Ocala Real Estate Talk

Archive for April, 2010

There are some great deals in Ocala real estate in addition to Ocala Short Sales and Ocala Foreclosures. For example it’s no secret that Florida is full of older retired people. Often out of state relatives inherit homes that they need to sell. I refer to these as estate sales.

Unlike foreclosures, that are rare in the Ocala 55+ communities, there are an abundance of estate sales. The 55+ estate sales vary from newer homes in very good condition to older homes in need of updating such as paint, carpet or appliances.

There are also quite a few estate sales outside the 55+ communities.

In addition to estate sales there are also vacant homes owned by investors who are unable to do a short sale and homes vacated by people who had to relocate for various reasons.

Benefits of buying a vacant home or estate sale.

• Quick closing
• Excellent prices
• Exist in 55+ communities
• motivated sellers

If you are interested in vacant homes in the Ocala area or an estate sale call me, email me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder. Be specific, I can’t send you every estate sale on our MLS. There are just too many.

Right now is the opportunity of a lifetime to buy an Ocala home. Here are 12 reasons to invest in Ocala real estate right now.

1. Interest rates are at historical low with no where to go but up.
2. Many Ocala area home sellers will pay part or all of a buyers closing costs.
3. Fannie Mae Homepath Financing doesn’t require an appraisal and also offers renovation loans for their Ocala and Marion County foreclosed properties.
4. USDA offers 100% financing with no Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) on many Marion County homes. Mostly homes that are not in the Ocala city limits.
5. FHA loans allow the seller to pay many of the buyers closing costs.
6. Conventional loans rates are at all time lows. Local banks want to loan money to buyers with good credit. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
7. Foreclosures are selling at a 50% discount from 2005-08 highs.
8. Most Ocala foreclosures are in good condition and easily pass a professional home inspection.
9. Many “traditional sellers” have dropped their prices to better compete with distress sales.
10. In the 55+ communities there are always great deals on estate sales.
11. Estate sales also exist outside the 55+ communities and are a hidden secret often over shadowed by Ocala area foreclosures and short sales.
12. Principle, interest, taxes and insurance are often not much more than renting.

If you are a first time buyer, a renter, a retiree or investor now is the time to buy.

Foreclosures in the Ocala and Marion County Florida area are a major part of our market.  Foreclosures accounted for 38% of all residential sales in March 2010. That is actually down a little from the 46% in February. We are also seeing foreclosures in the farm and commercial industrial sectors.

Ocala Foreclosures Residential

Active 323

March sold 133

Ocala Short Sales Residential

Active 684

March sold 35

Ocala Farm Foreclosures

Active 12 from $162,900- to $2.25M

March sold 2

Ocala Farm Short Sales

Active 18

March sold 1

Ocala Commercial Foreclosures

Active 13

March sold 4

Ocala Commercial Short Sales

Active 26

March sold 1

Ocala 55+ Foreclosures

Active 19

March sold 3

Ocala 55+ Short Sales

Active 31

March sold 2

Foreclosures are still closing at a much higher rate than short sales. Just look at the ratio of closed short sales to active short sales and then compare that to foreclosures.

Foreclosures are every where in the Ocala area but some sub divisions have a large amount such as Silver Springs Shores while all the 55+ communities only accounted for 3 sales.

Don’t let anyone tell you foreclosures are in terrible condition. Some of course are but many if not most will easily pass a professional home inspection.

If you would like a list of Ocala area foreclosures call me, send me an email or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder. DO NOT ask to see all the Ocala foreclosures. I can’t send you 300 listings!! I need a price range, beds and baths, area of Marion County, lot size and anything that will narrow your search down.

You might also want to check out my Ocala Foreclosure Guide

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. All sales are for Marion County only and do not include FSBO or homes sold by builders not listed on the MLS.

Sales in March were way up over the 2 previous months so far this year. January had 227 residential sales and February had 283. Of course both those months were influenced by the holidays when you consider that it takes 30 to 60 days to close.

Short Sales and Foreclosures combined represented 46% of sales. This is a percentage that was pretty constant through most of 2009. As long as these distress sales are such a huge part of our market we will not see home prices rising. This is bad for sellers and great for buyers.

The Fed just recently stopped buying mortgage backed securities from Fannie and Freddie. A lot of people including myself were concerned that mortgage rates would shoot up because the FED was artificially keeping rates low. So far rates have edged up slightly and are up just a little over this time last year.  This is good news for both buyers and sellers but rates need to be watched carefully.

If you are a seller waiting for the market to come back forget it. Prices in 2005-2008 should never have been that high in the first place. The Ocala area never had an economy to support those high home prices and won’t for the foreseeable future.

If you are a buyer interest rates are at historical lows and the type of buyers market that we have currently will only happen once in a life time. If you are a serious buyer you need an agent. Call me or fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder today.

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.

April azalea

After a freezing winter and an unusually cool March spring has finally sprung here in Ocala.  March didn’t really warm up until the last week of the month. The previous three weeks of March were unseasonably cool.

April in the Ocala area is one of the best months. There is no humidity and the temperatures are in the low 80.s. The grass which tends to go dormant and turns brown for the winter is greening up and the Azalea bushes are in bloom. If you’re up north and April is cold and wet or worse yet an actual winter month then you need to move to Ocala.

Visit my web site to see my month by month Ocala weather guide.