Ocala Real Estate Talk

Posts Tagged ‘Ocala real estate market report’

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.

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.

Sales in December were 374 homes here in Marion County. If you remember my November report I thought sales were oddly low that month with only 266 sales. Apparently it was just a statistical fluctuation. Probably just a result of the time that offers were accepted or the time required to close the transactions.

Just as in previous months, the vast majority of sales are below $200,000- and over half are below $100,000.00. Once again foreclosures and to a lesser extent short sales account for over 50% of all sales.

The total number of listings seem to be pretty constant at around 5,500. As I’ve said many times, our market won’t recover until the number of active listings goes down. If you take 5534 active listings and divide it by the sales in December you get 14.8 months of inventory.

In general 2009 was a huge improvement over the past 2 years.  Prices are down but volume is way up. There were 3224 sales of residential homes in Marion County in 2009 as compared to 2008 with 2453 and 2007 at 3169.

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.

Much to my surprise sales in November at 266 homes were down from previous months. Sales in Marion County in October were 344, September 302 and August 293. I am really surprised by this and I doubt it is any sort of trend. There are 588 houses listed as Pending but of course not all of them will close. It’s important to realize sales are the result of contracts that take 30 to 45 days to close and often more in the case of foreclosures and short sales.

Once again foreclosures at 95 sales and short sales at 25 sales are an important part of our market. It should be no surprise that about half of all foreclosures are concentrated in just a few subdivisions such as The Shores, Marion Oaks, Rolling Hills, Rainbow Park, The Ocala Waterway and Ocala Park. The rest are scattered around in various areas and price ranges.

Buyers if you are trying to figure out if the market is near the bottom consider the following. Interest rates are at historical lows and may even dip below 5%. There is a federal tax credit but you have to get your house under contract by the end of April. Finally, a lot of buyers are interested in the newer foreclosures in Marion County. There is a finite number of newer foreclosed homes and some day the supply will run out. For example there were a lot more large, almost never lived in, foreclosed homes in Rolling Hills 12 months ago than there are today.

Statistics used for this blog post are from the Ocala Marion County MLS and are deemed to be accurate but are not guaranteed at the time this blog was written and are subject to change

Ocala Real Estate Market Report for September 2009

Sales in September were 273 homes, August was 283 homes, July came in at 269 homes and June was the best month so far this year at 319. Total listings remain around 5,500 homes. Homes are selling every day here in Marion County.

Sales are still being driven by bargain hunters. There were 27 short sales and 92 foreclosure sales in September. That accounts for 45% of all sold homes. Worse yet are the number of short sales that expire or get withdrawn because these are the foreclosures of 6 months from now.

My advice to sellers is to price your house very aggressively. In addition to a great price the only thing that might give you an advantage over bank sales is condition. By that I mean an immaculate move in ready house. A house with maintenance issues isn’t much better than a foreclosure.

Buyers, now is the time to buy. Prices are low and there is a great selection out there. Interest rates are at historical lows and given our countries debt have no where to go but up.

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.

Sales in August at 283 homes were up from July’s 269 homes. June was the best month so far this year at 319. Total listings remain around 5,500 homes.

Sales are way up in 2009 over 07 & 08 but that is because home prices are way down. Most of current sales are driven by bargain hunters snapping up foreclosures and short sales. The 55+ communities will always attract buyers because people retire regardless of the economy but prices are coming down in these communities as well.

Home prices in Marion County will not rebound to 2006 levels because they should never have gotten that high in the first place. Marion County does not have an economy to support $200,000- plus housing and never did. That is what out of the area builders and investors never understood and local builders ignored. Now that construction has almost stopped our unemployment rate is 12.5%.

I don’t mean to get down on our area but it is important for sellers to get a true picture of our economy so they can make informed decisions. Homes are selling every day but price is the way to move a house. The MLS is on the internet and buyers know a good deal from an over priced house and no amount of advertising can change that.

Buyers now is the time to buy. Interest rates are at historical lows and given the deficit spending our government is doing, inflation and higher rates are almost certain.

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.

** Only homes listed & sold in Marion County on the Ocala Marion county MLS. Does not include For Sale by Owner, Vacant land, Commercial properties, Farms or homes by Builders not listed on the MLS. Numbers subject to change due to late reports from Brokers

Sales in July were 269 homes in Marion County. This is a drop from the 319 sales in June and more in line with April at 229 and May at 259.  Total listings went up about 100 units from last month which is the first increase in quite a while.

One of Ocala’s largest employers closed this week. The huge mortgage company Taylor Bean & Whitaker was closed down by the fed putting around 1,000 people out of work. This on top of a 12.5% unemployment rate isn’t good for the housing market.

There seems to be no end to the foreclosures that are still dragging down prices. I constantly see short sales being withdrawn or expiring from the MLS. These are the foreclosures of 6 to 12 months from now. In July there were 84 Foreclosures sold and 27 Short Sales sold. That’s 111 out of 269 homes sold or 41% of all sales.

For these reasons I don’t expect prices to go up any time soon. Prices won’t recover until the foreclosures stop, inventory goes below 2,500 homes, the unemployment rate drops significantly and the market improves in other parts of the country so people can sell there and move to Ocala.

Knowledge is power whether you are a buyer or seller.  I offer the truth about the Ocala Real Estate market without any sugar coating.

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.

HUGE SALES INCREASE

Sales in June were 305 homes in Marion County. That’s a large increase over January at 142, February at 188, March at 220, April at 229 7 May at 259. This is a steady upward trend. Total listings also keep steadily going down which is great news.

We saw a huge increase in sales during June. This is all a result of lower prices. Buyers realize that prices are near bottom and interest rates are at historical lows with no where to go but up. Sellers realize that price is what sells a house in this market and that over priced homes just get over looked.

I don’t see prices going back up for a long time but the increase in sales combined with the decrease in listings is a very welcome sign.

Although I’m very optomistic about the increase is sales it should be noted that Foreclosures and Short sales accounted for 135 of the 319 sales in June. That’s 40%. Short sales being 37 sold and foreclosures a wopping 98 sales.

Sales in May were 259 homes in Marion County. That’s a large increase over January at 142, February at 188, March at 220 and April at 229. This is a steady upward trend. Total listings are finally below 6,000 which is great news.

Of course the main reason for this increase in sales is that prices have gone down here in Marion county. The median home price fell 16% in 2008. More so in areas hard hit by foreclosures like The Shores, Marion Oaks, Rainbow Park, Rolling Hills and several others.

I’m seeing a huge increase in hits to my web site. I’m getting between 50 and 75 visitors a day. I think people are realizing that we are near the bottom of the market and now is the time to jump in and get a deal.