Most folks want to hear the bad news before the good news in hopes that the bad news is still not too bad when comparing the Good and the Bad. However, with Real Estate news, people have lately watched the negative news reports or read the not so good news in the newspaper. Therefore, I will start with the good news first.

Good News - Lakeland’s housing market has improved to 145 homes sold in June 2008 from the previous month of 124 homes sold. The average sold price also increased by 14% from the previous month. It also took less time to sell a home in June with an average of 143 days. 

Now, the Not So Good News – When statistics being compared, it is compared with the previous year and here comes the bad news. Lakeland had 145 homes sold last month, compared with 193 the previous year. In addition, Lakeland’s average home sales price of $169,148 was down almost 15% from 198,592 a year ago. Of the 145 homes sold last month, 33 homes were sold due to Short Sales and/or Foreclosures with an average sales price of $118,371. Only 7 homes were sold the previous year, due to Short Sales and/or Foreclosures.

This home is priced below the average sales price and it is listed for $149,000 -  To view video, please click on the picture below. Check it out! You may also visit the property’s website at www.2231MiguelSt.com

Lakeland Home Priced below average sold home prices

 

 

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”.  

Lakeland Real Estate Market Report by Zip Code - June 2008

 

 

 

Lakeland’s current inventory is 2563 of residential homes in active and pending status

Tee Time at Huntington Hills Golf & Country Club in Lakeland, FL

Do you like to play Golf? Then this is the place for you. Lakeland has to offer this semi-private 18-hole

Huntington Golf & Country Club in Lakeland, FL

Huntington Hills course that was designed by Ron Carl with its tree-lined fairway, elevation changes, sand bunkers and a water hazard that waits as you make your round through the golf course. It has been opened since 1992 and features 6,768 yards of golf from the longest tees a par of 71 with multiple tiers with only a slight slope. The greens are large and of Bermuda grass that produce a medium speed with a course rating of 72.6 and a slope rating of 126.

Check out the photos of the golf course!

Golf Course view at Lakeland Huntington Hills & Country Club

Golf Course view at Lakeland Huntington Hills & Country Club

Golf Course view at Lakeland Huntington Hills & Country Club

Puttin Green view at Lakeland Huntington Hills & Country Club

Driving range view at Lakeland Huntington Hills & Country Club

Lakeland's Huntington Golf & Country Clubhouse

Huntington Hills Golf & Country Club is open daily from 8:00 a.m. For tee time, pricing and membership call the Pro Shop at (863) 859-3689.

Surrounded by this beautiful golf course there are almost 400 attractive homes nestled in their gated community. Currently, there are 13 homes for sale ranging from $169,900 to $479,900 with an average price range of $339,885.00. The homes vary in size from 1,629 square feet to 3,040 square feet.

Folks, if you are in the market to buy a home and want to live in a Golf Course Community, such as the Huntington Hills Golf and Country Club in Lakeland. Look no further!

Check out this video tour of this beautiful home in the Huntington Hills Community!

6926 Hazeltine Circle, Lakeland

    Please visit this home’s personal website for additional information at www.6926HazeltineCir.com                            

Copyright © 2008 http://www.petranorris.com| All Rights Reserved |

Tee Time at Huntington Hills Golf & Country Club in Lakeland, FL

 Petra Norris - CDV TransAtlantic, Inc. - Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker - PO Box 92050 -                          Lakeland, FL 33804-2050 - Telephone (863) 618-6919
This blog is solely my point of view

Have you seen a performance by the Lakeland Community Theater lately?

Here is a tidbit - little history - about one of Lakeland’s finest art group. A group of Lakeland citizens approached the City of Lakeland in 1985 to develop a children’s theater known as Pied Piper Players. Since then, the repertoire, such as Grease, The Fiddler on the Roof and The Sound of Music has vastly expanded and with the 2007/2008 season the name was changed to “Lakeland Community Theater.” The theater is a non-profit organization and has over 800 volunteers participate throughout the year. Events, such as main stage productions, theatre for youth series and classes are being attended by over 19,000 people. The talent that this Lakeland Community Theater provides is immensely.

You Don’t Want to Miss this - Lakeland Community Theater is proudly presenting “Godspell”

Godspell presented by Lakeland Community Theater

Godspell is an old word for Gospel. The music is written by Steven Schwartz who wrote Children of Eden and Wicked. The show is based on the Gospel according to St. Matthew. It features a group of young people (16 cast members). In this modernized version they are all gathered in an urban alleyway with their leader Jesus.

He tells them stories (the parable) which they act out including The Good Samaritan and The Prodigal

Godspell

Son. The show is packed with great songs and hysterically funny reenactments of the parables. There is also a wonderful scene based on Stomp! Where they all play instruments found on the street like trash can lids, car engines and oil barrels. As the story progresses Jesus is betrayed by Judas Iscariot and is crucified. This is a very moving part of course. At the end Jesus is resurrected and they all sing Long Live God.

Some great parts such as Benedict’s song - “All Good Gifts” which is a Gospel type song and very good, and “By My Side” sung by Meaghan McGowan which is a folk type ballad, it’s really lovely too. The show is very bright and colorful; the cast are full of energy and are excellent singers and dancers. It is certainly a great evening’s entertainment. 
 

Photos were taken by Jeff Luty and being used with his permission

Meet The Cast: Daniel Ballard, Rae Bartley, Jerrel Burton, Dean Cantu, Marta Cavana, Seth Cox, Benedict Heaps, Meaghan McGowan, Carly Nix, Leslie Redman, Grant Reynolds, Kristi Robinson, Harry Russo, Drew Sebastian, Noelle Stewart, and Joe Strickland III.

Director is Alan S. Reynolds, Musical Director is Patrick Fleitz and Choreographer is Laurie Wood. 
 
 

Performances are from July 10th-27th. Thursday, Friday, Saturday @ 7:30pm and Sunday @ 2pm at the Lake Mirror Theatre.  Adult Tickets are $20 and $10 students 18 and under. The Lake Mirror Theatre is located on historic Lake Mirror at 121 S. Lake Ave.

Petra Norris - CDV TransAtlantic, Inc. - Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker -

PO Box 92050 - Lakeland, FL 33804-2050 - Telephone (863) 619-6918

www.petranorris.com

Let’s take a look at the overall picture for Polk County, Lakeland and the surrounding cities within Polk County, FL. There are currently over 7940 properties for sale in Polk County. Currently, 709 listings are pending (under contract); hence buyers and sellers are waiting to close escrow.

For the month of May, according to the Mid Florida Regional MLS the numbers for Polk County homes sold dropped to 449 from 570 properties sold the previous year. The average sold price for Polk County for May 08 was $169,029 compared to $198,980 in May 2007, a decrease by almost 18%.

Folks, have we bottomed out in my market area here in Lakeland? Lakeland has around 2370 properties for sale and the average listing price in Lakeland is currently $235,512, which amounts to $126.96 per square feet for an 1855 square feet home. The average sold price for the month of May 08 was $148,017 compared to last year’s number for May of $186,604; a decline of 26% with and average 174 days on the market. Doesn’t this look like we are at 2004 sold prices again?

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”.

Let’s see, how long would it take to absorb Lakeland’s current inventory of 2622 active and pending listings?

Lakeland sold 124 homes in the month of May. It would take about 91 weeks or 23 months to sell the current inventory. Not encouraging at all, however, keep in mind that this number is only an indicator on how long it takes to absorb and therefore, pricing the home you are selling is very crucial. Just take a look above at the average listing price and the average sold price for Lakeland – how long will it take to sell your house?

Let’s take a look at last month sold report for the surrounding cities in Polk County:

Winter Haven - 71 properties sold - average sold price $172,885 – average $99.19 per sq.ft.

Bartow – 11 properties sold – average sold price $96,706 – average $71.32 per sq.ft.

Mulberry – 15 properties sold – average sold price $205,660 – average $110.45 per sq.ft.

Auburndale – 17 properties sold – average sold price $142,874 – average $85.86 per sq.ft.

If you are interested in a specific area or neighborhood, feel free to contact me at petra@petranorris.com

Copyright © 2008 http://www.petranorris.com| All Rights Reserved |

Have we bottomed out here in Lakeland, FL?

Petra Norris - CDV TransAtlantic, Inc. - Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker –

PO Box 92050 – Lakeland, FL 33804-2050 – Telephone (863) 619-6918

This blog is solely my point of view

Recently, I had the privillege to show a couple from Maine one of my listing. After the showing, I senced that they were not sold on my listing, although it was in their price range and the home was well maintained. It was not what they were looking for, mainly because of the layout of the home. So I kindly ask them if I could send them other listings in the price range. They said, sure why not - it beats driving around and not knowing where to go. I immediately sent them listings via email that was in their price range in Lakeland and Winter Haven area. Since their lease expired on May 1st, they needed to find a home real soon.

After narrowing down a list of possible listings, I made appoinments for showings at various location in Lakeland and Winter Haven, however, nothing that they were happy with. After a few days, we found a home that was located in Winter Haven in an over 55 community. They liked the area and the price range of the homes within this community.

The seller accepted our offer and after inspections, we closed at the end of April. The seller was happy because they wanted to move out by May 1st and my buyers were happy because the offer was accepted without counter and they were able to move in on May 1st.

Check out their video testimonial - unrehearsed!

Folks, if you are in the market to buy or sell in Lakeland and the surrounding cities, such as Winter Haven, Auburndale, Bartow, Mulberry and Polk City, give me a call. I’ll always do my best to serve my customers and clients. Click here to search for homes in Central Florida!

http://www.petranorris.com| All Rights Reserved -

Copyright © 2008

Satisfied Clients - Video Testimonial

Petra Norris - CDV TransAtlantic, Inc. - Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

P.O. Box 92050, Lakeland, FL 33804-2050

Telephone (863) 619-6918
This blog is solely my point of view

Are you still looking over the fence?

So why don’t you hop over and take a look at my market report for Lakeland and the surrounding cities within Polk County, FL. There are currently over 8100 properties for sale in Polk County. WOW – A lot of properties for sale and as long as Polk County has a high inventory, the prices will be dropping - Supply and Demand. My market area is in Lakeland and Lakeland has around 2400 properties for sale. The average listing price in Lakeland is currently $234,000.

We are still waiting for the market to rebound. Last month according to the Mid Florida Regional MLS the numbers for Polk County homes sold dropped to 427 from 514 properties sold the previous year. The average sold price for Polk County for April 08 was $167, 285 compared to $198,367 in April 2007, a decrease by 15%.

Lakeland’s market is almost a mirror image of Polk County. The average sold price for the month of April 08 was $163,555 compared to last year’s number for April of $199,619. 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”.

Recently, my husband and I drove to Lake Mirror after dinner to listen to good music, stroll around the lake, enjoy a beautiful sunset and close out this great evening with Fireworks. While relaxing sitting on the bench, we’ve met this nice couple from up north, who come to Lakeland to escape the cold weather climate and the snow from October through April to enjoy this beautiful weather and the great atmosphere Lakeland has to offer when they put on shows like this. So we sat there and talked about everything, such as news, Lakeland, arts, children, and even politics. My very first blog I wrote that I Love Lakeland and this blog emphasize that Lakeland has so much to offer despite being a small town with it’s arts, crafts, botanic garden, the many lakes, museum, parks, theaters and entertainment - even ice skating in Winter - no it doesn’t snow here and the lakes don’t freeze.

So why would you not want to live in Lakeland?

I took some pictures I’d like to share with you for you to see that Lakeland, FL is a great city to live in, centrally located between Orlando and Tampa and is only hopscotch away from all major attraction.

Lake Mirror at Sunset                                     

Swan Derby

There are always activities going on here in Lakeland and most of them are free of charge:

Mayfaire-on-the-Lake @ Lake Morton on May 10^th and May 11^th.

Farmers Curb Market open every Saturday from 8:00AM-2:00PM

First Friday of the month Lakeland welcomes you to go shopping and dining Downtown where stores have extended business hours.

Fisherman Statue                                         Constructionworker Statue

Did I mention that with all the activities Lakeland has to offer, such as the Swan Derby or the Mayfaire-by-the-Lake you also get the see Fireworks.

Oh I forgot! If you are looking to buy a home here in Lakeland, give me a call or search my web site for homes.

Copyright © 2008 http://www.petranorris.com| All Rights Reserved -

Would you want to live in Lakeland?

Petra Norris - CDV TransAtlantic, Inc. - Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker

P.O. Box 92050

Lakeland, FL 33804-2050

Telephone (863) 619-6918

This blog is solely my point of view

March Home Sales Improved overall in Polk County according to the Lakeland Ledger Report. With all its negative publicity that the Real Estate Industry has, it is a positive sign that the media finally has something encouraging to write about Real Estate.

What does the statistics say for Lakeland, Florida?

According to the data obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS there were 159 homes sold in Lakeland compared to last years 188 homes sold – a decline of 32 homes. The average sold price for a home in Lakeland was $152,761 last month. Last year’s average sold price was $185,497 in March – a plunge of 17%. Of the 159 homes sold there were 25 homes sold in distress – short sale, pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, and/or bank owned. The average home sold in distress last month was $104,662.

My report below is a breakdown by zip code which gives you a detailed view of each area with last year’s market information. The data for this report was obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Copyright © 2008 http://www.petranorris.com| All Rights Reserved |

Lakeland’s Real Estate Market 411

Petra Norris - CDV TransAtlantic, Inc. - Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker –

This blog is solely my point of view

It has been an interesting First Quarter this year. From January through March, there were 394 residential homes sold in Lakeland, Florida compared to last year’s first quarter total of 522 home sold - a decrease of 128 properties or if you will 32.50%. The average sold price for this quarter was $170,499 (average sq. ft. $101.73) compared to $198,774 (average sq. ft. $120.54) a decrease of 17% for the 1^st quarter in 2008. Are you looking to buy?

Folks, as every week for the past weeks you will find my weekly report below to offer you with an inside on what is happening in the Residential Real Estate Market for Lakeland, FL. This report is by zip code and is in my opinion more accurate than measuring by school zones, since school zone changes are in progress and Realtors® not always input the school zones into the Multiple Listing.

There are currently 2403 properties for sale, which is an increase of 15 listings reported the previous week. Last week’s average sales price decreased modestly. However, the average sold price increased by 5% compared to my prior report of the Lakeland Residential Weekly Market Report 3/24/08-3/31/08. My weekly report is obtained from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, it is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This report does not include “For Sale By Owner”. 

How long will it take to absorb the current inventory? According to the Mid-Florida Regional MLS, there are currently 2628 active and pending listings available in Lakeland. The definition of Pending is that it has not sold as of today and/or the Pending listing has not been updated to Sold status in the Multiple Listing. Realtors® sold 156 properties in Lakeland last month. Since the absorption rate is not an exact science it may influence your decision to put your home on the market. Based on my calculation, the truth of the matter is that the absorption rate for Lakeland is 73 weeks. Are you thinking about selling?

 If you are interested in a specific area or neighborhood, feel free to contact me at petra@petranorris.com

Copyright © 2008 http://www.petranorris.com| All Rights Reserved

Is it time to buy or is it time to sell in Lakeland, Florida - you decide!

Petra Norris - CDV TransAtlantic, Inc. - Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker -

PO Box 92050 - Lakeland, FL 33804-2050 - Telephone (863) 618-6919

This blog is solely my point of view