Everything about Ocala Florida real estate

Ocala Real Estate Market Report August 2020

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Market Report
CLOSED SALES 658
MEDIAN SOLD PRICE $186,000
AVERAGE SOLD PRICE $224,360
MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE 97.5%
MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT 39 days
MEDIAN TIME TO SALE 91 days
NEW PENDING SALES 752
NEW LISTINGS 742
ACTIVE LISTINGS 1392
MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY 2.4 months

You would think that with the Covid 19 and the lock down in northern states home sales would have come to a screeching halt. Just the opposite home sales are great. Inventory is low. We are in a sellers market but still nothing crazy like multiple offers on every other sale. I have found when making appointments to see hoses that if I try to make 10 appointments I’ll find one or two has an offer but the agent hasn’t had time to post it as pending yet. It’s not uncommon for a house to take 3 or 4 months to sell. If you’re looking to buy there is still a good selection of nice homes. Homes prices have gone up a lot in the past few years and there aren’t many low priced homes like there used to be here in Ocala.

Not all banks are the same

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This is an updated post that I originally wrote back in 2014. I just had another instance where a large national bank dropped the ball created endless stress and expense for my buyers.

My buyers told me they were getting financing from a large bank where they had all their accounts in the mid west. I warned them that their bank may have trouble closing on time. They said they knew the loan officer for years and he assured them he could do loans in Florida.

First the bank said they didn’t need a survey. Technically maybe they didn’t but if you don’t get a survey in Florida there is an exclusion on the title insurance noting there was no survey provided and the bank’s underwriters won’t approve a mortgage with an exclusion like that on the title insurance. Someone sat the bank should have known that. I had to tell the buyers who in turn had to almost fight the bank over something they should have known.

Secondly the bank at first said they didn’t need an appraisal. I told my buyers that was really odd and they should double check with their loan officer. Then the bank decided they did need an appraisal and it was not ordered on time. The appraisal didn’t come back until almost 2 weeks after our closing date. In Florida we set a firm closing date and need to get an extension signed by all parties to extend that date. The seller was frustrated but agreed to 2 extensions.

My buyers were rightfully frustrated. They had to live in a hotel for 2 weeks and their furniture had to be put in storage. They suffered over $3000- in expenses all because this large national bank was incompetent.

Below from a July 23 2014 post.

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Ocala Real Estate Market Report July 2020

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Market Report
CLOSED SALES 608
MEDIAN SOLD PRICE $181,500
AVERAGE SOLD PRICE $227,225
MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE 97.4%
MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT 49 days
MEDIAN TIME TO SALE 110 days
NEW PENDING SALES 746
NEW LISTINGS 669
ACTIVE LISTINGS 1313
MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY 2.3 months

July sales were surprisingly good despite the Covid 19 virus. Compared to July 2019 sales were down 11%. However and this is not a good thing, Active listings ere down 50% and new listing are down 27%. Inventory is too low. We are in a sellers market with homes selling close to list price.

Ocala Florida weather report September 2020

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Since I didn’t do my August weather report I’ll begin by recapping the month. August was hot and humid every day. Days were all in the low 90’s. Nights were in the high 70’s often even 80 at 6 am when I get up. Every day was very humid. We had afternoon thunderstorms several times a week.

September will be a lot like August. September is not the beginning of fall here it is a full blown summer month. Things do not begin to cool down until late October. Mid September is the peak of hurricane season. This year huge sand storms coming off of North Africa have been hindering hurricanes forming in the Atlantic.

The hot humid summers are a small price to pay for no winter and no more snow ever.

 

Stone Creek picture blog #2

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This is the 2nd in my series of pictures I’ve taken walking around Del Webb Stone Creek where I live. This photo series features various critters that you can see around Stone Creek.

Brahman cattle standing by a wire fence

Brahman cattle

more pictures below

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Ocala Florida Market Report for June 2020

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CLOSED SALES

Market Report
CLOSED SALES 534
MEDIAN SOLD PRICE $175,673
AVERAGE SOLD PRICE $213,891
MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE 97.4%
MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT 44 days
MEDIAN TIME TO SALE 94 days
NEW PENDING SALES 749
NEW LISTINGS 635
ACTIVE LISTINGS 1444
MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY 2.5 months

June 2020 was pretty good considering we are dealing with the Covid 19 pandemic. As a point of reference sales were down 22% compared to June 2019 but I’m surprised they are as good as they are. Active listings are down 46% from June 2019. It looks like people aren’t listing their homes possibly due to the pandemic. We are in a real sellers market as a result. Don’t expect prices to go down with such low inventory.

 

 

Ocala Florida weather report for July 2020

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July is hot and very humid here in Ocala there’s no getting away from it. Every day it’s in the high 70’s at 6 am and very humid. By afternoon expect the lower 90’s and still really humid. We get afternoon thunderstorms 3 or 4 times a week. They don’t cool things down much.

July is hurricane season. So far this year and this sounds crazy huge dust storms are blowing out of the Sahara desert in Africa. This air born sand and dust keeps hurricanes from forming in the Atlantic and Caribbean oceans. Hopefully this will continue and we will have a  uneventful season.

Ocala Florida Real Estate Market Report May 2020

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Market Report
CLOSED SALES 463
MEDIAN SOLD PRICE $174,900
AVERAGE SOLD PRICE $202,326
MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE 97.4 %
MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT 44 days
MEDIAN TIME TO SALE 98 days
NEW PENDING SALES 740
NEW LISTINGS 658
ACTIVE LISTINGS 1827
MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY 3.1 months

The May sales report is significant since it shows sales from mid March through early and mid April after things got shut down from the Corona Virus. Real estate in Florida is considered an essential business and we never stopped selling houses sales just dropped off. Sales were down quite a bit and inventory is low too. Prices seem stable.

Ocala Florida Weather Report June 2020

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June is the first month of the wet season. The wet season is when it is very humid every day and there are frequent afternoon thunderstorms. The wet season lasts until mid October. Every day is in the high 80’s to low 90’s but seldom over 95. Nights are in the mid 70’s. It’s humid 24/7.

June is also the beginning of hurricane season. Hurricanes feed off the warm ocean water and although the season starts in June it’s late August and September that is peak hurricane season.

It’s not impossible to get a hurricane in Ocala but being in the middle of the state we are about as safe a place as you will find in Florida.

The heat and humidity as a small price to pay for no winter.

Ocala Real Estate Market Report April 2020

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Market Report
CLOSED SALES 665
MEDIAN SOLD PRICE $182,000
AVERAGE SOLD PRICE $232,549
MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE 97.3 %
MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT 58 days
MEDIAN TIME TO SALE 110 days
NEW PENDING SALES 568
NEW LISTINGS 666
ACTIVE LISTINGS 1930
MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY 3.1 months

Sales in April were very good because contracts that closed in April were written in February or very early March. Here in Florida real estate is considered an essential business and did not shut down. Every day I look at the MLS and there are at least couple of dozen homes that go Pending. Pending sales are a better gauge of the market than closed sales. March 2020 Pending sales were 627 and April 568. That is a significant drop. I was just surprised anyone is buying anything at all in March. New listing in March were 697 and April 666. Not a big drop. Inventory is low at only 3.1 months. Low inventory is significant. This is totally different that the real estate crash in 2008. I think there will be a large rebound in sales either this summer or definitely this fall. A lot depends on when northern states open up and people up there can sell their homes.