New research by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) suggests that with nearly one in five Realtors having sold a home to an international client in the past year, our real estate is still looking good to some folk.  "In this country we have always known that housing is a good long-term investment, and many foreign buyers seem to share this view," NAR President Pat V. Combs said in a prepared statement. Most buy for vacation purposes, and about a third of all [...]
Most Expensive Condo: Listed for: $219,900 Sold for: $216,000 (days on market: 4) Least Expensive Condo: Listed for: $179,900 Sold for: $175,000 (days on market: 36)Â Median sales price: $207,000 Average days on market =Â 48Â Â Â Â Â Â Source: Orlando Sentinel
I needed a drink (or four) after work today, and since we'd received invitations to TWO broker events tonight, I thought we should make a good faith effort to attend both - and drink as much as we could at each one. Running a real estate company is thirsty business after all. The evening's two bars, I mean "hosts" were the International Plaza Resort & Spa (condo hotel conversion) on International Drive, and Solaris (pre-construction townhomes) in MetroWest. And [...]
I recently spoke with a buyer who was interested in being pre-approved to purchase a new condo. After our initial meeting, we reviewed his credit and to his dismay his credit rating was much lower than anticipated. A further review of his credit revealed several open accounts with balances that he did not recognize. It soon became apparent that someone had "stolen" his identity and had been hard at work fraudulently opening accounts. My buyer needed to work towards clearing these discrepancies [...]
Orlando CityPlace / Lexington Hotel is set to become the latest casualty of the current housing correction. The OBJ reports that owners plan to file for Chaper 11 protection by the end of the month. The Lexington Hotel side of the operation is reported to be profitable, however, only 31 of the 227 condo hotel units were sold. The hotel, formerly a Holiday Inn, will continue to operate as the Lexington Hotel for the time being, however, its conversion to alter ego Lexington Condo-Hotel [...]
I read a lot of commentary about how much "inventory" is on the Orlando condo market, and a lot of predictions about how long it will take to be absorbed. I think by and large, the predictions are pretty good, but they don't always take into account the fact that many condo units are disappearing, often hundreds at a time, as developers get out of the condo business and slide back into the rental business. Some condominiums have been postponed, others have been axed completely. I can [...]
Solaris Townhomes & Flats has officially Broken Ground! The new community is located in MetroWest on Raleigh, just off Kirkman. Solaris condos are still featuring pre-construction prices starting in the mid 200's - pretty good for new construction - and with the MetroWest community starting to improve again, this could well turn out to be a smart investment. To catch these Solaris condos before prices go up much more contact us here at CondoMetropolis.com and we'll give [...]
Most Expensive Condo: Listed for: $198,500 Sold for: $193,000 (days on market: 16) Least Expensive Condo: Listed for: $92,000 Sold for: $84,000 (days on market: 30)Â Median sales price: $129,950 Average days on market =Â 128Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Source: Orlando Sentinel
MetroWest has had a pretty bad rap over the last couple of years. I should know - I live there. It's been affectionately nick-named "Ghetto-West," "Metro-Pest" etc. etc. but everyone who lives here knows that apart from the occasional armed robbery at Dunkin Donuts, it's really not that bad. Having lived in London, New York, San Francisco and Chicago, I've always thought the media attention was a little worse than the problem itself. Until last month that is, [...]