Your Conchquistador Celebrates Best Year Yet with 2016 Sales!!!

So, yes, 2016 will, for many people, go down as not one of there most Cherished Years ... (Can you imagine being Mariah Carey right now??!!)  
So many distractions and craziness, and losses of some of our most creative and admired Celebrities and Artists.  Several among whom were very special to me such as Prince, David Bowie, and John  Glenn.

On a different note though, 2016 will forever hold a special place
for your humble Conchquistador, as my BEST Year yet Professionally!!!

In my 22 years of practicing real estate (Holy  @#%, has it really been that long??), 2016 ranks as the year of my greatest $$$$ Production. The privilege or working with the diversity of clientele that entrusted me with their Real Estate Business, was truly the highlight of my Career thus far!  

Mariposa In Grassy Key Sold for $2,700,000 (Thank you Bernard and Marien!)

With transactions ranging from a Buildable Lot in Marathon to a Magnificent Custom Ocean Estate on Grassy Key,  and sales ranging from Key Largo to Middle Torch Key in the South, the scope of properties has been really fun to work on.  

Shark Key Property Sold for $1,850,000. (Thank you Ann and Edwin!)

Also had the opportunity to sell a few Mainland properties as well in Palmetto Bay, The Redland, and Homestead.  
The greatest Honor though, was working with the the most Military Personnel that I have had the great fortune to to offer my Services to, including and Active Navy Seal.

Modular Home Under Contract In Key Largo

The Keys were HOT in 2016, and I don't just mean in temperature.  Buyers world-wide were laser focused on our great values and stunning properties. A bargain when compared to other tropical ports of call!!

The really interesting aspect was the rise in interest in Lower Keys properties (The Best bang for the Buck).


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Some of the trends for 2017 look pretty interesting. For the most part, we are on what I call a Par market, meaning it's not a solely a buyers or sellers market. That being said, certain parts of the Keys offer certain negotiation advantages to either buyers or sellers depending on their absorption rates. These advantages can even change with different neighborhoods and different price strata. 

Anyway, I'm at stats junkie so forgive me for spouting off crazy numbers as I'm getting all excited about absorption rates. Real Estate Porn.

So whats next??? Well, time to make 2017 my new Best Year!!

And to do that I am asking for Your help! 
The greatest part of my Business is providing exceptional service to Customers that have been referred to me first hand from reads like YOU! 

And to those of you who I have had the great privilege to work with THANK YOU!!!

May 2017 bring great Joy and Prosperity to You and your Loved Ones. 

Now Turn up the tunes, mix up a pitcher of Margaritas and plan your Keys Get-Away!!

Work with an Agent who knows how find YOUR Keys Oasis. Put the experience and expertise of The Conchquistador to work for you! For more information on the outstanding real estate opportunities that exist in the Keys, call me at 305.439.7730 or email me at DropAnchor@TheRealEstateConch.com.

Florida Keys Absorption Rates ... No We're Not Talking About The Quicker Picker Upper

Florida Keys Absorption Rates  - No were not talking about the Quicker Picker Upper,
and Rosie the Diner Waitress (RIP Nancy Walker), cleaning up your spilled Margaritas.

We're talking about Property Absorption Rates. What the heck are Absorption Rates?? Glad you asked.

Absorption Rates give us an indication of the Market's current. Where the Market's been and most importantly where its going.  To distill it down, an absorption rate is considered the quantity of months a specified inventory of property would take to sell out if there were no more properties coming on the market. This gives a perspective as to whether it is a Buyer or Seller's Market or if it Balanced.  This can be valued and critical information if you are considering buying or selling property. The formula is the quantity of Sold Properties of a certain criteria over the course of a year, divided by 365.  That number is then multiplied by the number of Active Properties and then divided by 30, giving you the quantity of months it would take to sell out.

EG: 150 Sold Properties and 250 Active Properties:  150/365=.4109,  multiplied by 250 = 102.7, divided by 30 = 3.4.  Therefore, the rate to sell all of the Active Properties is 3.4 months.  Yes, yes, I know those of you not keen on math are having your heads spin like Linda Blair in the Exorcist, but its important information to have.

Our Keys Rate is similar, though 5-7 month is our "Even"

Different Real Estate Markets have different ratios as to what is seen as a "Par" market. In the Keys, an Absorption Rate of  5-7 months is seen as basically par.  Under that it is seen as a Seller's Market, above it is a Buyer's Market.

Below are some graphs that your Conchquistador uses to track various Absorption Rates for various Neighborhoods, Keys, and Price Ranges.  This comes in VERY handy when negotiating price.

Click on Chart to see larger

Click on Chart to see larger - Rate among neighborhoods

Click on Chart to see larger - Rate by Price Range

Click on Chart to see larger - Rate by Upper. Middle and Lower Keys

So as you can see some really cool info (especially for a stat freak like me!).

I would be delighted to explain further, just give me a call, text, email, send up a smoke signal, or blow a Conch Horn.

Work with an agent who KNOWS the Numbers!  Put the experience and expertise of The Conchquistador to work for you! For more information on the outstanding real estate opportunities that exist in the Keys, call me at 305.439.7730 or email me at DropAnchor@TheRealEstateConch.com.

Time To Lay The Smack Down! American Caribbean Dominates First-Quarter Sales!

Time to lay the smack down! American Caribbean dominates first-quarter sales!

Yeah, OK ... being a little full of ourselves, but hey, as I've been told, "It ain't bragging if it's true"!

I am really fortunate to work with, what I believe are the best colleagues in the business here in the Florida Keys. 

Our company, American Caribbean Real Estate, dominated First-Quarter residential real estate sales in the Upper Keys. 

As you'll see in the graph below, and yes, we do need names (mm hmm, that's right), our firm had a commanding lead over all of the other companies. And yes, this includes the huge national companies and franchises.

Click for larger view

I've always preferred to work with locally owned companies. There's just a groundedness I find, and an awareness and an ability to react to the local market, that you just don't get with that huge national real estate firms, like those with blue and white logos, and gold jackets. Wait, did I go there?? Yes, yes I did.

Our firm capitalizes on the great team spirit and intimate and immediate knowledge of each other's property listings.  And though we are a locally owned company our reach is GLOBAL, owing to our phenomenal  affiliation with Christies International Real Estate.  This, List Local/Market Global dynamic is very much the fuel that runs our engine, and its effectiveness can be seen in sales ranging from entry level dry lot homes to magnificent Ocean Estates.

The Florida Keys real estate market is red-hot and your Conquistador is proud to be with a Company that is flaming…mmm ... Wait, let's say ... on fire. 

If you're considering your own Island Oasis or looking to sell your existing Conch Maison, put the experience and expertise of The Conchquistador to work for you! For more information on the outstanding real estate opportunities that exist in the Keys, call me at 305.439.7730 or email me at DropAnchor@TheRealEstateConch.com.

Numbers, The Keys Real Estate Market, and Dirty Hands.

What's in a Number?
They say that numbers don't lie.  But in truth, that can depend on what numbers, and who's showing them to you. 
Statistics can be funny things.  Supposedly empirical evidence and ... yet, they can me manipulated by the criteria used to garner them.

That's why it's so important, as an agent, to have your hands in the dirt, so to speak of the real estate market.
Really get in there and till the soil, actually see the genesis of roots sprouting of a particular movement or shift in the market.

Also, that is why it is so very important to work with real estate professionals who work full time in a given market.  Certainly not trying to diminish the efforts of those in my profession that do not have the opportunity to peruse this line of work full time, but rather want to convey the importance of intimate knowledge of a given market.

Especially here in the Florida Keys, one of the most unique Real estate Markets there is, with a multitude of sub markets that change by the Key, water side, and Mile Marker.  To paint a picture of our entire Market with broad brushstrokes can give a very incomplete rendering of information, that can be critical to your determination of what is and isn't a great real estate value.

With all the incredible existing and burgeoning technology out there, its easy to get caught up in its supposed simplicity, and let automated apps, each with their unique algorithms, think for us and determine what a particular property is worth.  These are great tools, but they are no match for an experienced agent with really dirty hands.

Let me put it this way.  If both me and my friend Captain Matt Bellinger had the same GPS coordinates for a great fishing spot, I

can almost guarantee you that he will out-fish me every day of the week and Twice on Sundays!  Why?  Because this is what he does, day in and day out.  He has amassed years of knowledge and know how, and is keen to minute and major adaptations that need to be made. Because he is a PROFESSIONAL with really dirty fishy hands...No Offense Matt!  His hands are dirty in the field of what he does. And he loves it.

Numbers are great, and with the revived health of the Real Estate Market, many homeowners are once again telling themselves, "I can do it myself" or  "I can do it with the agent who will cost me least".  Be careful, those numbers just might steer you into a critical mistake.  It is essential to realize that this may not be what you do everyday or that agent might not have the background needed to assist you.

When you meet with an agent ask them if they know what the absorption rate for your area is, how did they come to your valuation?  Did they go back six months or a year? How does a particular property compare to what has sold (past), what is under contract (present), and what is actively on the market (future). 

What... Numbers...did they use?

Then ... look at their hands...and see if they're Real Estate Dirty.

Work with an Agent whose hands are Real Estate Filthy.  Put the experience and expertise of The Conchquistador to work for you! For more information on the outstanding real estate opportunities that exist in the Keys, call me at 305.439.7730 or email me at DropAnchor@TheRealEstateConch.com.