Windermere is an idyllic town just soutwest of Orlando nestled between the world famous Butler Chain-of-Lakes, one of the most pristine group of lakes in all of Florida.  For decades a home on the Chain has been highly sought after by people from all walks of life.  The variety of homes range from small fishing cottages built in the early part of the last century to huge lakefront mansions nestled behind gate guarded country clubs including Isleworth and Keene's Point.  The lakes offer a variety of year round pleasures and property values have traditionally outpaced similiar non-lakefront properties.  Even in the current market these lakefront homes continue to hold their value compared to other properties.  Having sold homes in the Windermere area for many years, I sold a Lake Butler w... 07/18/2008

The following are the market sales statistics for Windermere, Orange County, Florida for June 2008.  Windermere is made up of the zip code 34786.  For purposes of this analysis we are only splitting the data according to single-family homes vs, condominiums, townhomes and villas. There needs to be a disclaimer here.  These stats are only as good as telling us what it being purchased and happening at a certain period in time.  Additionally, it needs to be fully understood that not only is real estate local, but it is hyper-local.  What this means is that the trends that we hear about are overall.  Let's put it this way, what's happening in one neighborhood may not be realized in the neighborhood next door.  It is all relative and this has to be understood when utilizing these stats.   S... 07/12/2008

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The following are the market sales statistics for Windermere, Orange County, Florida for May 2008.  Windermere is made up of the zip code 34786.  For purposes of this analysis we are only splitting the data according to single-family homes vs, condominiums, townhomes and villas. There needs to be a disclaimer here.  These stats are only as good as telling us what it being purchased and happening at a certain period in time.  Additionally, it needs to be fully understood that not only is real estate local, but it is hyper-local.  What this means is that the trends that we hear about are overall.  Let's put it this way, what's happening in one neighborhood, may not be realized in the neighborhood next door.  It is all relative and this has to be understood when utilizing these stats. Sin... 06/14/2008

WOW! What an incredible day! This has been one of the busiest I have ever had - and that is saying something!! So it started early with me negotiating on behalf of my sellers with a buyers agent. That one is still on going, but we are now just $15,000 apart on a $300,000+ deal. I hope we can make it. Then I went off for a breakfast meeting with some clients who through my assistant yesterday, looked at 10 properties. We went through all the pros and cons and then went out and looked at another three. Then I headed home - having assured my wife on the phone that I was just about done. I got home at 2.30 and then my phone rang. Someone who I had shown property to yesterday, wanted to make a lease purchase offer on it. So first of all there is the 45 minute telephone explanation and then t... 06/08/2008

Most of the time you take your clients out in a car and sometimes you need a boat. My clients are purchasing a home on the lake so I will take them thru the chain of lakes to view the lake side of the house. I will be gone all day working on my tan.  I tell you the sacrifices I make for the career and my clients.  www.Orlando-Homes-4-Sale.com   05/29/2008

Recently came across this information thought some of you might find it interesting. The Senate Banking Committee has just passed the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008 by an overwhelming and bipartisan vote of 19-2. Buried in the proposed legislation is something new and revolutionary, an effort to stop mortgage walk-aways. Walk-aways arise when a borrower can no longer make monthly mortgage payments or sell the property. Rather than wait for foreclosure, the borrower simply sends the keys back to the lender. This is not a minor matter. Fitch Ratings reports that "the apparent willingness of borrowers to 'walk away' from mortgage debt has contributed to extraordinarily high levels of early default, which is particularly noticeable in the 2007 vintage mortgages." Unfo... 05/27/2008

I have all my clients get their mortgages ready first before we start viewing homes.  Everyone is prequalified including my 2 dogs.  I get that approval letter in hand.  The sellers have choosen my last 2 offers because my clients were ready to close.  Everyone is happy.  www.Orlando-Homes-4-Sale.com 05/24/2008

Windermere is a city that is next to Orlando.  Why does this city sound so familiar? Could it be that Arnold Palmer and the Bay Hill Classic is played there or people like Tiger Woods and Shaq live there or its just around the block from the entertainment fun areas of Disney World, Buena Vista, Universal Studios and EPCOT.  A very nice place to live with excellent access to Orlando and the Airport. You can find a beautiful home in a great neighborhood.  Relocate to Windermere.  www.Orlando-Homes-4-Sale.com 05/17/2008

Deciding how much house you can afford Before you start house hunting, you need to determine how much house you can afford, which will entail getting either prequalified or preapproved for a home loan. A real estate agent can help you find a mortgage broker to begin the process. While getting preapproved is a more in-depth process, a preapproval letter lets both real estate agents and sellers know that you're a serious shopper who means business. What do I do to get prequalified? A prequalification can be done online or over the phone and does not require your submitting financial documents. You will be asked to provide basic information about your finances - for instance, your household income versus your debt load. With this information, the lender will estimate what your maximum loa... 05/16/2008

I just don't understand the course we're on. Since when is it OK to just walk away from your responsibilities when things don't work out the way you wanted them to? Many people treated their homes like a day-trade on the stock market. Now that their ‘gamble' isn't working out, they seek government bailouts (not unlike their lenders and mortgage companies at my expense as a taxpayer) or the ability to just walk off into the sunset to live a carefree stress-free life. What about all the people that WERE responsible, who didn't wipe out every penny of their equity, who didn't run out buying three and four condos, who lived within their means? Why is it now our responsibility to bail these clowns out? It's just not right. I find myself having a hard time feeling sorry for all these people,... 05/14/2008

The following are the market sales statistics for Windermere, Orange County, Florida for April 2008.  Windermere is made up of the zip code 34786.  For purposes of this analysis we are only splitting the data according to single-family homes vs, condominiums, townhomes and villas. 34786 - Single-Family Homes 23 homes sold during the month of April. The average sales price, which is the total sold volume divided by the number of homes sold is $657,285 with a 156 days on the market. The median sales price, which means that 50% of the homes sold for more and 50% of the homes sold for less, is $495,000. The most expensive home sold for $2.1M and was on the market for 138 days.  It was a 5 bedroom, 5½ bath 5181sf golffront home with a 3+-car garage, a heated swimming pool and spa built in 1... 05/11/2008

"I'm Mad as Hell ... and I'm not going to take it anymore." That's a quote from the movie Network, from 1976... Great Clip from that movie is below. Ya know, I’m tired of the Media slamming this market and saying how bad it is. If the media would just put a positive spin on things once in a while I think we’d all be better off. I recently heard that 1 out of 538 homes are in some sort of foreclosure in Florida and the media makes it sound like the world is coming to an end. OK, let’s do the math. 1 divided by 538 = .18587 I interpret that as .2% that means 99.8% of the market is not in foreclosure. We should be cheering. Anyway, this is how I feel today about the media. Watch the video and enjoy. 04/28/2008

 The following are the market sales statistics for Windermere, Orange County, Florida for March 2008.  Windermere is made up of the zip code 34786.  For purposes of this analysis we are only splitting the data according to single-family homes vs, condominiums, townhomes and villas.34786 - Single-Family Homes31 homes sold during the month of March.The average sales price, which is the total sold volume divided by the number of homes sold is $897,476 with 188 days on the market.The median sales price, which means that 50% of the homes sold for more and 50% of the homes sold for less, is $640,000.The most expensive home sold for $3.8M and was on the market for 692 days.  It was a 8 bedroom, 8 full and 2 half bath 7985sf lakefront home with a 4-car garage, a screen enclosed heated swimming ... 04/14/2008

 The following are the market sales statistics for Windermere, Orange County, Florida for February 2008.  Windermere is made up of the zip code 34786.  For purposes of this analysis we are only splitting the data according to single-family homes vs, condominiums, townhomes and villas.34786 - Single-Family Homes26 homes sold during the month of February.The average sales price, which is the total sold volume divided by the number of homes sold is $880,272.The median sales price, which means that 50% of the homes sold for more and 50% of the homes sold for less, is $460,000.The most expensive home sold for $3,265,000 and was on the market for 417 days.  It was a 5 bedroom, 6 full and 3 half bath 6207sf home with a 3+-car garage, a heated swimming pool and spa built in 2006 on .93 acres of... 03/11/2008

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Luxury Homes, Global Reach Sotheby's International Realty® brokerages take great pride in using considerable experience, resources, and global connections to artfully unite extraordinary properties with extraordinary lives. Born of the storied auction house, we continue to provide exceptional service and astute valuation for many of the world's finest and most luxurious homes.  Exquisite Homes A network of offices to assist you locally and globally A team of associates with knowledge of their local markets A web site that displays property listings from around the world    02/23/2008

Finally, SOLD This Puppy Today. Jerry LaRose | Keller Williams Classic Realty | jerry@jerrylarose.com | 407-580-7011 5011 Coveview Dr., Saint Cloud, FL PRE-FORECLOSURE, PRICE REDUCED FOR QUICK SALE and/or SELLER WILL CONSIDER LEASE PURCHASE. Never occupied. Like-New in Gated community. Engle Home King 4 Bdrm Single Family House offered at $499,900 Year Built 2005 Sq Footage 3,310 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 3 full, 1 partial Floors 2 Parking 3 Car garage Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $58 per month DESCRIPTION PRE-FORECLOSURE, PRICE REDUCED FOR QUICK SALE and/or SELLER WILL CONSIDER LEASE PURCHASE. Never occupied. Like-New in Gated community. Engle Home Kingston Plus Model. Granite counters, Stainless Steel upgraded appliances, 18x18 tile, downstairs Mastersuite, premium WATERFRONT lot with vi... 02/21/2008

The Flood Mapping for Orange County will go into effect March 2009 ( Provided there are no appeals or protests). It is going to be interesting to find out what new areas are going to added to the Flood Map causing a large number of resident to be forced to purchase Flood Insurance. Large number of residents in other Florida counties that just recently had their Flood Map revised are contacted by their mortgage company to purchase coverage. It is going to be interesting! 02/16/2008

Windermere Market Update for January 2008:16 Single Family Homes were Sold; 1 Condo; 4 TownhomesThe most Expensive home was $9,000,000 at ISLEWORTHThe least expensive was $240,000 at Summerport. High        11343 Sqft         Listing Price $9,000,000       SOLD PRICE - $9,000,000      Days on Market   506 Low         1428 Sqft                              $192,176                                 $184,600                              15Average   3535 Sqft                             $1,228,257                               $1,180,098                           162Median    3024 Sqft                               $400,000                                 $386,990                             102 O4810753 SLD $192,176 13734 LENSDALE LANE 4 2/1 1,640 $192,176 01/15/08 O4807429 SLD $198,900 747... 02/13/2008