Petra Norris - Lakeland Florida Realtor® Lakeland Florida Real Estate,

Lakeland's CommonGround Park was originally thought of from two Lakeland-area mothers of children with special needs, who contacted the Parks and Recreation Department with their suggestion. After four years of fundraising, planning and construction, this park opened up for all children ages 2-12 earlier this year. CommonGround Park's playground is designed to have fun play experiences, as well as aid children in their cognitive, physical and emotional development.

I just love when Lakeland's community leaders, various fund raising organizations, such as the Rotary Clubs, businesses and volunteers come together and create such a place for children.

Located in Lakeland's Edgewood Park, at the corner of Edgewood Drive and Buckingham Avenue, CommonGround uses the space very efficiently with two separate playground areas, a rock-climbing wall, an astroturf mound for kids to roll down, and much more for all children of all abilities. Play zones are exceptionally designed, so children can play side-by-side.

The park is open from 8:00 a.m. until dusk!

I’m a member of a network of over 400 real estate agents and growing at Short Sale Superstars,
Visit Short Sale Superstars
who are committed to help sellers and buyers with short sales in Florida and across the America. Short sales can be difficult at times and this is why this group of professionals is so helpful not only to us real estate agents, but for you, especially. I would say that we are a Short Sale Agent support group, helping each other, solving uncommon issues for our clients, making suggestions that can only help you the seller or buyer. We are not complainers - we are solvers, here to help you.
There is information about lenders, such as Bank of America aka Countrywide, Wachovia, SunTrust, Wells Fargo, Saxon, and Chase just to name a few. This is a place where agents help, inform and reach out to consumer by providing valuable information to make a short sale a success.

If you are looking for an agent within your state, who is very proficient doing Short Sales, I'm sure you will find one right here within this wonderful group of Short Sale Superstars. Give them a call!

This is one of the comments left from a Short Sale seller today, "I just love this site! For a homeowner facing SS process, it's a comforting to have experts all in one place".

Polk County, Florida - Lakeland, FL

With Polk County’s unemployment rates, this foreclosure epidemic is going to continue and it may even grow. Lakeland Short Sales are at an all time high, there are currently over 400 Lakeland homes for sale that are short sales.

The jobless rate in Polk County is at an all time high since 1992 – 13.6%

The jobless rate in Lakeland-Winter Haven for September is recorded at 12.7%

If you are in a situation where you can’t no longer afford to make your mortgage payments because of job loss, divorce, health, or other hardship; a short sale would be your best remedy to save your home from foreclosure and salvage some of your credit.

There are over 1,000 Lis Pendens filed within the city of Lakeland Florida alone. Since September 1, 2009, 143 Lis Pendens were filed with the Polk County Clerk of Courts for properties that are located in Lakeland – a city with a population of an estimated 97,000 people.

What is a Lis Pendens?

In essence, a formal notice is filed on behalf of the lender, who holds the note on your mortgage. It is considered a lawsuit; however, the homeowner still has possession and the right to sell the property. Short sales can be your best remedy to a foreclosure.

Give me a call at (863) 619-6918 or email me at petra@petranorris.com to arrange for a confidential consultation – I’m here to help.

Although sale prices continue to impact our real estate market negatively for the month of September, Lakeland sales activity peaked for the second time this year.

Lakeland Homes sold in September: 183 - previous month: 166 – previous year September 08: 158 sold

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

Lakeland Real Estate average and median home prices

September - average sales price $129,025

Previous month: $136,325 (-5%) – previous year September 08: $164,462 (-22%)

September - median sales price $121,000

Previous month: $130,000 (-7%) – previous year September 08: $149,900 (-19%)

Prices peaked during the summer month and with fall on the horizon home prices are dropping.

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

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.

Distressed properties in Lakeland, Florida

For the month of September, distressed homes and bank-owned (REO) properties had a market share of 54% in the Lakeland Real Estate market. There were a total of 98 properties sold in September compared to 43 distressed Lakeland homes sold the year prior, according to Mid-Florida Regional MLS.

• Average days on market (DOM) for bank-owned properties are 85 days
• Average days on market (DOM) for other distressed properties are 183 days.

27 Distressed Homes Sold - average sold price $147,775 – median sold price $116,400

71 Bank-owned (REO) sold – average sold price $95,380 – median sold price $72,500

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.

It is no secret around here in Lakeland Florida that October is when the students at Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts present their annual musical theater production. This year’s classic, “Brigadoon”, will be a remembrance of past musicals' great successes. Musicals like “Singing in the Rain”, “Starting Here, Starting Now”, “King and I” and “Pirates of Penzance” brought exhilaration and a full house to Lakeland’s Harrison School for the Arts theatre. This year you will be astonished by these High School kids from departments such as musical theater, music, dance, orchestra and theater departments, showcasing their exceptional talents.

Imagine you are going to bed at night and the next day you wake up a century later….. then you don’t want to miss this romantic Lerner & Loewe classic musical, which tells the story of two Americans who discover a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years. Containing such songs as Heather on the Hill, I’ll Go Home With Bonnie Jean, and Almost Like Bein’ in Love in Brigadoon you will find that anything truly is possible…even miracles.

Photos were taken and provided by Andy Glogower http://innerglowphoto.com/

Performances: October 22, 23, 24 at 7:30 p.m. – October 25 at 2:00 p.m. ****Reserved Seating****

Ticket prices: $8.00 for student/seniors - $10.00 for adult ticket

Box Office hours: October 22^nd 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

October 23^rd 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

October 24^th 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

October 25^th 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Purchase Tickets online at www.harrisonarts.com

Update for the Lakeland real estate market! Currently, there are 1934 homes for sale throughout Lakeland – as of 10/20/09, which remained balanced for the past few weeks. Newly listed homes for the period of October 1^st through October 15^th totaled 185 Lakeland homes recently came on the market. Average sales price of $154,469 or $89.68 per square foot with area Realtors®.

The types of homes and average prices just listed in Lakeland, Florida according to the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) are as follows:

7 condos listed with an average sales price of $112,385

16 mobile homes listed with an average sales price of $96,662

8 Townhomes/Villas listed with an average sales price of $89,521

154 single family homes with an average price of $165,762

The priciest Lakeland real estate just listed is a 2008 pool home located in the Crescent Woods subdivision; featuring 4 bedrooms and 4 1/2 baths with over 4,400 square feet of living space currently offered for $895,000. On the contrary, the cheapest Lakeland home newly listed is a 2 bedroom 1 bath listed for only $10,000 – just under $15.00 per square foot – located in the Palma Ceia Court subdivision.

Please continue to read for more details by clicking this link