Orlando inventory drops a bit, median price holds at $235,000

( Orlando, FL Orlando Realtor Association) The number of homes on the market in the Orlando area dropped by 158 homes during the month of November, which provides a baby’s breath of relief to the area’s record-high inventory. Every month so far in 2007 except for September – when inventory decreased by three homes – has seen more homes added to the market than subtracted.
The median sales price of a single family home in Orlando area held steady at $235,000 for the third month in a row, reports the Orlando Regional Realtor® Association. The median price for November 2007 is 6.0 percent below that of November 2006 ($250,000), and the year-to-date median home sales price ($245,000) is 1.21 percent below 2006 ($248,000).
The number of sales in the Orlando area declined by 47.66 percent in November 2007 compared to November of last year (963 to 1,840). The number of sales that took place in November 2007 decreased over the number of sales that occurred in October 2007 (1,090). Year-to-date sales for 2007 (15,602 through November) are down by 39.1 percent over the same period in 2006 (25,614).
Each county’s year-to-date sales percentages are currently as follows:
Lake: 31.7 percent below 2006 (2,913 homes sold in 2007 compared to 4,266 in 2006);
Orange: 41.3 percent below 2006 (9,266 homes sold in 2007 compared to 15,799 in 2006); Osceola: 46.5 percent below 2006 (2,523 homes sold in 2007 compared to 4,712 in 2006); Seminole: 36.2 percent below 2006 (3,992 homes sold in 2007 compared to 6,253 in 2006).

"Focus and Change" key to a successful 2008 at Amerivest Realty Orlando

2007 changed the real estate industry in Central Florida like never before. Many companies won’t be doing business in 2008 and the rest will be looking closely at their entire business to survive, as agents scramble to search for the best company for which to hang their licenses.
Amerivest Realty of Central Florida is making the necessary changes to adapt to the needs and wants of the agents in the Central Florida market. Mark Eller President and CEO will unveil several exciting compensation changes to the traditional 100% compensation program beginning January 1, 2008. The new 100% & More program offers agents with Amerivest Realty of Central Florida 100% commissions along with a complete support and basic technology package which includes e-amerivest.com, Amerivest Realty’s back office on-line system of technology that agents use daily in their business. Agents can then pick from an entire list of technological features that best fits their needs including custom web sites, Seller’s Advantage unlimited Narrated Virtual Tours and more at affordable prices, or they can combine services saving even more. The new 100% &More will also feature a new lower cap on what agents pay the office in transaction fees each year. That cap has been lowered to only $5,000.00. Amerivest Realty Orlando has also added a top producer program called “Fast Track 100”, where for one payment of only $500.00 per month, agents enjoy every support and technology feature offered by Amerivest Realty Orlando along with all monthly membership, transaction and E&O fees.
Maybe the most visible change Amerivest Realty of Central Florida will make in 2008 is the addition of a Lake Mary office. Scheduled to open in February, Amerivest Realty Lake Mary will concentrate its marketing efforts on the entire Lake Mary area including of course Lake Mary, Sanford, Altamonte Springs, Longwood and areas in between. Amerivest Realty Lake Mary will display the top communities of this growing market, which was featured in Money Magazine as the number one place to live in the South and forth in the entire United States in the “Community Profile” portion of the ARLakeMary.com homepage. Amerivest Realty will also create an ARWinterPark.com home page which will include the market segments of Winter Park, Maitland, Oviedo, Casselberry, Winter Springs, Waterford Lakes, East Orlando and surrounding areas.
The new Lake Mary office is part of the unique 3000 sq. ft concept of Cosmopolitan Title owner, Nicole Daruszka. Nicole’s idea will combine the single stop convenience of Real Estate sales, title closings, insurance and mortgage etc., with a full service coffee café and business center. The Central Florida real estate industry will be invited to join their clients at the Cosmopolitan Café to enjoy one of the many hot or cold coffee style drinks, while they search for homes using the wireless internet system. The inviting, upscale New York loft style café will also offer a variety of business services to its customers such as color copies, over night shipping and a private conference area for groups of up to 25, featuring the latest in big screen presentation technology. On weekends, the café will transform into a multi-media gallery for local artists to feature their works. The dream of the Cosmopolitan Café, located at 3256 Lake Mary Blvd. in the Legacy Business Center, is not only for the use by the real estate industry, but for the Lake Mary civic community to view the café as a destination to bring community leaders together in a casual but upscale venue, to discuss and respond to the important issues of the residents of Lake Mary.