There are two great houses on one of the best little lanes in Old Town Key West, Peacon Lane. Peacon Lane is only one block long and is situated between Elizabeth Street to the west and William to the east. It is a one way lane entered from Eaton Street and exits onto Caroline Street. The exit point delivers you right at the doorstep of the Historic Key West Seaport. Peacon Lane is a mix of a few large houses like the ones mentioned here today and several smaller cottages. Most of the houses have been gentrified but there are a couple of Conch and left-over hippie places as well. CLICK HERE to see one of my favorite Old Town houses that is located next to 315 Peacon Lane. And CLICK HERE to see the cottage on the otherside of 315 Peacon Lane. That's what makes lanes like this one so app... 05/30/2009

Florida Keys Diving Enthusiasts get New Thrill     Second largest intentional Reef in Florida Keys   This Wednesday the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a massive, 523 foot World War II ship will be sunk in 140 feet of water 7 miles off shore from Key West Florida.   Fishing and diving are two of the most popular reasons tourists come to enjoy the Florida Keys and this will add another reason to come and visit.   According to the AP story the sinking on Wednesday will only take 3 minutes but should provide some interesting entertainment. How often do you get to see a war ship sink? Watch a Live Video Feed on the Sinking Here     True to tradition in Key West, where everything is a party, the week is marked by daily festivities, see the schedule here                                              ... 05/26/2009

The neighbors across the street are very quiet. And you can rest assured the view from the front door of 708 Passover Lane will never change. Never Ever! 708 Passover Lane is located just across from the Key West Cemetery at one of the highest points in Old Town Key West. The house sits to the rear of an odd shaped lot of 3364 sq ft. There is off street parking and a landscaped front yard with obscured views of the cemetery. The house itself is an arts and crafts style structure that was built (county records) in 1938. It had a new roof in 2000. County building permits suggest most of the interior renovations and the pool and rear deck were done in 1992. If you are one of those buyers who feels compelled to have a designer kitchen complete with granite, marble and stainless steel, this... 05/23/2009

Forethought: "n. A thinking or planning beforehand; prescience; premeditation; forecast; provident care." If you keep track of sales activity in Key West you may have noticed a flurry of activity in the past few weeks at the Key West Golf Club community. During the past couple of years there have been numerous foreclosures and related short sales that have driven down the asking and selling prices at the Key West Golf Club. I'm not reporting anything new. But the flurry of recent buying may be a signal we are at or near the bottom of the market, at least at the Golf Course. CLICK HERE to view townhome sales at the Key West Golf Course over the past year. There was only one single family home sale (CLICK HERE) during the same time period. It sold for $735,500 in June 2008. I also genera... 05/22/2009

I've complained before that the Key West Association of Realtors mls database does not automatically show bank owned properties. Some Realtors believe that lender-owners do not want to disclose to the public that a bank owns a piece of property. I guess that is possible, but having worked in the Special Assets division of two banks, I know that we advertised we were selling bank foreclosures. There is a segment of the market that wants to buy bank foreclosures: they think they are going to get a deal. They have watched those late night infomercials on how to buy real estate in a down market. I decided to do my best imitation of W.C. Fields as The Bank Dick and went through the mls database and found the properties CLICK HERE that are bank owned. These properties are primarily single fa... 05/20/2009

I've noticed several "For Sale By Owner" signs in the area near the gym I go to. One caught my eye the other day and I decided to share two photos with you. See above. My purpose is not to try to find a buyer for this property or to dissuade anyone from looking at it. I will tell you this much: the asking price on this 1254 sq ft house that sits on a large 7830 sq ft lot (90' x 87') is now $750,000 or one half the original price of $1,500,000. I just did a quick search of other houses listed for sale in the Old Town, the Meadows, and the Casa Marina areas that are priced up to $750,000. CLICK HERE to view the list. (I did some "heavy" editing. There were 82 houses in this price range.) You will note that there are two houses on the list (529 Olivia and 726 Fleming) that have valuable t... 05/19/2009

While searching for pics to help convey the sense of loss we feel when we realize we missed a great opportunity, I cam across a sad blog posting from a would-be buyer in The Hudson Valley. She said in part "THIS is the one that got away. This is the heartbreaker, the one I can’t stop thinking about, measuring all others against. “Another house will come along,” said the same person who told me there wasn’t anything on the North Fork of Long Island for under 300K. Well, there was, and it was a beaut, but I didn’t get there fast enough." CLICK HERE to read her lament in full. I had a reader call me on Saturday. She wanted to see a house I mentioned here a while back. I called to set up a showing. It had gone under contract the prior afternoon and was not yet in the mls. Noteworthy? No. B... 05/18/2009

We are getting to a difficult point in real estate pricing in Key West. Many of the bargain properties are gone (not all). Many of the properties that remain are either located in bad locations (you decide what that means) or the properties seem over-price (we all know what that means). I am fortunate enough to have some active buyers that want nice houses priced just under one million. They want a good neighborhood, good neighbors, and a very nice house. You would think for a million bucks that would be easy. It isn't. Not in Key West. That's not to say we can't make it happen, but there are not a lot of properties priced to sell at that magic number. In the 1980's and 1990's industrious buyers sometimes bought neglected properties and renovated them to get exactly the kind of Key Wes... 05/14/2009

This foreclosure stuff is starting to get personal. Eight months ago a fellow Realtor got to help select my new neighbor by placing the house at 1119 Von Phister Street in the Casa Marina Area of Key West on the market. It is owned by a local Key West bank. You see I live right next door. The neighborhood is very nice and very quiet. There are no apartments or businesses nearby. Here are some photos of neighboring homes: CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK. Let me tell you about 1119 Von Phister Street and why I think it is a great buy. And let me tell you about the neighborhood and why you might just want to live there. The original house is constructed of Indian Blocks, a building material used in maybe 30 of the older homes in Key West. The man who owned the house before the last owner added... 05/11/2009

If you are old enough to remember Rowan & Martin's "Laugh In", you'll surely remember Arte Johnson's German Soldier character as he peered through bushes and chortled "Verry interesting!". I don't know that I am chortling, but I do think I just found some very interesting sales statistics for Key West real estate. Earlier this month I recapped the April 2009 sales figures. We have had a fairly remarkable sales week just in my office. And that got me to wondering what else is going on. This is what I found: There are seven single family homes sales "pending" in Key West. A pending sale means that all conditions of the contract of sale have been met and that the parties are just waiting to close. Two of the seven pending contracts are for "bank owned" homes. Three of the seven pending co... 05/10/2009

This is how the listing Realtor (who is also the owner) describes 604 Elizabeth Street: "Perhaps the perfect house in the perfect location, the 600 block of Elizabeth Street, 3BR/2.5 BA, very near Solares Hill. Recent renovations with easy island living in mind, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, dense foliage,heart shaped cocktail pool for those romantic Key West evenings, off street parking, open living/dining area, and much, much more. Must be seen to be appreciated Recent appraisal available for review!!" CLICK HERE for more info and photos of this house. Let me add a few comments. The location is great. The house is located two blocks from Duval and just steps from Southard Street. So it's a quick walk to the shopping, restaurants, and nightlife but not near enough ... 05/08/2009

I found some photos on the internet about recent picketing in front of the Key West Police Department headquarters on North Roosevelt. Maybe you have driven your car past the station on your way to or out of Key West. It's located next to the dinosaur pond on Roosevelt & Eisenhower. The photos were taken and posted by Iowapix with the disclaimer that reads "Affiliates or friends of the Westboro Baptist Church conducting an anti-gay picket in front of the Key West, Florida police department. The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is headquartered in Topeka, Kansas and was founded by Fred Phelps. The WBC is monitored as a hate group by the Anti-defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center." The photographer gives us this description of what he saw and photographed: "Key West is very ... 05/07/2009

630 Elizabeth Street is a big old house located at the very top of Solares Hill. The black and white photo above has a little ^ showing the location of the house and its commanding location and view to the east and south. What you can't see in the photo is the topography. Windsor Lane drops off to a right angle and slopes gently toward the Key West cemetery two blocks to the east. This is important for those worried about flooding. It doesn't flood. It won't flood. If it did flood, the entire island of Key West would be under water. I don't think that will happen during the lifetime of anyone able to read this. This property is Bank Owned. It has been bank owned since September 2007. There was a recent contract that failed because the potential buyer could not obtain a new mortgage on ... 05/06/2009

I get emails and phone calls from prospective buyers looking for a renovation project in Old Town in a "good location" where there is no worry about flooding and that has off street parking and room for a pool. The new listing at 800 Elizabeth Street CLICK HERE could potentially fit those requirements provided a buyer gets permission from the Historic Architecture Review Commission. That will not be easy. The listing Realtor describes 800 Elizabeth Street and 624 Petronia Street this way: "A special opportunity to own 2 Old Town homes with an overwhelming total of 8 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths presenting investment rental income potential. Located in Old Town just 2 blocks from Duval Street, the home offers numerous possibilities for large families, employee housing or use one rent one. T... 05/05/2009

So you have been coming to Key West for years and dream of "someday" moving here. You imagine what it would be like to get up in the morning and have coffee out by the pool under the palm trees listening to the birds cheep while you watch the butterflies flitter and the geckos dither. Maybe you love going over to the Green Parrot or down to Sloppy's and getting a little crazy and think to yourself, I could do that all the time. Or perhaps you dream of being able to do something adventurous like parasailing, snorkeling, biking, or canoing through the mangroves whenever you want. You regret not having bought years earlier when prices were cheaper. You remember that special house you saw at a Sunday afternoon Open House and say to yourself "I should have bought that place." But you didn't... 05/04/2009

It's that time of the month again: time to report on what happened in Key West real estate sales for the prior month. I think I am a pretty optimistic person. I'm old enough and seen enough not to get too rattled by the Swine Flu Scare and the Chrysler Bankruptcy. I know thousands won't die of the flu and that Chrysler will emerge from bankruptcy and continue to manufacture Jeeps and convertibles. That is why I am not frightened by the seemingly sad numbers for the month of April 2009 as compared to prior years. There were 11 single family homes sales in all of Key West for the month of April with an average price per foot of $455. Two of the sales were "short sales" and one was a bank owned property. Notable sales included three I wrote about here earlier including 608 William Street ... 05/01/2009

The End is Near! At least it is for the small eyebrow house at 405 Frances Street in Old Town Key West. No, the house is not going to be torn down, but after months of being on the market, a contract has been signed and the owners and buyers await the closing on the transaction. CLICK HERE to see the particulars on this old house. The house on Frances Street is quite similar to many other Old Town homes that have been lived in by generations of Key West residents. A few houses in similar condition are still available for purchase. And you might be surprised to read that there are buyers looking to purchase old relics like Frances Street. All of the Old Town houses are in the Key West Historic District so the rules of the Key West Historical Architectural Review Commission ("HARC")will ... 04/30/2009

Potential Dream Home in a quiet Old Town Location awaits a buyer. 715 Ashe Street is located one block west of White Street between Olivia Street to the south and Southard Street to the north. I give you the location because a lot of locals don't even know where Ashe Street is located. So how in the world can Conch Train drivers and moped riders ever find it. It's the next best thing to living on a slow lane in key West. 715 Ashe Street is a two bedroom, two bath home with a total of 1222 sq ft of living space that sits on a good sized 3055 sq ft lot. The interior has Dade County Pine walls and ceilings. Some of the walls have beaver board, an early variation on drywall. The walls I saw are in very good condition. The floors have been tiled and are also in good condition. The house see... 04/29/2009

One of the things living in Key West has taught me is to be more patient and not to let little things upset me so much. Following Conch Trains continues to stress me, however. I take evasive action any time I think I'll have to follow one more than a block or so. Getting stuck in a traffic jam in Key West (translated: sitting at a stop light for a couple of minutes) stresses me. People that are not handicapped that have handicapped windshield emblems and that park in handicapped parking stress me big time. And people and businesses that put up signs to prohibit the public from parking in the public right of way don't' just stress me: they p*ss me off. Conch Trains bring business to our town. Not to me and not to most of the people who live here. But they are good for Key West. So I tol... 04/24/2009

I'm not going after the former President! Last week I urged my readers to quit their jobs, move to Key West, and become an "I used to be" by purchasing a great little property at 811 Fleming Street (CLICK HERE). That property went under contract on Wednesday, so you are outta luck on that one. But, fear not, there is another opportunity awaiting some sharpie with an athletic background, or a resauranteur, or maybe just someone with a good business acumen. I'm talking about the new listing at 19269 Bad George Road on Sugarloaf Key. CLICK HERE. This is a Preferred Properties listing. The listing agent describes this property thus: "Great opportunity to have your own Restaurant, Sports, and Leisure Club with large pool and hot tub on a private 2 acre lot complete with 3 clay court tennis ... 04/23/2009