Friday, March 14, 2014

Why 2014 Is A Good Year to Buy A Home

If you didn't buy a home in 2013, you may be kicking yourself now, says a CBS MoneyWatch article dated January 1. Home prices climbed nationally an average of 13.6 percent in 2013. (Read the report here.) The Key West market showed a similar increase of 13.8 percent in 2013, according to the Key West Association of Realtors. Condos and Townhomes actually went up 21.2 percent over the year!
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So why would those statistics make you want to buy a home in 2014? I'll tell you why. Because market forecasters predict 2014 will be another year of gains for the real estate market, despite the cooling of the rapid pace of sales at the end of 2013. Home prices are expected to rise 3 percent to 5 percent this year. That may not sound like a lot, but when you're dealing with hundreds of thousands of dollars, any increase is significant.

Additionally, Key West is radically different from the larger real estate markets across the country. Limited inventory (only 150 to 200 homes on the market at any given time) and a desirable location (especially with the winter the rest of the country has experienced), make it difficult to predict what median home prices we’ll be seeing next year.

The Key West Association of Realtors publishes a statistical analysis report every month using actual prices and numbers of houses sold in Key West. This is as good as it gets in terms of keeping up with our specific market. You can see these reports all the way back to February 2009 here. The most-recent report, published on March 5, shows an average increase in sales prices of 47.7 percent from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28, 2014 compared to the same time frame last year. The month of January alone showed an 87.3 percent increase from January 2013!
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Don’t take these numbers too seriously, though; they will likely balance out over the coming months. Higher mortgage rates will dampen the pace of both sales and price gains nationwide, but actually getting a loan will become easier next year. With less demand for refinancing, lenders will have to make up lost business by competing for new buyers and hopefully loosening their lending standards a bit.

Nobody can predict exactly what will happen over the next year, but I'd bet on one thing: home prices are rising and will continue to do so on our little island. If you weren’t one of the lucky ones who already bought a home in 2013, don’t make the same mistake in 2014. Now is a great time to invest in Key West!

To search Key West homes for sale, visit KeyWestListings.com or give me a call at 305-304-1708.

Seaport Realtors. "Navigating the way ..."
Steve Schwartz, Broker
Seaport Realtors
600 Frances St.
Key West, FL 33040
nexxthome@yahoo.com

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

1407 White Street: Move-In Ready Today!

Front view of 1407 White Street
White picket fence and screened-in porch highlight this street view of 1407 White Street
It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged about a new property on the market in Key West. The new year has kept us happily busy with tourists and Snowbirds enjoying their time away from the frigid North!

There’s a fresh level of excitement and activity to our little island that we haven’t seen for many years. We now know that the market has made a strong recovery beginning in the 4th Quarter of 2008 and is refusing to look back! Available inventory continues to diminish at a rapid pace and it's always interesting to watch a "free market" at work, as the local market is at or near equilibrium.

Renovated kitchen at 1407 White Street
Recently renovated kitchen with granite countertops
One of the great homes just listed is located at 1407 White Street in the Casa Marina neighborhood. This house is truly your very own Key West cottage with everything you have been looking for: screened-in front porch for enjoying your morning cafĂ© con leche or happy hour cocktail, recently renovated kitchen with granite countertops, spacious living room with lots of light, off-street parking (rare in Key West) and a huge yard that’s begging for a pool and tropical gardens.

Lots of light and windows in the main living area of 1407 White Street
Spacious living area with lots of light
The entire house, built in 1943, has been updated, renovated and well-maintained by its owner occupants (not renters!). You’ll find all hardwood floors, new fixtures, renovated bathroom, mostly new windows and tastefully-painted walls with white molding. The home doesn’t have central a/c, but it does include window units built into the walls. This is one of the few Key West homes priced under $600,000 that is truly move-in ready!
One of my favorite features is the screened-in front porch. Ever wonder why you don’t see many of these around Key West? It’s because they’re not allowed under current HARC (Historic Architecture Review Commission) guidelines. But since this porch was screened in before the commission was created, the porch can stay. But you’ll never see any new construction in Old Town Key West allowed with a screened-in front porch, nor will an old house be allowed to screen-in its current porch.
Screened-in porch at 1407 White Street
Can you see yourself enjoying a cocktail on this screened-in porch in Key West?
And for the buyer who wants to make some improvements either for his/her own use or to re-sell, there is plenty of room for that, too. The home itself is small, only 616 square feet, with two bedrooms and one bath, but the lot is super big for old town Key West. At 3,883 square feet, you could easily add a two-story addition with an expanded kitchen and second bath and still have room for a pool. Or keep the “cottage” at its current size and put in an amazing pool and tropical garden paradise. With either improvement, the quality of life and property value would go up immensely.
Huge back yard at 1407 White Street
Huge lot and backyard perfect for adding a pool, cabana & tropical gardens!

Back view of 1407 White Street property
View from back of property. This sized yard is a rarity in Key West!

White Street is known as a busy street in Key West, but 1407 is south of Truman Avenue where the traffic diminishes significantly. This location also puts you just inside the coveted Casa Marina neighborhood. You’re less than half a mile from Higgs Beach, where you can grab a bite to eat at Salute! beachside, play a game of beach volleyball, take your kids or grandkids to the playground (or your dog to the dog park) or stroll through the gardens at West Martello Tower. You can also walk or bike out onto the famous White Street Pier where you can watch sunrise or sunset every day of the year. This is beyond a doubt a spectacular location to live in Key West!
Map from 1407 White Street to Higgs Beach, Pier, Park, Restaurant
Your new home in Key West is only a 7 min walk to the Atlantic Ocean!

Higgs Beach in Key West
Higgs Beach in Key West is less than half a mile from 1407 White Street!

Inside of 1407 White Street has been recently renovated
Interior of the home has been well-maintained and recently renovated

One of two bedrooms at 1407 White Street
One of the two bedrooms in this cute Key West cottage

Bath has been recently renovated at 1407 White Street
The bath has been recently renovated

Street View of 1407 White Street
Street view: significantly less traffic on White Street in this neighborhood and oh so close to the beach!
For more details about this great Key West home, check out the listing. Or, better yet, give me a call at 305-304-1708 or email me to schedule a viewing. Now is an excellent time to escape the throes of the harsh winter climate to enjoy an extended weekend in the tropics full of sight-seeing, fishing, boating and sunsets that Key West is so well known for. I hope to see you in the very near future; bring the whole gang!

Steve Schwartz, Broker
Seaport Realtors LLC
http://keywestlistings.com