Ocala Real Estate Talk

Archive for the ‘Ocala Real Estate News’ Category

Sales for July were down quite a bit from previous months. From March through June we were doing 370-380 homes a month. In July we dropped down to 319. I’m sure some will blame the tax credits expiring but I’m not so sure.  I’m going to wait a month or 2 and see if this is a trend or a statistical aberration.

Looking back at old Market Reports you can see that although sales are up in 2010 inventory has remained about the same. As long as inventory is as high as it is our severe buyers market will continue.

The average 30 year mortgage dropped again to to 4.44% for the week ending 8/12. The 15 year rate was 3.92%. This is the lowest rate since Freddie Mac began keeping records in 1971. These rates are being kept artificially low by the FED to stimulate the economy. These rates can’t last forever.

If you’d like to know more about Ocala area home prices email me, call me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder.

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.

This has been a crazy year for Ocala Florida weather. This winter set records for cold weather and now this summer is on pace to be one of the 10 hottest on record.  In July 21 out of 31 days were above normal. Rain has been about average but it seemed a little on the dry side at my house.

Here’s a link to an interesting weather article in the Starr Banner .

August weather should be in the low 90′s during the day and the low 70′s at night with regular afternoon thunderstorms. August is not the last month of summer here in Ocala. Both September and most of October are summer months.

August is also the month when hurricane season really gets rocking and rolling. The ocean temperatures are reported to be higher than normal, which is what fuels hurricanes, so it should be an interesting year. Ocala is probably the safest place to be in Florida during hurricane season but we do get tropical storm force winds and torrential rain.

Check out the Ocala Weather page on my web site for average temperatures by the month and more Ocala weather info.

June was another good month for home sales in Marion County. There were 372 residential home sales in the Ocala area which is about what we have been seeing since March. Also, as we have been seeing for well over a year now, short sales and foreclosures represented 208 out of the total of 372 homes sold.

Here’s my advise to buyers. Interest rates, much to my surprise, have gone down even further. Rates are at a 50 year low with no where to go but up. There is a great selection of bargain priced homes. Buy now .

My advise to sellers is to price your house right. Testing the market is a waste of time, no one will look at your house. Speaking of a lack of showings, buyers are looking at your house every day, just not in person. Buyers look at homes online and then decide to view the best priced homes in person. Finally even if you do get an offer on your house it still has to pass a bank appraisal. Banks are using short sales and foreclosures as comparables for traditional sales. Well priced traditional sales are selling as evidenced by the 164 sales this month.

If you are interested in buying a home in the Ocala area call me, email me or use my Dream Home Finder in the right hand column of this blog.

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.

The summer of 2010 has been unusually hot and wet. Summer in Ocala is always hot and wet but this year is off to a real bang. From watching the weather I think we might also have a big hurricane season this year. It appears the water in the Gulf is 3 or 4 degrees above normal. With hurricanes it’s all about feeding off the warm water.

Weather in July here in Ocala is hot. It is 90 to 95 every day but never much more. There is plenty of humidity in the air. It doesn’t rain every afternoon but it has rained this year about 4 days out of 7.

I have an entire page on my web site devoted to Ocala Weather. Check it out and remember no matter how hot it gets in the summer here in Florida it’s a small price to pay for no winter.

The Marion County SHIP program has funds available again. This program runs out of money every year so if you are eligible act fast. They are estimating funds for about 60 homes.

The SHIP Program (State Housing Initiative Partnership) was created by the William E. Sadowski Affordable Housing Act of 1992. It is a housing program funded through the documentary stamp tax and used primarily in Marion County to assist eligible households with the purchase or repair of a home. The State of Florida requires that a least 30% of SHIP dollars received by the County be expended to assist Very Low income households. At least another additional 30% must be spent on Low-income households. This means that applicants with incomes falling within the income category need will receive priority.

HOME (Home Investment Partnership Program) is a HUD (US Department of Housing and Urban Development) entitlement program primarily used in Marion County to assist eligible very-low income households with the purchase of a home and for the demolition and replacement of dilapidated homes.

To learn more about the SHIP program see the link below.

http://www.marioncountyfl.org/CommunityServices/Housing_programs.aspx

If the  SHIP program has run out of money or you don’t want to take their classes don’t give up. If you meet their general lending requirements you may be eligible for an FHA or USDA loan. Give me a call or send me an email and I’ll send you to a local bank to be pre approved for a loan. If you can get approved for a loan, I can find you a house.

Once again we had a pretty good month here in the Ocala area with 369 sales for the month of May. That’s a huge improvement over May 2009 when we had only 253 sales.

Inventory is still high at about 14 months. The Ocala Marion County MLS  has had over 5,000 homes for about a year now. Inventory is actually down from June 2007 when there were 7,167 homes for sale on our MLS. We will have a buyers market until inventory drops well below 6 months or around 2,500 home listings. By the way, a buyers market is more common than a sellers market historically.

There were 146 foreclosures and 41 short sales in May. It is these distress sales that keep prices down. Traditional sales have had to drop their prices in order to compete.

If you’re a buyer, interest rates are at historical lows and prices can’t drop much more. If there is a bottom, this is it.

If you are a seller you can either sell at market value or stay put for the next 3 to 5 years because prices aren’t going up any time soon.

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.

Date Palm Flower

It’s June here in Ocala and it’s hot and humid. After all this is Florida. Every day will be in the low 90′s and real humid. When I first moved to Ocala some one told me that after a year or two my blood would thin out and I’d get used to the heat. Needless to say I thought that person was full of it. Much to my surprise it’s true. I moved here from Maine where it seldom got above 80 and now I’m cold when it goes below 70!

The summer here in Ocala lasts from mid May to about the end of October. That means around 90 during the day and the 70′s at night and humid.

You have to realize that every where in Florida is air conditioned, your house, your car, every store and your job. It’s just like every where you go up north in the winter is heated.

The summer heat and humidity is a very small price to pay for no winter.

For more info on Ocala Florida weather see my web site for average temperatures, precipitation and more.

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.

Wild Flowers SW 80 Ave Ocala FL

April was cooler than normal but the first week of May has been unseasonably hot! I look forward to the first 3 weeks of May as still dry and in the high 80′s. So far this month we have been above 90 and the humidity is here early. I like to finish up my yard work by the end of May and sit by the pool for the rest of the summer.

May should be in the high 80′s with the nights in the mid 60′s. That the average any way. You can see average weather statistics at Ocala Weather on my web site.

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.