Retooling the Ocala Housing Market
It was inevitable, based on the economy’s cyclical nature, that the runaway in Marion County and the rest of the Florida housing market would ease.
Still, it was surprising, the Ocala Star-Banner notes in an editorial, to learn from a new report by the Florida Association of Realtors that Marion County suffered Florida’s sharpest decline in home sales between May 2006 and May 2007.
The housing market plummeted 50 percent in that time, making Ocala the worst spot for Florida home sales, at least for May.
The news might have been anticipated. Last month, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes nationally had fallen to the lowest level since 2003, while the number of unsold homes had reached a peak not seen since 1992.
Among regions, the South witnessed the largest decline in home sales.
Responding to this, Greg Lord, president of the Ocala-Marion County Association of Realtors, told the Star-Banner that existing market conditions offered an opportune time for home buyers.
He is likely right.
The pickings are probably good for Florida mortgage applicants, and for the bargain hunters scouring foreclosure filings.
After all, a key reason economists cite for the national slump is trouble in the market for non-traditional (bad credit Florida mortgage) loans sought by people with credit woes.
Then there are defaults on those Florida home loans.
Lord noted that the average home price in Marion County continues to creep up - on average a home now costs $173,000, up about 1 percent over a year ago - meaning a home seller can still sit tight and not compromise their price.
Just as the Ocala housing market was a late arriver to the boom, it will likely be somewhat insulated from the overall decline in prices, which across the country have fallen for 10 consecutive months, the longest-running drought ever recorded.
Pete Tesch, president / CEO of the Ocala-Marion County Economic Development Council, said it’s not yet time to hit the panic button.
The community, Tesch said, has a diversified business area, low Florida mortgage rates, unemployment below 4 percent, and most of all, a lot of money churning in the local economy because of the retail sector and unlike the housing side, the commercial real estate market has not shown signs of slowing.
Continue reading in the Ocala Star-Banner …
