Post Irma Real Estate Market – A Look at the Numbers

Venetian Shores in Islamorada, the day of Hurricane Irma

While Monroe County continues its recovery after Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys on September 10th, the local real estate market continues to recover as well. Here is the real estate activity that has taken place since Irma.

In the weeks since the storm, 230 properties have been listed for sale. Some of these are properties that were on the market prior to the storm, but were withdrawn or cancelled due to needed repairs and cleanup prior to being offered for sale again.

Of these new listings, 18 are currently under contract and 8 have closed and transferred to new owners.

Many of the properties that were under contract prior to the storm have gone ahead and completed the sale, with 156 closings Keyswide since September 10th.  However, not all properties that were under contract have made it to the closing table. Of the properties that were under contract prior to Irma, 45 of them are back on the market after buyers or sellers decided not to move forward with the purchase and sale.

Numerous listings that were offered for sale prior to the storm are no longer on the market, with 193 listings being removed from the available inventory of properties for sale, with nearly half of those properties located between the Lower Keys and Duck Key.

While this is typically the slower part of the year in advance of our season, we are still receiving calls from buyers that are interested in purchasing in the Keys. Many of these calls have been buyers that were looking to score a deal on property that sellers may be wanting to sell quickly due to damage. However, these buyers are finding that most property owners are not looking to “unload” their property for bargain prices, but will continue to sell at market value after repairs are made.

Many areas of the Keys will need time to rebuild, particularly those in the hardest hit areas of the Lower Keys. But the residents of the Keys are a resilient group, with #KeysStrong and #Can’tDrownAConch popular themes throughout our entire island chain.