Ocala Real Estate Talk

Archive for the ‘Dunnellon Real Estate’ Category

Rainbow Lakes Estates

Rainbow Lakes Estates is a huge sub division of approximately 13,000 acres that was first developed in 1961 by the American Realty and Petroleum Corp. At the time AMREP was one of the largest developers in the US mostly developing large tracts of land in southern states to be sold as vacant lots to northern snowbirds. Land was really cheap in Marion County in the 60′s and 70′s and several huge projects like Rainbow Lakes sprung up around the county at that time. Like several similar sub divisions many lots were never built on and even to this day there is a huge number of vacant lots.

Rainbow Lakes Estates has all paved roads. It also has 3 lakes, Tiger Lake, Lake Bonable and Little Lake Bonable. Lots are either 1/4 acre or 1 full acre. Homes range from smaller, under 1,000 sq ft of living area to quite large homes built in the last few years. Homes date from the 1960′s through  the building boom of 2004-08 to the present. There are all methods of construction with the majority being concrete block. There are very reasonably priced homes here in Rainbow Lakes Estates including a number of foreclosures.

Although there is no HOA or HOA fees there is a community center in Rainbow Lakes Estates with various clubs and activities.

Rainbow Lakes is peaceful and quiet but only a few minutes from Dunnellon and around 40 minutes from Ocala.

If you would like to see listings from Rainbow Lakes Estates email me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder .

See images below

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Ocala home sales in April, with 382 sales were pretty similar to March.That comes out to about 19 sales every business day. Although 45% of sales were foreclosures the other 55% were traditional sales by motivated sellers.

A recent Ocala Star Banner article noted that median home prices plunge in the Ocala area. Comparing the 1st quarter of 2010 to the 1st quarter of 09, the Ocala area median home price fell 14.5%. This was the 2nd largest drop in the country exceeded by only Orlando.

Now I think in some ways these statistics are a little deceiving because they show what is selling and not what you get for your money. The median home prices in Ocala are being brought down by a lot of sub $50,000- home sales. A lot of these houses are selling to investors mostly for cash. More importantly these sub $50K sales need work and often a lot of work. They also suffer from functional obsolescence, a real estate term that means out dated in a way that’s either impossible or very expensive to correct. These are often 2 bedroom homes, small square footage, maybe only 1 full bath and not CBS construction. Also included in the sub $50K category are older mobile homes. In total there were 63 sub $50K sales in April or about 16%.

This is not to say that there aren’t great deals here in the Ocala area. In fact I think we have the best homes prices in Florida. It’s just my job to add perspective.

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 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.

Rainbow Springs Woodlands is very nice sub division just north of Dunnellon.  Building began in the Woodlands in 1976 and there are vacant lots still available today. All the roads are paved and all homes are on lots 1 acre or larger. Most lots are wooded with plenty of shade trees unlike a lot of other Marion County communities. Most homes are concrete block and stucco but there are a few frame homes mixed in. Deed restrictions prohibit mobile and manufactured homes. There is an HOA with a minimal $8.00 per month fee. Deed restrictions are minimal. If you’re looking online and see the A1 zoning be aware that the deed restrictions over ride the zoning and this is not a community for horses. To see the location of Rainbow Springs Woodlands in relation to Dunnellon and Ocala check out my Dunnellon sub division map.

If you’re looking for a quiet, peaceful area with a house on an acre or larger lot then you should put the Rainbow Springs Woodlands on your short list.

To get a list of homes in Rainbow Springs Woodlands that are for sale just call me, email me or use my Dream Home Finder.

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.

REDUCED to $109,000.00

SOLD JULY 2010

Rainbow Springs Woodlands

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Rainbow Springs Woodlands or one of the surrounding communities use my Dream Home Finder.