1023 Johnson Street: Stately Home in Casa Marina Neighborhood

The recent listing at 1023 Johnson Street is one of those rare finds in Key West: 2,400 square feet of living space on a 7,500 square foot lot in, arguably, the best neighborhood on the island (Casa Marina). This stately home has three bedrooms and three baths (two full and one half) on two floors, lovely shaded gardens, screened-in porch, covered carport and detached garage with storage.

Shaded deck with lush tropical foliage

Lovely, private screened-in porch

The first floor and second floor are equal in square footage. On the ground level you have a formal living room and a formal dining room, kitchen, sunny breakfast nook and a private study with a half bath.

The formal living and dining rooms will transport you back to an era of dinner parties and sitting rooms, but they have been updated to reflect a light and airy tropical feel. These are large open areas that could easily be converted into whatever space you desire using your own style and creativity or used as-is.

Large living room or sitting room

Formal dining room

The kitchen is fully-functioning, but could use some updating of cabinetry and appliances, just like most any home you’d consider purchasing. I love the cute breakfast nook off the kitchen with many windows and bright, whimsical atmosphere.

Kitchen could be updated based on your own tastes and needs

The unique private study would be perfect for a guest suite, sewing room or office. It could also be used as a downstairs bedroom if you’d prefer not to climb the stairs every night, making this actually a four-bedroom home.

The grand stairway connecting the first and second floors is one of my favorite features of this home. The upper floor contains three full bedrooms and two full baths, giving the owners plenty of space for guests or a large family. The master suite is truly colossal – the size of many an entire conch cottage in Key West! Transform this space into your own personal sanctuary within your home.

With 5,100 square feet of outdoor space, there’s no shortage of room for the garage, carport, large wood deck, screened-in porch and lush, tropical gardens. You’ll have plenty of outdoor privacy, too, thanks to the mature trees and foliage throughout the property.

This home was built circa 1938 and its curb appeal will surely draw you in immediately. Impressive columns and a large front porch, as well as the beautifully manicured front lawn, make this home a real standout in the neighborhood.

For more details about this unique 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.

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

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.

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

1407 White Street: Move-In Ready Today!

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.

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 café 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.

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.

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 lot and backyard perfect for adding a pool, cabana & tropical gardens!

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!

Your new home in Key West is only a 7 min walk to the Atlantic Ocean!

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

Interior of the home has been well-maintained and recently renovated

One of the two bedrooms in this cute Key West cottage

The bath has been recently renovated

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

Drone Videos Are Here!

Many of you have been asking about the final cuts of the videos we described shooting in a previous blog about drone technology. Seaport Realtors is excited to announce the arrival of the latest in drone video technology -- the first of its kind in Key West Real Estate! We are happy to share TWO completed videos of the properties at 405 Olivia Street and 713 Whitehead Street, both in Key West, Florida.






Let us know what you think. Don't these videos really give you a feel for the inside and outside of these spectacular homes in paradise? This cutting edge technology will surely give you the advantage you need to stand above the crowd in this highly active market!

Give us a call to find out what the drone can do for you!

Steve Schwartz, Broker
Seaport Realtors
305-304-1798
www.keywestlistings.com

Happy New Year ... Key West Style

One square block parade route for the Dachshund Walk

Hundreds of onlookers lined the one square block parade route at noon on New Year's Eve for the ninth annual Dachshund Walk. Approximately 170 dogs and about twice that many humans with stickers stating, "Walking in a Wiener Wonderland" paraded from the city Courthouse, up Fleming Street, a block down the famous Duval Street, then down Southard street and back to the courthouse. All-in-all, one complete square block, surely the shortest parade Key West has to offer ... perfect for short legs.

Many of the dogs were dressed in costumes ranging from frilly to clever. Besides the usual Dachshunds, the parade included a "Chihuahua Conch Republic Flash Mob," organized via Facebook that called upon "the Chihuahuas of Key West ... to stand up for equal representation as part of the Key West One Canine Family."

Parade participants were encouraged to bring donations of dog food that's given to St. Mary's food pantry, which has been a hallmark of the main event for years.

I hope you enjoy these photos. Happy New Year from Key West!

Steve Schwartz
Seaport Realtors LLC
http://keywestlistings.com
Tel: 305-304-1708

You can read the article in the Key West Citizen here.

Drone Technology Not Just for Deliveries ... Real Estate Applications Are Here Now!

Amazon, UPS, Domino’s Pizza and Google are all looking into its validity. Now, so are we at Seaport Realtors! We’re taking the latest drone technology and using it to … help you sell your home!

The headlines were abuzz in June when Domino’s Pizza’s independent U.K. franchisor released a YouTube video of a drone delivering pizzas. The one-minute video featuring the “DomiCopter” flying over fields, trees and homes was viewed more than a million times in the first week.

Recently, Amazon announced its “Prime Air” delivery to “get packages into customers' hands in 30 minutes or less using unmanned aerial vehicles.” Check out the footage from a recent test flight. And just last week, DHL released its own video footage of drone delivery in action.

In all cases, the technology of putting drones into commercial use for delivery is years away as companies advance the technology and wait for the necessary FAA rules and regulations.

What’s NOT science fiction, though, is the capacity to use drones to take stunning pictures from above ground, with significantly lower costs than hiring a pilot and taking a plane or helicopter. Today, aerial photography and videography are becoming more accessible to enthusiasts and hard core hobbyists through the use of drones and GoPro cameras. You can even buy your own aerial drone quadcopter online for under $500 (but not the expertise to use it!).

Right here in Key West, we hired Grant Roland of Keys Aerial Productions and his drone to shoot the property for sale at 405 Olivia Street. Stay tuned for footage coming up in our next blog.

The latest DRONE technology for aerial photography is just one of the marketing tools we have to assist you in getting your home sold more quickly, putting more money in your pocket! List your home with Seaport Realtors today. Contact me, Steve Schwartz, at 305-304-1708 or nexxthome@yahoo.com.

(For more information and photos of 405 Olivia Street, see the MLS listing.)

Boat Slips in Key West: Conch Harbor Marina

Conch Harbor Marina Docks (center)

There are lots of ways to grab a slice of paradise in Key West, whether it be renting or buying a home, condo, timeshare, duplex or investment property. But here’s one you might not have considered: purchase a boat slip (and a boat?).

While this option may seem a little out of reach to most, consider this: There are a limited number of places to park your yacht in Key West. Since we are a small island, there is a finite amount of space for houses and boats. Also consider this: Nearly all the prized Key West inner harbor is owned by the State of Florida. The state leases that bay bottom to the City of Key West and a couple lucky businesses on limited 5- or 10-year terms. To ensure public access to coastal waters, Florida offers incentives to marinas that offer at least 90 percent of slips for rental by the general public on a first-come, first-served basis. This means that less than 10 percent of those slips are for “sale” – on land that they don’t actually own and through a lease that could easily expire in a couple years! Not exactly the ideal long-term investment or terms. Finally, the majority of “Key West” slips for sale are actually located OUTSIDE OF KEY WEST on Stock Island. Not bad as long as you don't mind a 20-minute, 6-mile drive each way from Old Town.

So, “What’s left?” you ask. Conch Harbor Marina is located at 951 Caroline Street right in Key West! With the Ferry Terminal on one side and the Key West City docks on the other, you will be right in the center of the action at this phenomenal location. You’re directly across from Dante’s Pool Bar and Restaurant and the famous Turtle Kraals and Half Shell Raw Bar. There’s a great restaurant called Prime Steakhouse attached to Dante’s and a brand new mega West Marine just beyond that – only a two-minute walk from your new boat! How’s that for convenience? You’re also a stone’s throw away from Key West Bait & Tackle and Half Shell Fish Market, just in case you don’t catch your own.

Another favorite is Cuban Coffee Queen, offering café con leches the locals love, along with other favorites including Cuban favorites, sandwiches, salads and smoothies. There’s a general store called The Little Red and a sports bar called JDL's Big Ten Pub. Three locals’ favorite restaurants are located a block away: Harpoon Harry’s, Pepe’s and B.O.s Fish Wagon. These are just the very closest stores and restaurants. EVERYTHING is walkable from here – Duval Street is just six blocks away – but you don’t need to go even that far for most all of your needs.

Now, about the slips. There are currently 5 slips for sale at Conch Harbor Marina, ranging in price from $235,000 to $395,000. As you can imagine, prices are based on size, so the cheapest slip (#4) is 37 feet long and does not have any kind of “finger dock.” That means you can only enter your boat from the main dock, so at the bow or stern of your boat, depending on how it’s docked. The next cheapest slip (#10), at $269,900, is also 37 feet long, but it does have a finger dock on one side. Slips #9 and #22 are both 45 feet long and have one finger dock. They are located on opposite sides of the dock, with #22 further from the entrance, but closer to the fuel dock and ship store. They are priced at $345,000 and $325,000, respectively.

The most expensive slip is the only 50-foot slip currently for sale at Conch Harbor, listed at $395,000. It also has a finger pier for ease of boarding. According to the listing it’s the “Largest beamed 50ft. Slip in Conch Harbor Marina.” View the MLS listing here.

All the slips at Conch Harbor have DEEDED BAY BOTTOM OWNERSHIP. You OWN the underlying bay bottom, and your investment is secure!

The location has great ingress and egress to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean and a draft of 6- to 12-feet. Some slips are designated as commercial, so you could put your downtown Key West Harbor sailing, fishing or snorkeling charter business here. If you’re looking more for occasional personal recreational use, Conch Harbor has an on-site property management rental program so you make money on your slip when you’re not there.

Amenities include pool, high-speed fuel dock, two pump out stations (main dock & yacht dock), dock box, electric/water/cable hookups, marina store, full-time security and gated access, private restrooms, showers and laundry room exclusively for the marina owners and guests, public parking garage and two restaurants on site!

Dante's Pool Bar & Restaurant is part of the amenities at Conch Harbor Marina

Now is a great time to invest in Key West! Contact me, Steve Schwartz, to learn more about the available slips at Conch Harbor or your other real estate needs. You can reach me by phone at 305-304-1708 or by email at nexxthome@yahoo.com. Search more properties at www.keywestlistings.com.