In the Old Town area of Key West there are six neighborhoods; The Meadows, Old Town - North, Truman Annex, Bahama Village, Casa Marina and Old Town - South.  Despite the close proximity of these neighborhoods, each is different.  Whether the neighborhood is the original Old Town, had a specific "start" date, was pre-planned or just grew over time, each neighborhood offer Buyers an opportunity to often buy a very particular style and characteristic.  Likewise, each neighborhood has a different price point and cost factor.  Let's review these six neighborhoods and see what the sales figures from Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2016 can tell us.

The Meadows

Until the early 1900's, The Meadows was very sparsely populated, there was a small cigar manufacturer or two and a few general stores.  The area was mostly open terrain with rough roads and coarse grass.  History tells us there was a dairy or two. 

Not until Henry Flagler brought his Overseas Railroad to Key West was The Meadows built up at all.  As the railroad came closer to town, there needed to be places for the workers to live that were in close proximity to the worksite.  The Meadows was ideal.  It was close to the work area, level and mostly uninhabited.  Workers built simple one story houses on small plots of land that were sturdy and enduring.

Today The Meadows is approximately 300 single family frame homes, single and two story with even a few Sears "kit" homes still standing.  The style is mostly "cigar" or "shotgun" homes with homey porches, pocket pools and a real sense of neighborhood. Zero drive through traffic and a total abscence of commercial structures makes for quiet and familial living.

As you can see from the chart, nineteen homes have sold in The Meadows in 2016 at an average sale price of just over $1.145M.

Old Town - North

Old Town - North is the original Old Town, Key West. For many people this is the most desirable neighborhood in Key West; hence, it has the most number of sales thru December, 47, and the highest total sales volume, $57M.

Many of the homes in this area are on the National Registry of Historic Homes.  Some homes were originally built in the Bahamas, de-constructed, boated to Key West and re-constructed.  Old Town - North contains the grand homes of former political, artistic, military and social dignitaries. Also, there are beautifully renovated shotgun homes and cottages that adorn hideaway alleys and byways. 

Sprinkled through the area are a variety of boutique shops, pop up galleries and delicious eateries. Continuing to the waterfront one can both imagine and see restored remains of the warehouses that once made Key West one of the richest cities in the US.

The average sale price in this area is approximately $1.213M at an average of $746 per square foot.

Truman Annex

Data includes single family homes, townhomes and condos.

Truman Annex traces its roots back to the mid 1800's when it was an Army base, that became a Navy base, that then housed the winter White House for President Truman and to this day retains a military presence.

As a residential community, Truman Annex is a Homeowner's Association, governed by the Truman Annex Property Owners Association (TAMPOA).

Truman Annex is a "new' community with frame-built townhomes and single family homes designed and constructed to reflect the historic Key West architecture plus upscale condos located in restored concrete buildings that date to the 1940's and were used by the US Navy when "The Annex" was all Navy property.

A key component of home ownership in Truman Annex is a transient license specific to properties in the Annex that allows property owners to rent their property on a weekly basis.  This income producing element is a key factor in the sale price of Truman Annex properties.

As you can see, though only twenty-six properties have sold in 2016, The Annex has the second highest average sale price of $1.286M and the highest average price per square foot of $955.

Bahama Village

Bahama Village is the Greenwich Village of Key West.  It is the most vibrant, coolest and most colorful neighborhood in Key West.  Bahama Village traces its roots to when some of the oldest families in Key West immigrated to the US from the Bahamas and other Caribbean island nations.

The area is predominantly frame constructed homes though there are numerous eateries, galleries and locally owned and operated shops.  Everything in Bahama Village has its own signature, nothing corporate or cookie-cutter.

The brokerage I work for, Island and Resort Realty, is located in Bahama Village, on a narrow, one-way street that is festooned with one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants. Never a dull moment.

Eleven homes have sold in Bahama Village in 2016 at an average sale price of $716K.  These eleven homes had the smallest average size at 1343 square feet.

Casa Marina

The Casa Marina neighborhood owes its name to the hotel there of the same name - Casa Marina.  The hotel was another of Henry Flagler's contributions to Key West and has seen itself built as a grand hotel, then purchased for use as officer quarters by the US Navy and then sold and bought multiple times by hotel corporations (currently Waldorf-Astoria).

The Casa Marina neighborhood was in fact the first "suburb" of Key West as prominent home owners in the original Old Town relocated to "the other side of the island" for a little more elbow room.  Hence the lots and homes themselves tend to be larger than the other neighborhoods.  Additionally, most of the homes are made of concrete or concrete block and tend to be a 50/50 mix of ranch and two story.

Casa Marina homes tend to be very stylish and more "modern" in design, though there are some very unique homes including one on South St. that used to be the Dance Hall at the end of the line for the Overseas Railroad, was partially destroyed by a huricane and then towed by truck to its present site.

The Casa Marina has the highest average sale price at $1.335M, the largest homes at an average 1755 square feet and on average takes the longest to sell a home, at 216 days.

Old Town - South

For many, Old Town - South may once have been called the Cuban neighborhood.  This no doubt was in reference to the cigar manufacturers in the area, some of which were the most famous in the US, and the managers and workers who lived close to the manufacturing factories.

As such, this neighborhood has many homes that still retain elements of Cuban architecture, most notably Cuban tile.  No better example of this can be seen then the house at 1209 Packer St., a Craftsman style bungalow once owned by the prestigious Ferdinand Hirsch Cigar Manufacturing Co.

Most of the homes in this neighborhood were built as families grew by birth or marriage; hence many of the homes here are neither large nor grandiose.  This makes for excellent opportunities to buy, renovate and hold or resell.  This neighborhood is a young neighborhood will many young familes, couples and singles.

Old Town - South has the second highest number of sales in 2016 at twenty-nine sales.  The average sales price of $896K reflects an upward trend as more and more homes are bought and renovated either for resale or by smart buyer/owners looking to get ahead of a trend.

Conclusion

In Key West, every neighborhood is unique, every street, lane and house is its own entity - not a copy.  At every turn your parameters of ownership can be met; price, size, amenities, location.  In addition to satisfying your purhase preferences, there are skilled craftsman galore in town who can convert your vision into your perfect room, pool, garden, archway, nook or cranny.

Because of these attributes and the uniqueness of Key West itself, sales prices and number of sales data for 2016 continue to move upward and onward.  Whether you are looking for a primary or second home, it is here in Key West.

If you have any comments or questions, please contact me here.

Good luck!