First, I do not have any condo listings so I am not in to profit on this answer. Condo sales are suffering because the economy is suffering. Actual sales are down significantly. Now is a good time to get a good deal, but you have to look in the right place, at the right time. Good things come to those who wait...

If you like the condo why noy make an offer? It is perfectly acceptable, but many buyers are not aware of that, or better yet get yourself a good Realtor who can negotiate for you.

Hi Steve. My husband and I have been looking at condos in Mount Dora over the past six months. We have seen only a few sell and those were units we were not interested in. Some of the units that have sold in the past were snapped up by realtors. They do a little remodeling, up the price and put them back on the market. Even though Mount Dora is a quaint little town, we feel the condo market is still over-priced at this time. A lot of the units have been on the market for more than a year due to high asking prices. I truly believe if owners would price the units down 20% to coincide with the market of today, they would sell. I own a home in Polk County, FL and in 2006 it was worth 20% more than it is if sold today. I'm renting it....for now. I think the market will remain stale at least through this year and into next. As much as I would like to purchase the condo we have seen, I will not pay what the owner wants for it. I can appreciate that the owner lived in it for several years and feels it is worth X dollars, but it is only worth what the market will bear.

Just click on the "contact me" link under the picture in my profile. My last name begins with a R.

Hi Dave,

Again I appologize to the community too for this off the subject post but,
I cannot find your link.
What is your last name? and link so we can stop posting off the subject here.

I know this is off topic so I apoligize to the community in advance. Signe, I don't suppose your last name used to begin with an "S", did it? If so, send me an e mail from my profile link. I think I may know you.

What is the asking price and what area is it in?

There is a great home available in the historic district of Mt Dora. The inside is an empty shell and would likely require about 50k of work to be done, but once finished it would be quite the show piece. It has beautiful architecural lines, and is constructed of original coal fired brick. It even has the original Porte cochere.

Hi Ed
Yes all watersports.

Hi Signe,
Thanks for the info. The town sounds pretty cool. One more question. Does Lake Dora allow watersports (wakeboarding, jetski's etc?), or is it just a fishing lake?

Hi Ed

From Mount Dora to downtown Orlando is about 35 minutes. From Mount Dora to Walt Disney World
with the new 429 extension toll road is about 35 minutes. I take the 429 all the time to the attractions.
I commute to Maitland which is about 5 miles north of Downtown Orlando and 22 miles each way from my home. Not sure what part of California you are from but, Mount Dora is alot like Folsom or Carmichael
in Northern California .Well it reminds me of that anyway and without the horrible traffic that Southern California has. The town has a local population of 11,000 .

We were featured on Christmas Accross America on HGTV For our Christmas decorations and lighted boat parades. Like someting out of a movie when you walk in our town during Christmas. We have 2 art festivals a year and lots of antique shops. We have local run not chain restaurants in town and if you like chain restaurants they are not far outside of downtown. Lake Dora is huge and the drive around the lake to the stores I shop at is beautiful. As you can see from my profile I am selling my home. Just so you know I am not trying to over sell you on Mount dora, I will be staying in the city when it sells. Hope that helps. If I can answer any more questions let me know .

Hi Signe, Please tell me more about Mt. Dora. We are considering a second home in Florida. Something in a quiet area, but commutable to the major attractions (Disney etc.) What's the commute from Mt Dora to Orlando?

If you wish to purchase a condo in Mt Dora, and there are quite a few I would be happy to assist you. I live in town and know of the nicest lettle spots to reside. contact me at meverett@stirlingsir.com.

I think your best bet in this market for Mount Dora is to consider resale single family. There are alot of conversions to "condo" that were once apartments here in Mount Dora. Alot of the homes in the city proper of Mount Dora are comparable in size and in sales value. The city is quiet but, has some tourisim driven events. Advantages of single family in city proper Mount Dora , no hoa's, twice weekly trash pick up, great response to citizens needs from the local officals. As an example, Check out MLS: G4624719 on http://www.realtor.com. using advanced search zip code is 32757.Take the virtual tour. 1398sqft, 3/2/2 one owner, custom built by member of Mount Dora planning commission. Parade of homes winner for detail and design. $179,900 as of 5/6/08. No I am not a realtor .

Hi Steve and Joan,

I am a real estate consultant and primarily an investor. The market has greatly picked up in the last 4 to 5 weeks. The Mount Dora market is a higher priced market due to the unique market place with more than 3,000,000 visitors per year. I could give you more demographics and specific sales data if you like. Thank you in advance for the opportunity of serving you. I can be reached directly at 352-267-7758. Thank you, Michelle Maddy

Hi Steve and Joan,

I understand your frustration. Your concerns have gone unanswered & this is part of the reason for the slowdown in the market. Buyers don't understand what is happening in the market and they are reluctant to buy. I have pulled up the following information that may put things in a better perspective for you.

There are currently 54 Mount Dora Condos, Villas, and Townhomes on the market. Three are under contract, and during the past 6 months, 5 have sold and in the past 12 months, 12 have sold.

Here is a breakdown on the current solds:

List: $240, 000 - Sold $207,000 - Days on Market 298 - Listing/Sale Price Ratio - 86.25% - This listing was originally priced at $298,000.

List: $149,000 - Sold $144,000 - Days on Market 65 - Listing/Sale Price Ratio - 96.32%

List $185,000 - Sold $165,000 - Days on Market 304 - Listing/Sale Price Ratio - 89.19% - This listing originally priced at $195,000

List: $159,500 - Sold $145,000 - Days on Market 508 - Listing/Sale Price Ratio 90.62% - This listing originally priced at $227,500

List $185,000 - Sold $165,000 - Days on Market 304 - Listing/Sale Price Ratio 89.19% - This listing was originally priced at $195,000

Most of the active listings fall in the $100-200,000 range right now. The listing that sold in only 65 days was priced correctly to begin with. The homes that sat on the market a year or more were grossly overpriced.. Yet, in spite of it all, they still mostly sold at an 89-90% ratio of list price to sale price. Had the homes been priced reasonably to begin with, they probably would have sold more quickly, and typically at a higher price. This is because a Buyer normally will think that because the home has been on the market so long, the owners are more desperate to sell, so they offer less or nothing at all. Unfortunately for the Sellers, because there are so many choices in a reasonable price range, Buyers go for those homes first and may never make it to look at the higher priced listings. The longer a listing sits on the market, the more it is stigmatized.

The 5 homes shown above sold at much lower prices in previous sales. I could speculate that the owners saw the hot market and hoped to cash in on the frenzy by pricing them high. For instance, the home above that was listed at $159,500, and sold for $145,000 after 508 days, was originally listed at $227,500, but the owners of that home paid only $113,000 in February of 2004. They still made a profit when it finally sold 1-1/2 years later, but they did not double their profit as they had hoped.

While the National Association of Realtors statistics are showing an overall loss in values over the last two years, they are showing considerable gains over the last five years in many areas of Florida. I am finding that to be the case locally. The owners of the homes I have sold in the last two years have made tidy profits, as long as they purchased their homes two or more years prior, and did not overpay for theirs homes when they bought them. The St. Pete area was one of the markets that saw rapid escalation in prices in 2004 and 2005. In fact, at one point Sarasota had the highest rise in prices in the State of Florida. If you were to analyze the sales of the last 2 years, I am sure you would also find that anyone selling a home that they purchased pre-2004, can still make a little profit off of those sales.

We are actually entering a more realistic phase for home sales. Five years ago, a typical increase of values in the area were about 5-7% per year overall. Some of the quaint, nicely located Mount Dora homes saw a higher increase, but that was a good average. We also saw marketing time averages more in the 6-12 month range before homes sold. All of the frenzy we experienced in the market has created unrealistic expectations on both the part of the Sellers and Buyers, I am afraid. Mount Dora condos were also in short supply pre-2004, so the recent building created an over-supply.

You should really choose someone to work with that you feel comfortable with and whom you feel you can trust. Take a look at what is available, then look at the comparable sales for your choices. Certainly make a lower offer, if you feel it is not reasonably priced. If homes are selling at 90% of list to sell, and you feel it is priced right, make an offer of 90% or less of the list price.

Remember, this is now your time - it is a Buyer's market. The advantages of buying now are on your side. Prices are coming down, interest rates are phenomenal and Sellers are more motivated. Once sales start to move up, the prices will rise, and so will the rates. If the rates were to increase just 1% from 7% to 8%, that would result in a monthly increase in payments of $136.92 on a $100,000 home, over a period of 30 years! That amounts to $49,290 over the life of the loan!

Call me if I can help you in any way.

Steve and Joan,

Your question is an excellent one. You are quite observant.

Real Estate markets are local in nature. Having said that, I am located approximately 2 hours from Mt/ Dora, in Brevard County. Our area is experiencing the same thing. Condos are staying on the market for an extended period of time.

In January 2008 our Board of Realtors reported a 42.39% decrease in the number of condo units sold from Jan 08 vs Dec 07. And there was a 33.33% decrease in year to date units sold from 2008 vs. 2007. Only about 10% of the units available for sale are currently selling each month. So, we have an 11 month supply of units available for sale.

Condos are not for everyone. Different complexes typically target a different type of buyer, thus there are less buyers for them than single family homes.

I think that since many of the lenders have tightened their lending guidelines, buyers are finding that qualifying for a mortgage is becoming increasingly difficult. When purchasing a condo, lenders must take into consideration the monthly association fees in reviewing a buyers ratios. Thus, the buyer is able to purchase less home for their money. I just don't know today, how many buyers are in a position to do that.

Here, in some areas we are seeing condo complexes in which there has not been a single sale in over 6 to 9 months. And some units are taking well over a year to sell. The rest are falling by the wayside. I think, too, some owners are still trying to hold out for yesterday's price, which are a thing of the past.

I am not familiar with the market you are considering. But, we certainly are experiencing the trend you described.

You are very sharp,
Sandy Shores

Steve and Joan,

This is just a general answer to your question. A homeowner may list with an agent for a short period of time, therefore you may see the property on the market, price reductions and then the listing period ends. It may come on the market again with a different agent, or the initial strategy was to withdraw the condo for a period of time with the original agent.

If the listing does not sell, the Realtor takes a loss.
Personally, I do not take an overpriced listing. In this market, it may be priced right to begin with, but there may be other factors involved e.g., condition and location that does not make the property competitive with others on the market.

Some properties are just not going to sell. You say that you are "communicating with Realtors, but do not know who stands to profit directly is the best source of information". So who should you ask? Your neighbor, or a mechanic?

A Realtor is a Professional. That's why we get paid for our services. This is what we do for a living. Remember, that we take a huge RISK when entering into a listing agreement with a home owner. If the property doesn't sell, we are out a lot of money, and time which could have been spent on other clients.

We only get paid at closing, when the home sells. There are not too many other professions that I know of who spend months and not get paid. They certainly don't profit from those situation.

Good luck.