Florida Keys Real Estate Blog

Sales are up by 34% compared to last year in the Florida Keys.

In September, there were 90 sales Keys-wide which was up compared to the 67 sales in September of 2007. We are hoping this signals that more buyers are finally getting off the sidelines and into the home buying game.

Our Broker, Brian Schmitt is quoted in a recent interview as saying, “My gut feeling is that there is a growing belief that we’re nearing the bottom of the market.” He feels that the biggest challenge is the inventory number – that is, the number of months it would take at the current pace to sell every home on the market today. That number in the Upper Keys is 46 months and 43 months Keys-wide.

Foreclosures are creating buying opportunities, both for investors and those who’ve been unable to afford a home in the Keys before. Short sales which are deals where a lender is willing to take less as a payoff to satisfy a loan are also having an effect on the market.

We don’t know if the prices in the Keys will every go back to the heights of a few years ago, but at the most, Keys homeowners who bought before 2003 still stand to make a profit at sale, even at the current prices.

Following are the Real Estate Statistics for the first nine months of 2008:

	Upper Keys	Keys-wide
Total # of Sales	288	913
Total $ Value of Sales	$183M	$552M
Avgerage Days To Sell	279	264
Original List Price To Sale Price	77.41%	73.57%
Average Sale Price	$638,000	$604,000
New Properties Listed	1,250	3,327
# of Properties For Sale	1,473	4,316
Average List Price	$961,000	$913,000

* SOURCE: Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Estate Co