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Oak Run Ocala Florida

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Oak Run entry big rock wall with pond

Oak Run is a large 55 plus community located just off SR 200 in the SW corridor area of Ocala. Construction began in 1985 and was built out in 2007. Oak Run is divided into neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have evolved over a 25 year period and each one has a unique character. The older homes are frame with aluminum or vinyl siding. The newer homes are concrete block and stucco. As time went by the size of the houses grew as buyers expectations increased over that 25 year period. You will find older homes as small as 700 sq ft of living area and newer homes over 3,000 sq ft. Prices as you might expect vary tremendously. HOA fees vary by the neighborhood. In a few areas the homes include lawn care which adds to the fee. In general HOA fees at this time range from $110- to about $150- with homes that have lawn care being  higher at about $230- $250 per month, exact fees vary by neighborhood. Amenities at Oak Run are extensive. They include 3 gates with a guard house, basic cable TV, curbside trash pickup and common area maintenance. There is the Royal Oaks Golf Course, 5 outdoor pools, an indoor pool, a great fitness center that is like joining a gym, a restaurant, numerous clubs, tennis, pickleball, horseshoes, shuffle board ect. Golf is not included in the HOA fee.

Update 3/15 Fees remain stable but I think prices are starting to go up. Oak Run gives you a lot for your HOA $. It is a must see.

Update 3/16 HOA fees are always stable in Oak Run. They do vary by the neighborhood, size and age of the home. Inventory is down and prices are up from last year.

Update 11/9/17 HOA fees seldom go up in Oak Run. They vary by neighborhood which is related to the age of the home and if the house is on a maintained lot or not.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Oak Run fill out my Dream Home Finder or send me an email. I’ll set you up a Listing Cart for Oak Run. Read more

Ocala 55+ home prices vs The Villages

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I often get buyers looking in The Villages contacting me to see what is available further north in Summerfield and Ocala. There are nice alternatives to the Villages in Ocala and Summerfield. I don’t work in The Villages myself but the Ocala Marion county MLS does cover some of it. This morning I was looking at what sold yesterday on our MLS and saw a house in The Villages that sold for $179,500-. It was only 1179 sqft living area, frame with siding and $153 sqft, built in 03. I thought wow that’s crazy expensive and prompted this blog post.

The following are just examples of homes sold in the past 30 days. They may or may not be comparable. They are only intended to provide a rough idea of prices in various communities. When comparing homes of different sizes look at the $/sqft.

The Villages :

2005 1535 sqft block and stucco $246,000 $162 sqft Mallory Square

2006 1602 sqft frame/siding $279,000 $180 sqft Tanglewod

2018 1196 sqft frame/stucco $285,000 $259 sqft Sumter Jacaranda Villas golf view

Ocala and Summerfield:

2017 2017 sqft block and stucco $284,295 $146 sqft Candler Hills Stonebridge  3 baths GC garage

2002 1680 sqft block and stucco $185,000 $113 sqft Ocala Palms golf/water views GC garage

2016 1928 sqft frame/cement board  $257,000 $146 sqft Ocala Preserve at Trilogy

2006 1504 sqft block and stucco $146,500 $100 sqft On Top of the World

2009 2419 sqft block and stucco $374,888 $155 sqft Stone Creek birdcage golf view GC garage

2009 2279 sqft block and stucco $226,500 $101 sqft Summerglen golf course view

2004 1958 sqft block and stucco $240,000 $123 sqft Spruce Creek Country Club

2006 1812 sqft frame and stucco $274,500 $154 sqft Stonecrest birdcage and golf course view

If you’re interested in seeing homes for sale in any of these Ocala or Summerfield communities fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder and I’ll set you up a search and Listing Portal.

Cherry Wood Estates Ocala Florida

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Cherry Wood Estates entrance sign

Cherry Wood is a 55 plus retirement community in the SW part of Ocala Florida. Cherry Wood is in a great location just minutes from shopping, restaurants and hospitals. Cherry Wood has a large pool, a tennis court and shuffle board area. There is also a large clubhouse community center. Homes in Cherry Wood are concrete block and stucco construction on 1/4 acre lots. Chain link fences are allowed. This is not a gated community. HOA fees include common area maintenance, clubhouse and pool, a full cable TV package and curb side trash pickup. See my Ocala 55+ communities map for Cherry Wood’s location. Cherry Wood does not have a HOA it is managed by the developer.

Update 3/15 HOA fees are $198- month broken down like this $132- month for management, maintenance of common areas ect, $66- month for cable TV (mandatory) and 2 X week trash pick up. Great block and stucco homes. You can’t beat the home prices here.

Update HOA fees are now $208- month. Home prices are up from last year and up quite a bit from a couple of years ago. Still great prices on CBS homes.

Update 1/20/18 HOA fees are now $212 month. Still the best priced CBS 55+ homes in the area.

Update 1/23/19 HOA fees are now $220- month

Update 3/4/2021 HOA fees are now $238- month

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Cherry Wood fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder,call me or send an email. I will set you up a Listing Cart on the Ocala MLS for Cherry Wood Estates.

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Ocala Palms Golf Course Community

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Ocala Palms entry sign

Ocala Palms

Ocala Palms is a golf course community located in the NW part of Ocala Florida.  Ocala Palms is a 55+ community. There are a few frame and vinyl homes but most are concrete block and stucco here.  Home prices and sizes vary a lot. The size can range from 1,000 sq ft of living area up to almost 3,000. Ocala Palms has a lot of homes with golf course frontage and a fair number of hard to find 55+ pool homes. HOA fees include the club house, outdoor and indoor pools, tennis, a 24 hour guard at the gate, common area maintenance, curb side trash pickup but not golf. Ocala Palms is a golf cart community meaning you can drive your cart down the road but you can’t make it to any shopping. The HOA is for social activities. The clubhouse, golf course and common areas are not owned by the residents which is not unusual in this area.

4/2015 HOA fees are $185- month. They include the guard at the gate, trash pick up, and use of the amenities, Golf is not included and is extra. There is also an extra $20- monthly fee for cable TV which is mandatory.

Update 3/16 HOA fees are $197- month plus the mandatory cable TV fee. Sales have really picked up over last year.

Update 1/20/2018 HOA fees remain the same at $198 month plus $20 cable tv.

Update 1/23/19 HOA fees are now $205- month.

Update 3/4/2021 HOA fees are now $217- month.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Ocala Palms fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder, give me a call or send an email. I will set you up a Listing Cart on the Ocala MLS for Ocala Palms.

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Marion Landing Ocala Florida

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Marion Landing entry sign

Marion Landing is a 55 plus retirement community located in SW Ocala. Marion Landing is in a great location just off SR 200 close to shopping, restaurants and hospitals. There is a nice clubhouse with it’s own bowling alley, a large solar heated  pool, tennis court and even a small fishing pond. HOA fees cover water and sewer, common area maintenance,all amenities and twice weekly curb side trash pickup.  Marion Landing was built over a period of 30 years. There is a mix of homes here.  There are mobile homes from the 1980’s, frame and vinyl construction and some very high quality newer block and stucco homes. Even older less expensive homes here show pride of ownership. Marion Landing is not gated but there is a night time security patrol. If you have a dog you cannot fence your yard here like some other nearby 55+.

Update 3/2015 HOA fees are still a very reasonable $112- month.

Update 3/16 HOA fees remain at $112- month which is a great deal considering they include water up to 35.000 gallons per quarter.

Update 1/30/17 HOA fees still $112 month. A great deal.

Update HOA fees are now $125- month and include water and sewer. Still a great deal.

Update 1/23/19 HOA fees are now $127- month and that includes water and sewer !

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Marion Landing fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder, call me or send an email. I will set you up a Listing Cart on the Ocala MLS for Marion Landing.

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Spruce Creek Preserve Dunnellon FL

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Spruce Creek Preserve entry sign

Spruce Creek Preserve

Spruce Creek Preserve is just off SR 200 in Dunnellon Fl. This is a great location because it is just a short drive to restaurants, shopping and health care in the SW 200 corridor area. Spruce Creek Preserve is a gated, 55+, golf course community.  Houses in Spruce Creek Preserve are frame with stucco or frame with vinyl siding. Homes here can range from 1,000 sq ft of living area to over 2,000 with most being in the middle. HOA fees of around $120- per month which includes the guard at the gate, clubhouse, common area maintenance, curbside trash pickup and basic cable TV. Golf is not included in the HOA fees. Spruce Creek Preserve is a very nice community that shows pride of ownership

Update 3/16 HOA fees are $121- month. Fees are very stable here and it seems like a well run association

Update 1/20/18 HOA fees are $124 month. A great deal.

Update 1/23/19 HOA fees went up to $127- month. A great value still.

Update 3/2/2020 HOA fees went up to $127- month. A great value still.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Spruce Creek Preserve fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder, call me or send me an email. I can set you up a Listing Cart on the Ocala Marion County MLS for Spruce Creek Preserve.

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Ocala 55+ communities vs The Villages

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yellow Golf Cart with 57 Chevy hood

This is a quick comparison between retirement homes in Ocala and The Villages. There are 2 major differences between Ocala 55+ and the Villages. They are the golf cart lifestyle and money.

The Golf Cart lifestyle. In the Villages you can drive your golf cart along golf cart roads all over. So much so that most Villagers use a gas powered cart because you travel further without your battery running out of juice.

On Top of the World is the only community in Ocala where you can drive a golf cart to shopping. This is because there are 2 shopping centers on either side of the main entrance and you never need to leave private property to access them. There is no golf cart driving down public roads or on the sides of the roads. You can access 2 grocery stores, 2 banks and a few restaurants, a post office and miscellaneous shops but it is nothing on the scale of The Villages.

Money. You pay a serious premium for driving your golf cart around The Villages. The 55+ communities in Ocala and Summerfield, which is just south of Ocala and north of the Villages are much less expensive. By that I mean in the area of 25-30% less or you could get a much larger home for the same money. Almost all homes in Ocala built after the late 90’s are block and stucco where as many newer homes in The Villages are still wood frame.

Activities. If never ending constant activities are your thing The Villages has a definite edge but every where I go when I’m in The Villages seems crowded. Ocala offers a more laid back quieter lifestyle but you can still find plenty of activities. Del Webb, On Top of the World and Triolgy all are know for active lifestyles.

If you are looking at The Villages you owe it to yourself to look at homes here in Ocala and Summerfield. Call me, email me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder. I am not associated with any one community and work for you.