News that effects the Ocala Marion County area real estate market
March was colder than normal this year. April has started out much cooler than normal as well with the first few days of the month barely making it to 70. April temperatures are normally the mid to high 80’s and the 60’s at night. April is a great month. No humidity yet. You don’t need much heat or AC and you can sleep with the windows open.
| CLOSED SALES | 513 |
|---|---|
| MEDIAN SOLD PRICE | $188,000 |
| AVERAGE SOLD PRICE | $259,920 |
| MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE | 98.2% |
| MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT | 22 days |
| MEDIAN TIME TO SALE | 79 days |
| NEW PENDING SALES | 801 |
| NEW LISTINGS | 692 |
| ACTIVE LISTINGS | 884 |
| MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY | 1.6 months |
We are in a serious sellers market here in Ocala. There is only 1.6 months of inventory. Active listings are own 55% from February 2020. Prices keep going up.
This winter has been the coldest one since I moved to Ocala in 2004. According the the tv weather man it was the coldest in Florida in 20 years. By cold I mean several frosts and a couple of light freezes. Day time temperatures in the high 50’s is freezing here. The grass which often stays green all winter is brown and dormant. Plants that generally survive in this zone look pretty much toasted.
The last week of February warmed up. We had several days in the 80’s. March is spring. The day time temps will be in the 80’s and nights in the 60’s. There will be little or no humidity until May. Spring which is a lot like summer up north is great here in Ocala.
| CLOSED SALES | 482 |
|---|---|
| MEDIAN SOLD PRICE | $189,000 |
| AVERAGE SOLD PRICE | $255,044 |
| MEDIAN % ORIGINAL LIST PRICE | 98.3% |
| MEDIAN TIME TO CONTRACT | 21 days |
| MEDIAN TIME TO SALE | 88 days |
| NEW PENDING SALES | 745 |
| NEW LISTINGS | 686 |
| ACTIVE LISTINGS | 1046 |
| MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY | 1.9 months |
As expected sales are down from past months because closings in January result from contracts written over the holidays. Although we here in Ocala are in a serious sellers market our area is still much cheaper to buy and live than south Florida. There is a decent selection of homes as well.
The winter of 2020-21 is the coldest I’ve seen since moving to Ocala in 2004. I’ve seen colder nights and a few really hard freezes but never so many cold days and nights. By cold I mean days in the low 60’s and nights in the 30’s. Typically the weather should begin to warm up in mid to late February. March is a full blown spring month. I can’t wait.
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.