Real Estate Information | Page #19

Real Estate Information

There’s no denying it. You get just one chance to make a first impression on a home buyer. If you plan to sell your vacation home in Orlando, it’s important to make sure the outside of your home is attractive to potential buyers. Here are a few ways to enhance your home’s curb appeal so you can get the best possible price for your property.

1. Paint – Real estate experts agree that painting your home inside and out will be worth the investment when it comes to selling it. Fresh paint makes your home look clean, bright and inviting. If you don’t have funds to paint the complete exterior, at least paint the door, door frame and foyer or the first room prospective buyers will see. When painting the outside of your home, make sure the color you choose…

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Published on 1st November 2016

October 'oracle' From The Resort Area...

Total closings across the resort area were down a net 17 homes from last month as 263 homes changed hands in October while year on year figures recorded 32 less closings than the October 2015 sold total. Overall inventory of homes was up 16 from last month at 1939 and up 76 from October last year. By type month on month figures revealed that normal owner listings increased by a net 16 at 1939, bank owned were up 1 at 40 and short sales increased by 2 to 29. The average days on market that a home takes to sell was down by 1 from last month at 133 whilst the average price that a sold home achieved considered against listing price was 97% which is unchanged from last month. The…

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Many people purchase vacation homes in Orlando for investment purposes. This is particularly the case with homes that are located near the theme parks. There is a big demand from holiday travelers for affordable accommodations. Renting your home to vacationers is a popular way to supplement your income.   

You can hire a property manager or vacation rental agency to find rental guests for your home. Or you can save the extra cost and do it yourself.  There are a number of vacation rental websites that will allow you to rent your home directly to guests. This will help save the expense of hiring someone else to do the job for you.  Some of the most popular vacation rental websites include Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO and FlipKey. 

If your primary residence…

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The October Team Donovan community reports have now been updated and are available from the following link:

                                                                                Community Report

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Thinking about buying a second home in Orlando?  The recent news about Hurricane Matthew may have given you reason to think twice about the idea. But purchasing Central Florida real estate is still a smart investment, especially if you buy a home near the theme parks. 

The Kissimmee area, where Walt Disney World™ is located, is right in the heart of Florida. As a result, hurricane warnings and/or occurrences are not as common, nor as severe as in the coastal cities. In case of a hurricane alert, you should have plenty of time to notify the property manager to secure the home if you are not staying there at the time.   

Central Florida typically experiences very minimal damage from any hurricane, no evacuations, and if the power goes out, it’s…

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Thinking about buying an Orlando condominium as a second home or vacation property? A new federal law set to take effect October 27 could make financing that purchase a little easier.

The new law will allow buyers to get federally-backed mortgages to purchase condos in buildings where two-thirds of current residents are renters. In the past, at least half of residents had to own units to meet the mortgage rules. 

Condo prices in Orlando and in Polk County, which is near Disney World, have been slow to recover since the housing market began its collapse a decade ago. According to Zillow, Metro Orlando’s midpoint prices for condos are $106,900 – far below their peak of $182,700 in 2006. 

Cash investors began buying properties when the market…

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September 'summations' From The Resort Area...

Inventory levels in September were up a net 33 homes from August to a revised 1923 listings which was 69 homes above the 1854 total of September 2015. By listing bank owned month on month listings were down 9 at 39 whilst short sale listings fell 4 at 27. Normal owner listings showed an increase in net inventory as 46 homes were added during the month to give a revised 1857 total.  The September activity report also detiled that 281 homes changed ownership in the short term rental communities during the month which was 50 below August and 39 lower than the 523 total closed in September 2015. The average days on market that a home takes to sell was down 3 to 134 but up 3 from the 131 level of September…

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Many people who decide to buy a vacation home in Orlando start their search by focusing on single family homes. But there is another option you should consider: apartment homes, otherwise known as condominiums. 

If you plan to purchase property near Disney World so you can rent it out to holiday travelers, a condo will generally cost less than a single family home. Generally, these apartment homes are smaller in overall area and by the number of rooms they contain, compared to a single family home. But that’s not always the case. Some condos can be as large as a home, but the beauty of these properties is that there is a lot less maintenance that you have to personally perform. 

Another option you may want to consider is a condo hotel, or…

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The September Team Donovan community reports have now been updated and are available from the following link:

                                                                                Community Report

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August 'arithmetic' from the Resort Area...

The resort area market reported 331 sales in August which was a 14.6% increase in closings compared to August 2015 and 13 higher than the July 2016 318 closed total. Homes that sold achieved an average 97% of asking price which was up slightly from the 96.8% recorded last month. Homes that sold did so after an average 137 days on the market, up 1 from last month and 8 higher than the 129 days it took for a home to change hands the same month last year. The median price of an area home was up 7.4% year on year to $177,183 with inventory levels almost unchanged from a year ago at 1890 homes listed for sale. By type current inventory comprised 1,811 normal owner listings, 48 bank owned homes and 31 short sales.…

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