Ocala Real Estate Talk

Posts Tagged ‘Ocala real estate news’

Ocala area home sales were down in October compared to last month. In September there were 360 sales which is 77 more than October. Almost all of the difference was in the sub $100,000- range. Foreclosures are way down from the spring of the year with only 73 sales this month. Inventory is holding steady after a huge drop in the first months of this year.

Have Ocala home prices bottomed out and will there be a big rebound as in this article in today’s Ocala Star Banner? I don’t see how prices can go much lower but I also think several things have to happen before prices will go up too.

1. Out of area buyers have to be able to sell their existing homes.

2. Ocala unemployment has to go way down from the current 12% so locals can buy a house. You can’t buy a house, no matter how cheap, without income.

3. Inventory has to go down considerably in order for prices to rise. More than 6 months inventory is a buyers market. Inventory would have to drop from todays 3700 units to around 2000.

4. The foreclosure inventory, especially newer foreclosures, need to be sold off. Unemployment has to go down to keep more homes from being foreclosed. Banks have to stop using foreclosures and short sales as comparables when doing appraisals. Never ending foreclosures killed the Ocala real estate market.

I do think there is a growing pent up demand for new homes, especially in the 55+ communities. However buyers don’t seem to understand that builders can’t compete on price with current resales.

We are entering Snow Bird season which is great for home selling in Ocala. Winter is an excellent time to sell and if you’re sick of northern winters it’s a great time to buy.

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.

I’m writing this blog post in response to a recent article in the Ocala Star Banner about how the Ocala area has the dubious distinction of having the largest decline in homes values in the entire country in the 3rd quarter of 2010 as compared with the same period in 2009.

I thought the Star Banner article was too negative, just like most of their articles about local real estate. Low home values are bad if you’re a seller or a Realtor (my average commission is down 50% since 2006) but not if you are a buyer. Low home prices are great if you are a first time buyer or looking to retire here in sunny Florida. The Ocala area has a low wage structure and local people who couldn’t afford a home in 2006 can afford a home today. Homes in The Shores or Marion Oaks, built in the last 5 years, that originally sold for over $200,000.00, are now available as foreclosures for under $100,000.00.

The current median home price in the Ocala area is $82,000.00. I think this needs some explanation. The median home price is being brought down by really cheap sales. For example there were 77 sales in October under $50,000.00. Of this total there were 19 mobile homes, 27 were homes with fewer than 2 full bathrooms and 18 homes were smaller than 1,000 sq ft of living area. There were also 10 55+ homes in the under $50K category most of which were villas in On Top of the World.  Now there’s nothing wrong with homes like these. Every area needs extremely affordable housing. I’m just pointing out that homes in the under $50K range require compromises that not everyone might want to make and it’s these under $50K sales that are bringing down our median home prices.

Lastly I want to make a few comments about foreclosures. As you know I like foreclosures but I haven’t sold one his year. I showed plenty of them but my buyers elected to spend more money on traditional sales. Why was that? When my buyers looked at what it would cost to get the foreclosed home up to the same condition as the traditional sale they decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. If you’re interested in foreclosures you should prepare in advance. You need to know what it costs to replace carpet, install tile or laminate flooring, the cost of appliances or even an AC unit or roof. To a lesser extent this would apply to some 55+ estate sales too.

A recent article in the Ocala Starr Banner states that home sales in the Ocala Marion County area for May 2010 are up 39% compared to May 2009.  That’s because the median home price here in Ocala is down 13% from the same period in 2009. The current median home price is $96,700.00 down from $111,600.00 a year ago. The median home price is the point where half of the sales are more and the other half are less and should not be confused with the average.

The median home price in Ocala is the lowest in the state of Florida. If you are interested in Ocala homes email me, call me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder. Be specific we have over 5,000 homes for sale & I can’t send you them all.

The median home price in Ocala has dropped to $87,800.00 edging out Ft Myers to become the cheapest place to buy a home in the state of Florida according to an article in the Ocala Star Banner.

Median home prices mean that half of all homes sold for more and half of all homes sold for less than $87,800.00 I think this is a little deceptive especially to those looking at this online from outside the area.

There are great deals in the Ocala area. I just think the median home price is a little misleading. It reflects what is selling more than what you get for your money. The Ocala area has a high unemployment rate and a low wage structure and local people are buying what they can afford.

In addition, I suspect investors are buying up really cheap houses looking to fix them up and rent them for positive cash flow. A huge percentage of below $50,000- foreclosed houses are selling for cash, which to me indicates an investor.

Most houses on the Ocala Marion County MLS sell for under $200,000-. In my opinion the real sweet spot in our market is in the $125-200,000- range. It is in this range that you can find a really nice house, in a nice area that needs very little or no work at all.

I specialize in helping people from outside the area find a home here in Ocala and surrounding Marion County. If you have a question email me or use the comment feature below. If you’d like to receive listings email me about what you’re looking for or use my Dream Home Finder in the right hand column.

Real estate online has revolutionized the industry. It has empowered the consumer. Real estate agents used to be able to just show buyers listings of their own or those of their broker but all that has changed. Buyers can look at hundreds of houses from the comfort of their own homes and develop a real feel for value. This is a good thing.

I constantly send listings to buyers through my Ocala Dream Home Finder which sets buyers up with a predetermined search of their choosing and automatically emails them listings.

The problem is that there is just no substitute for seeing a house in person. You need to get a feel for the space, imagine yourself living there, check out the neighborhood. The size of a house can also be very deceiving. Online all you can do is look at the square feet of living area. I’ve been in houses with great floor plans that felt 25% larger than they really were and just the opposite with poor floor plans. Buyers see a great priced foreclosure but don’t realize that it’s in the middle of no where. Realtors don’t know what to expect from a listing either until they see it. I’ve been in foreclosures that were obviously never lived in and I’ve been in others that were so nasty I wanted to go home and take a shower. I once went to show a really nice looking house. We pulled into the driveway and saw the neighbor with cars parked on his lawn. There he was working on his Harley in the driveway.  A guy who looked like a member of the band ZZ Top.

The moral of my story is the internet is a great thing for real estate. The internet has brought transparency to buying process. However it is just one tool. A starting point and no substitute for a good real estate agent. That would be me of course.

While Florida lost population for the first time since the end of WW2, Ocala Marion County gained in population. From April 08 to April 09 Marion County added a little over 3,800 residents. Over all Florida lost over 58,000 people. Some counties losing more than others and a few counties actually gaining population like Marion County.

Why are people coming to Ocala and Marion County?

• The lowest median home prices in Florida.
• Lower property taxes than much of the state.
• Lower home owners insurance than much of Florida.
• Much lower hurricane risk than south Florida.
• Less traffic and crime than other parts of the state.
• Just a better quality of life.

There has never been a better time to buy a house in Ocala Marion County than now. Interest rates are at historical lows with no where to go buy up. Home prices are down 50% in some areas from 2005-07. Call or email me today and I’ll send you a list of homes that would meet your needs. All I need to know is what you want. Or try my Ocala Dream Home Finder. What ever is easier for you.

Well not really a new insurance company. More like an established insurance company moving into a new market. AAA which is best know for rescuing stranded motorists and for car insurance is entering the home owners insurance market here in Florida. The big deal is that other major insurers are leaving the property insurance market here in Florida. Big insurance companies only want to collect premiums and they really don’t want the risk that comes along with Florida hurricanes.
The Ocala area doesn’t have the insurance costs of south Florida because Ocala isn’t in the path of hurricanes. Hurricanes generally either hit south Florida, go up the Atlantic coast or into the Gulf of Mexico. So there is less risk and lower insurance costs here in Ocala.
I think this could be a great idea in AAA’s part. A lot of people want to get their car and home owners insurance from the same company. This could be a great way to get market share in a very large state.

I’ve read several times in several places that people are leaving Florida for other places. Most of these articles are based on statistics from moving companies claiming the have more trips leaving the Florida than coming down here.

This may be true for other parts of the state of Florida but it is not true for the Ocala Marion County area.

The US census has just reported that Ocala had an increase in population of 5,500 people. People are moving to Ocala because of low homes prices, lower taxes and property insurance than other parts of Florida, a more laid back life style and the fact Ocala has never been hit by a hurricane.