There were 18 single family home sales in Key West during July 2009. Only two of the houses were bank owned, but seven were short sales. Because of the disparity among the types and locations a price per sq ft on solds doesn't make sense. Instead, CLICK HERE to view all single family solds so you can see for yourself what sold and compare the asking price to the sold price. There were no major Key West houses (Old Town or Casa Marina) that sold during July. The most interesting house was 1322 Thompson Street. I showed it to several potential buyers. They hemmed and hawed and waited too long. This beauty sold at the asking price of $875,000.

By comparison there were ten single family home sales in Key West in July 2008. (That is 10 less than in 2009.) Last year four major Key West houses were sold including the mansion at 1101 Casa Marina Court that sold for $4,650,000. In 2007 there were ten single family home sales. At least two of the houses that sold during this month in 2007 are now or have become short sales. A couple of others are back on the market and are now priced to break even. There were nineteen single family home sales in 2006. You guessed it: several of the 2006 sales became short sales (or close to it) since then. Let's see if anybody reads this blog. 1101 Casa Marina Court (mentioned above that sold in July 2008 for $4,650,000 sold in July 2006 for $3,400,000.

July 2009 saw 22 condo and townhome sales in Key West. Seven of those sales were identified by the listing Realtor as short sales and eight were identified as bank owned properties. Most of the sales looked like they were distress sales to me. One Realtor included these comments: "Great investment opportunity. Cleaned up unit rents for $1,250. Cash only, No fiancing contingency. Needs new appliances, flooring and painting. Unit was gutted and had to be sold immediatley"? That place sold for $95,000. And another Realtor provided this comment on her listing: "At this time tenant is not cooperating with showings. Tenant will be out at the end of June." That place sold for $170,000. That's why I call them distress sales.

One of the better buys was a two bedroom two bath condo in the Cuban Club at 1108 Duval Street. That unit had a transient license and was sold in 22 days. I sent emails on this property as soon as it was listed to several potential buyers. They couldn't act quickly and lost out. A local bank owns a similar but smaller unit in the same complex. That unit is half the size of the unit that just sold but it is listed for sale at the same price as the unit that sold. The bank asset manager told me last week that the bank is in "no hurry" to sell because the unit stays rented all the time. I don't know if that local bank got any government bailout money. If it did, we should ask for it back. Banks are not supposed to speculate in real estate and that is exactly what this bank is doing. It is betting on the cum that the market will recover and that several months down the line the bank will sell the unit at a higher price then than it can today. If any bank director is read this blog, you ought to be having a heart-to-heart with your asset manager.

In July 2008 there were eleven condo and townhome sales. One was on Sunset Key while most were units on the Atlantic Ocean side of Key West. Three of the eleven were identified as bank owned.

For fun CLICK HERE to see the condos and townhomes that sold in July 2007. Fun for you, maybe not so fun for the people that bought then. The prices seem high on a price per sq ft compared to what similar units are being offered and or sold at today. Included in the "solds" in July 2007 were three units at Beachside.

I represented a buyer that just could not find the house they wanted at the price they wanted to pay. They found a place they loved, but we could not get the seller to accept that premise that the property would not appraise for the dollar amount the seller wanted. My buyer said something like "If we had bought ____ Street, we would be the laughing stock of Key West. We would be the only people who bought into the bottom of the real estate market and paid too much." She was right. They purchased two beautiful side by side lots in Casa Marina. The lots were short sales that closed in about 60 days of the date listed. My buyers are going to hire a local architect to design and supervise the construction of a new house with everything the house they could not purchase for a cheaper price. The new place will be larger

There are 103 single family homes currently shown as contingent or pending. Oh, there are another 117 condos and townhomes also shown as contingent or pending. Many of those are short sales. Some of those will not close. Some banks (like the one in Maryland that approved the side by side lots) are getting better at approving short sales. While other banks let houses and condos sit abandoned. The big house at 916 Eisenhower is prime example. It is being destroyed. The lawyers and asset managers ought to be fired for their incompetence. That house is going to be a tear down if they don't do something quick. There some good short sale specialists that get their assets approved in a timely manner and there are some that are just awful. There are banks that move rather quickly, and there are banks that are so big that they don't have to do a damned thing.

If you compare 2009 to 2007 sales we have more sales. The price per square foot has gone down across the board, but Old Town and Casa Marina have held their values better as compared to other areas. There are very few Old Town and Casa Marina homes priced under one million dollars. There are 45 homes priced between $1.1 to $1.9 million CLICK HERE. There are a lot of buyers looking in this range. We have five months before season arrives. Five months filled with hot days and maybe some hurricane scares. I know that several homes on the aforementioned list of 45 homes are in foreclosure. I wonder what is going on in the minds of the listing Realtors and the sellers.

The talking heads on TV seem to think we may nearing the bottom of the market and that the economy will rebound by the end of this year. It always rebounds. Maybe one of those 45 houses shown above is just the kind of place you have dreamed of owning. Maybe you will be one of the buyers who gets a great deal in Key West during the down market. Or maybe you will be one of the many who will moan and groan a couple of years from now and say "I wish I would have bought that place when I had the chance."

Don't be a moaner. Be an owner. Please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642 or e-mail me at kw1101v@aol.com. Let me help you find your place in Paradise.