Ep. 8 The Coconut Wire - What's Hot Marathon Homes Florida Keys June 5, 2026

Title: Florida Keys Real Estate Market Action – June 2026
Host: Margie Casey of Florida Keys Real Estate Group

Episode Segments
Marathon Real Estate Market Analysis

Number of homes that closed last week vs week before (00:31)
Number of homes that went under contract this week vs week before (00:51)
Number of days on market, this week versus last week  vs week before (01:04)
Price reductions this week (01:26)
Expired Listings (01:51)
Total number of homes for sale in the Middle Keys vs week before  (02:12)
Alert - Seller Signal (02:39)
Number of new listings in the Middle Keys vs week before (03:08)
Overall Market Opinion  (03:22)

Deal of the Week (03:33)

Event on Duck Key this Weekend (05:42)

Neighborhood of the Week

Grassy Key (06:50)
What to Expect (07:06)
Businesses/Things to Do (08:15)
Home styles/prices (10:49) 

Closing  (11:51)

Read our full commentary about Marathon Florida, click below: https://www.floridakeysrealestategroup.com/communities/marathon-real-estate

Contact 
Margie Casey | The Brenner Scheel & Casey Team
305-783-3395

flakeysrealestategroup@gmail.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Happy Friday. Welcome back to the Coconut Wire, your weekly pulse on the marathon real estate market. I'm Margie Casey with the Brenner Shale and Casey team of Florida Keys Real Estate Group. You're experts here in the Florida Keys. And whether you live here, love it here, or dreaming of making the move, you're in exactly the right place. Each week I pull the freshest data on the Middle Keys market. That's from mile marker 47 to 68. So you know exactly what our market is doing. And this week I want to start with closings. We saw a big change in the trend, only four closings. Now I'll be transparent because it I believe it could be because most closings tend to happen at the end of the month, but we'll see next week. We're going to keep our eye on that. But right now it is definitely a drop. Under contract this week, we had 36 homes that went under contract. This is a consistent trend, and it tells us buyers are still here, they're actively in the market, and deals are getting made. The average days on market is 79. That's for closed sales. 79 is also a consistent trend that we've had for weeks now. It's just a tick above the national average that runs around 60 days. Buyers in the middle keys are deliberate and they're doing their homework. And sellers who price their homes right, well, those homes are getting sold. Price reductions this week is nine. Nine sellers out there adjusted their price to meet the market. And I always say a price reduction isn't a bad thing. It's the market speaking. For buyers, it means motivated sellers. For sellers, it's a reminder that right from day one, that if you price your home correctly, you're going to save time and be more happy with the results. Expired listings is at eight. Eight homes sat on the market, they ran out the clock and they never sold. That's a consistent trend as well. So we'll keep our eye on that. The next thing we're going to talk about is the fact that overpricing is never a strategy. It's a waiting game. And in this market, it doesn't pay off. I do want to share with you the big headline, which is the total number of homes for sale in the middle keys. This drops significantly to 354 properties. It's 7%. And that's a significant drop. What it means is the inventory is now tightening. It's not a small move. It means less homes are on the market, and when the inventory falls, the balance of power in the market starts to shift. If you're a seller who's been on the fence and are thinking of selling, this could be a signal for you. Fewer homes competing for the same buyer pool means your home has more room to breathe, more eyeballs looking at your listings, more opportunities to sell it. Let's have a conversation and talk through our marketing strategies. There's no pressure, just information we will provide you that will help you make the right decision. Now let's talk about new listings that are hit, have hit the market this week in the middle keys. It's 11. That was a big drop from last week. However, it puts us right back on our average weekly trend of about 11 homes over, I don't know, two, three months now. So inventory is falling, the new supply is at its average, and we're going to continue to watch and see how well this summer market continues. Let's talk about my favorite part of the show, which is the deal of the week. I like to find one listing that caught my eye that is significant, and 226 Corsair Road on Duck Key is the listing. This home just had a $300,000 price improvement. And I want you to hear this because this home is a diamond in the rough. Why? The price at $3,195,000 comes out to about $1,000 a square foot. Now the home shows on public records it was built in 1978. However, in 1996 it went through a major addition. So this is not a 1978 home. It has been updated and substantially upsized. What do you get with this home? You have open water, dazzling sunset views. This home also has a two-car garage and an interior staircase, which, if you know Duck Key, you'll know how rare that is. It also has a boat lift and there's room for a swimming pool. Now, on the downside, this home doesn't have the most attractive bathrooms and tile. It could use some updating, but the bones are solid and you could not recreate this home for $3,195,000. Even if you update it, you're still going to be in the money once you complete the home and you'll have it exactly the way you want. It's a beautiful waterfront home on Duck Key. It's important to know that this $300,000 price improvement shows that the seller is highly motivated. Why don't you give us a call and let me show it to you? If you've got a vision and an appetite for a project, this could be something extraordinary for your family and legacy. Open water sunset views on Duck Key, they just don't come very often and not at that price. Tile can be changed. Like I said, call me for a private showing. We'd love to walk you through the property and help you get to know more about it and what makes it the deal of the week. Tonight, if you're anywhere on Duck Key, you need to know about what's happening at Hawks K Resort. On the first Friday of every month, it's at the new marina and boardwalk. It's called Rock the Dock, or they also call it First Friday on the Promenade. And if you've never been, let me paint a picture for you. From 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., the promenade comes alive. There's local music, local vendors, ice cold drinks, and tasty bites, and the kind of energy that drifts from the docks all the way up to Angler and Ale, which is on property. It's where locals and resort guests come together surrounded by beautiful boats, dazzling sunsets, and good company. Honestly, it's one of the best free things you can do on a Friday night in the Middle Keys. Tonight's live music is La Rogie, and these guys bring it. High energy rock that moves from 90s alternative nostalgia right into their own signature modern rock. Don't miss it. Now let's take a drive south, about two miles south of Duck Key. We're going to talk about a neighborhood called Grassy Quay. I want to talk about it because a lot of people drive through this area without even knowing anything about it. Here's some things to know about Grassy Key. First of all, let's talk about that it sits within the city limits of the City of Marathon on the north end, a more quieter residential area, more natural. It has a mix of homes, resorts, RB parks, and it's really wonderful. It's focused on eco-friendly tourism and marine life, and a little history because it does have a story. Grassy Quay was named in the 19th century by Surveyor GERDS, which documented it in 1849, named for the grassy islands in the area. Before modern roads, it was accessible mainly by boat. Then Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad came in, completing around 1912 the connection to everything. Construction camps were active here in the 1900s, and Flagler connected the Keys and Grassy Key. That was all a part of this transformation. Grassy Key has more interesting, fun history, and this you may know may know more about. In the 1940s, a man named Milton Santini opened a porpoise school right here on Grassy Quay. The school evolved over the decades into a nonprofit called the Dolphin Research Center, which opened in 1983 at Mile Marker 59. You may also recognize that connection because it's tied to the legacy of Flipper. Yes, the Flipper, the classic TV show right here on Grassy Quay. And by the way, just to the north on Conquay, there was a property. That Flipper property, where it was filmed, was sold in April 2022 for $9 million. Why $1 million? Because, well, there were two luxurious oceanfront estates on that property, directly on the Atlantic Ocean, that generated over $400,000 in vacation rental income annually. That's why. So lots of dolphins between Grassy Key, Conkey, and Duck Key. Okay, so what is there to do on Grassy Key today? Well, the Dolphin Research Center is still the main draw. It's a nonprofit focused on education, research, and interactive dolphin encounters. If you haven't been, go and bring your kids. Bongo's Botanical Garden is also in Grassy Key, and it's a fun place to hang out where you'll find the wakeboard cable park and the obstacle course. And yes, it's as fun as it sounds. That lagoon on Grassy Key is a tropical adventure park. It's with water sports and has so much more there. And it's also a part of Grassy Flats Resort and Beach Club, which is one of my favorites, an echo-friendly boutique resort with three restaurants on the property: the Palm Deck, the Rum House, and Grassy Land and Sea Market, which is not only a restaurant, but it's a fantastic specialty market. It's worth the stop. If you're a local who wants to hang out, be sure to go to the rec. That's where classic locals hang out. They have enticing happy hours and they have possibly the best key lime pie in the Middle Keys. I said what I said. If you like key lime pie, you gotta go there. There's also the Hideaway Cafe at Rainbow Bend with stunning oceanfront views and really tasty food. For boaters, Grassy Key Marina is a full-service marina on the Gulf Side. Indoor and outdoor boat storage, rentals, and a food and beverage market. And if you want to get out on the water quietly, then scoot on over to Sunset Park on Morton Street, which is an excellent place to launch your kayak for exploring more marine wildlife. Now let's talk real estate on Grassy Quay. Grassy Key has a solid market for waterfront and residential properties. The dry lot homes you can find like ground level homes in about the 600 range. Stilted and elevated homes begin in the 700,000 range. And then when you go on the ocean front, that's Morton Street on the Gulf side, the estates, and there are a couple on the Atlantic side too. They start in the 2 million range and they go up to 35 million. That was not a mistake. 35 million, yes, there is a property for sale right now called Zephyr Cove, and it's exquisite. One more thing worth knowing about Grassy Key for investors and vacation rental buyers is that again, it is within the city limits of Marathon, which means seven-day rentals are permitted with a vacation rental license. That's a big deal in the keys. Not every area in the Florida Keys allows that. Whether a neighborhood like Grassy Key has you curious, or the inventory, the inventory dropping has you thinking it might be time to sell your home, or if your buyer want to know what your options really look like and you'd like some help, I'd like to hear from you. You can call or text me directly at 305-783-3395 and ask for me, Margie Casey, your host right here on the Coconut Wire, and your real estate expert with the Brenner, Shale, and Casey team of Florida Keys Real Estate Group. No pressure, no runaround, just a real conversation with somebody who knows this market inside and out. Now I hope you enjoy this weekend. That's a wrap for us here on the Coconut Wire. Look forward to catching up with you next week.