This month’s Key West market stats report shows some interesting results. At first glance, sale prices and units sold show up to and beyond a doubling of figures, incredible for any market, right? Then, we take a moment to think back to one year ago. Yup, you guessed it, we were dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in September 2017. So, when looking at this month’s data compared to a year ago, there’s a significant difference to be sure. The key take-away from this is to note how much our residential real estate market has bounced back quickly over the last 12 months. A closer look at the Year-to-date data will also shed insight on the current state of the market for our region, which is holding steady overall with some growth as well.
Comparing data from a year ago, list prices are higher, with the average list price for September 2018 at $938,531 compared to $875,159 a year ago. This is a 7.24 percent increase in year-to-year data. Median list prices for the month came in at $619,000, up by 10.24 percent from $561,500 in September 2017. Year-to-date listing prices reflect an increase of 10.50 percent, showing us that sellers are raising their prices with renewed confidence as we’ve continued to recover from Hurricane Irma.
Both average and median sale prices for the month reflect the demand for properties around Key West as much as they show the significant impact a huge storm can bring to the market, albeit temporarily, which is good news for our real estate market. Average sale prices for September 2018 came in at $885,034 compared to $428,616 in September 2017. This is a difference of 106.49 percent. Median sale prices were reported at $634,500 compared to $451,000 a year ago, up by 40.69 percent.
Key West Area Selling Price
September’s sales report shows 42 properties sold in Key West, compared to just 19 transactions completed in September 2017, a 121.1 percent increase which we can directly attribute to the storm. Year-to-date sold listings show Key West is in a steady climb up, with 466 listings sold so far, compared to 445 last year for the same period, a 4.7 increase. There were 58 listings added to the market last month, with a total of 483 active listings for the market. Of interesting note regarding active listings, as significant number, 142 listings, are priced at or below $99,999. This means great potential for great starter homes for first-time buyers, as well as for investors looking to get into the Key West market with a good deal on property. The majority of active listings are ranging between $350,000 to $1.49 million; there’s property for all budgets and lifestyles here in the Keys.
Key West Area Total Listings Sold
Days on the market were dramatically fewer in September compared to the year prior, another direct impact from Hurricane Irma. The average days on the market for listings sold last month was 96 compared to 225 days a year ago. Homes are now selling again in half the amount of time and then some since last year. Median days on the market went down to 62 days compared to 161 in September 2017. The rate at which Key West properties are selling reflects the ongoing demand for homes in the area; Key West is where people want to live, and where homebuyers are finding properties they want.
Other markets will continue to see large upswings and downtimes based on the weather, but in Key West, we avoid many of those restrictions. Our climate is steady and will continue to draw buyers to our area year-round. Whether you are a tourist or looking to make a permanent change to the Keys, there are many reasons to move to our beautiful area. If you would like more information on the real estate in this amazing area, contact me, Jimmy Lane, at Key West Real Estate: 305-766-0585.