Ocala Real Estate Talk

Archive for May, 2012

Ocala and Marion County home sales were excellent in April. Total sales were only 3 less than in March which is traditionally our best month. Things tend to slow down after the snowbirds go home but this year feels different. Active listings have gone down again. This is part of a gradual decline that started in early 2011. If you go back through old market reports you will see that foreclosures are half the number we had in April 2011. With both active listings and foreclosures going down it’s hard not to think that our market is finally recovering.

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 or by auction that were not  listed on the MLS, commercial properties or vacant land.

So far 2012 has been much warmer than normal. April was no exception. Many days in April were in the high 80′s with a couple of days hitting 90. Normal would be the low 80′s. I had to run my AC for much of the month where normally I might not run it at all. In past years AC season hasn’t started until mid to late May. Now when I say I need to run the AC I mean that I had to turn it on mid afternoon and in some cases run it at night because the outside temperature was in the mid 70′s at bed time. This time of year is still dry with very little or no humidity.

May remains dry until the end of the month. Highs should be in the high 80′s during the day and the 60′s at night. The end of May marks the end of our dry season and the start of the wet season which lasts until October.

A lot of people from out of state worry about how they will like the heat and humidity of Florida summers. It really depends on where you live now. I’ve had buyers from the mid west and Texas say the humidity isn’t as bad as where they live. Coming from New England I can say that it is hotter and more humid than I was used to but I got used to it and it is a small price to pay for no winter.

If you want to make a low offer on a home here in Ocala you have to give the seller a good reason to accept your offer. Here are a few things that make for a “strong offer”.

1. Cash. Cash means no finance contingency. The seller can be confident that their sale won’t blow up at the last minute because the loan gets rejected by the banks under writing department. Happens more often than you might think. Not all loan pre approvals are created equal.

2. AS IS. A contract that gives the buyer the right to inspect the home and walk away if the inspection is not satisfactory. The seller makes no repairs and knows exactly what they will net from the sale. Attractive to out of area sellers who would have a hard time getting repairs accomplished.

3. Fast Closing. A cash offer can close very fast, 7-14 days. The seller may not like the offer but is tempted by the fact that the deal will close fast and they can move on saving money in taxes, utilities, insurance, mortgage ect.

If you think that making an offer using a loan with little or no down payment, asking for closing costs or expecting the seller to throw in their furniture or a golf cart is the way to get a deal on a house then you’ve been watching way to many real estate shows on cable TV.

Most of my out of area buyers seem to like pets as much as I do. Many even travel with pets when they come to look at homes here in Ocala. I recently found a pet friendly hotel web site that has customer reviews. If you travel with Fido you might want to check this out.

http://www.bringfido.com/lodging/city/ocala_fl_us/