The best agent for you isn’t the nicest one.
It’s the one willing to tell you your house is overpriced before the market does it for free in week 12.
Comfort is cheap. Honesty saves you $ thousands.
The Best Real Estate Agent Isn’t Always the Nicest One
In real estate, there is a significant difference between an agent who tells you what you want to hear and an agent who tells you what you need to hear.
Most sellers understandably want to believe their home is worth as much as possible. After all, a home is more than a property—it is years of memories, hard work, improvements, and emotional investment. The challenge is that buyers do not purchase emotions; they purchase value.
Has anyone shown you what your home's true value looks like in today’s market?
The market is the final judge.  
A pleasant agent may promise an ambitious price to secure a listing. For a few weeks, everyone feels good. The seller is happy. The sign goes up. The photogr ...

Like many old Keys landmarks, it has a history full of colorful stories. Local lore says that in the late 1930s, an upstairs storage room was turned into a brothel to help bring in more business. The plan didn’t last long, supposedly because the fishermen were “better looking than the ladies.”
By the 1950s, the general store had closed, and the spot became known as No Name Pub, a relaxed bar and restaurant with cold beer, pool games, hearty food, and plenty of Keys character. In 1960, two Italian cooks introduced the pub’s now-famous pizza recipe, which is still enjoyed today.
One of its most iconic traditions began during the lively 1970s and 1980s, when patrons started pinning dollar bills to the walls. What began as a fun little gesture grew into one of the pub’s most recognizable features. Today, surrounded by thousands of signed dollar bills and decades of stories, No Name Pub remains a true piece of old Florida Keys charm, perfectly living up to ...

Fall in Love with the Key Deer

The next time you are in the Florida Keys, take a little drive to Big Pine Key and the surrounding Lower Keys. Slow down, look around, and you may be lucky enough to see one of the most precious animals that call these islands home: the beloved Key deer.
These miniature white-tailed deer are found nowhere else in the world. Gentle, beautiful, and unforgettable, they have lived in the Florida Keys for thousands of years and remain one of the most cherished symbols of island life.
Today, fewer than 1,000 Key deer remain in the wild. Most live on Big Pine Key and nearby islands between Sugarloaf Key and Bahia Honda Key. They are protected under the Endangered Species Act, and the National Key Deer Refuge was established in 1953 to help preserve their fragile habitat.
If you see one, it is hard not to fall in love. Their soft eyes and peaceful presence remind us that the Keys are more than turquoise waters, sunsets, and beautiful homes. They are also ...

The Realtor You Choose Can Cost You—or Protect You
After nearly 30 years in real estate, I still hear the same question: “Will someone do it for less?”
Recently, one of my new sellers shared a conversation with a neighbor who works part-time in real estate. When asked who they had relisted their home with and what commission they were paying, the neighbor replied, “I would have done it for 4%.”
My sellers smiled. They had already tried the discount route once before. It cost them valuable time, missed opportunities, and ultimately did not get their home sold.
What many people never see is what happens behind the scenes.
Long before a property goes live, I invest my own money, time, energy, marketing resources, professional photography, property preparation, strategic planning, networking, and market analysis. I do this with no guarantee of compensation unless the property successfully closes.
I don’t simply place a sign in the yard and wait. ; ...

Today’s buyers are more analytical. They are looking closely at insurance costs, elevation, flood zones, dockage, condition, rental potential, updates, carrying costs, and overall value.
A property can still sell very well in this market, but sellers must understand that pricing, presentation, and positioning matter more than ever.
The homes that are performing best are usually the homes that are priced correctly from the beginning, presented well, and positioned around what today’s Florida Keys buyers value most: boating access, waterfront lifestyle, privacy, vacation flexibility, walkability, and island living.
Overpricing can cause a home to sit on the market longer, necessitate price reductions, and lose momentum. Strategic pricing can create stronger interest and better results.
Based on the January–May 2026 Florida Keys market report, Keys-wide sales are up 14%, dollar volume is up 23.8%, average sale price is up 8.6%, inventory is down 7.7%, and months of ...