Early March has been kind of cool here in Ocala. by that I mean just barely 70 some days and it was in the mid 30's at night a couple of times. That's cool for March in Ocala. We should be in the high 70's this time of year.
No the less the grass, which gets brown in the winter, is getting green again. The azalea bushes are in flower and the live oaks will be setting some more leaves. It's a great time of year, plenty of sunshine and no humidity.
AZALEA in Joe's Yard March 4,2008
If you'd like to learn more about the Ocala area or Ocala Real Estate then just give me a call.
OCALA REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT
Homes Sold February 2008 .............187*
$100,000.00 or less..........................55
$101 to $200,000.00........................99
$201 to $300,000.00........................17
$301 to $500,000.00........................11
$500,000.00 Plus..............................5
Active Listings as of 3/3/08..........7478*
*This does not count homes sold by builders that may not be listed on the MLS Number may be revised due to late reports from board of Realtors.
WHAT"S HOT IN OCALA REAL ESTATE
· New homes around $150,000.00
· Golf Course & 55+ communities.
· SE Ocala near but not in the Historic district
· Houses priced at or below $100.00 per sq ft of living area
I was hoping the market would pick up in the beginning of 2008. Sales for January were pretty much the same as September (200) and October (229) of 2007.
We are still in a severe buyers market, which is defined by more than 7 months of inventory. We have 7478 homes on the MLS as of the beginning of March. That's a whopping 37 months (7478 divided by 200/month).
Buyers are looking for bargains and bargains can be found every where. We are seeing the first wave of Short Sales which is where the seller asks the bank to accept a loan payoff that is less than the balance owed on the mortgage. I'm seeing 1 or 2 bank foreclosures being solf off every week.
The good news is houses are selling every day. It's just a price driven market. An agent in my office sold an investment home she remodeled in 30 days with multiple offers because of the condition of the home and the great price.
Transparency is the word of the day. Everything is on the internet for everyone to see. You can't sell an over priced home any more. Buyers can see every house in your area & never leave their living room!!
OCALA REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT
Homes Sold January 2008 .........133*
$100,000.00 or less..........................51
$101 to $200,000.00........................54
$201 to $300,000.00........................16
$301 to $500,000.00..........................9
$500,000.00 Plus...............................3
Active Listings as of 2/2/08.......7596
**This does not count homes sold by builders that may not be listed on the MLS Number may be revised due to late reports from board of Realtors.
WHAT"S HOT IN OCALA REAL ESTATE
· New homes around $150,000.00
· Golf Course & 55+ communities.
· SE Ocala near but not in the Historic district
· Houses priced at or below $100.00 per sq ft of living area
I think the market is picking up. I'm getting about a buyer a week coming to my web site and using my Dream Home Finder to register for a Listing Cart on the Ocala MLS. I then send them listings according to their search criterea. About 90% are from out of the area, either from south Florida or some where up north. Most buyers are looking at a 3 to 6 month window, so I'm expecting a very good spring and summer.
I think the reason for this influx is buyers is partly people looking to retire to a warmer climate and the decrease in prices that we have experienced here in the Ocala market over the last year or so.
A note to sellers. Don't expect prices to go back up any time soon. We have 7600 homes on the market when we should have more like 2500. Price is the be all and end all of this market. Buyers don't even look at over priced listings.
In general I'm optimistic for the first time in a long time. I still think we'll see a lot of short sales and out right foreclosures but we are now in a time that is a real buying opportunity. If you don't buy very soon you'll be kicking your self in 5 years for missing out.
OCALA REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT
Homes Sold December 2007 ...........180*
$100,000.00 or less..........................46
$101 to $200,000.00.........................88
$201 to $300,000.00.........................27
$301 to $500,000.00.........................15
$500,000.00 Plus................................4
Active Listings as of 1/2/08.............7496
**This does not count homes sold by builders that may not be listed on the MLS. Numbers may be revised due to late reports from the board of Realtors.
WHAT"S HOT IN OCALA REAL ESTATE
· New homes around $150,000.00
· Golf Course & 55+ communities.
· SE Ocala near but not in the Historic district
· Houses priced at or below $100.00 per sq ft of living area
Now the Holiday season is over I think we will see more buyers. Snowbirds are coming south for the winter. People thinking of either retirement or just moving are now faced with another winter, which should give them added motivation. Prices have come down over the past year and buyers are beginning to take advantage of these more realistic prices.
I'm seeing an up turn in hits to my highly ranked web site and I'm getting 2 or 3 buyer inquiries a week. Statistics say that 80% of buyers search for their house online. A good web site is a must in today's market.
Homes are selling every day. It's a competition and the best priced house with the most extras sells first. About 12 houses sell every day here in Ocala. There is no reason that your house can't be on of them.
CALL ME TODAY TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO SELL YOUR HOUSE !!
As you probably know I don't predict the weather I just give people from other areas an idea of what Ocala weather is like from month to month.
January is one of our coldest months. The first week of the month we had a cold front that brought us the coldest temperatures in 5 years. At my house in SW Ocala we had temperatures in the high 20's and a hard frost accompanied by 2 or 3 days where the day time temps were in the 50's and 60's.
Winter in Ocala is normally in the 70's except for cold fronts that drop our temps to the 60's and even 50's for a couple of days. Then we pop back up to the 70's again. I really like the winter because there is no humidity at all.
Ocala Florida Real Estate as seen by Joe Dallorso. Home Listings, advise for buyers and sellers, market conditions and general commentary on Ocala Florida Real Estate
I have been a self employed entrepeneur all my adult life. I've learned a great deal over those years about customer service. I live by the following rules:
I pride myself in being unconventional. A square peg in a world of round holes. I don't know how to think inside a box. If you think all real estate agents are the same then we should meet.
I specialize in residential real estate in Ocala and surrounding Marion County Florida. I work with both buyers and sellers. As a buyers agent I try to educate my customers about both buying process and local market market conditions.
When listing a home for sale, I try to get the highest price possible in the least amount of time. I like to keep my sellers well informed by providing weekly reports. I work a lot with expired and withdrawn listings as I beleive that a properly priced and agressively marketed home will sell regardless of market conditions.
I'm very interested in technology, 80% of buyers start their search online. I'm well aware of the power of the internet. I started my first web site as the owner of another business way back in 1999. I currently own a custom built web site with loads of Ocala information and tons of images all of which is totally original and can't been found any where else.
In conjunction with my interest in technology is my desire to help people relocate to Ocala. I like to work with people from other areas of the country who would like to move to Ocala or the surrounding Marion County. Despite my love of the internet, it's just no replacement for a Realtor who knows the area and has access to a much more powerfull search like that provided here by Marion County Board of Realtors.
If you're buying or selling in the Ocala or Marion county area please give me a call. I'd love to be your Realtor.
Ocala Florida is best known for its beautiful horse farms. More thoroughbred horses are raised here in Ocala than any where else in the world. There's something in the soil that makes the grass perfect to graze these magnificent and extraordinarily expensive creatures. Of course not all the horses in Ocala are being bred to race. There are literally hundreds some small hobby farms all over Marion County.
Unlike most Florida cities, Ocala has a charming downtown. Downtown Ocala has a nice little town common, complete with a bandstand, beautiful mature live oak trees and park benches. All of which is surrounded by charming little shops and some very nice restaurants. Most towns and small cities in Florida all look a like. Ocala has a small town atmosphere that makes it unique.
Perhaps the best reason to move to Ocala is the price of real estate. Ocala has the second lowest median home price in the state of Florida, second only to Pensacola. Ocala has never been directly hit by a hurricane, making it a safer place to live with a lower cost for home owners insurance.
Ocala is a small city with a small town atmosphere. Located almost equidistant between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico you can be at the ocean in an hour. Orlando and it's international airport is a little over an hour away. Gainesville and the University of Florida is about 30 minutes. With all this to offer how could you want to relocate to any where else?
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