About Orlando's Baldwin Park

Located just three miles from downtown Orlando is the traditional neighborhood of Baldwin Park. Resting on 1,100 acres of land with 8,000 residents and over 125 businesses, Baldwin Park is a community unlike any other. Characterized by its diverse housing styles, excellent schools, shops, restaurants and parks, Baldwin Park is a great place to live, work or visit.

Blending into neighboring communities without walls or gates, Baldwin Park is designed as a Traditional Neighborhood Development with the tried and trusted principles of New Urbanism. Meeting people is easy in this pedestrian friendly community of wide sidewalks, bike paths and trails that stretch for over 50 miles. Getting involved in community events and going shopping are popular activities for residents in Baldwin Park. The A-rated schools, that many children walk or bike to are an important feature for families, as are the parks, playgrounds and pools.

The core of activity in Baldwin Park is its beautiful waterfront Village Center. There is a wide variety of restaurants from pubs to sushi and fine dining. Shoppers enjoy small boutique shops, unique small businesses, a neighborhood bank, as well as a pharmacy and supermarket.

Baldwin Park has more than 20 different parks, some open to the public and others exclusively for residents. These parks feature everything from pools, to fitness clubs, and playgrounds. A sense of community is nurtured as family and friends get together to enjoy the many amenities that make this neighborhood one of Central Florida Luxury Real Estate’s most unique and special places to call home.

Baldwin Park Home Prices are looking up these days! If you are like me, I'm sure that you have been wondering how much homes in Baldwin Park are going for these days. Is it time to move into Baldwin Park or time to sell your home in Baldwin Park?

Here are a few numbers regarding Baldwin Park Home Prices.

Average sale price of homes, condos and townhouses from August through October for the following years:

• 2009 - $356,468*
• 2010 - $354,485*
• 2011 - $381,386*

* Numbers were compiled and then sales for homes that were $1 Million or above were removed to obtain a more accurate value for the majority of Baldwin Park homes.

November home sales look to be on track to outpace the last two years as well. There have already been 5 homes sold this month with an average sale price of $495,132. For the first ten days of November 2009 only 2 homes were sold with an average sales price of $310,000. For the first ten days of November 2010 only 4 homes were sold with an average sales price of $367,500. This is great news for current Baldwin Park homeowners! For those who are interested in moving into the neighborhood - act quick before home prices go up! If you would like to see the homes that are currently on the market in Baldwin Park click here.

As of the moment I am typing this there are only 36 homes (including condos and townhouses) for sale in Baldwin Park, however there are 65 homes in the foreclosure process. Some of these homes will go on the market one day. It remains to be seen how the additional foreclosed homes will affect home prices in Baldwin Park. However, there have been many foreclosed properties and short sales already sold in the neighborhood and the prices have still been climbing the past two years! Overall, I think that the news is pretty good these days regarding Baldwin Park Home Prices!

Why I love Baldwin Park, Orlando: It's so hard to pick only a couple of reasons! Prior to moving in to Baldwin Park, I was a little skeptical. I was a little worried that the neighborhood was a little to "Stepford" for me. I have never been so glad to be wrong. It really is a wonderful neighborhood. The sense of community the everyone seems to have is wonderful. Neighbors look out for neighbors!

Baldwin Park is a live, work and play community. There are apartments, townhomes, condominiums and houses in all different price ranges. Click here if you would like to see what is currently available in Baldwin Park, Orlando. There are a variety of retail stores, restaurants and offices. One of my favories is the local italian restaurant, La Bella Luna. I love their pizza's! There is even a Publix - you don't have to leave the neighborhood to get your groceries. Click here to find out more about the restaurants and retail stores of Baldwin Park.

Baldwin Park also has wonderful outdoor spaces. The neighborhood backs up to the Cady Way Trail and has it's own walking trail around Lake Baldwin. You always see neigbors out walking, running, riding bikes and walking dogs all day long. If that isn't enough for you there are various pools, playgrounds and gyms for use.

The main reason that my husband and I eventually moved into Baldwin Park was actually the homes. It is one of the few places in Orlando that you can be close to down town and Winter Park but still be in a realatively newer house. What that meant for me personally was that I could get a house that had a big kitchen, good sized closets and a garage! At the time, I didn't know how much I would end up loving the neighborhood and my neighboors so much. I feel very fortunate to have ended up living in Baldwin Park. All of these reasons are why I love Baldwin Park, Orlando.

Guest blog post courtesy of Paige Taylor*

The Orlando real estate market has been one that’s oft been analyzed and evaluated over the past few years. Some of the recent numbers have been a little more hopeful than usual, especially when you consider the possibility of some increases in rent may attract possibly buyers looking to invest in a home to rent out.
The Orlando vacancy rates have apparently dropped to about 7 percent, as compared to 8 percent earlier in the year. The lower vacancy rate is good news for those potential buyers who want to rent out properties. Real estate experts see a slight increase in rent throughout the area. This would include vacation /short term rentals, as well as long term/year long leases.
For those potential buyers who are interested in Orlando apartments, condos or homes for sale, these figures could get them off the fence and into the market. Expectations are that by the end of the year 2011, the area’s rental rates would go up by about 3 percent on average. Usual increases amount to just about 2 percent in a normal year, but the 2011-2012 changeovers could be a departure. Aside from the rental increases, the average rental prices are expected to sit still at $860 a month.
Potential property owners and investors will be pleased with the recent figures and expectations. Orlando offers plenty of different homes. Some of the southern houses near the tourist attractions could double as short term and vacation rentals. The tourist industry is keeping the Orlando area booming, especially south of downtown.
With respect to investors who are aiming for long term rentals, there are plenty of communities to choose from. Areas like Lake Mary and Winter Springs have been charted on national “best places to live” lists and there’s also a host of excellent communities such as Baldwin Park in the Orlando area. The Orlando population expectations are focused on an increase in the near future, along with a better outlook on jobs in the area.
Property investment and renting have become even more popular in recent years. With great sale prices and inventory in the current real estate market, buyers are taking a great interest in the current numbers and trends, which seem to be heading the right direction. If the rent rates follow through with expectations and go up in some form, property owners will be primed to realize a return on their investment quicker than normal.

*Paige Taylor is a recent college graduate with a degree in creative writing. If you have a blog and need help coming up with content, maybe Paige can help you out. Just contact me, and I will put her in touch with you.

Last month there were 15 closings in Baldwin Park. That is not anything special, just an average sales month for my neighborhood. Of those sales 11 were normal equity sales with a median sales price of $445,000. There were three short sales with a median price of $226,000, and only one bank owned property that sold for $312,000. Oddly enough, the one bank sale equalled the median price of all sales combined. Baldwin Park is a planned community with apartment homes, condos, townhomes, cityhomes and single family homes ranging from garden homes to very large custom estates. Eight of the sales were single family homes, four were townhomes/cityhomes, and the remaining three were condos.

The reason I am saying Baldwin Park is sold out is because, there are only 34 homes available for sale right now. That is just over a 2.25 month supply of homes available. We typically think of a six month supply of inventory to be a balanced market. Of the available properties only one is bank owned, and two are short sales. That leaves 31 that are actually normal sales. There are another 48 properties that are under contract. Two of the pendings are bank owned, 33 are short sales and 13 are equity sales. Unfortunately, SunTrust did a lot of the financing in the neighborhood, and they are often the short sellers lender. SunTrust has been extremely slow to process short sales, and pretty much has earned the spot as one of the more difficult banks.

David Welch Real Estate Optimist, Orlando Real Estate, Any Home-Any Phone