Key West Real Estate Sales

Florida's existing home, condo sales up in September 2009

Florida's existing home, condo sales up in September 2009& nbsp;

NAR

Big rebound in existing-home sales shows first-time buyer momentum.Read more.< /A>

ORLANDO, Fla. - Oct. 23, 2009 - Florida's existing home sales rose in September, which marks more than a year (13 months) that sales activity has increased in the year-to-year comparison, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors®. September's statewide sales also increased over sales activity in August in both the existing home and existing condominium markets.

Existing home sales rose 34 percent last month with a total of 14,419 homes sold statewide compared to 10,778 homes sold in September 2008, according to Florida Realtors. Statewide existing home sales last month increased 4.1 percent over statewide sales activity in August.

Florida Re altors also reported a 77 percent increase in statewide sales of existing condos in September compared to the previous year's sales figure; statewide existing condo sales last month rose 8.9 percent over the total units sold in August.

All of Florida's metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported increased existing home sales in Septe mber; all but one MSA also showed a gain in condo sales. A majority of the state's MSAs have reported increased sales for 15 consecutive months.

Florida's median sales price for existing homes last month was $142,000; a year ago, it was $174,900 for a 19 percent decrease. Housing industry analysts with the National Association of Realto rs® (NAR) note that sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes. The median is the midpoint; half the homes sold for more, half for less. 

The national median sal es price for existing single-family homes in August 2009 was $177,500, down 12.1 percent from a year earlier, according to NAR. In Massachusetts, the statewide median resales price was $315,000 in August; in California, it was $292,960; in Maryland, it was $265,862; and in New York, it was $205,000.

NAR's latest industry outlook notes p ositive signs in the housing sector, but adds that extension of the federal first-time homebuyer tax credit would help sustain a fragile recovery. "Now that the market is showing some momentum, we have an opportunity to achieve a more rapid and broader stabilization in home prices," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. The outlook for home sales and prices depends on whether the tax credit is extended, he said, describing it as "the best tool in our arsenal to encourage financially qualified buyers to stimulate the economy and help reduce the budget deficit."

In Florida's year-to-year comparison for condos, 5,088 units sold statewide last month compared to 2,870 units in September 2008 for a 77 percent increase. The statewide existing condo median sales price last month was $102,500; in September 2008 it was $153,500 for a 33 percent decrease. The national median existing condo price was $179,300 in August 2009, according to NAR.

Interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.06 percent last month, a significant drop from the average rate of 6.04 percent in September 2008, according to Freddie Mac. FAR's sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written. 

Among the state's smaller markets, the Pensacola MSA reported a total of 275 homes sold in September compared to 267 homes a year earlier for a 3 percent increase. The market's existing home median sales price last month was $135,000; a year ago it was $146,900 for an 8 percent decrease. A total of 48 condos sold in the MSA in September, up 41 percent over the 34 units sold in September 2008. The existing condo median price last month was $190,000; a year earlier, it was $180,000 for a 6 percent gain.

© 2009 Florida Realtors®

$8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit

Washington Report: $8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit

By Kenneth R. Harney

October 12, 2009

Quick passage by the House last week of a bill extending the $8,000 home buyer tax credit next year for military, diplomatic and intelligence personnel serving overseas increases the odds that Congress will agree to an extension, maybe even an expansion, of the entire credit program well into 2010.

The White House is also signaling that it sees the overall tax credit program -- currently set to expire November 30 -- as an important element in cutting the unemployment rolls and stimulating new jobs next year.

After an economic policy strategy meeting last week in the Oval Office involving President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, congressional aides said Democrats generally support an extension of the housing credit.

Reid already has made clear he wants an extension. He is co-sponsoring a Senate bill that would do so for six months.

Congressman Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, sponsored the one-year extension of the credit for military and other personnel serving overseas, and is reported by aides as favoring an extension for the entire program.

The White House has not publicly committed to an extension, but has confirmed that the President is seriously examining that option.

An unexpected development that emerged following last week's White House meeting was the possibility of opening up the credit to a broader group of buyers next year - people who sell their current homes and buy a replacement home.

Though details were scanty, Capitol Hill sources said one option on the table would be to provide a tax credit -- most likely at the $8,000 level -- to replacement home buyers whose incomes do not exceed some limit.

The current credit phases out for single taxpayers with incomes above $75,000, and married purchasers earning $150,000.

A politically sensitive issue hovering over the entire debate on extending the housing tax credit is its cost - what it would add to the federal budgetary deficit. Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com, estimates that widening the credit to all buyers through next August could cost the government upwards of $30 billion.

Rangel's 12-month extension of the credit for service personnel is estimated to cost more than $300 million, but it's mainly being paid for through an increase in penalties levied by the IRS on taxpayers who fail to file corporate or partnership returns.

The New York Times reported that one possible solution to the cost problem would be to divert money not yet spent out of 2009's $800 billion stimulus legislation.

Copyright © 2009 Realty Times. All Rights Reserved.

Today in Key West History

Today is Key West History

Compliments of the Key West Citizen

Memorial for Dr. Mudd at Fort Jefferson.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 

20 YEARS AGO

Even after the Monroe County Commission cut more than $1 million from the new budget, property taxes were 7.1 percent higher than the previous year.

During Reef Relief's Mangrove Sweep and Coastal Cleanup, volunteers collected 15,000 pounds of garbage.

Jesse "Woody" Woodruff was installed as president of the Key West Association of Life Underwriters.

50 YEARS AGO

Roy M. Speer, a Key West native, was named as a staff attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Atlanta.

Congress authorized the erection of a memorial tablet at the Dry Tortugas honoring the performance of Dr. Samuel Mudd during the yellow fever epidemic of 1867.

Gov. LeRoy Collins, on refusing to sell bay bottom in Blackwater Sound, said, "The Keys are a rare jewel. We've got to get it out of our heads that this beauty spot has to be developed. Once it's developed, it's ruined."

100 YEARS AGO

Lt. Col. Albert C. Blunt, who had been stationed at Fort Schuyier, was ordered to command the artillery district of Key West.

Deputy Sheriff B.W. Bibdon arrived from Knights Key with four men charged with selling whiskey to railroad workers without a license.

Today in History

Today in History

Compliments of the Key West Citizen

 

East Martello and Meacham Airport with a National Air Line plane park by the airport terminal C1950. Photo by Lewis McLain.

Monday, September 21, 2009

 

20 YEARS AGO

The County Commission voted to accept a proposal from Continental Express airline to return to Marathon. Continental had suddenly pulled out in the spring.

A Japanese delegation of educators made a two-day visit to the Monroe County school system.

The East Martello Museum opened the "Decade of Decadence" Fantasy Fest exhibit. The 1989 Fantasy Fest poster was also unveiled.

50 YEARS AGO

Capt. Tony Tarracino had the lead in "Pebble on the Rock," a play about Key West in 1892 that was presented at the Casa Marina.

Under a new law, September was the deadline for the renewal of Florida driver's licenses. A penalty was charged if renewals were not made before the deadline.

Julio Cabanas, outgoing president of the local chapter of the American Cancer Society, was presented a certificate of appreciation for his work.

100 YEARS AGO

Russell Kerr, Charles Wardlow and Teddy Semple left on the steamer Alamo for the North to enter school.

Mrs. A.C. Andrews and children returned from a visit to relatives in Larmar, S.C.

Delta to add Daily Flight to Key West

Delta to add daily flight

Compliments of the Key West Citizen

Delta will begin running Boeing 737s out of Key West International Airport starting Dec. 17 to handle peak season tourism traffic, the company said Friday.

It was the second carrier to announce new flights using the jumbo jets in little more than a week; AirTran on Sept. 8 said it will start an Orlando to Key West route using the 737s, also in December.

Delta, which already runs direct flights to Atlanta from here using the 70-seat CRJ700 aircraft three times a day, will add a daily, 124-seat large "heavy" commercial aircraft direct flight to the Georgia city the week before Christmas.

Atlanta and Key West apparently have enough people interested in using the service to make it financially worthwhile, Delta officials said.

"We are encouraged by the continued strong customer demand for service to Key West and add the larger jets on the Key West-Atlanta route in time for the peak winter season," states a press release the company issued Friday.

Monroe County Airports Director Peter Horton met with a Delta operations manager Friday and the two reviewed landing strip length, taxi and ramp space and other details the airline must verify to land and maneuver the large aircraft. The airport has hosted 737s in past seasons but the Delta manager must see the facilities before launching service.

Horton said he gave the Delta official a tour.

"We showed the Delta manager our new parking building, the remodeled departure and arrival areas, and the configuration of the commercial parking and tarmac area," Horton said. "We showed him what parking space the jet will go into."

The airport has become a busy place in recent months, Horton said.

"We had 453,000 passengers last year, which is an average of 1,240 passengers a day," he said. "Our passenger numbers are up 20 percent this August from last August; our July numbers are up 12.5 percent."

Horton said the airport already is classified for Delta 737s, which will offer first-class and economy-class seating.

According to Delta, the 737 flight schedule is as follows:

• Boeing 737-700 arrives Key West daily at noon and departs at 12:45 p.m.

• Delta CRJ-700s flights will depart Key West daily at 7:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.

The 737s can be loud, however. An average busy city street is at about 40 decibels; when taking off, the 737s can reach 85-100 decibels, according to the National Aeronautic Space Administration testing facilities.

Sanctuary to cast out lionfish

Sanctuary to cast out lionfish

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary soon will allow select people to fish in no-take zones. The allowance won't be for sportfishing, however, but to help eliminate an invasive exotic tropical fish known for its voracious eating habits.

The sanctuary and Keys-based nonprofit group Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) are trying to keep lionfish, native to Indo-Pacific waters, from getting a foothold in the Keys. Once they do, they soon can take over.

Lionfish were first spotted in the Bahamas in 2004, and by 2007 the island nation's waters were inundated with them, said Lad Akins, a research diver and REEF special projects director. Akins and other researchers collected 216 lionfish in fall 2007 off a small reef area southwest of Nassau.

"It's a huge problem they didn't address when it first began," Akins said. "The goal is to prevent them from becoming well established and minimize their impacts by removing them."

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary soon will allow select people to fish in no-take zones. The allowance won't be for sportfishing, however, but to help eliminate an invasive exotic tropical fish known for its voracious eating habits.

The sanctuary and Keys-based nonprofit group Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) are trying to keep lionfish, native to Indo-Pacific waters, from getting a foothold in the Keys. Once they do, they soon can take over.

Lionfish were first spotted in the Bahamas in 2004, and by 2007 the island nation's waters were inundated with them, said Lad Akins, a research diver and REEF special projects director. Akins and other researchers collected 216 lionfish in fall 2007 off a small reef area southwest of Nassau.

"It's a huge problem they didn't address when it first began," Akins said. "The goal is to prevent them from becoming well established and minimize their impacts by removing them."

Come Dive With Me

Come dive with me

By anne-margaret swary The Citizen

Some of the first stories I was entranced with when I moved to Key West were the tales of Mel Fisher and his search for the Atocha treasure. I would often daydream what it would be like to explore the bottom of the ocean searching for gold, silver, jewels and other historic artifacts.

And now, for a certain price, anyone can find out.

Mel Fisher's Treasures this week began offering a vacation package called the Atocha Dive Adventure, which includes training, diving alongside professional treasure hunters at the Atocha site, lodging, a wine lovers' sunset sail, and gatherings with the family of famous treasure hunter Mel Fisher, who discovered the wreck of the Atocha in 1985. The cost for the week is $2,500 per person and $500 for non-diving companions. Also included is a Key West attractions passport.

It's enough to make me wish I was certified to dive. If only I could overcome my fear of sharks.

This is the first time an opportunity like this has been made available to the public, said Sean Fisher, vice president of Mel Fisher's Treasures.

"Up until this part, the only way to ever dive the Atocha site was by being an investor," Fisher said. "We were getting a lot of people asking and a lot of people wanted the opportunity to get out there and be a part of history, but they didn't have the 10 grand to put out there as an investor."

The package also includes a behind-the-scenes look of the museum and conservation lab, as well as chart and maps related to the continued search for the Atocha's treasures.

"These people do get a chance to find treasure. And they do get to keep something similar to what they find. They can't keep the actual piece," said Fisher, explaining that new finds have to be documented, cleaned and approved by the federal government.

More than 40 tons of silver and gold have been located, including more than 100,000 Spanish silver coins known as "pieces of eight," gold coins, emeralds, silver and gold artifacts, and more than 1,000 silver bars.

The weeklong package will run throughout the summer. For more information, call 305-294-5441.

Anne-Margaret Swary is The Citizen's business editor. Her column runs exclusively each Sunday. She can be reached at amswary@keysnews.com.

Vandenberg Divers

SHIP SHAPE

Alittle more than a week has passed since the sinking of the Vandenberg as an artificial reef, and local dive shops are buzzing with activity.

"I have the most pre-bookings for the summer than I've had in 38 years," said Bob Holston, co-owner of Dive Key West on North Roosevelt Boulevard. "We have three to four of us on the phones almost all day long."

Holston said his work days have stretched to 15 hours, and he has to force himself to stop answering the phones and go home at 7 p.m.

"I tell you what, if you could see the phone calls ... It's nonstop," he said, adding that e-mail inquiries also have increased. "I'm averaging a dozen e-mail reservations a day just for the Vandenberg."

Holston said he's added three instructors to his staff in the last month to handle the increased business, and the shop isn't even accepting all the requests it receives.

"If we booked everyone that wanted to go on it, my boats would be full," he said. "We're not accepting all of them, because some of the people aren't qualified."

Dive Key West requires divers to present a log book that shows they've made at least 10 dives. They also must have a surface marker buoy and a cutting device. All dives are guided, with one instructor for every four people.

"It's a wonderful dive. I've been on it twice and I probably haven't seen [even] 2 percent of it," Holston said.

Subtropic Dive Center has experienced a similar influx of calls.

"Business is definitely picking up. The phone's been ringing off the hook. It's not even season yet, so it's a good sign," said reservations clerk Jesse Opie. "I just had someone calling to book in December, so people are definitely booking ahead."

Subtropic owner Robin Lockwood said he purchased a second boat to handle the expected rise in visitors this summer. The new 40-foot dive boat can accommodate about 25 divers. His other boat handles about half a dozen.

We are seeing a lot of interest in diving here," Lockwood said. "We have people coming in who came specifically to dive the Vandenberg.

"We have had numerous instructors from dive shops up the Keys come down to our shop to dive the Vandenberg, and they are planning to bring students down in the future from the Upper Keys."

Divercity, a small and fairly new operation, hired two more employees to answer phones and work on the boat, owner Michael O'Connor said.

"Business has increased by about four to five divers a day," he said. "I've been getting e-mails from people who are making plans for their summer vacation to come to Key West instead of other places."

His most advanced booking is for Labor Day.

In addition to an influx of divers who want to experience the Vandenberg, Lost Reef Adventure is enjoying more walk-in business for reef dives from those who were turned away elsewhere because they didn't have the proper certification.

"We're having more business and bigger trips, not just to the Vandenberg," dive master trainee Jeremy Barish said, adding the average four- to six-person trip has grown to 10 divers. "We're waiting for summer to start to see a big rise."

Eric Schaaf, general manager at Southpoint Divers, also said he expects the new wreck to generate of lot of interest from people who normally dive the Upper Keys.

"People who are coming and would normally dive in Key Largo now will also come here," Schaaf said. "I definitely think it's going to increase the business for the summer."

Schaff said he's also expecting to have to tap into a list of certified staff and instructors in town for the overflow business.

Captain's Corner said almost all of its calls since the May 27 sinking have been directly about the Vandenberg.

"A lot of people are coming down in the summer and they want to make sure it's available to them," Assistant Manager Leslie Levis said.

Even if just a fraction of the number of calls per hour translate to actual bookings, it's shaping up to be a spectacular summer for diving in Key West, she said.

Subtropic's Lockwood said everyone he's spoken to is impressed with the Vandenberg, the world's second-larges artifical reef.

"They think it's the greatest artificial wreck dive they've seen because of the size and the complexity," he said. "It certainly has been a big boon to diving in Key West."

Trickle down

The head of Lodging Association of the Florida Keys and Key West said it's a bit too to determine whether those dive trip bookings are translating into increased summer hotel bookings.

"[The hotels] are not tracking it that well yet. It's a little soon yet for that," said lodging association President Jodi Weinhofer. "I'm sure once they get their [dive] trip booked then they'll go ahead and book their accommodations. I do think we'll see some from it, absolutely."

While many Vandenberg inquires are coming from in-state and around the country, many Europeans also are interested in coming to dive the wreck. That group typically takes their vacation in the early fall, Holston said. Also, they need more planning time to make the trip from Europe.

Key West Chamber of Commerce President Michael Knowles said the chamber is using feedback from dive shops as an indicator of what to expect for the summer.

"If the dive shops are going to be up 15 percent, then the hotels are going to be up 15 percent, because they've got to stay somewhere," Knowles said. "Hopefully we'll see some of that trickle down to the hotels and the retail businesses."

amswary@keysnews.com

Keys tourism fares better

Keys tourism fares better

By Citizen staff

The good news is the percentage of hotel rooms that were booked in May was higher in the Florida Keys than last year and higher than anywhere else in the state during the same month, according to tourism data released Wednesday.

The bad news is tourists spent less money, said Monroe County Tourist Development Council Director Harold Wheeler.

The percent of Keys hotel rooms that were occupied from May 3-30 was 77.4 percent, compared with 74.4 percent in 2008, reported Smith Travel Research, an independent research company that specializes in the U.S. lodging industry. Average room rates were about $26 less, dropping to $157 from $183.

Still, it was the highest lodging occupancy rate and average daily room rate of all Florida tourism destinations.

Greater Miami was second, at 63.4 percent and $136.73, respectively. Fort Lauderdale was No. 3 in occupancy at 59.1 percent, and Fort Myers was third in room rates at $114.

"We are obviously pleased with these numbers and they reveal much about the visitor appeal of the Keys, the marketing efforts of the TDC, as well as those individual Keys tourism-related businesses that advertise," Wheeler said. "Still, we know the recession continues to impact business."

Room rates and tourist spending on goods and services are less than they were last year.

"I think we have to realize that business is down," Wheeler said. "However, we seem to be doing better than the rest of the tourism destinations throughout the state of Florida."

Rates were down about 31 percent in Orlando and 35 percent in Tampa, he said.

"We're not trying to say business is great," Wheeler said, "but we are doing better than a lot of other people right now."

It's unclear whether a higher occupancy rate translates into more individual tourists, as the percentage could be skewed if hotel rooms are offline, and the numbers do not reflect how many people are staying in a single room.

Vandenberg to be scuttled seven miles off Key West

By SEAN KINNEY

A decade in the works. More than $8 million spent to get it done. A last-minute save by a local bank when a federal judge ordered it sold at public auction.

And Wednesday morning, it could all be over in less than four minutes.

That's when the USS Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg is scheduled to be scuttled seven miles off Key West -- and that's how long it's estimated for the 522-foot former military vessel to sink and settle in as an artificial reef.

"This project has taken a long time and there were an amazing array of ever-smaller and ever-more flaming hoops that we were made to jump through. And the project literally was sunk a million times," says Joe Weatherby, a Key West dive captain who envisioned the Vandenberg scuttling more than a decade ago.

"It should all go the way it's supposed to go for the first time in 10 years," says Weatherby, who works for the New Jersey-based Reefmakers LLC.

Weather permitting, it starts Tuesday morning, when tugboats, along with pilot and tender boats, guide the Vandenberg from her berthing at the East Quay Wall at the Truman Waterfront to a point about seven miles south of Key West International Airport.

In transit, officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Key West Police Department and Monroe County Sheriff's Office, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, will maintain a 500-yard perimeter around the behemoth.

That perimeter will remain intact once the Vandenberg arrives at the sink location. Four huge anchors, about eight tons apiece, will secure the former military ship to the ocean floor, 140 feet beneath the surface.

Wednesday morning, plans call for the ship to be scuttled right around 10 a.m. (however, weather and other factors could delay it).

FWC officers will extend the security perimeter to a 1-mile radius around the ship for the sinking and the Federal Aviation Administration will issue a flight restriction for a 1-mile radius and 12,500 feet above the ship

Pre-rigged cutting charges will blast holes in the hull and water pressure will push the cutouts inside the ship. Then the ship will be rushed with water and go down -- if all goes to plan.

In 2002, nothing went to plan.

The 510-foot Spiegel Grove, also an artificial reef, flooded and went down off Key Largo three hours earlier than planned -- and ended up upside down. Marine salvors managed to get it on its side -- and it was finally righted only through the wave power created by Hurricane Dennis in July 2005.

Once the Vandenberg is down, queue the clearance dive teams, led by former Florida Keys Community College dive professor and Artificial Reefs of the Keys board member Bob Smith.

Smith will lead two teams of clearance/safety divers. The first will go down to ensure all of the cutting charges detonated by, essentially, counting the holes. A second team of divers will examine the ship's superstructure to make sure nothing shifted in the course of the scuttling.

Officials expect the clearance process to be fairly smooth and over in a day. Then, officials from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary will install mooring buoys around the wreck.

After that, the Vandenberg is officially open to recreational divers.

The final price tag is $8.6 million. Funding came from the city of Key West, Monroe County, state agencies, the U.S. Maritime Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and private donors.

First State Bank of the Florida Keys, BB&T and Orion banks provided financing.

"Given the proximity to the shore, the clear water and the zip code, I think it's a home-run combination," Weatherby says. "We'll see the economic impact immediately and permanently. As far as overhead goes, this is it."