Category: Orlando Realtors

West Orange County May See No New Residential Constructions for a Year

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The School Board of Orange County may just cause all residential construction in the area to halt indefinitely. The board wanted to erect a new relief high school at the County Road 535, on Beck Property and was denied permission for the same by Orange County.

The School Board and Orange County entered into a dispute in the last week of February, when the Board shelved the impact fee payments of a developer, Windermere Development Co., of the west Orange County area indefinitely.

School Board tables impact fee payment

The payment, amounting to $27,000 was due on February 25, to be paid to the board as impact fees for the development of project Canopy Oaks – a 59-units residential complex to be built by Mason Simpson and his development company Windermere.

Orlando realtors hold the proximity of Canopy Oaks to the site where the new relief school is supposed to be erected, one of the primary reasons for the dispute. It was confirmed by the School Board later when a board member revealed that the board wanted to wait for the disputes over its petition in the circuit court.

The board had filed the lawsuit in December 2013 and insiders say it may take up to a year to reach a settlement. Joie Cadle, member of the board said the West Orange High School was already crowded and needed a relief. The lack of a proper relief plan was one of the reasons why Cadle and other members of the five-school board voted in favor of tabling the impact-fees payments.

Is the School Board trying to jeopardize construction in Orange County?

Cost of the Canopy Oaks project has been projected around $30 million and Orlando real estate industry-insiders are worried about the longer-term impacts of such a decision by the board. With Winter Garden regulators halting the processing of Canopy Oaks project’s engineering application, Mason Simpson stands to lose some big bucks.

According to Nathan Cross, the president of the Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando, the situation is more grim than what realtors in Orlando have been contemplating. According to him, Lake Nona and West Orange were the only two places conducive for new construction projects in the Orange County and the School Board essentially cut down one of the them, for at least a year.

Chairman of the School Board, Bill Sublette, however, has something else to say. Sublette, who voted against shelving the impact-fee payments, says the board doesn’t intend to stop construction projects in Orange County. The board just wants to halt the project till the location of the new relief school is finalized.

The circuit court is scheduled to meet in April for mediation on the lawsuit.

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Crescent Central Station Reviewed by City Council for Transportation Impact Fee Credits

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

The Orlando City Council met on February 24 to take another look at the high-end apartment complex in downtown Orlando that backs up the neighborhood’s busiest Sun Rail station. The transit-based multipurpose development seeks to win the transportation impact fee credits from the City Council. This would help site owners Rida Development Corp. save some big bucks.

Former site owner Rida to save over $2 million

Word is that Houston-based developers, Rida would save $275,839 if the Orlando City Council agrees to collect the fees in credits. Rida was the owner of the site at the corner of Livington Street and Orange Avenue where the apartment complex is now being constructed. Its ownership of the site dates back to 2008 when the site was known as the Pizzuti Block.

The main Lynx Central Station and Sun Rail commuter station of downtown Orlando is located in close proximity of the apartment complex.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, this Orlando real estate development will spread out over 6.4 acres of land and also sport a unique transit-based layout that allows residents, visitors and workers to walk through the Crescent Central Station apartment complex as they commute to and from the Sun Rail station.

What the $56 million complex is supposed to look like

Construction at the Crescent Central Station located in Orange Ave. at 480 N has been planned to be carried out in phases. The first phase of the project involves erecting a six-story high residential apartment complex with 279 apartments, an adjoining parking facility, and an open retail space spanning 12,000 square feet.

Apart from the luxury apartments and dedicated multilevel parking space that goes seven levels high, the apartment community will also sport a public park and pedestrians will be able to access the Sun Rail/Lynx station. Developers also plan to make the facility bicycle-friendly, in addition to facilitating pedestrians.

The 12,000 square feet of free space on the ground floor of the complex dedicated for retail will be owned and managed by Rida. Further, businesses that lease in or operate from the Crescent Central Station will be required to fund or at least subsidize the ridership of complex residents and employees, transiting through the station.

The initial phase of construction has been projected to cost around $56 million and real estate agents in Orlando have associated it with increased commercial and residential activities and leasing, not only in the complex itself but also in the neighborhood.

 

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Orlando Real Estate Industry Basks Under the Glory of Reduced Foreclosure Rates

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

CoreLogic has some great news for Orlando realtors and the Orlando real estate industry in general. The American business intelligence agency that provides financial and real estate information and analytics to businesses and the feds, reports that the foreclosure rates of real estate properties in Metro Orlando reduced again in December 2013.

This brings in a ray of hope for real estate agents in Orlando who have been worried for quite some time due to the high rates at which properties in the city get foreclosed. Even with a  decrease in the foreclosure rates in December, Orlando still sports foreclosure rates higher than the national average.

Foreclosure rate 3.65 percent down from same time a year ago

 

CoreLogic reports that 6.69 percent residential properties in the Sanford-Kissimmee-Orlando area were  slapped with foreclosure in December 2013 – 3.65 percent down from the foreclosure rate in December 2012 (10.34 percent).

CoreLogic, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange as CLGX also reported that the national average of residential-property foreclosures for December 2013 was 2.09 percent. Further, the report also revealed that homeowners of the Metro Orlando area had become more regular with their mortgage payments.

The delinquency rate dropped by 4.53 percent in December 2013. CoreLogic reported an 11.04 percent of mortgage payments coming in later than 90 days in December 2013. A year ago mortgage defaulters in the Metro Orlando area peaked at 15.57 percent.

As is the case with foreclosure rates, the Metro Orlando mortgage delinquency rates top the national average of 5.03 percent this year. Back in 2012, the rate stood at 6.40 percent for the same month.

Orlando realtors anticipate improved sentiments in near future

 

The health of a state’s real estate market greatly influences the health of the overall economy of the state. Listing agents in Orlando reveal that reduced foreclosure rates in Metro Orlando is promising news for the Orlando real estate market because it not only signifies that the housing market is improving, it also helps boost the values of other residential properties.

Add to it the fact that lowered foreclosure, as well as mortgage delinquency rates, are elementary proof that the market is less distressed and the financial status of homeowners is improving.  You’ll know why real estate agents in Orlando are tying this news to the hopes of a stronger market and more buyer confidence in the near future.

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Orlando Home Prices Continue to Go Up

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

For Orlando realtors, the upward trend is set to continue as Orlando home prices continued to go up in January to $149,950, clocking an 18.1 percent increase compared to about $127,000 in 2012. However, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA), the median price in January went down 6.28 percent compared to December.

Home sales and tax exemption

For most Orlando real estate agents, sales were a little bleak with ORRA members publishing 1,800 home sales, a drop-off of 10.67 percent when compared to January 2013. When compared with December, it is a 26.32 percent decrease. According to Zola Szerencses, the chairman of the ORRA, the decline in December to January sales is partly due to the annual December rush to close sales before the year ends.

Szerencses informed that the principal financial boom of homeownership is the homestead tax exemption and owners must possess their new home before January 1 of any New Year to claim the exemption in the New Year. He also said that the interest rates rise in 2013 has worsened both years to year and month to month decline reported for January.

Metropolitan Orlando

According to a report published by Florida Realtors, residential prices increased throughout the Central Florida region during 2013. In the metropolitan area of Orlando, including the Seminole, Lake, Osceola, and Orange counties, the average price of a home increased by 20 percent to $165,000.

Nearby Orlando, the sale prices of homes in both Polk and Volusia counties were more than the rest of the state. According to Orlando real estate agents, the median price increased 17.2 percent in Volusia to $124,250. Sale prices increased 16.2 percent to the median $122,000 in Polk County.

Unequal increase

In Orlando and its adjacent areas, nominal growth was showed only by Brevard County. Prices in that area rose by 6.8 percent and reached a median of $125,000 in 2013. The sales pace was slower in Metropolitan Orlando when compared to Florida. Total sales amounted to 27,381 units of single-family homes, about 6.4 percent increase compared to 2012. Other parts of the state showed double the number of sales.

The townhome and condominium sale prices of metropolitan Orlando exhibited bigger gains than the home prices of the area. The asking price for multi-family residences in the metro area increased 25 percent during 2013 to reach the median of $95,000.  Orlando condominium prices were at their lowest about five years ago.

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Over 700 New Businesses Crop Up In Central Florida in a Month

Posted on by Jenny Zamora

According to records maintained by the Orlando Business Journal, Central Florida and Orlando real estate area was home to 714 new businesses, all in the very first month of the New Year. The weekly newspaper company collected public records around Central Florida and found that in the month of January 2014, a total of 714 new businesses covering a wide spectrum ranging from smaller hot dog carts or mobile food vans to the larger businesses like ad & marketing agencies and law firms, opened up in the area.

300+ new businesses in Orlando

Among the 714 new businesses in Central Florida in January, close to 300 businesses opened in Orlando. These include several restaurants, subcontractors, retail stores, wholesale stores, tile companies, administrative offices, air freight and attorney offices, wedding services,  delivery services, importers and exporters, event planners, auto sales, auto repair, car wash garages, cosmetologists, medical doctors, massage therapists, personal finance managers, graphic designers and photographers to name a few.

Residents can now eat out at the Schumanns Jager Haus LLC, Qarma Crepes or Bosphorous Turkish Kitchen LLC, shop at the Kiki Caribbean Market LLC, Bevfly LLC, Sweetheartz USA Inc., B&B Multi Services Caribbean Store or D Vapor, groom themselves at the European Wax Center, Pasarella Salon & Spa, A All About Hair Design, Fantastic Sams, Great Looks Salon, Khush Threading Herbal Salon, Next Cut or the Vamp Hair Studio, hire vehicles at I Transit International LLC or purchase from the Terra Firma Auto Group Inc. and Utuado Auto Sales LLC.

The locality now also has new clinics in the Florida Nephrology PLC, JML Diversified LLC, and Solutions Weight Loss to name a few as well as cooking instructors, chefs, a new community home- the 2 Heart To Heart Group Home Inc., private investigators, psychic readers and NGO offices to name a few.

Orlando realtors are hopeful the housing market will flourish

Real estate agents in Orlando attribute the city’s growing reputation as an industrial center to the impressive setup of so many new businesses in one month. According to realtors in Orlando, even though Florida no longer provides moving incentives to entrepreneurs and businesses, the state’s economy and real estate market, in particular, have benefited from the slow but steady growth of the U.S. job market.

The tight supply of homes and improved interest rates for mortgages has improved the confidence of contractors as well as home buyers. As new housing settlements get chalked down, associated businesses begin setting up, and the two support each other simultaneously.

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