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Orlando, FL Real Estate News

By Drew Peterson
(Keller Williams Advantage II Realty)
(Stick with us for a brief history of real estate law before we hit the meat of this blog.) Way back when, the seller was king. Real estate agents only represented homeowners, home inspections were unheard of, and the burden was on the buyer to make sure he was purchasing a sound investment.What's that? The roof leaked the day you moved in? Too bad. Once you closed on a home, it didn't matter what you found. The house could collapse the next day and you were stuck holding the bill.Fortunately, that has changed over the last few decades. The protections for buyers have been expanding, with more of the burden being transferred to the seller. Today, homeowners are required to disclose all latent defects that materially affect the value of the home. Latent defects include a leaking roof, mo...
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By Drew Peterson
(Keller Williams Advantage II Realty)
Warm weather, beautiful beaches, and...foreclosures. It's not exactly how the Florida Tourism Industry would describe our state (well, at least the foreclosures part), but it is increasingly the perception of Florida in the media and around the water cooler.Depending on which study you ask, we rank somewhere in the top 5 states with the highest foreclosure rates. Exponential gains in housing prices, loose lending practices, and the popularity of Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) have combined to push a growing number of homeowners into precarious financial situations. Unable to re-finance and facing a large adjustment in their interest rates, these unfortunate souls have but one good option; the short sale.A short sale occurs when a lender allows a homeowner to sell a property for less t...
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By Jerry LaRose, Orlando, Windermere FL. Real Estate, ABR, GRI, e-PRO, CLHMS
(Orlando Realty Partners)
"I'm Mad as Hell ... and I'm not going to take it anymore." That's a quote from the movie Network, from 1976... Great Clip from that movie is below. Ya know, I’m tired of the Media slamming this market and saying how bad it is. If the media would just put a positive spin on things once in a while I think we’d all be better off. I recently heard that 1 out of 538 homes are in some sort of foreclosure in Florida and the media makes it sound like the world is coming to an end. OK, let’s do the math. 1 divided by 538 = .18587 I interpret that as .2% that means 99.8% of the market is not in foreclosure. We should be cheering. Anyway, this is how I feel today about the media. Watch the video and enjoy.
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By Judy Chapman
(Referral Network of Illinois LLC)
Couple #1 had a long-distance romance and wound up getting married in an impromptu ceremony. He owned his own home. She brought along a savings account. They sunk their joint resources into a piece of land for investment purposes. To do this, he had to free up some cash by refinancing his home. Less than a year later, they were headed for divorce. Their joint investment complicated an already contentious parting of ways. When they finally divorced, they were out thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees. Fortunately, though, the end of true love didn’t mean him losing his house or her ruining her financial future. Couple #2 lived together for nearly 20 years. He took out the loan on their house. Both their names went on the deed. When they split up, bitterness rankled on both sides. Event...
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By Marc Grossman, GRI, Greater Orlando Real Estate Broker
(Marc It Sold!)
Recently, I was called by a free-lance writer in regard to a story that she was writing for the Orlando Sentinel about pet-friendly communities in Orlando and decided to do some further research to assist her.  It appears that AAA (American Automobile Association) and Dogfriendly.com, which came out with its 2007 List of the Top 10 Dog-Friendly Vacation Spots in North America, Orlando ranks #8 in both surveys.  Since Orlando is the first Florida city on both surveys, one can deduce that Orlando is then the #1 Pet Friendly city in Florida.   One may not have assumed that the Greater Central Florida area and Orlando particularly was that pet-friendly up until a few years ago when they finally allowed doggie dining.  Granted, an establishment has a pay a $150 permit fee to allow doggie di...
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By Heather the Realtor Orlando, Lake Mary, First Time Home Buyers, Bank Owned Homes
(LemonTree Realty)
Recently on the news were some taxi cab drivers upset over the supposed monopoly here in Orlando. Now i never thought of my home town of Orlando having a big taxi cab need. Most people tend to rent vehicles or stay on site at disney and I rarely see that many on the road. But I guess according to this article it's a big deal.-- About 50 cab drivers in Orlando rallied for a bigger share of the tourist trade as they drove around the city in a morning protest. The drivers then rallied at City Hall on Monday, waving signs and chanting "Justice!" They're protesting what they say is a monopoly held by Mears Transportation Group over Orlando's attractions and hotels. They say city rules favor Mears, which has exclusive agreements with some hotels and is one of a handful of companies allowed to...
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By Drew Peterson
(Keller Williams Advantage II Realty)
Welcome to our blog series on the Top Ten Realtor Myths. Last Monday, we addressed the myth that Realtors are hired to "sell" homes. If you missed that installment, you can read it by clicking here. Now, let's move on to myth number two.Myth: A Realtor should be hired based on his or her skill at marketing homes. Fact: A Realtor should be hired based on his or her skill at pricing homes, negotiating offers, and protecting clients' interests.Once upon a time, Realtors were hired based on their marketing skill. Newspapers and home magazines were the primary means of advertising a property. Therefore, one or two photos and a brief description was all potential buyers had to go on. Realtors fielded phone calls, selling the features of their listings using flowery language and not a little e...
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By David Welch, Real Estate Optimist - #OrlandoRealEstate
(Charles Rutenberg Realty)
"In Depth: America's Worst-Selling Housing Markets"http://www.forbes.com/2008/03/31/homes-risky-property-forbeslife-cx_mw_0331realestate_slide_2.html?partner=playlist&thisSpeed=20000Click on the link for the slide show of the markets Forbes calls the worst selling housing markets. If you ask me, the flip side is that these are the "best buying markets", and Orlando is number two. The numbers they quote in their article must include the entire metro area which is five counties. When you read my Orlando Real Estate Blog, I focus on the the tri-county "core" area, so the numbers are a bit different.The article does not go into the economics of any of the markets, and I cannot speak about the other nine mentioned. I can tell you that Orlando is still expected to be one of the top job market...
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By Richard Carpentieri, GRI, ABR, PRM, e-PRO
(Keller Williams Realty)
Hunters Creek is located in the south central sector of the Orlando real estate market.  There have been 27 single family houses sold in the 1st quarter of 2008.  They range in price from $225,000 to $575,000 with $296,478 being the average and 16 of them having pools.  The square footage ranges from 1,492 to 4,130 and the houses lasted an average of 113 days on the market before they closed.There are presently 44 houses that are pending closing with an asking price range from $160,000 to $599,000 with $318,534 being the average.  These houses range in size from 1,583 to 3,694 square feet with 31 of them having pools.  The average time on the market is currently 111 days.  Remember these properties have not closed yet so the average time to close will rise.There are a total of 223 house...
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By Richard Carpentieri, GRI, ABR, PRM, e-PRO
(Keller Williams Realty)
Heritage Place is located in the south central sector of the Orlando real estate market.  There have been 4 single family houses sold in the 1st quarter of 2008.  They range in price from $194,900 to $230,000 with $211,450 being the average. The square footage ranges from 1,590 to 1,802 and the houses lasted an average of 118 days on the market before they closed.There are presently 4 houses that are pending closing with an asking price range from $194,500 to $237,900 with $212,350 being the average.  These houses range in size from 1,657 to 1,934 square feet.  The average time on the market is currently 23 days.  Remember these properties have not closed yet so the average time to close will rise.There are a total of 13 houses on the market ranging in size from 1,324 to 2,206 square fe...
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By David Welch, Real Estate Optimist - #OrlandoRealEstate
(Charles Rutenberg Realty)
Wow, April new contracts are already around 1,600 with a week to go. Total contracts are closing in on 3,000, and closed sales are on track to beat March's numbers too. I cannot wait to see the final numbers this month. The only thing that I see down right now is the median price which is hovering around $215,000. That could change by the end of the month. The total number of homes listed for sale in the Orlando area is up just a little and the number of homes listed as pre-foreclosure, foreclosure or bank owned is up just a tad around 4,360.http://www.orlandoarearealtor.com/
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By Heather the Realtor Orlando, Lake Mary, First Time Home Buyers, Bank Owned Homes
(LemonTree Realty)
Well it's official, Publix will soon be opening this Summer on Central Blvd across from Lake Eola. They now have their banner located above their main entrance. For those of us that live in the Thornton park area we couldnt be more excited for one of the greatest additions to this area. I think this will only great help property values in the area. Plus since ZOM is building the paramount we anticipate the condo's and the building to be of the highest quality and best utilization of space. Prices for this amazing building start in the mid $200s. So if you are looking for true Urban Chic in one of the most sought after areas of downtown Orlando, then contact me today. Once the Publix opens prices and availability in this area will change greatly.  Oh yeah one more thing, on Sunday mornin...
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By Alexander Harb, Dallas, Texas Real Estate Investing
(Knights Investing)
 The Magic Basketball Team is NOW 2-0 for the first round of the playoffs!!They are up against the Toronto Raptors....This Raptors team has even LESS playoff experience than the current Magic Team.It is showing.....The Magic won the first game 114 - 100The Magic won the second game 104-10394% of these best of 4 have closed out when one team has won the first 2 games.The Magic play tonight at 7:30PM in Toronto...and they are one of THEE best road teams in the league! LETS GO MAGIC!!! (photo courtesy RaptorsTalk.com and www.flikr.com ) 
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By Judy Chapman
(Referral Network of Illinois LLC)
According to Forbes magazine, Orlando is the second hardest area to sell homes. Of course, I didn't need Forbes to tell me this. These days, watching a listing go from Active to Pending is like waiting for the wind to pick up. Waiting for a buyer to get serious is like wishing a rainstorm would quickly pass.  Guess I'll just have to wait for the clouds to part.    Here's the full list.  Miami Orlando Phoenix Tampa Los Angeles Washington, D.C. Chicago Baltimore San Diego Denver My condolences go out to fellow real estate agents here in Orlando and in the other 9 metro areas.
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By Jerry LaRose, Waterford Lakes, Avalon Park Fl. Realtor
(Keller Williams classic Realty)
"I'm Mad as Hell ... and I'm not going to take it anymore." That's a quote from the movie Network, from 1976... Great Clip from that movie is below. Ya know, I’m tired of the Media slamming this market and saying how bad it is. If the media would just put a positive spin on things once in a while I think we’d all be better off. I recently heard that 1 out of 538 homes are in some sort of foreclosure in Florida and the media makes it sound like the world is coming to an end. OK, let’s do the math. 1 divided by 538 = .18587 I interpret that as .2% that means 99.8% of the market is not in foreclosure. We should be cheering. Anyway, this is how I feel today about the media. Watch the video and enjoy. About the author: Jerry LaRose is an Orlando Area Residential Real Estate Expert, who can a...
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By Richard Carpentieri, GRI, ABR, PRM, e-PRO
(Keller Williams Realty)
Green Briar is located in the Williamsburg section of the Orlando real estate market.  There has been 4 single family houses sold in the 1st quarter of 2008.  They sold for $149,500 and $233,800 with an average price of $187,050 and ranged in size from 1,090 square feet and 2,206 square feet.  They took an average of 120 days before they sold. There are presently 2 houses that are pending closing. They are 1,070 square feet and 1,766 square feet with asking prices of $155,000 and $199,900.  They have been on the market for an average of 315 days.There are a total of 21 houses on the market.  They range in size from 969 square feet to 2,646 square feet with asking prices ranging from $159,900 to $264,500.  Of these 21 houses 16 of them are priced at $210,000 or lower.Considering the amou...
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By Jerry LaRose, Orlando, Windermere FL. Real Estate, ABR, GRI, e-PRO, CLHMS
(Orlando Realty Partners)
You might not hear much about them on TV or in the papers, but there are some economic signs popping up right now that are -- at the VERY least -- encouraging for housing and real estate. Take the gold standard of all forward indicators for the U.S. economy -- the Conference Board's "Index of Leading Indicators," which is based on a broad survey of industry data and predicts economic activity three to six months down the road. The latest Conference Board index registered its first increase in six months. Now I know that all we hear about these days is recession: it's either already here or it's about to happen. But the index suggests that there should be positive growth underway in the second half of the year, if not sooner. Look at the stock market, it's starting it's upward trend aga...
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By Marc Grossman, GRI, Greater Orlando Real Estate Broker
(Marc It Sold!)
Yes, Orlando, it is time to get off of the fence and purchase a home.  Let me qualify that.  That is if it is within your means to do so financially.  The previous mentality that we’ve seen has hopefully stopped, but unfortunately, once things get better, people tend to forget.  Sad but true!  There have been several articles over the past week and half that I’ve read that have shown once again how Florida and especially Orlando have bucked the national trend in real estate.  According to NAR (the National Association of Realtors®), not only did the number of existing home sales dip 19.3% below the previous years sales in March, but they also slipped from February to March of this year.  Now, before I get into the Orlando numbers, I must state that there is some conflicting information...
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By Jerry LaRose, Orlando, Windermere FL. Real Estate, ABR, GRI, e-PRO, CLHMS
(Orlando Realty Partners)
Orlando's housing marketing experienced a month-over-month increase in the number of home sales, an increase in the number of pending sales contracts, and a decrease in the amount of inventory - all baby steps toward a market balanced between buyers and sellers. The monthly statistical reports released by the Orlando Regional Realtor® Association revealed some additional interesting tidbits for the month of March: the sales of homes costing upwards of $1 million more than doubled in March compared to last month; the sales of duplexes, town homes, and villas have increased in each of the last three months; and the majority of condos sold have fallen into lower and lower price categories for each of the last three months.The median sales price of a single-family home in the Orlando area ...
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By Jerry LaRose, Waterford Lakes, Avalon Park Fl. Realtor
(Keller Williams classic Realty)
Orlando's housing marketing experienced a month-over-month increase in the number of home sales, an increase in the number of pending sales contracts, and a decrease in the amount of inventory - all baby steps toward a market balanced between buyers and sellers. The monthly statistical reports released by the Orlando Regional Realtor® Association revealed some additional interesting tidbits for the month of March: the sales of homes costing upwards of $1 million more than doubled in March compared to last month; the sales of duplexes, town homes, and villas have increased in each of the last three months; and the majority of condos sold have fallen into lower and lower price categories for each of the last three months.The median sales price of a single-family home in the Orlando area ...
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