TAMPA – Lennar, Tampa’s most active home builder, will host a “Taste of Lakeland” from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday Jan. 25 at the Hampton Hills Welcome Home Center, located on Prescott Loop in Lakeland off Mall Hill Road near I-4 and U.S. 98. Mark Metheny, president of Lennar in the Tampa Bay region, said Hampton Hills, will present a wide variety of gourmet samplings from area restaurants and hotels, along with beverages and entertainment, gift certificates and prizes. “This is a chance to taste the best of the best from many of our local chefs and their crews in a festive atmosphere and we expect prefect weather and a big turnout,” Metheny said. Lennar is building new single-family homes at Hampton Hills priced from the $150s. For information about this press release, contact Mark Metheny, ... 01/05/2009

Lakeland Florida - Celebrate Seniors at "First Friday" The Downtown Lakeland Partnership hosts every month on the First Friday a free event at Munn Park. January's theme is "Celebrate Seniors"; this celebration is on January 2nd, 2009 inviting seniors and their families for a fun evening filled with arts, classic car shows, music and entertainment along the streets surrounding the lovely "Munn Park". Why "Celebrate Seniors"? To me, seniors today are yesterday's groundbreakers - who were the teachers who taught my children, the doctors who delivered my children, the carpenters who built my home, police, firefighters, lawyers, plumbers, entrepreneurs and service members of the military - they are your fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers - the backbone of your family truly dese... 12/30/2008

Lakeland Florida Homes New on Market - Weekly Update for 12/21/08 Hi fellow readers, it's Tuesday and time for my weekly update on newly listed properties in Lakeland. The numbers of homes recently listed were down from the previous week of 59 homes to 46 homes listed with area Realtors® However; there is still an abundance of inventory of homes available - currently a total of 2,391 homes are for sale. The average sales price is $215,028 and the average size of a home is 1,845 square foot, which calculates to $116.55 per square foot.   Types of homes newly listed: No duplex or condominium units were listed last week 4 mobile homes listed with an average sales price of $102,350 1 townhome/villa offered for sale at $124,980 41 single family homes with an average price of $192,653.  Let m... 12/29/2008

Lakeland Florida Homes New on Market - Weekly Update for 12/14/08 Hi fellow readers, newly listed homes were up from the previous week of 56 homes to 59 homes listed with area Realtors® There are currently a total of 2,409 homes for sale in Lakeland, Florida. The average sales price is $216,379 and the average size of a home is 1,848 square foot, which calculates to $117.09 per square foot.   Types of homes newly listed: 1 ½ duplex listed at $109,000 1 condo newly listed at $152,500 3 mobile homes listed with an average sales price of $77,125 4 townhomes/villas offered for sale at $120,081 50 single family homes with an average price of $184,062  With every weekly update of newly listed homes in the Lakeland area, I always provide you with some details on the priciest home that came on ... 12/23/2008

Everyone involved in Lakeland, Florida real estate has to be familiar with the master-planned community of BridgeWater. Last year, Polk County dubbed BridgeWater "Community of the Year," and it really isn't hard to understand why. BridgeWater is situated on 575 acres of prime Central Florida property located on State Road 33 just ½ mile from I-4, and surrounded by five signature lakes. With the majority of the property encompassed by open spaces, preserves, and lakes, this quiet retreat has the feel of the great outdoors with the city only minutes from your doorstep. BridgeWater is centrally located between Tampa and Orlando, with easy access to both of these major metropolitan areas via I-4. From famed theme parks, top-rated airports, professional sports to beaches, you’re never far fr... 12/16/2008

Lakeland Florida Homes New on Market - Weekly Update for 12/07/08 Hi fellow readers, as we getting closer to the Holiday Season, fewer homes are being listed as it shows in this week's report that 56 homes were newly listed with area Realtors® compared to the 63 homes listed the previous week. There are currently a total of 2,399 homes for sale in Lakeland, Florida. The average sales price is $217,515 and the average size of a home is 1,854 square foot, which calculates to $117.32 per square foot.   Types of homes newly listed: 1 condo newly listed at $170,000 5 mobile homes listed with an average sales price of $83,080 50 single family homes with an average price of $229.732 With every weekly update of newly listed homes in the Lakeland area, I always provide you with some details on t... 12/16/2008

Lakeland Florida Real Estate Market Report for November 2008 - Wonder how many Realtors® got paid? Hi folks! November proofed to be one of the slowest months since January in sales history for this year with only 105 homes sold in Lakeland. Lakeland has about 135 homes sold average this year. I wonder how many Realtors® received a commission check in November or even this year alone.  Let's take a closer look how long it would take to sell all these homes? According to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), there are currently over 2600 properties for sale and/or pending (waiting to close). At an average rate of only 135 homes being sold per month, it would take approximately 18 months to absorb Lakeland's entire inventory without putting any new listings on the market. How long has your p... 12/12/2008

Music of the Season - Lakeland's Harrison School for the Arts Music of the Season on December 11th, 2008 @ 7:30 p.m. is by far one of the best concerts being performed during the Christmas holiday season and this year's performance by the Choral and Orchestra Department will be no different - I promise. The Choral Department will present Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantata BWV 142 (Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis - Bach Works Catalogue) „Uns ist ein Kind geboren - Unto us a child is born" together with Harrison's Orchestra Chamber Group lead by Judy McLaurin            Cantata BWV 142  Uns ist ein Kind geboren - Johann Sebastian Bach I. Concerto II. Chorus - Uns ist ein Kind geboren III. Aria - Dein Geburtstag ist erschienen IV. Chorus - Ich will den Namen Gottes loben V. Aria - Jesu, dir sei Dank g... 12/09/2008

Lakeland Florida Homes New on Market - Weekly Update for 11/30/08 Hi fellow readers, there are currently 2,418 homes for sale in Lakeland, Florida. The average sales price is $216,336 and the average size of a home is 1,848 square foot, which calculates to $117.06 per square foot.   Altogether, there were 63 homes newly listed with area Realtors®. The average listing price for this week's new homes on market in Lakeland is $207,038. Types of homes newly listed: 1 condo newly listed at $194,500 4 mobile homes listed with an average sales price of $77,375 1 townhome/villa offered for sale at $124,900 57 single family homes with an average price of $217,798. The priciest home that came on newly on the market is a 1967 Lake Hollingsworth home; it is a 5 bedroom 4 bath, featuring over 4,500 ... 12/09/2008

akeland Florida First Friday - Holiday Happenings Are you in the Holiday Spirit yet? Throughout this year on the first Friday of every month and this Friday, December 5th, 2008 is no exception that the Downtown Lakeland Partnership prides itself of hosting and organizing First Friday.  This monthly celebration offers a different theme each month. This family celebration of the "Dog Days of Summer", "Back to School", and "Art Walk" were very successful. Opening the local newspaper or looking online for things to do in Lakeland throughout the year, I'm so impressed by Lakeland and its communities coming together and provide programs such as First Friday, Mayfaire-by-the-Lake, Lake Mirror Classic Car Show, Annual Christmas Parade or the Annual Snowfest on Saturday December 6th at the Lake ... 12/04/2008

Lakeland Florida Homes New on Market - Weekly Update for 11/23/08 Hi fellow readers, there are currently 2,424 homes for sale in Lakeland, Florida. The average sales price is $216,535 and the average size of a home is 1,846 square foot, which calculates to $117.30 per square foot.   Altogether, there were 52 homes newly listed with area Realtors®. The average listing price for this week's new homes on market in Lakeland is $187,068. Types of homes newly listed: 2 duplex homes with an average price of $59,900 2 condos with an average price of $68,900 3 mobile homes with an average price of $45,000 2 townhomes/villas marketed with an average price of $124,500 43 single family homes averaging $208,070 The priciest home that came newly on the market again is a 2006 custom built home by Mark... 12/01/2008

Mike and Maurkice Pouncey, two former Lakeland, Florida Dreadnaught Football standouts turned phenomenal offensive linemen for the University of Florida Gators, recently returned to Lakeland on news of a family tragedy.  In prepping for this week's rivalry game against Florida State, these young men received a call that their father, Ron Webster, had been involved in an accident while working at the Lakeland Cash Feed Company - resulting in the loss of his leg. Webster is the twins' stepfather and married their mother Lisa Lewis when the boys were 1 year old. The two will be celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary on December 26th.  But don't let Webster's stepfather status lead you to believe that he holds a lesser place in the twins' hearts. "That's the only father we ever known, s... 11/30/2008

Lakeland Florida Homes New on Market - Weekly Update for 11/16/08 Hi fellow readers, there are currently 2,438 homes for sale in Lakeland, Florida. The average sales price is $217,061 and the average size of a home is 1,848 square foot, which calculates to $109.30 per square foot.   Altogether, there were 76 homes newly listed with area Realtors®. The average listing price for this week's new homes on market in Lakeland is $179,769 with average square feet of 1,737. Types of homes newly listed: 2 duplex homes with an average price of $112,400 4 condos with an average price of $114,250 7 mobile homes with an average price of $94,997 2 townhomes/villas marketed with an average price of $120,675 61 single family homes averaging $197,939 Newly listed is a former 2006 Spring Parade pool home... 11/25/2008

  Cat Carter, blogger extraordinaire over at the LakelandLocal blog has started her "Christmas List" of holiday events going on in the Lakeland, FL area.  She's done a heck of a job pulling this together, and asks that we all take a look to see if there's anything to add.  If you know of an event worth adding, give Cat a jingle!  I'm sure she'll be happy to add it on! Click Here to Go Directly to the LakelandLocal.com Holiday Calendar       Photo Credit: redpepperflakes on Flickr       As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this post.  Thanks for stopping by!                11/19/2008

Lakeland's Harrison Symphony Orchestra Fall Concert 2008 Harrison School for the Arts proudly presents The Harrison Symphony Orchestra on November 20th at 7:30 p.m. This almost 100 student ensemble is well thought throughout the United States and Europe.  Last year the orchestra performed at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. During their great performance, an international committee was so amazed by their concert that they invited the entire ensemble to play in France sometime in 2010.   I have been involved over the years with Harrison School for the Arts and the Orchestra is near and dear to my heart. They have always performed throughout the years to the best of their abilities and this year's fall concert will be no different with classical repertoire you don't want to miss.   Where el... 11/19/2008

Lakeland Florida Market Report for October 2008 - Back to 2004 prices Hi folks! The month of October has shown that 136 homes were sold in Lakeland at an average price with a continuous decline to just under $150,000. When comparing the data to last year, we have seen that the average sold price of a home decreased by 24% from $184,486 to $149,333. Folks, these are prices we have seen in 2004 here in Lakeland, Florida alone. 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 for this report was obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This report does not include "For Sale By Owner".    For more information on the location of these sol... 11/18/2008

Keller Williams Realty Lakeland has acquired Coldwell Banker - Plantation Realty. The Plantation office in North Lakeland adds 15 agents to the Lakeland-based Keller Williams roster. There are already well over 245 Keller Williams agents in Lakeland & Winter Haven combined. The Plantation office will continue to stay open giving Keller Williams Realty a long-awaited presence in North Lakeland. The purchase of Plantation marks the fifth such deal this year. Other partnerships include: First Heritage Realty, Garden Grove Realty, Imperial Lakes Realty, & NAI Realvest. Don't forget to visit Central Florida's premier real estate website at www.GateArty.com for all your real estate needs! 11/11/2008

Lakeland's Harrison School For The Arts - Fall Piano Concert The Harrison Piano Department, will present a concert on Thursday, November 13, 2008, on the main stage of the Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, at 7:30 p.m. Photo was taken by Rebekah Haubry The very talented piano students will play solo and ensemble literature, including Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, 1st movement for 2 pianos and 8 hands, as well as Darius Milhaud's Brazileira from Scaramouche for 2 pianos and 4 hands. Other works by Chopin, Brahms, Debussy and Prokofieff will be performed. The Seniors from the visual arts department from the Harrison Arts Center will be joining the concert by providing visual interpretation of some of our concert pieces, which will be projected on stage a... 11/10/2008

This Saturday (November 8th), following the festivities of First Friday, Downtown Lakeland will have its annual Veteran's Day Parade. The parade will start at 11 a.m. on Lake Beulah Drive at Vetrans Park which is also adjacent to The Lakeland Center. It will conclude at Munn Park.  There will be additonal ceremonies at Munn Park after the conclusion of the parade. Most notably there will be a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall located in Washington D.C. The "Quilt of Tears" will also be on display. There will be more fun at Munn Park where you can expect to find Jump houses & other activities.The event would not be complete however without food! Along with all the great restaurants in Downtown Lakeland, you will also be able to sample BBQ offered up by AMVETS. Hope to see you... 11/06/2008

Sponsored by the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, Puerto Rico Discovery Day will be held Saturday November 22nd from 11 am to 6 pm in conjunction with the regular Farmers Curb Market in Downtown Lakeland. Some of the featured events include: salsa dance competition, dominos tournaments, & specialty vendors. 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! 11/06/2008