Everything about Ocala Florida real estate
| CLOSED SALES | 765 |
|---|---|
| MEDIAN SOLD PRICE | $196,000 |
| AVERAGE SOLD PRICE | $248,158 |
| MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE | 98.6% |
| MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT | 22 days |
| MEDIAN TIME TO SALE | 77 days |
| NEW PENDING SALES | 598 |
| NEW LISTINGS | 571 |
| ACTIVE LISTINGS | 1240 |
| MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY | 2.0 months |
All I can say is that despite the Covid we had a better year in 2020 than in 2019.
I’ll start as usual with a look back at the previous month. December was very odd. We had 3 or 4 hard frosts. There some years we don’t get a frost at all. The grass is brown and dormant and quite a few plants that were borderline hardy here were killed. New Years day was 80 and I had to turn on my AC.
January like the rest of our winter here revolves around cold fronts. A front will come though and cool the day time temperatures down to the 60’s or even high 50’s and then the temperatures will go back to the low 70’s until the next front. There is no humidity and we can go for a week or 2 with no rain.
| CLOSED SALES | 618 |
|---|---|
| MEDIAN SOLD PRICE | $195,000 |
| AVERAGE SOLD PRICE | $240,838 |
| MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE | 98.1 % |
| MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT | 23 days |
| MEDIAN TIME TO SALE | 72 days |
| NEW PENDING SALES | 652 |
| NEW LISTINGS | 716 |
| ACTIVE LISTINGS | 1366 |
| MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY | 2.2 months |
It’s still hard for me to believe that during the pandemic Ocala home sales are great. November closed sales were up 11.6% over 2019 and the median sold price was up 13.4% . Homes are selling fast and close to the list price. I personally had a better year in 2020 than I did in 2019.
So far December has been much cooler than normal. Today is December 8th and we have had two cold fronts and a frost already this winter. Normally high temperatures should be in the mid 70’s during the day and the 50’s or 60’s at night. The past several days have been in the 60’s and even a couple of 50’s during the day. That’s cold for Ocala. The winteer is my favorite time of year. Warm and dry.
| CLOSED SALES | 599 |
|---|---|
| MEDIAN SOLD PRICE | $190,000 |
| AVERAGE SOLD PRICE | $251,749 |
| MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE | 98.2% |
| MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT | 21 days |
| MEDIAN TIME TO SALE | 77 days |
| NEW PENDING SALES | 671 |
| NEW LISTINGS | 747 |
| ACTIVE LISTINGS | 1256 |
| MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY | 2.2 months |
Sales volume is down a little compared to October 2019. Homes prices are up. Inventory is down. Homes are selling quickly and close to asking price but we are not seeing much for crazy multiple offer situations. Compared to other parts of the country Ocala home prices are a steal.
October was an unusually warm month. Normally it begins to cool down mid month. It did that in October but it heated back up through the first week of November. It was also more humid than normal.
November should be cool and dry with temperatures in the mid 70’s. I hope it cools down soon. According to the weatherman on TV it should cool down this coming week.
Tropical storm Eta passed just north of Ocala. It was a non event. A little rain and some 30 mph wind.
Homestead Portability applies to people selling a home that has a homestead exemption in Florida and buying a new home in Florida. You can bring your homestead exemption along with you to your next house. It’s not that simple though as I realized when I recently bought my new home. It was a short time after I closed on my new Stone Creek home that I got an email from a local title company with a link to a video talking about a service that checks your Portability. I was shocked that I lost out on almost $500- in tax breaks ! I called my broker and a few real estate friends some whom have been in the business for over 20 years. No one had heard of this.
When you have owned a house for a long time like me 15 years the value of your house goes up. The property appraiser has different values for your house. Assessed value which is what you pay taxes on and Market or Just Value. If your Market or Just Value is way off from the amount you are going to sell your house for you will lose a large amount of Homestead Portability. If you don’t dispute the Market or Just Value before you close on your existing home it’s too late. Period.
This is complicated so here is a link to the service where I saw the video. I am not endorsing them. I’m not affiliated in any way. This is just great info that can save you hundreds on your taxes every year. https://floridahomesteadcheck.com/
| CLOSED SALES | 621 |
|---|---|
| MEDIAN SOLD PRICE | $185,000 |
| AVERAGE SOLD PRICE | $237,422 |
| MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE | 98 % |
| MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT | 29 days |
| MEDIAN TIME TO SALE | 84 days |
| NEW PENDING SALES | 676 |
| NEW LISTINGS | 663 |
| ACTIVE LISTINGS | 1216 |
| MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY | 2.1 months |
I get these statistics from our local board of Realtors. They publish last months numbers and the same period a year ago for comparison. You might think with the Covid and a lock down in some states that sales would be way down. Just the opposite ! Sales were up 9.9%. Median sold price up 9.8%. Average sold price up 19%. Median time to contract down from 49 days to 29. Active listings down 52.6% ! We are in a sellers market and Coviid hasn’t slowed it down.
US News and World Reports published a list of the Best Places to retire in 2020-21 and Ocala came in at # 6 out of 150 major metropolitan areas. You will notice out of the top 20 Ocala has the highest housing affordability score.
Link to article https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/best-places-to-retire?sort=overall&high_to_low=true
October in Ocala is the beginning of our fall. It’s also the beginning of the dry season. You can almost divide our year into 2 seasons. From late May until October we have the wet season. During the wet season we have high humidity every day with afternoon thunderstorms several times a week. The dry season is from October until May. It’s warm but not hot. Not a lot of rain and little or no humidity. October is one of my favorite months. Temperatures in the 80’s but dry and sunny.