With all the wonderful attractions in Central Florida, Orlando is a great place to live, play and work, say local Realtors who expect the current seller's market to continue.
"Welcome to Orlando, the city that keeps the kid alive in all of us," says Realtor Risa Saltman. "We have homes for all families and budgets. This is where you can peacefully enjoy your dreams of sugar plums dancing and playful animal kingdoms; big enough to share with all of the friends and family who will love to visit you too."
Says Saltman, "According to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, 1,568 single-family existing homes were sold in December 2002.Interest rates crept up to 6.48 percent, but still remain as some of the lowest offered in decades. The median price jumped to its highest point ever in the Orlando area -- November 2002 average price was $143,182 the second time it has eclipsed the $140,000 plateau.
"Statistics for Orlando housing for the month of Dec 2002 are:
Median Price Range: $130,822
Closed Sales: 1,568
New Listings Taken: 1,763
Contracts Written: 1,168
Says Realtor Diane Walley. "Some of Orlando is near theme parks, like Walt Disney World, but the general Central Florida Area encompasses literally hundreds of miles.
"It's still a seller's market at present," says Walley, "although many are choosing to take advantage instead of selling (or not in real need to sell) of the still low interest rates and doing refinances or consolidation (equity) loans. I find that all too often, this is why the prices are up, as For Sale By Owners are cropping up more and more, wanting more than the market would allow (FMV=Fair Market Value). I have seen this frequency of overpricing in a seller's market a lot, sometimes, even when they are listed. If you are on the market twice as long, you get market stale. People wonder - 'What's wrong with that house?'"
"The Orlando area encompasses every kind of housing you can imagine," says Realtor Wallace M. Wilson. "From trendy downtown Thornton Park, with it's refurbished old homes looking like something out of Thomas Kincade's studio, to big waterfront mansions sitting right next to I-4, to starter homes funded by the city, it's all right here. You name it, we've got it."
Wilson explains, "The city itself covers quite a bit of territory. Start in the Southern end at the junction of Hwy 436 and Airport Blvd (which by the way enters the absolutely best and most modern airport in the United States) and run 10 miles East to the University of Central Florida and it's rapidly growing Research Park , then go north towards Maitland up the I-4 corridor where it seems like every office for every business in the world is located, and then another 10 miles to the Southwest to Windermere, home to movie stars, world famous athletes, and lottery winners that couldn't take the northern weather anymore. Speaking of the University of Central Florida (UCF), they have recently joined the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and will be competing against some great football teams including Marshall University. Enrollment at UCF now runs close to 40,000 students and new doctoral programs are being added every day. Orlando is still the biggest tourist draw in the world. Come visit us!"
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Published: January 15, 2003
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