Our April realtor of the month is Pam Bozkurt, owner and broker of Gosselin Realty. Pam Bozkurt provides the monthly real estate market updates for Apopka and Ocoee, FL. Gosselin Realty is located in Winter Garden, Florida and specializes in communities of Ocoee, Winter Garden, Windermere, Apopka, Gotha, and Oakland, as well as some areas of West Orange County Florida.

If you are in search of a new home in Orlando, now is a great time to buy! Gosselin Realty has over nineteen years of experience in the real estate market and will help you whether you are looking to buy, sell, or even lease residential or commercial property. Reach out to Pam and her team at Gosselin Realty for all of your real estate needs. 

If you haven’t heard already, Lennar has partnered with Amazon to make Alexa standard in every new home. Each Lennar home will include built-in Wi-Fi, smart locks, doorbells, thermostats and lights – all controlled by the voice-activated assistant. This roll out comes shortly after the merge of Lennar and CalAtlantic, now making Lennar the largest homebuilder in the nation and more accessible to millions of homebuyers. Customers currently have the opportunity to experience the Alexa smart home environment with Amazon Experience Centers at select Lennar communities in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC with more markets to come.

While experiencing Alexa in a real home environment, you’ll have the opportunity to discover the benefits of using the digital assistant first hand. Features of Alexa include putting your home on auto-pilot with “good morning” and “good night” routines, ordering household essentials, scheduling home services, notifications for doorbells, entries, exits and more. Included in the flagship Amazon Experience Centers are the latest smart home products for lighting, locks, entertainment, sprinklers, shades, car chargers and so much more.

With Lennar being the first home builder to implement Amazon Alexa as a standard feature, it seems like a safe assumption that we’ll see a rise in demand for Alexa smart home solutions in new home communities across the country.  This may open a larger door for Amazon to dominate the market for digital voice-activated assistants and custom solutions for each market, in house training, education, marketing and installation make this partnership all the more appealing for home builders.

To experience an Amazon Experience Center, tour a Lennar home near you.

A 2009 Parade of Homes Outstanding Feature Award-winner, Savannah Park is a mediterranean-inspired new townhome community that offers new townhome buyers a private courtyard, two car garages, and a treasure trove of fantastic features and amenities. Situated in tranquil surroundings near Heathrow, Florida, the Orlando new townhomes for sale at Savannah Park offer the best in both convenience and comfort, giving the lucky residents easy access to plenty of great dining, shopping, and business hotspots. Featuring amazing amenities like A community pool, a clubhouse, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, and professionally designed landscaping that includes maintenance with the Homeowner's Association, the new townhomes for sale at Savannah Park will let you enjoy the warm central Florida sun in style. If you're looking at new townhomes in the Orlando area, Savannah Park should be at the top of the list!

Best known as the home of some of the best amusement attractions in the world, like the Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Orlando Resort, and Sea World, Orlando is the fifth largest city in the state of Florida, and certainly one of the most exciting cities that you're bound to come in to contact with; in fact, it was only two years ago that Orlando was the third most visited American city among travelers, meaning that the economy in this unique American city is very diversified and prosperous. The master-planned gated community of Heathrow is a great accent to the greater Orlando area, where homebuyers can raise their families in a safe and welcoming environment, while at the same time staying close to all of the action that a major American metropolis has to offer.

The Orlando new townhomes for sale at Savannah Park are one-of-a-kind residences in a one-of-a-kind American city, and prospective homebuyers should beware that the new townhomes at Savannah Park are going to go fast! Savannah Park currently has a wide range of options that can fit the lifestyles of nearly anyone-- floorplans that range from 1,549 to 1,941 square feet, new townhomes that have between 2-4 bedrooms and 2-3 baths, and prices that are starting from around the low $200,000's. For more information about one of these luxurious and stylish new Orlando New townhomes at Savannah Park, please call 407-330-2232.

Recently made a first place winner at the 2008-2009 parade of homes, Wickham Park Townhomes is a great new townhome community near Orlando, Florida that offers an abundance of both convenience and style. All of these Orlando new townhomes feature opulent interior designs, "master up" floorplans, and expert craftsmanship. The environmentally-concious will love that Ashton Woods Homes has made the new townhomes at Wickham Park, green new townhomes; adhering to the strict scientific procedure and program requirements that are known as "Environments for Living." When you buy a new green townhome in Wickham Park, you know that you're getting a more energy-efficient home, that will save you an average of 20-45% every single year in utility bills.

When you buy a new townhome for sale at Wickham Park, you'll get a myriad of great features and amenities, like professionally-designed landscapes, a Community pool and Clubhouse with a full kitchen, a community sports field, a gazebo, and landscape maintenance included in the Homeowner's Association dues.

The new Orlando townhomes at Wickham Park are part of the Environments for Living Gold Level Energy Program, and all qualify for the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Designation. Some of the things that make your new Wickham Park Townhome a "green" one include double pane Low-E glass windows, an energy efficient 50 gallon water heater, efficient water management, CRI Green Label Carpet, Polycell foam caulking around doors and windows, Energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFL), and much more. You'll be amazed at how much a green home will not only save you all of that environementally-driven idealistic moral guilt, but also a whole lot of dough!

All the new Orlando green townhomes for sale at Wickham Park are currently available in floorplans that range from 1,472 to 1,780 square feet, contain 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, and are priced from around the high $100,000's. For more information about one of these wonderful new townhomes for sale please call 407.654.1682.

We’ve talked quite a bit about the exciting prospects Orlando offers new residents: opportunities in cutting edge industries for skilled professionals, a dominance of the recreation market that nearly guarantees service-oriented jobs for those who are seeking them, and the icing on the cake: Reasonable housing prices that are still on the decline.

Still? Yes, they are! As if the stats reported on the Orlando market conditions July 2009 weren’t beckoning enough, the figures for August are even more appealing. What are they? 

Orlando real estate market conditions August 2009 are as follows:

Inventory

Homes for Sale: 9,453
New Homes: 47
Foreclosures: 12,070 

Median Price
Homes for Sale: $164,995
New Homes: $290,900
Foreclosures: $151, 675

Month-Over-Month Change
Homes for Sale: -2.4%
New Homes: .0%
Foreclosures: 1%

Go ahead; compare it to the July figures and be amazed at the persistent decline. However, if you are a serious buyer, don’t delay in hopes of even lower numbers. There’s no way to know when the market will stabilize, and Orlando could easily become one of the markets to bottom out soon. For even more insight on homes for sale in Orlando, ask an Orlando Realtor his or her opinion.

Although many Florida cities are experiencing a sizeable market recovery, it appears that Orlando is close to leading the pack. The Orlando Business Journal reported today that home sales in Florida are starting to rebound, as affordability pushes many who were on the fence back into the housing market – with Orlando sales up by 36 percent.

Statewide, sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 23 percent in the second quarter year-over-year, according to a statistic the journal acquired from the Florida Association of Realtors. The total number of homes sold during the quarter was 43,125. The report revealed that Orlando single family homes, condominiums, and townhomes accounted for 6,074 of the homes sold. This is an increase from the 4,477 sold in Orlando in the same period last year. 

It's a growing reality that a home in Orlando is an interesting prospect to a wide variety of demographics: including young professionals, families, and retirees. In recent years, the city has become known for far more than amusement parks; job opportunities in growing, exciting career fields, in addition to attractive, affordable housing options, are all part of what this city has to offer.

Need to Move to Where the Jobs Are? How about Orlando? Arguably the nation’s most popular recreation destination, Orlando, Florida no longer relies solely on its theme parks to support its stable economy. Today, life sciences, digital media, and healthcare markets are a hot ticket in this attractive inland city. In addition to the aforementioned fields, medical research is becoming increasingly concentrated in Orlando, as are entertainment subsidiaries (Which kind? Animation firms, of course!).

So where does someone looking to establish (or revamp) their career in Orlando live? There are numerous affordable housing options available, but MI Homes has one of the best deals Orlando can offer. Bella Vida, a community of single and two-story detached residences, currently has homes starting at $179,000. The builders constructed Bella Vida with young professionals and families in mind, so those seeking a new career in Orlando should feel right at home.

In a state notorious for its high-priced housing market, this is a convenient, affordable solution for those looking to transplant. But there are other options as well; Sawgrass, a MI Homes community located in South Orlando, is similarly priced. In keeping with the Florida landscape and ambiance, this neighborhood offers marsh-like community lakes, a park, and a clubhouse/pool. Like Bella Vida, singles, families, and even empty nesters/retirees can enjoy what Sawgrass has to offer. 

If you’re looking for a new lease on life in one of the most resilient local economies in the U.S., Orlando may be the place for you. For information on homes for sale in Orlando communities, call (407) 281-1131 (Bella Vida) or (407) 858-0309 (Sawgrass).