Measured in water
The premium in the Keys is the view, the depth at the dock and the minutes to open water. Kate weighs all three before anyone talks about finishes.
Key West & the Florida Keys
AskKey West Kate
Local Knowledge. Exceptional Real Estate.
Born in Key West. Helping you find your place in the Keys.
Find your place in the Keys
Meet Kate
Born on the island. Fluent in its real estate.
Kate Baldwin grew up in Key West, and it shows in the details she notices: whether a boat clears the bridge at high tide, which Old Town porch catches the afternoon breeze, which street takes on water in a king tide.
She brings more than twenty years of local business experience and a marketer’s eye to every purchase and sale, and she tells clients the truth, especially when it isn’t what they hoped to hear.
“I don’t just sell real estate. I sell the lifestyle that goes with it.”
- Hometown
- Key West, born and raised
- Market
- Key West to Islamorada
- Focus
- Waterfront, historic and second homes
Property search
Search the Florida Keys
Filter MLS listings the way locals actually shop: by island, by the water you want to be on, and by what came to market this week.
Live listings appear once the authorized Florida Keys MLS connection is approved. No sample or placeholder properties are shown in the meantime.
Explore the islands
One road. A chain of islands. Very different addresses.
In the Keys, locals give directions by mile marker. From Old Town’s historic district to Islamorada’s bayside estates, each stretch of US-1 has its own pace, rules and relationship with the water.
- Mile marker 0–4Key WestOld Town conch houses and cigar maker’s cottages, Casa Marina’s wider lots, and the gated streets of Truman Annex, all on an island you can cross by bicycle.
- Mile marker 4–5Stock IslandKey West’s working waterfront: commercial fishing docks, deep-water marinas and a small but growing supply of newer residential construction.
- Mile marker 17–20Sugarloaf KeyQuiet canal neighborhoods with direct routes to the backcountry flats and a short drive back to town.
- Mile marker 20–23Cudjoe KeyCanal-front homes in Cudjoe Gardens and Cutthroat Harbor Estates, with Gulf and Atlantic access depending on the street.
- Mile marker 24–25Summerland KeyA residential key of deep-water canals and oceanfront lots, including a rare neighborhood with a private airstrip.
- Mile marker 29–33Big Pine KeyThe largest of the Lower Keys, with pine rockland, the National Key Deer Refuge and canal homes facing open water.
- Mile marker 47–60MarathonThe Middle Keys’ hub: Boot Key Harbor, Sombrero Beach, a full-service city and the eastern end of the Seven Mile Bridge.
- Mile marker 72–91IslamoradaA village of islands known for sportfishing, sandbar Saturdays and bayside sunsets, closest to the mainland.
Luxury & waterfront living
Island property is a different kind of luxury.
Square footage matters less here than light, water and ease. Knowing which features hold their value takes time on the water, not just time in the MLS.
Built around the boat
Lift capacity, seawall condition, fixed-bridge clearance and the route to the reef or the backcountry. The right house fits the boat you have and the one you’re planning.
Historic Old Town
Wood-frame houses with heart-pine floors, metal roofs and porches built for the breeze, protected by the guidelines of Key West’s Historic Architectural Review Commission.
Second homes, done properly
Rental rules, insurance, management and storm preparation decide whether a second home is a pleasure or a project. That conversation comes first.
For buyers
Buy in the Florida Keys
The best Keys purchases are decided by questions most listings never answer. Kate answers them before you write an offer, alongside your inspector, insurer, lender and attorney.
- What is the flood zone, and is there a current elevation certificate?
- What will wind and flood insurance actually cost on this house?
- Are short-term rentals permitted here, and under what license?
- For land, is there a building allocation (ROGO/BPAS) in place?
- In Old Town, what will the historic commission allow you to change?
For sellers
Sell your Florida Keys property
The market rewards accuracy. Overpricing creates stale listings; strategic pricing creates attention and better negotiating leverage. Kate’s listings are built on that, then told as a story through photography, video and buyer outreach.
- Prepare
- Price
- Position
- Launch
- Market
- Negotiate
- Close
Clear communication at every step, from the first walkthrough to the closing table.
The local perspective
Field notes from a native.
History, architecture and the practical details that only come from growing up here.
Architecture
How to read a Key West house
Cigar maker’s cottages, Bahamian-influenced conch houses, Classical Revival mansions and the eyebrow house, whose second-story windows hide under a deep roof overhang. Each style tells you something about when a street was built, and what a renovation will involve.
Old Town
Why the porches face the street
Before air conditioning, a double-height porch was the coolest room in the house. They still are on a good evening.
Living here
Old Town, honestly
Walkability, bicycles, parking, the sound of Duval on a Saturday and the quiet two blocks over.
Waterfront
Before you fall for the dock
Seawall and dock condition, water depth at low tide, permits on record and the bridge between you and open water.
The islands
What makes each key different
Town, quiet, open water or backcountry: the right island depends on how you plan to spend your days.
Market insights
Numbers you can trace to a source.
Every figure here comes from the Florida Keys MLS, printed with its market, reporting period and update date.
The first verified report is in preparation. Until then these spaces stay empty on purpose.
- Median sale price
- —
- Active inventory
- —
- Median days on market
- —
- Closed sales
- —
- Sale-to-list price
- —
- Market:
- Pending
- Period:
- Pending
- Source:
- Pending
- Updated:
- Pending
Ask Kate
Have a question about the Keys? Ask Kate.
About a property, a neighborhood, a valuation or whether island life is right for you. No question is too early.