Ocala Real Estate Talk

There were 283 sales of residential homes in Marion County during February. That’s pretty good considering some contracts were probably written over the holidays. What’s selling is still pretty cheap. A whopping 64% of sales were below $100,000-.

Foreclosures and Short Sales combined for a total of 137 sales and 48% of all sales in the month. Just 2 huge sub divisions, Marion Oaks and Silver Springs Shores, accounted for 60 of the 137 short sales and foreclosures. Both of these communities were areas of intense speculative building during 2004-2008. New homes built by investors and house flippers were never sold and have been taken by the banks.

It’s a great time to buy. Interest rates are around 5% for people with good credit. The First Time Buyers Tax Credit and Existing Home Owner Tax Credit are still available but you need to get your house under contract by April 30th. Houses in The Shores and Marion Oaks that are just a few years old are selling for under $100,000-. What are you waiting for?

Email me or use my Dream Home Finder to get a list of homes for sale in areas that interest you.

Its termite swarm season again here in Ocala. As the weather warms up termites go out and look for a new home. You do not want that new home to be yours.

Termites cause $700,000,000.00 in damage each year here in Florida. Despite this scary statistic about half the homes in Florida have no form of protection.

There are 2 types of termites, subterranean and dry wood. The subterranean variety is considered the worst because they have much larger colonies and thus eat more wood. Obvious from the name they live in the ground and prefer moist conditions and wood. The subterranean termites enter your house through a sort of tube that connects their colony to the food source. Dry wood termites like dry wood, like the rafters in your attic. They have much smaller colonies and are harder to detect.

The University of Florida has a great web site dedicated to termites with loads of information and great color images. Take a good look at the pictures and so you can identify the little buggers if you see one.

Subterranean Termites

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Home for sale Rainbow Springs Woodlands

This is a home for sale in the Rainbow Springs Woodlands area of Dunnellon. It is a new listing for me. I really like the Rainbow Springs Woodlands because it is such a nice established neighborhood of homes on big 1 acre plus lots. This is a very quiet peaceful community but it’s just a few miles north of Dunnellon where you’ll find grocery stores, various shops and restaurants.

This home was built in 1982 and has a brand new roof as of December 2009. There is 1,590 sq ft of living area but the floor plan is really good and makes the house feel larger. It’s a typical 3 bedroom 2 bath Florida split plan with the master on one side of the house and the other 2 bedrooms on the opposite side. There is a large open living room with high ceilings and a fireplace. The lot measures 1.24 acres and has a lot of trees.

This link is to the featured homes page on my web site where you’ll find statistics about this house and 11 images. The list price is $124,900.00.

Rainbow Springs Woodlands

The winter of 09/10 will be one of the coldest on record here in Ocala. The weather guy on the TV station I watch says it is one of the 5 coldest since they started keeping records in the 1800’s. It seems every day has been 10 to 15 degrees below normal. Winters in Ocala are usually a great time of year with temperatures in the low 70’s. This year the low 60’s were the norm.

March is the beginning of spring here in Ocala, although this year is off to a slow start. Temperatures in March should be in the mid to high 70’s, the grass should green up and the azaleas should start to bloom.

Check out my Ocala Weather page on my web site to see weather information for each month of the year here in Ocala

Here are some interesting statistics from 2009.

In 2009 compared to 2008 the average sale price in Marion County declined 22% and the median price fell 25%.

Homes in gated communities did better. The average decline from 2008 to 2009 was 16% and the median priced was down by only 7%.

The median home price was at it’s highest in Marion County during 2006 at $165,000-. By 2009 the median home price was down to $95,000-.

You will notice a big difference in the decline between the county in general and the gated communities. That’s because there are a huge number of foreclosures and short sales dragging down the county average. Just 2 subdivisions, Silver Springs Shores and Marion Oaks account for just 6% of the population of Marion County but had 23% of all sales in 2009. The vast majority of which were foreclosures and to a much lesser extent short sales.

If you’d like more info on buying or selling a home in the Ocala Marion County area give me a call or send me an email. It’s only the middle of February and I already have 3 sales. I can help you too.

Some of the above statistics come from Ocala Appraisals.

Statistics used for this blog post are from the Ocala Marion County MLS and are deemed to be accurate at the time this blog was written but are not guaranteed. All information is time sensitive and subject to change without notice. Home sales are for Marion County only and do not include FSBO, homes sold by builders not listed on the MLS, commercial properties or vacant land.

Summerglen Ocala Florida

Summerglen is a 55+ retirement community with a very nice golf course just south of Ocala. There are both new homes available from the builder along with quite a few resales. All homes were  built within the past 6 years. Homes in Summerglen are all concrete block with stucco and range in size from a little under 1500 sq ft of living area to a little over 2500 sq ft. Prices vary a lot but most are from the mid $100K range up to the mid $200’s. As of the time of this blog there is a very reasonable $125- per month HOA fee. HOA fees include maintenance of the common areas, clubhouse and amenities, trash pickup, guard at the gate and lawn mowing but not fertilizing. Summerglen is an active 55+ community with a great clubhouse, heated beach entry pool, fitness center, library, crafts, dog park, softball field, basketball court and a lot more. Two things that Summerglen offers that most other communities don’t have are lawn mowing and free RV parking, both are extra costs elsewhere. Golf is an extra fee. There is also a nice restaurant, Moreno’s Grill located next to the clubhouse.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Summerglen fill out my Dream Home Finder located in the column on the left hand side of this page.

Images below.

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February in Ocala is the last month of our winter. By the first of March things will start warming up, the grass will start to green up and the azaleas will bloom.

Temperatures in February should be in the low 70’s during the days and the mid 40’s at night. Of course January should have been like that too.

Hopefully February will be a more normal winter month than January. The first 10 days of the new year were extremely cold. Every night was at or below freezing which is unheard of here in Ocala. Now we do get frosts and freezes in Ocala but only 3 or 4 times a winter. Never 10 days in a row. A life long resident told me that he has never seen such a cold stretch in his 45 years living in Marion County. In addition to the cold weather it has been really rainy too. This is supposed to be the dry season where it doesn’t rain for weeks on end. It has rained so much I’ve had to lower the water in my pool several times.

Visit the Ocala weather page on my web site to see average highs, lows and precipitation by the month here in Marion County.

No it’s not a crazy come on or infomercial. Fannie Mae the huge federal agency is offering incentives to buy Fannie Mae owned foreclosures.

Here is how it goes.

You must buy and close on a Fannie Mae foreclosure between Jan 28 and April 30, 2010.

Fannie Mae is offering 3.5% of the sold price that can be used for closing costs or to buy Whirlpool appliances through Fannie Mae or the buyer can do a combination of closing costs and appliances. Buyers must be owner occupants.

According to the Fannie Mae web site. Lenders may impose their own limitations on the use of the 3.5% incentive, so buyers should consult their lenders for guidance.

Many foreclosures in the Ocala area are either homes that never had all the appliances or the homes were burglarized and the appliances were stolen.

If you are interested in foreclosures in Ocala and surrounding Marion County email me or use the Dream Home Finder in the left column of my blog.

Palm cay Ocala FL

Palm Cay is a 55 plus retirement community in the SW corridor area off SR 200 in Ocala Florida. Palm Cay is a great and very affordable Ocala retirement community. Homes here range in size from around 700 sq ft of living area to over 16oo sq ft. All homes are of frame construction with either aluminum or vinyl siding. Prices are as low as $50,000- up to the low $100’s. The houses in Palm Cay are single family style on 1/4 acre lots. Palm Cay is gated with a guard house and has a large clubhouse with a fitness center, craft rooms and full kitchen. Outside there is a  swimming pool, tennis courts, shuffleboard, horseshoes and a lounge area. HOA fees are currently a very low $85- per month. HOA fees include 24 hour guard at the gate, common area maintenance, clubhouse and pool, trash pickup and basic cable TV.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Palm Cay fill out my Dream Home Finder located in the column on the left hand side of this page or send me an email.

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Oak Run is a large 55 plus community with 2 golf courses. Oak Run is located just off SR200 in the SW corridor area of Ocala. Construction began in 1985 and although Oak Run is almost built out you can still buy a new house from the builder. Oak Run is divided into neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have evolved over a 25 year period and each one has a unique character. The older homes are  frame with aluminum siding. A little later the homes were frame with vinyl siding. The newer homes are concrete block and stucco. As time went by the size of the houses grew as buyers expectations increased over that 25 year period. You will find older homes as small as 700 sq ft of living area and newer homes well over 3,000 sq ft. Prices as you might expect vary tremendously. At the time of this writing prices are as low as $62,000- up to almost $500,000-. Most homes are in the $100,000- to $200,000- range. HOA fees vary by the neighborhood. In a few areas the homes include lawn care which adds to the fee. In general HOA fees at this time range from $105- to about $150- with homes that have lawn care being even higher. Amenities at Oak Run are extensive. They include 3 gates with a guard house, basic cable TV, curbside trash pickup and common area maintenance. There are 2 golf courses, several pools including an indoor pool, multiple clubhouses, a restaurant and numerous clubs. Golf is not included in the HOA fee. Read the rest of this entry »