"Little Hemingway House:" One-of-a-Kind Property in Key West

I'm excited to share with you one of Key West's most unique properties: 713 Whitehead Street! This wonderful Mediterranean-style home, located in the heart of Old Town Key West, is known as “Little Hemingway House” because it was inspired by the Ernest Hemingway Home (and is located just two blocks away).

I love this location because it’s so close to everything. One block off Duval Street and just under a mile to the best beach in Key West: Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. For you history buffs, this home is located at the site of the former Samaritan Hall, an icon in Key West history.

713 Whitehead Street is located two blocks from the Hemingway Home and less than a mile from the best beach in Key West.

Janis Taylor is pictured in front of Samaritan Hall, 713 Whitehead Street, in 1961.
Photo credit: State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/153517

The exterior of the home makes you feel like you’re at an elegant European villa with a beautiful, private fenced-in tropical garden and lush landscaping. Its oversized lot means there are three off-street parking spaces and room for a pool or to expand. For the practical-minded, you’ll be happy to know this home is constructed of poured concrete on an elevated foundation high out of the flood zone: built to survive a hurricane! This also makes for low insurance costs and easy maintenance.

The 2,028-square-foot interior is spacious and gracious with 10-foot ceilings, Mexican tile and lots of light. The home features three bedrooms and three bathrooms plus a commercial grade kitchen. The large master bedroom and bathroom suite has a Jacuzzi tub for four.

As an additional perk, this home is zoned for office and professional use, which gives you the flexibility to use it as a grand single family home or to convert it into a professional office or combination office and residence. Its location near the Key West courthouse would make it an excellent choice for an Attorney, but it certainly could be used by a doctor, architect or other professional, as well.

If you'd like to be the next owner of this one-of-a-kind property in Key West, please email or call me at 305-304-1708 to schedule a viewing.

Key West Welcomes Diana Nyad Home

All the world's eyes have been on Key West this week as Diana Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to Key West without a shark cage. Thousands lined up on Smathers Beach to see the finish of this amazing feat. Old, young, gay, straight, republican, democrat, locals, tourists: All walks of life were there to welcome Diana to Key West, waving flags and carrying signs.

Diana’s team held back the throngs of well-wishers as she stood up and walked, stumbled, walked, stumbled again, until her feet finally touched dry land. The total time: 52 hours, 54 minutes and 6 seconds.

The world embraced Diana Nyad on Monday as she completed this swim, but the citizens of Key West have been cheering her for the past four years, through sickness, weather delays, jellyfish stings, storms and all the other setbacks she has encountered. We have embraced her as a temporary citizen and part of our community for four summers. Hundreds turned up at the beach last year to welcome her home even when she didn’t complete the entire distance.

Yesterday, fans lined the streets of Key West for an impromptu parade honoring Diana, including police and fire truck escorts. Diana’s XTreme Dream team followed Diana aboard Key West’s famous Conch Tour Train. There is talk of making Diana an Honorary Conch!

Diana’s messages of never give up and you’re never too old to chase your dreams really ring true with so many of us here in the Conch Republic. It’s been an honor to have her spend her summers with us and we wish her the best in all her future endeavors. ONWARD!

Welcome to Key West: A Video

Instead of the usual written blog, today I'm going to do something a little different and share a video with you. I had this video created to show prospective clients a little about the life here in the "Fabulous Florida Keys." I hope you enjoy it!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the video. Would you like to live here? Which type of home would you choose? Which neighborhood? I can help you with all of these choices. I've lived in Key West for more than 15 years and I've been helping folks buy and sell homes here for 13. Call 305-304-1708, email or leave your comments below. Have a great day!

"Maxwell Gables" 55+ Compound with Pool & Tropical Gardens

One of the best things about homes in Key West is the sweet little gardens and pool areas you can find hidden behind the white picket fences visible from the street. No matter your location, you can discover a whole new world within the walls of your own property, only visible to you!

Lush gardens and brick pathway in the Maxwell Gables Compound on Frances Street

The exclusive Old Town “Maxwell Gables” compound located at 906 & 908 Frances Street (between Truman and Olivia) is a wonderful example, but without the all the upkeep. Each of the six townhomes are part of a homeowners association (HOA) that maintains the pool and common area (gardens!). You own your own townhome (land, too), but pay a small monthly fee ($250/month, which also includes water, sewer and trash removal) and share the stunning gardens and pool with the five other townhomes in the complex. And we’re talking a huge common area and nice-sized pool, all beautifully landscaped.

Tropical paradise in your own backyard. Clothing optional in the pool area.

One of the neat things about this complex is that each townhome really feels like a separate home. They are NOT the cookie-cutter townhomes that you see in big cities or the suburbs; all six homes are completely unique in size, shape and design. They range is size from 800 to 1,700 square feet; four have two stories and two are only one level. Three of the homes front the street, while the other three have their sole entrances off the garden and pool area.

All six townhomes and the common areas are shown here.

Entrance to 906 Frances Street showing Unit A and walkway to Units 906B & 906C

As fortune would have it, one of these townhomes is for sale! The newly-remodeled 906B has 841 square-feet of living area on two floors. The open living room has cathedral ceilings, skylight and French doors that open to a private deck. The designer kitchen features granite counter tops, wine refrigerator, wood cabinets and hardwood floors. The large master bedroom and bath are located on the first floor, with second (or guest) bedroom and bath privately located on the upper floor. And the stunning pool and mature tropical gardens are just outside your door!

Kitchen and dining areas with French doors opening to private deck

Open living area on main floor has hardwood floors and a cathedral ceiling

Designer kitchen features granite countertops and wooden cabinets

Master bedroom on ground floor

Master bath on ground floor

Second or "guest" bedroom and bath upstairs

This home is nested in the middle of the complex, accessible through the front gate and a gorgeous brick pathway through tropical foliage to its pink front door!

Private brick pathway leading to pool and rear units

Pink front door to Unit 906B adds a touch of whimsy

Property Appraiser's parcel map showing 906B Frances Street

The Maxwell Gables complex is only for 55 and older, so if you’re of that age, this townhome might just be the perfect vacation home or retirement property for you! Give me a call at 305-304-1708 and take a look for yourself. You'll fall in love with it's charm and seclusion. This is what Key West is all about, folks!

Home Prices Rising, but Not yet Out of Reach for Buyers

Recently we've seen several news stories highlighting the upswing in the real estate market nationwide. MarketWatch reported annual home-price growth in June “close to the fastest pace in seven years” with inventories of existing and new homes remaining low. Home prices, including distressed sales, rose 1.9% in June, and were up 11.88% from a year earlier, according to the article. In May, prices were up a similar amount from the prior year, the fastest annual growth since February 2006. Forecasters are predicting double-digit growth through July.

Mortgage News Daily reported housing prices increased by "a remarkable 10 percent" in the first six months of 2013, the fastest pace for home price gains since 1977. This marks the 16^th consecutive month that home prices have increased in relation to the same month the previous year. Amazingly, there were NO states where prices (excluding distressed sales) were down. Florida was one of the biggest gainers, showing a 12.7 percent increase.



Locally, a July 29, 2013, Key West The Citizen article reported the Florida Keys housing market recorded strong results during the second quarter of this year, with the Upper Keys leading the way. Keyswide, the median price for a residential property jumped to $370,000 during the months of April through June, up 8 percent from the same period in 2012, according to Multiple Listing Service data compiled by Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Estate. The total number of sales rose as well, from 506 to 624 homes.

In Key West, closings increased 12 percent, from 170 in spring 2012 to 191 during the same period this year. Meanwhile, the median price in the Southernmost City jumped 17 percent, to $440,000, according to the article.

And there are signs the housing market will continue its upward trend in the Keys. At the end of June, pending sales throughout the island chain were up 14 percent over last year. Meanwhile, the length of time a home is on the market has dropped from 15 months to 12 months. But the market still faces challenges from distressed properties, which comprised 17 percent of closings last quarter. Still, that's down from a peak of 45 percent in the summer of 2010.

The bottom line: A housing market that continues to rebound, despite headwinds from rising interest rates, yet home prices remain reasonable in a historical context, with most states near peak affordability levels. 

Including June’s increase, national home prices were about 19% below a 2006 peak. While there are concerns about a new housing bubble, data signal that prices aren’t too high yet.

I hate to say it, but I really believe now is the time to buy. Key West real estate historically rebounds more quickly than many other markets and we are already seeing that happen. Don’t wait! Contact me at 305-304-1708 and I’ll help you find your dream home here in the Fabulous Florida Keys!

New Photos for 405 Olivia

Once again, we've had a lot of interest in our blog about the 'pre-listing' property at 405 Olivia St. in Key West. So, at your request, we're posting more photos. These are brand new, never-before-seen on the internet pictures, so take a good look. Better yet, call me to schedule an appointment to view this fantastic home in person: 305-304-1708. Enjoy!

From this view of 405 Olivia, you can see the second-floor porch and the large brick parking area

beautiful tile shower in second bath

one of the full baths 

Gorgeous Chef's Kitchen!

Love all the natural light!

French doors from the kitchen and main living area give you easy access and a view of the pool, deck and gardens

Can you see yourself here with a lounge chair and a tropical drink?

In case you didn't read our previous blog post, this home at 405 Olivia St. in Key West is located directly across the street from the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum complex. (Neat location!) With 1,385 square-feet of living space and a 3,829 square-foot lot, it's offered at the 'pre-listing' price of $1,250,000 and it won't last long in the Key West real estate market today. Give me a call to see it in person: 305-304-1708.

Even Hemingway Would Have Loved This Place!

We are ‘pre-marketing’ this just-completed renovation at 405 Olivia St., located in a unique and exciting spot in Key West. Here’s your chance to live next door to one of the most influential American authors of all time. Well, not him, but next door to his former home. The house at 405 Olivia St. is directly across the street from The Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum complex in Key West.

405 Olivia viewed from Hemingway House across the street

Right in the heart of Old Town Key West and only one block from Duval Street, the property has surprisingly wonderful privacy with lush tropical gardens and a new, in-ground pool. You won’t have to worry about finding a parking spot in this busy location because this home has a large lot (3,829 square feet) with two off-street parking spaces and still room for your scooters!

brand new pool!

With 1,385 square-feet of living space, this classic two-story “Conch” house has the perfect mix of old and new.

Did I mention the entire house has been completely renovated? Three bedrooms, three new bathrooms, beautiful big chef’s kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, hardwood floors, French doors leading out to a lush landscaped outdoor space with wooden deck and covered cabana perfect for your very own "tiki bar" by the pool. Enjoy people-watching at its premium from either of your two porches on the first or second story.

Chef's kitchen with granite countertops& stainless steel appliances

new hardwood floors

view of pool and covered cabana from second floor

You’ll fall in love with this house for its location, renovations, size and style, but the astute buyer will also note that it’s situated at 13 feet above sea level in an X zone, so flood insurance is NOT required. (That’ll save you several thousand dollars a year!)

This home is being offered at the ‘pre-listing’ price of $1,250,000. And the way the Key West real estate market is today, we don’t expect it to last long! Please call Steve now at 305-304-1708 for your ‘pre-listing’ private preview.