Marco Island Real Estate Stats and Commentary for August 2018

The following statistics compare August of 2018 to August 2017

Sold Single Family Home Sales UP 7% (31 vs. 29)

Sold Condominium Sales UP 30% (35 vs 27)

Sold Single Family Vacant Lots DOWN 43% (4 vs 7)

Average Sale Price Single Family Home UP 60% ($1.1M vs $660k)

Average Sale Price Condominium UP 4% (($622k vs $595k)

Average Sale Price Single Family Vacant Lot DOWN 38% ($226k vs $491k)

Total Dollar Value of all Single Family Homes Sold UP 72% ($33M vs $19M)

Total Dollar Value of all Condominiums Sold UP 72% ($22M vs $16M)

Total Dollar Value of all Single Family Lots Sold DOWN 68% ($1.1M vs $3.4M)

Current Inventory:

252 Single Family Homes (DOWN 24% from 2017)

302 Condominiums (DOWN 14% from 2017)

275 Single Family Lots (DOWN 6% from 2017)

829 Total

A total of $56 Million dollars worth of real estate closed on Marco Island in August of 2018 compared to $39 Million dollars worth in August 2017. Folks, that is a lot of Real Estate for the middle of the summer and this is remarkable for this time of the year. This is little old Marco Island and it is summer time, what in tarnation is going on? I did some stomach crunches along with some number crunching and besides my 3 pack abs I came up with the following simple realization...some more smart folks decided to call Marco Island home. The high-end single-family home market seems to be on fire and one reason is that we are still a fraction of the price of waterfront homes in Naples. One home on the beach in Hideaway sold for $6.5 MILLION and 8 other homes sold for over $1,000,000 and 2 sold for over $2,000,000. If you want sticker shock, let me price a comparable homes for you on the beach or a waterway in Naples. A Penthouse in the Belize sold for $4,650,000 and 2 other condos sold for over $1,000,000. What is happening in the high end of the market is simply unprecedented for this time of the year. Again, Marco Island still represents a great value for those seeking Florida property combined with a fantastic lifestyle, and the numbers back this thought up.

My first wife called me last week and said: "we need to get together and talk". When the first wife asks for a sit-down, it usually involves money, "our" kids, or both. I must also say that the term "our kids" always triggers me because Andy, our eldest, and our old mailman share the same shade of red hair, but that's another story. Fortunately, Andy graduated college and got a real job and Willy is a senior in high school focused on attending The University of Florida next year, so I figured talking about them was off the table as they are all good. That left money as the proposed topic and last time I saw the first wife she asked me to fund her dream of becoming a Yoga instructor, which I willingly did, thinking it would keep her away from me as I hate Yoga. Well, it turns out she surprised me this time and she actually arranged for us to take a guided Kayak tour through the back bay and mangroves.  She said we needed to take a little time out of our busy schedules and do some soul-searching. Now, neither of us had ever rowed a boat, let alone been in a kayak, but hey, I gave her some of the best years of my life and I figured she owed me a nice day on the water. So, very civilly, we met at the boat launch and after a 2-minute lesson from the guide, we were paddling away in a two-person kayak named the "Minnow" on a three-hour tour. The weather started getting rough and the tiny kayak was tossed, but not for the strength of my lower back paddling, the kayak would have been lost. After a typical Marco Island 5 minute rainstorm, the sun came out again and back to paddling I went. We followed the guide through some narrow mangrove passes, we learned some history about the area we never knew and were captivated by the beauty we saw as we were now immersed in Nature. As I paddled, the guide led short classes in marine biology, weather, astronomy, physics, comic theater, zen and ornithology (not to be confused with mixology or the science of making a Manhatten). On the row back, which is about 1 mile and took me about 14 hours, I learned why they call the two-person kayaks "divorce" kayaks. I was the only one rowing, we were out of water, it was 99 degrees, the humidity was 8,000 percent and when we docked #1 said: "wasn't that fun?!"

Now my 7.6 faithful readers who have been reading this know somewhere hidden in the words above there is a correlation to the real estate market, and here it is. People NEED to live here. People WANT to live here. People will PAY crazy amounts of money to live here and these folks are coming here to experience everything Marco has to offer. For those of you already living here, you are probably not taking full advantage of what we have available to us every single day, but the folks that just spent $56 million should be a reminder as to what brought you here.  Luckily, because we are still breathing, every once in a while we can all take a step back and stop and smell the rose in blum. My first wife lost her dad this month and that time on the water gave us both an appreciation for what we have. Don't forget why you moved here, get out and enjoy it before it's too late. If kayaking isn't your thing, then go out for a nice dinner, or go golfing, or boating or whatever gets your juices flowing, just get out there and enjoy life on Marco. If none of this interests you any longer, than just like a good divorce attorney, I can help you get rid of your problem for a reasonable fee.  And as a public service announcement, if you are happily married, never ever, ever, rent a two-person kayak or you will find out why they call them "divorce" kayaks. 

Now, back to business. The sold $$ leaders for the month are... a Single-Family Home for $6.5 Million at 996 Royal Marco Way, on the beach in Hideaway. For Condos, Belize Penthouse 2504 closed for $4.65 Million and for Vacant Lots we had a tie at $375,000 for 1071 Dana Court and 235 Edgewater Court. Over 10 large right here folks.

For you bargain hunters out there, a Single Family Home at 1234 (my password) Jamaica Road closed for $345,000.  A Condo in Coquina Gardens unit 201, closed for short money at $112,001. Re-read that last number, One Hundred Twelve thousand ONE dollar. I love this guy because he squeezed them for the extra buck!  Lastly,  a Vacant Lot at 397 Beach Lily in Hideaway closed for $119,000. It is pretty cool that one person spent $6.5 Million to be Hideaway and another spent $119,000 and they both get to enjoy the club equally.  There truly is something for everyone here on Marco Island.

As always, please reach out and contact me if you have any real estate questions or want to take me and my first wife out to dinner.

And, if you are thinking of using me as your Realtor, keep in mind that I will never be out thought or out fought.

Gerry Rosenblum

Broker Associate

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty

2013, 2012 & 2007 President Marco Island Area Association of 

Realtors

2008 Realtor of The Year - Marco Island 

239-450-4770 (cell)
1-888-239-5131 (toll-free e-fax)
1-800-237-8817 (toll-free)
To View the Entire Marco MLS go to: www.viewmarco.com

Me passed out from rowing, while #1 is basking.