Number of Keys Homes Sold Rises in First Half of 2010

The Real Estate Market is definately experiencing a level of vitality that we have not seen in quite some time, and nowhere is this more evident than in The Keys. That being said, even though our sales are increasing, new properties are coming on the market at a similar pace, creating a supply/demand plateau that still favors the Buyer. The opportunities to purchase prime Keys properties are numerous.
I saw this piece in Keysnet.com:

"Number of Keys homes sold rises in first half of 2010

In the Upper Keys 31 percent more homes sold in the first half of this year than in the first half of 2009, but prices continue to decline,though at a slower pace than in previous months.

An analysis of transactions through Multiple Listing Service shows 259 Upper Keys homes changed hands from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2010.The average sales price in the six-month period was $453,000, 16 percent below the same period last year. The average list price was $831,000, down 8 percent from the 2009 period.The gap between listing and selling price averages continued to narrow, which indicates that buyers — be they people or banks — and sellers are getting on the same page. Selling prices were 91 percent of final list price in the Upper Keys.
The increased sales pace during the first six months helped whittle excess inventory, but the Upper Keys still ended the second quarter with 1,338 homes on the market — about a third of the total for sale in the Keys, and about the expected split among the regions.
Sales in the Upper Keys have been picking up steam after lagging a bit behind other parts of the Keys. Keyswide, sales are up 34 percent so far this year, with the largest increases in the Middle Keys and Key West. Real estate professionals say that’s not unexpected, as the market tends to move in waves up the Keys.
And there are signs that plenty of momentum remains in the market, with pending transactions in the Upper Keys up 29 percent as of May 31. It’s likely many of those pendings are short sales, which take longer than traditional or bank-owned properties to close.
A recent analysis of transactions in the Keys and elsewhere by RealtyTrac, a California-based company that tracks foreclosure data, shows that pre-foreclosure sales, also known as short sales, made up about 23 percent of all home sales in the Keys in the first quarter of 2010. Bank-owned properties made up less than 4 percent of first-quarter sales.
Congress allowed the federal flood insurance program to lapse several times this year, most recently on May 31, causing fits and starts in Keys markets, where most buyers had to have a policy in place to close on a new home. After a month-long lapse, the program has now been extended through the end of September.
Buyers hoping to take advantage of two federal tax credit programs also have more time, as Congress moved the original June deadline to September. Contracts still had to be signed by April to qualify, but the extra time helps those working through complicated bank deals or those thrown off course by the flood insurance lapses.
The highest residential sales price of the first half of the year to go through the MLS was recorded in the Upper Keys.

The Bali High Estate on Plantation Key 

Cheri Tindall and broker Joy Martin of American Caribbean in Islamorada sold what’s known as the Bali High estate at 89301 Old State Road for $5.8 million to a buyer represented by Kristen Brenner of American Caribbean in the Middle Keys.
The 10,000-square-foot oceanfront home features seven bedrooms and five bathrooms on nearly 4 acres. It had been on the market since at least February 2006, then listed for $12.75 million.
While the spectacular custom home received a lot of press and a lot of lookers since 2006, Tindall said, it took just the right circumstances to sell. “It was definitely the right price and the right buyer.”

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