honor and replicate Old Town homes in construction and architecture.
You can see these neighborhoods in a map here.
In order to answer the question of which neighborhood is the priciest, I searched the Multiple Listing System of the Key West Association of Realtors. I mapped each neighborhood and searched for single family homes sold between January 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015. (For the Truman Annex I also included Townhomes).
The results are clear.
The Casa Marina neighborhood sells single family homes with the largest average square feet and at the highest average sale price. The average sale price of $1,330,667 is 23% ahead of the second highest average sales price neighborhood of Old Town.
At 135 sales, Old Town clearly leads as the neighborhood with the most homes sold. Considered by many as the architecturally preferred area of Key West, Old Town has the largest variety of homes to select and includes neighborhood galleries, eateries and stores.
Truman Annex has the fewest number of single family and townhomes sold, 20 properties, but the List Price to Sale Price ratio is highest at 98%. Additionally, since the average size of a Truman Annex property sold is smallest at 1313 square feet, the $1M+ average sale price yields the highest average sale price per square foot of $825.
According to the sales data, The Meadows is the most "affordable" of the four neighborhoods reviewed. The average size of the 24 homes sold during the review period was second highest at 1681 square feet. Consequently, the average sale price per square feet was the lowest at $537.
The combination of a value purchase, appreciation from improvements, a friendly neighbor-to-neighbor atmosphere and an interesting history, makes The Meadows a very desirable neighborhood in which to buy and live.
Conclusion
Each of these four neigborhoods has fantastic attributes beyond home size and price. Architecture, safety, history and best of all, the people who live there make these neighborhoods, actually all of Key West, a neighborhood where you can feel like you belong.
And what of the seller who overestimated the value of their home because they and their Realtor were not fully aware of the data above? Unfortunately their home still hits unsold. Their first listing period expired without a sale. They kept the same Realtor and real estate company, kept the same price and the house still sits unsold. Too bad.
If you have any comments or questions, please contact me here.
Good luck!