Lakeland, FL

TODAY, is August's version of First Friday & this month's theme is once again, the popular "Dog Days of Summer." For those of you that resemble your pooches, there is a dog/owner look-a-like contest. This contest will be held at FastFrame on South Kentucky Avenue. There will also be dog obedience skills competitions & training throughout the Downtown area.

Other First Friday events:

• Local radio personality, Seth Mela from WLKF's Mayhem in the AM will be in Munn Park.
• The SOFA KINGS will be jamming at the Garden Bistro between 6 pm - 8 pm.
• Classic Car Show on Tennessee Avenue.
• Lofty Ideas will be handing out free bandanas for the canines and samples of Italian ice.
• Arts on the Park will have an art reception between 6 - 9 pm with the theme, "Long Days of Summer."
• Mitchell's Coffee House will be featuring the photography of Jose Ramos.

See you there!

Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your real estate needs!

The beautiful State of Florida is known for it's great retiree population and according to The Ledger article today "Lakeland's Location Brings Honors As a Good Place for Retirees" is proof in the pudding that Lakeland is a great place to live for our senior citizens.

I always say that Lakeland is a great place to live and a lot of my clients say the same thing. While Lakeland's population reached over 93,000 recently, the majority of the population is over 55 years of age, making it a great place to live for Lakeland retirees according to the Lakeland Economical Council's web site.

What brings retirees to Lakeland?

Location, location, location.... centrally and conveniently located between Orlando and Tampa - white sandy beaches all within an hour drive, affordablility in housing with Lakeland's median home prices of $125,000. Medical facilities within reach, outreach programs for elderly, such as Viste, art venues, such as the Imperial Symphony Orchestra, Harrison School for the Arts, Polk Museum of Art, and the Community Theater formerly known as the Pied Piper Players, libraries, beautiful lakes, botanical garden and gorgeous parks.

Golf courses private, semi-private and public and just the small town atmosphere that Lakeland has to offer when walking around downtown. There is always something to do, with volunteer opportunities within our local communities with never a dull moment for our Lakeland retirees. Our weather seems also a big hit with retirees longing for a much warmer climate, especially during the winter months having not to deal with snow and ice on the roads.

I could go on and on - why don't you check out some of the articles I wrote about Lakeland below:

Lakeland Florida - There is no place like home

In Downtown Lakeland Florida - Munns the Word

Lake Hollingsworth Community - Lakeland Florida Historic Community

Lakeland Florida Community - Lake Morton District

If you are searching for communities restricted to over 55 age group here in Lakeland, there are currently over 50 registered communities listed by the Florida Commission on Human Relations.

I hope you found this post useful! If you need help finding or selling your Lakeland, Florida home, please contact me at 863-619-6918. If you’re new to Lakeland, I’d especially like to extend a warm welcome. I value my clients and provide them with honest, reliable service. Allow me to introduce you to the Lakeland real estate landscape and all it has to offer.

It may get hot “downtown Lakeland”, but surely a cool place to be for First Friday’s event of “Dog Days of Summer”. So come on down to Munn Park and bring your family, friends and pooches too. Let the fun begin with a costume contest, dog-owner look-a-like contest. Dog obedience exhibitions will be held throughout downtown locations with plenty of cool water to drink for your fury friends.

It all starts at 6:00 p.m. with restaurants, coffee shops, stores and galleries open late. Arts on the park with an art reception, YMCA, Lofty Ideas, Garden Bistro, Mitchells Coffee House, Lifestyle Family Fitness, J. Rowman Galleries, South Florida Baptist Association, Florida Blood Services for blood donation and Fast Frame will be there to offer activities and showcase art work.

Don’t forget to stop by the classic car show on Tennessee Avenue

The Winter Haven Kennel club will host a “meet and greet” for large and small breed dogs. For more information please visit www.downtownlakelandfl.com

Check out these photos I took when I took my family at last year’s event of Dog Days of Summer – I had a blast.

Bi-weekly update for the Lakeland real estate market! Currently, there are 1967 homes for sale throughout Lakeland – as of 7/30/09. The homes newly listed for sale dropped from two weeks ago to 138 homes in Lakeland with an average sales price of $229,481 or $100.38 per square foot with area Realtors®. But why the drastic increase for the average price for Lakeland homes newly listed? Within the last two weeks, there were 4 Lakeland homes listed for over $1 million, which resulted in an increase of the average sales price for Lakeland Real Estate. The types of homes and average prices being actively marketed according to the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) are as follows:

1 duplex listed for $160,000

7 condos listed with an average sales price of $120,714

8 mobile homes listed with an average sales price of $78,162

3 Townhomes/Villas listed for $111,013

119 single family homes with an average price of $249,500

As I mentioned before about four Lakeland Homes priced over the $1 million threshold. There is more information about this report by clicking here

For Lakeland housing report for the month of June, I thought I share it with you in pictures.

Lakeland Homes sold in June: 169 - previous month: 156 – previous year June 08: 148 sold

Which zip codes represents the most sales activities since January 2009?

What are the various average prices in each Lakeland zip code?

Take a look at my spreadsheet below. I’ve separated the report by zip code instead of school zones; it gives you a more accurate report in my opinion. The data and graphs for this report were obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This report does not include “For Sale By Owner”. The numbers highlighted in pink represents the zip codes where average sold prices have exceeded.

Lakeland Real Estate average and median home prices

Average sales price in June: $145,767 – previous month: $124,689 – previous year June 08: $177,190

Median sales price in June: $125,000 – previous month: $119,500 – previous year June 08: $165,250

The graph below represents average and median prices in Lakeland for various categories.

Let’s break it down for you to see the supply and demand for common properties for sale versus the distressed market in the Lakeland real estate market.

Common properties only – Inventory active and pending 1697 homes resulting in 18 month of supply. Distressed properties – Inventory active and pending 742 homes resulting in a 12 month supply.

Bank-Owned properties continue to influence Lakeland Real Estate

Since the beginning of the year, distressed homes and bank-owned (REO) properties for the Lakeland Real Estate market still play a major role.

Sales activities shows 64 properties sold in June according to Mid-Florida Regional MLS.

26 Distressed Homes Sold - average sold price $132,588 – median sold price $127,500

38 Bank-owned (REO) sold – average sold price $95,229 – median sold price $83,153

For a more detailed report, which includes an interactive map and graphs, please visit by clicking this link to my Lakeland Market Reports

Let’s take a look at last month sold report for the surrounding cities in Polk County:

Winter Haven - 75 properties sold - average sold price $119,128 - average $64.40 per sq.ft.

Bartow - 17 properties sold - average sold price $79,472 average $52.63 per sq.ft.

Mulberry - 17 properties sold - average sold price $108,108 - average $67.32 per sq.ft.

Auburndale – 17 properties sold - average sold price $115,122 - average $60.36 per sq.ft.

Polk City - 6 properties sold – average sold price $93,448 - $52.25 per sq.ft.

Lake Alfred – 10 properties sold – average sold price $112,829 - $54.84 per sq.ft.

If you are interested in a specific area or neighborhood, feel free to contact me at petra@petranorris.com or click the search button below.

I hope you found this post useful! If you need help finding or selling your Lakeland, Florida home, please contact me at 863-619-6918. If you’re new to Lakeland, I’d especially like to extend a warm welcome. I value my clients and provide them with honest, reliable service. Allow me to introduce you to the Lakeland real estate landscape and all it has to offer.