MLS#  O4996365  415 RIDGE VIEW DR, DAVENPORT FL 33837  $162,000

Exterior Front	Great Room
Kitchen	Kitchen
Master Bedroom	Bedroom 2
Other	Exterior Back
Exterior Back	View

Desirable conservation lot home with privacy and tranquility at your fingertips.  Well maintained and nicely decorated, this home offers value and pride of ownership.  A must see!  Two bedrooms and a den, plus eat-in kitchen with plenty of space, lanai overlooking private backyard. Active Adult Community with resident-owned clubhouse, htd, pool, & spa, tennis, shuffleboard, bocce ball, arts & crafts, library, ballroom, fitness, pub & game room. Close to shopping at Posner Park, Disney, Sea World, Universal and east and west coast beaches, as well as, within a mile of Hospital and grocery shopping.  GREAT LOCATION to be in!

For the latest status on this property and many more in the Davenport area, contact Steve Glose with Keller Williams Realty direct at 407-616-7286 or visit www.thefloridalivingteam.com. For a faster reply you can also email me at steve@thefloridalivingteam.com. U.K callers dial: 020-3239-7286. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed on the date posted.

Visit www.hunterscreekhomevalues.com or www.hunterscreekhomesforsale.com for information on all properties for sale in  Hunters Creek Orlando.

Walt Disney Co. plans to unveil Wednesday its first foray into residential real estate in more than a decade with a pricey vacation-home development in Florida’s Walt Disney World.

It’s a risky move. Disney will offer homes priced between $1.5 million and $8 million in a state where the foreclosure rate remains among the nation’s highest. In Orlando, where brokers say home values have dropped between 50% and 60% from the peak, Disney’s pricing would put its homes near the top of the market. According to Realtor.com, the average price of new listings in greater Orlando this year is just over $243,000.

But Disney believes the market for luxury homes is rebounding. Despite adding wine-tasting events and VIP park tours in recent years, “The affluent market is an area where we haven’t offered a lot of product,” says Matt Kelly, vice president of Disney resort real-estate development.

The proposed 980-acre Golden Oak development, most recently two golf courses within the 40 square miles of Disney’s Orlando theme parks, is expected to eventually encompass 450 homes and a 445-room Four Seasons hotel.

The hotel will sit in the center of the development, to the south and east of one of the original golf courses, which will be updated.

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Disney

It could be risky, as Florida’s foreclosure rates remain among the nation’s highest. Disney’s pricing would put its homes near the top of the market. At left, the gatehouse at the entrance of Golden Oak.

Plans also call for a clubhouse, parks and pedestrian walkways, with wetlands and other conservation area comprising about half the project’s acreage.

Golden Oak will test whether Walt Disney World is compelling enough for the well-heeled to buy a home there instead of in other family-friendly resort towns. But the test will be a limited one: Fewer than 30 lots will be available for sale this year, with the first homes expected to be finished in 2011. The timing and scale of a second phase that may offer fully-built homes remains undecided. Disney declined to reveal its investment in the project.

“This may be the first time that a kind of man-made entertainment center has generated that kind of real-estate activity,” says Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, the dean of architecture at the University of Miami. Her town-planning ideas influenced Disney’s first home development, called Celebration. She is not involved in Golden Oak.

Lots will be offered in sizes from a quarter to three-quarters of an acre. Though buyers can hire their own architects, Disney requires they hire builders, choose from exterior building material and adhere to architectural styles that it has approved.

Celebration, a 4,900-acre development adjacent to Disney’s Orlando theme parks, was touted in the mid-1990s as a new model of small-town living. The pedestrian-oriented, primary-home community was designed to be economically diverse, with apartments renting for $600 a month near single-family homes, which started at $185,000 and went up to $4 million.

About 6,000 homes have been sold in Celebration, Disney’s Mr. Kelly says. Disney owns some commercial acreage in the town and is involved with commercial development there, but now has a fairly hands-off relationship with Celebration day-to-day, he adds. Pat Wasson, Celebration’s executive director, agrees with the characterization.

The Disney connection hasn’t immunized Celebration from slumps. The median value of homes in the town as of April 2010 was $191,500, according to real-estate data provider Zillow.com, down nearly 60% from the peak four years earlier.

Early reaction to the project appears mixed. “I think it will be successful, knowing the attention Disney puts into its projects,” says Roger Soderstrom, owner of Orlando luxury-home broker Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, adding that the location and access to entertainment would be hard to beat.

Miami architect Terence Riley says: “Much of the discussion about Celebration when it was built was that it had this idealistic notion that small towns were the best model, and that in small towns you could not have gated communities and economic segregation.” Golden Oak, he adds, “seems like they are stepping a bit back from that.”

“We don’t really relate it at all to what we did at Celebration,” Mr. Kelly says, adding that Golden Oak is different from Celebration because it’s a resort community meant to offer a new way to experience Disney World, not a primary-home development. “I think by any measure Celebration was a tremendous success,” he adds.

Discussions for a luxury-home project began around 2005 when planners for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts began to discuss whether the two golf courses might be better off being redeveloped. Golf courses within and near Disney World are abundant. At about the same time, the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts , which had long wanted a location in Orlando because of its draw as a theme park and convention destination, approached Disney about opening a hotel near its theme parks.

Disney estimates Golden Oak could take eight to 10 years to complete. Buyers interested in the first lots must deposit $25,000 to be placed on a sales reservation-list.

We often get asked if it is important to have a game room as part of a vacation home property. The answer to this is simple, yes. While it may not be a requirement to have a vacation home is certainly adds to the overall rental ability of a property that has a game room.

Consider that most vacationer’s who are renting will travel with children or young adults. There will be days during their Walt Disney vacation that they will want to rest and relax at the vacation home. Having a room designated for games will help keep the kids entertained as well as enhance their stay at your Orlando vacation property.

You should consider games for all ages. When purchasing toys for children under 6, make sure they are safe for that age group. Video games are great for young teens but keep the selection of games family friendly. Remember that the Adults are on vacation as well so having a pool table or dart board will enhance their experience as well.

Most owners will use the garage space as a place for the game room. Make this area as comfortable as possible by adding outdoor carpeting to the floor, painting the walls, use fun posters or sports memorabilia to decorate, add extra lighting. All this can be done very inexpensively and you will see the returns from better rentals and higher rental rates.

A game room may make the difference for a renter who is looking for the overall vacation experience.  By adding games to your vacation property you will stand out from all the other rental properties. If the vacationers are happy staying at your property, they will most likely  come back to your property in the future and recommend your home to family and friends.

The final numbers for 2009 are in and as expected the overall results were quite positive for the Orlando area Real Estate market. We saw a 59.31% increase in sales over the same period for 2008, The inventory of homes dropped by 25% , the number of properties under contract more than doubled, the average days on market decreased to under 90 day.  There are all positive indicators that show the housing market trying to correct itself and recover.  We are in no means out of the woods just yet. Banks are predicting 2010 to be another big year for foreclosures as 5 year arm loans written in 2005 become due. Another factor that may affect this recovery is that the local unemployment rate is hovering around 11.8% as of November 2009 which is a big jump from the same period in 2008 of 7.4%. Mortgage rates are also a key factor in the market recovery. Currently mortgage rates are holding at 5.0% – 5.25%. Low rates are allowing first time home buyers to enter the market where several years ago they were unable due to higher rates and high home prices.

Lower inventories of homes should help stabilize property prices for 2010 as long as there is not a big influx of bank owned or foreclosure properties. This will be decided by the banks as they are now watching inventory levels to see when is the best time to list bank properties for sale.

Investors and second home / vacation home buyers will play a key role in the Orlando market for 2010. Over 25% of all transactions in the State of Florida were from outside the country. Foreign National Buyers see Florida as a great investment and should continue to purchase in 2010 as prices remain at or below current market prices.  We should expect 2010 to play out the same as 2009 as long as there is no new major economic shift.  Buyers should take advantage of the current market and purchase before the shift in foreclosures begins to decrease. The inventory of these properties is still very good. As these numbers decrease so will the quality of the foreclosures. Make 2010 the year you purchase your first home or a vacation property.

2010 is here so what does the Real Estate outlook for Central Florida look like for the coming year. We can expect pretty much the same as 2009. With all 5 year ARM loans coming due, we can expect a fresh round of foreclosures for the year.  The American Banking Association (ABA) is expecting 1.9 million foreclosures for 2010 slightly up from 2009.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors expects 2010 to be another favorable year for home buyer as market conditions and tax credits are boosting home sales throughout the country. First time home buyer $8000 tax credit was extended to April 30^th so we can expect the first quarter for the year to be very busy with buyers looking to take advantage of this tax credit.

The vacation home market which was hit the hardest with foreclosures is seeing many bargain hunters and investors looking to take advantage of this segment of the housing market. For Central Florida this is no exception. Vacation homes around the Walt Disney area were hit hard with foreclosures as many owners saw their property values plummet on high price properties that were purchased during the boom years. With values cut almost in half, vacation properties are seeing many international buyers come into the market who had passed on properties during the peak years of home sales.

Overall we can expect a steady stream of foreclosures for 2010 making the year another banner year for home buyers. Tax credits and favorable pricing will drive the sales throughout 2010. While inventory will be steady buyers can also expect competition from investors looking to pick up hot foreclosure properties.

As the Florida summer begins and the housing market continues to heat up, it should also be noted that the Sterling hit an 8 month high at the end of June at just over 1.6715 against the U.S. dollar. This is fantastic news for U.K. vacation home buyers looking to pick up foreclosure deals here in Florida. We only need to look back a few months to see the Sterling trading around 1.41 against the dollar.  

The positive data is showing that the U.K. housing market is starting to rebound and that the investors are pulling out of the safe haven of the U.S. dollar to look for higher yielding investments. The stronger pound allows U.K. Buyers to refinance their properties back home to purchase investments here in the U.S.  

The Euro is also seeing some strength against the Dollar but is still under pressure as the areas that encompass the Euro are still vulnerable and investors are weary as these markets may have not reached bottom yet. The strength of the pound will lead the way for both the Euro and the Dollar in the coming months. A strong pound may keep both these currencies low which will mean opportunity for U.K. buyers that are looking to purchase properties here in Florida.

The Florida Association of Realtors reports that the median price for Single Family homes in May 2009 was $144,400. This is an increase of 4.3% from April which was $138,500. While this increase does not show a trend, it is a positive indicator that home prices are starting to stabilize. We would need several months of stable prices to show a market shift in the housing sector.

Home sales have posted year over year improvements as sales totaled 13,921 which is a 16% improvement over May, 2008. This increase mark’s nine straight months of sales increases year over year. Bottom line is if a home buyer is still sitting on the fence, they may want to seriously consider jumping in the housing market while prices are at bottom.

In other news the British Pound has been showing a strong increase over the Dollar. This is helping U.K. Buyers who are looking to purchase homes here in Central Florida. Along with the stronger currency, U.K banks have some of the best interest rates in history ranging around 5% for those who can get refinanced. Low rates and strong pound will allow more U.K. buyers to purchase vacation homes here in Central Florida.

It was a one-way-street for Sterling in May. Continuing the trend of late April, from a low of $1.44, it motored ahead – sometimes steamed ahead – to finish the month at $1.60, the year’s highest close. Sterling’s gains amounted to 11% for the month and a staggering 18% from the lows we witnessed in December.  So, why the apparent change of heart? The Pound collapsed as the UK continued to decrease interest rates. Although the US was doing the same, the UK rates had further to fall and investors looked to the Dollar as a safe haven. This no longer rings true as the US currency is once again forced to rely on its own merits, rather than the failure or danger of others.
 
This brings us to the million-dollar-question: Buy dollars now? Or wait for them to become cheaper? Sterling’s recovery thus far has been, to a large extent, a function of its previous destruction. It was too expensive above $2.05 and too cheap at $1.35. The happy medium is somewhere in between… but where? Logic suggests it is somewhere above $1.70.  Sure, if you do have Dollars to buy, it is possible you may be able get them more cheaply. However, Sterling is not immune to a potential collapse in this market, so use caution.

In an effort to help boost their in state attendance, Walt Disney World is offering a new discount to bring in more locals to their resort. Times are tough for everyone and the Walt Disney World resort is no exception. With park attendance lagging 5% for the last quarter ending December 27, 2008, Disney is looking for ways to increase admission for Florida residence.

The offer which begins February 1 and ends May 20 is for 2 one day, one park passes for $99. This is 1/3rd off the regular ticket price that would normally be charged. There are a few limitations for the tickets such as blackout dates from April 4th thru the 18th. The tickets must be used within 14 days of each other or by May 21st, whichever comes first.

Orlando’s other theme parks are also offering special discounts to Florida residence. Sea World is offering a “Fun Card” which gets you access to their park for a full year with the purchase of a regular 1 day pass. Universal Studios is offering a 2 park pass good for unlimited admission until December 19th. So if you are a local resident looking for a good deal to get into the parks, now is a great time to check out the special discounts being offered.

The Senate has approved a new tax credit for home buyers that should be a big help to jump-start the housing market. As part of the Economic Stimulus Bill, home buyers of a primary residence will receive a tax credit of $15,000 or 10 percent of the cost of the home. This is a huge incentive for home buyers that should be an additional plus along with low interest rates and affordable home prices. This bill does have an up hill battle as the House of Representatives has yet to pass a similar package. This may take a few weeks to pass and anything can change on the final bill.

 This new tax credit will replace the old $7500 credit that was available for new Home Buyers. This is a positive move forward for the Senate and one that should show Home Buyers that now is the time to make that home purchase. Buyers have still been reluctant to make the move. With this new credit it is difficult to understand why buyers are not jumping for joy to buy homes. Along with the credit, interest rates are at historic lows. This alone should have buyers running to find a home to buy.