About Gainesville's Haile Plantation

What is selling in Haile Plantation?

An analysis of absorption rate for homes sold in Haile Plantation reveals the following:

Number of homes for sale in the Haile Plantation area: 120

Number of homes sold in the Haile Plantation area during September 2009: 16

Number of months it will take to sell off this inventory: 8, which indicates that we are still in a buyer's market in Haile Plantation.

Seller's market = 1-4 months of housing inventory available

Balanced/normal market = 5-6 months of homes for sale

Buyer's market = 7 months or more of homes for sale

What is the most popular price range of homes selling in Haile Plantation?

Homes for sale in Haile Plantation for less than $200,000: 14

Number of homes <$200,000 sold in September 2009: 2

Amount of inventory available <$200,000: 7.6 months (buyer's market)

Homes for sale in Haile Plantation between $200,000-$250,000: 15

Number of homes between $200,000-$250,000 sold in September 2009: 4

Haile Plantation housing inventory for $200,000-$250,000: 4 months (seller's market!)

Homes for sale in Haile Plantation priced over $250,000: 91

Number of homes priced over $250,000 sold in September 2009: 10

Haile Plantation housing inventory for homes costing more than $250,000: 9.9 months (buyer's market)

For homes priced between $200,000-$250,000 in Haile Plantation, we are currently in a seller's market.....YIPPEE!!

Sellers of homes priced at less than $200,000 also have reason to cheer as they are moving closer to a normal market inventory at that price point.

With 9.9 months of inventory available in the price range of $250,000+, sellers at this price point continue to face considerable challenges in getting their homes sold.

If you are in the market to buy or sell a home in Gainesville, Florida, or you know somebody who is, I'd appreciate the referral!

Haile Plantation Community Garden

Tucked away behind the horse pasture in Haile Plantation is a community garden. Open to residents for a cost of $10 a year, the Haile Plantation community garden offers a serene setting in which to get back to nature. The prime growing season is October through March. Residents may grow vegetables or flowers. For more information, please contact George Weiland at 352-335-7210.

The picturesque horse pasture, located at the intersection of Tower Road and Haile Boulevard, is the main entrance into Haile Plantation. The pasture and surrounding lands actually are designed as retention ponds for the community, which come in especially handy during hurricane season.

Deeded to the three community associations which comprise Haile Plantation, the pasture and surrounding lands require regular maintenance and upkeep. Friends of Haile Pasture is an online community which posts regular updates on activities and events, as well as information on ways that you can get involved in being a Pasture Pal.

This year Friends of Haile Pasture are hosting a "Haile Raising, 'Pine Tingling, Fun' Raiser" on Halloween. Held from 4-8 PM at the pasture, the event will feature a Haunted Trail Walk, cider, chili, games, pizza, and more. $4 in advance, $5 at the gate. The event is still looking for sponsors. For more information, please contact Jan Benet, jdbenet@webenet.com, 538-3067.

Haile Plantation Real Estate - Have We Hit Bottom?

First off, just let me say that I am NOT an economist. I am NOT an analyst. I am a REALTOR who loves geeking around with the monthly/quarterly/annual sales figures.

Basically, I have no life.

Given those cautionary CYA notes, I just had to share my latest number-crunching foray into Gainesville real estate sales statistics. As you can see from the chart (and accompanying graph) below, after a dramatic free-fall in the number of homes sold in Haile Plantation between 2005 and 2009, the quarterly results for the number of homes sold in Haile Plantation appears to be stabilizing.

This is not to suggest that we are anywhere near a "get down and party" mode...there is still a huge glut of inventory on the market, which will keep a downward pressure on prices until a substantial portion of it gets sold off.

This next chart & graph combo highlights Haile Plantation home price trends from October 2008 through September 2009. Notice the inverse nature of the relationship between number of homes sold and home sales price.....the contrast is most jarring for the month of June, when 17 homes sold and the median sold price was an anemic $226,250.

Tune in later this week for an update on Haile Plantation real estate absorption rates and an analysis of previous 4Q sales trends which might (or might not) help us determine what we can expect for the 4th quarter of 2009.

Until then, I am, as always,

Uncertainly yours,

Coleen DeGroff

Your Gainesville, FL Realtor

Haile Plantation Homes - Gainesville, FL Real Estate Market Update

September was a great month for Haile Plantation real estate. 20 homes sold for an average of $246,140 after 100 days on the market, or a little more than 3 months. Pending home sales in this area continue to break the trend and beat seasonally-adjusted estimates. Inventory is decreasing, sales are picking up, and prices are stabilizing.

See all of the homes for sale in Haile Plantation on my website.

Life in Haile Plantation

Thomas Evans Haile and his wife Serena Esther Haile brought their 5 children and their 66 slaves to Alachua County from Camden, South Carolina in 1854 to establish a Sea Island cotton plantation which they named Kanapaha.

According to the book "Florida's Antebellum Homes" by Lewis N. Wynne and John T. Parks, the cotton plantation was very successful, and Thomas Haile became a wealthy Florida planter as a result. His mother Amelia was the richest planter in Alachua County.

"A strong supporter of secession and the Confederacy, Thomas Haile participated in the Civil War as a cavalry officer and his oldest son, John, served as a private. Following the war, Haile returned to Kanapaha to grow cotton. A disastrous harvest soon thereafter forced him to declare bankruptcy in 1868. His brother, Edward, purchased Kanapaha and some of the surrounding lands as well. In 1873 Ester Serena Haile inherited Kanapaha and the family lands."

Built by slave labor over a period of 18 months, the Historic Haile Homestead still stands today and is open for tours on weekends.

Begun in the early 1970's, the New Urbanism community of Haile Plantation was conceived by The Fleeman Family, Robert B. Kramer, and Matthew Kaskel. According to Robert Kramer:

"The name, Haile Plantation, comes from the fact that we bought 1,100 of the 1,700 acres from the Haile family. The Haile family built this plantation house in 1850 on the property. They had acquired the property from an owner who owned much of Alachua County, and had acquired that from the original land grant from the king of Spain."

The founders of Haile Plantation shied away from designing the typical suburban neighborhood, opting instead for a special place which features miles of walking and biking trails, swaths of greenspace throughout its 1700 acres, and a village center of retail shops and restaurants at its heart.

Located just five miles southwest of the University of Florida, Haile Plantation is a 2600 household development comprised of dozens of neighborhoods at a variety of price points.

Haile Plantation is served by two elementary schools (Kimball Wiles Elementary and Lawton Chiles Elementary) as well as by Kanapaha Middle School and Buchholz High School, which was recently named one of the top high schools in the nation by Newsweek magazine.

Joggers and bikers can often be found navigating The Loop, a 3-mile paved trail that encircles the community. (Photo Left)

Every Saturday morning throughout the year, rain or shine, Haile Village Center hosts a farmer's market featuring dozens of vendors.

Haile Plantation is also home to the Haile Plantation Golf and Country Club, which features an 18-hole Gary Player Signature golf course. Membership to the club also means access to clay tennis courts, two swimming pools, a restaurant, a fitness center, and a variety of classes and clubs for youth and adults alike.

This is just a snapshot of what Haile Plantation has to offer. If you would like more information about this community, or wish to schedule a tour, please contact me....I'll be more than happy to take you around!