We ain’t getting no younger baby!

A report from the Census Bureau says that the number of people in the world 65 or over will triple by 2050. The projected numbers are 516 million in 2009 to 1.53 billion in 2050. From a REALTOR in Florida’s point of view, the increase of world citizens should equal a steady influx of retirees wanting to spend their golden years in active adult communities, condos and town homes.

Of course all these new senior citizens will require some additional adjustments and changes.

• The President in 2050 will need to ask congress for a bailout to keep businesses that offer senior citizens discount afloat.
• Environmentalists will push for the development of eco-friendly materials to be used in the manufacturing of walking canes citing concern over the disappearing forests.
• Network TV prime time programming will be from the hours of 4 a.m. until 7 a.m. in order to reach a larger portion of the population that are awake.
• 911 will be changed to just 1 to make it easier to dial and remember.
• Restaurants will display, “No shoes, no dentures, no service” signs.

There is a strong possibility that I will be a card-carrying member of that group in 2050. As fair warning to everyone reading this, I never plan on relinquishing my driver’s license.

I would like to know the location of a property listed to determine how far it is from where I work.

Q: I would like to know the location of a property listed to determine how far it is from where I work.

This is a common question buyers ask when they call or email about a specific property they have found online. With gas prices continuing to rise along with our other costs of living, there is a very good reason for a home buyer to want to live closer to their job or work. The good news for those home buyers wanting to be closer to their place of employment is that we have the ability to map out areas around their work in order to find the right home for them.

Contact me if you would like to take advantage of this service.


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Close to shopping

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10 acres for sale in Osceola Florida

Osceola County Florida is home to cities that include Kissimmee and St. Cloud. Right now in Osceola there are 10 homes for sale listed with 10 acres of more. Additionally there are over 50 parcels of ground listed for sale that are 10 acres plus.

To find out more about these available properties, contact me or search for your home here.


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Survey says: Florida is a place to be and to invest

A University of Florida survey results indicate that respondents still have a favorable outlook towards the future.

Wayne Archer, executive director of UF’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies stated

“People who have responded to our surveys have not lost their faith in Florida as a place to be and a place to invest,” he said. “We have 40 pages of comments from our respondents, and although the dominant theme is the disruption of financing, perhaps the second theme, as one person put it, is people being on the sidelines with full pads and helmets just waiting to jump back in.”

Here is the full news release.


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- Greg Staker 407-304-0255

Who is viewing Florida real estate?

The following are the top 10 cities where visitors of this Florida real estate blog are reported to live according to Google Analytics for the month of August.

1. Orlando
2. Deland
3. Kissimmee
4. Winter Park
5. Port Orange
6. Jacksonville
7. St Petersburg
8. Ormond Beach
9. Miami
10. Tampa

Here are the top 10 countries where visitors of the blog are from:

1. United States
2. United Kingdom
3. Canada
4. Australia
5. Germany
6. Puerto Rico
7. Netherlands
8. France
9. Belgium
10. Switzerland

The reach that the internet offers to the real estate customer and real estate agents is amazing.

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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Where can you find a home with an in ground, heated, screened pool?

Florida is known for it’s houses having a cool relaxing blue pool for the home owner to enjoy on those hot summer days and nights. From my experience when questioning buyers about the desired features of a home they are looking to buy, after bedroom, baths and garage criteria, a majority of potential buyers say they would like to buy a pool home.

So where do you have the largest selection of in ground, screened and heated pool homes for sale in Central Florida? Here are the top 10 cities in Central Florida according to MLS statistics for today.

1. Orlando 2195
2. Kissimmee 1123
3. Windermere 441
4. Clermont 374
5. Longwood 300
6. Winter Park 258
7. Deltona 220
8. Lake Mary 210
9. Apopka 199
10. Saint Cloud 182

As this inventory will change daily, please contact me if you would like an updated top 10 list. Of course if you would like to view a pool home anywhere in Central Florida and would like to receive a list of pool homes in your price range, I will happily provide this for you.

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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Orlando Florida. What is being searched? Who is doing the searching?

Who is searching for information about Orlando Florida and what are online searchers looking for? The following are results provided by Google Insights for Search BETA for the search term Orlando Florida over the last 90 days in all categories across the United States.

Top 10 States searching for Orlando Florida information

1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. Alabama
4. New Jersey
5. South Carolina
6. Tennessee
7. Ohio
8. Louisiana
9. Missouri
10. Kentucky

Top 10 search terms related to Orlando Florida

1. orlando fl
2. disney orlando florida
3. orlando florida county
4. universal orlando
5. orlando hotels
6. hotels orlando florida
7. orlando jobs
8. orlando florida weather
9. orange county florida
10. disney world florida

Searches on the rise

• orlando news
• orlando florida news
• orlando jobs
• jobs in orlando
• florida mall
• florida hospital orlando
• aquatica
• valencia community college
• orlando sentinal

This Google provided tool could be huge in helping Orlando area real estate and non real estate businesses target the specific areas and keywords that could attract visitors and customers.

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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Homes for sale with hurricane shutters

Tropical storm Fay is passing through the state and while it did not develop into a hurricane it did remind those of us who live in Central Florida that the threat of hurricanes is very real and requires that we stay prepared.

For some home owners that preparedness involves owning a home with hurricane shutters. The sunsentinel.com has a good article on the costs to install hurricane shutters. The various types of shutters include:

• Storm panel hurricane shutters
• Accordion hurricane shutters
• Colonial hurricane shutters
• Bahama hurricane shutters
• Roll-down hurricane shutters

Of course the other option to installing shutters is to purchase a Central Florida home that is already equipped with these safety shutters. A search of the MLS today resulted in 48 homes in our 5 county area that are for sale and have hurricane shutters.

After the storm passes, give us a call and we will be happy to show you these homes.

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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Homes for sale with 5 acres of land

Search for homes for sale

Where can you find a home with at least 5 acres of land for sale. In Central Florida you have several choices and locations. Homes for sale with at least 5 acres in the MLS as of today break down by county as:

• Lake County - 158 homes on 5 acres
• Seminole County - 50 homes on 5 acres
• Osceola County - 42 homes on 5 acres
• Volusia County - 41 homes on 5 acres
• Orange - 19 homes on 5 acres

These statistics will change daily. In order to keep updated to homes that come on the market, call or email me to start receiving free lists of available property.

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- Greg staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Search for a home in 25 Florida counties

As a Florida Realtor using the MID- Florida MLS system, I have immediate access to listings of homes for sale in 25 Florida counties.

You can contact me to find out about homes, condos, land, commercial and investment property in the following Florida counties:

• Alachua
• Brevard
• Citrus
• Charlotte
• Collier
• DeSoto
• Hillsborough
• Hernando
• Hardee
• Highlands
• Indian River
• Lee
• Lake
• Marion
• Manatee
• Orange
• Okeechobee
• Osceola
• Polk
• Pinellas
• Pasco
• Sarasota
• Seminole
• Sumter
• Volusia

If we help you find a home that is outside our normal market area, we will, at no cost to you, refer you to a qualified agent in the county where the home is located to assist you with your purchase.

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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Where can you find a really big home in Central Florida?

According to a recent study conducted by the University of Florida, people are sharing living arrangements. In order to share living arrangements you would need to have a very large home in order to accommodate everyone who is living in the home.

Perhaps owning a big home has nothing to do with the number of people living in the home. It may just be your personal choice to own a home that provides you with the space you feel you need in order to feel comfortable.

Here is a list of the top 10 counties in Central Florida that are listed in the Mid Florida MLS as homes for sale that are 5,000 square feet or larger in size.

1. Orange County home of Orlando, Windermere and Apopka comes in at the top spot with 347 big homes listed for sale. Price ranges for these homes are between $200K to over $13 million. The largest home listed has over 32,000 square feet.
2. Hillsborough County is second on my list. With 205 homes listed with having square footage that runs from 5,000 all the up to 28,000 plus. Tampa, Brandon, Lithia, Plant City & Lutz are cities in Hillsborough.
3. Sarasota County has 140 big homes for sale. Sarasota County includes North Port Sarasota & Venice.
4. Seminole County comes in at the number 4 position with 92 homes. Cities in Seminole include Longwood, Sanford & Lake Mary. Prices start at just below $600K for a home that offers you room to roam.
5. Manatee County rounds out our top 5 counties that offer 87 of the biggest homes for sale. Bradenton & Lakewood Ranch has homes for sale that range from 5,000 to over 11,000 square feet.
6. Lake County is a fast growing county with 69 big homes listed for sale. Lake is home to Clermont, Montverde & Sorrento.
7. Osceola County includes Kissimmee, Celebration & Reunion. You can find 63 homes for sale in Osceola County with at least 5,000 square foot for sale.
8. Polk County 42 homes for sale. Winter Haven & Lakeland area.
9. Volusia County with 27 homes listed for sale in the Mid Florida MLS. Cities include Edgewater & Deltona.
10. Brevard County offers 20 big homes. Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island & Satellite Beach.

There you have it. The top 10 counties in Central Florida with big homes for sale. If you are interested in finding out more about these homes, give me a call.

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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Florida is a great place to operate a business

According to Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Florida ranks as the second best state to operate a business in the U.S. Pollina Corporate Real Estate, Inc. is a full service brokerage and consulting firm that based the rankings on factors that are most important to corporate executives and can be controlled by a state's political leaders.

Here is their top 10 list.

1. North Carolina
2. Florida
3. Virginia
4. South Carolina
5. Wyoming
6. South Dakota
7. Georgia
8. Alabama
9. Utah
10. Kansas

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- Greg Staker Watson Realty Corp. 407-304-0255

Lender says no to deed in lieu

We recently received a call from the lender of one of our short sale listings. The seller had decided to give the home back with a deed in lieu. The lender is not willing to accept the deed in lieu and has asked our agent to list the home at a price where it will sell.

A deed in lieu is a way for sellers to deliver property back to an investor in order to avoid foreclosure. In this case it appears the lender would rather accept a short sale over deed in lieu or foreclosure.

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- Greg Staker, Watson Realty Corp., 407-304-0255

Florida vs Countrywide. Lawsuit filed.

Search for homes

UPDATE October 7, 2008

Please read the following blogs for new information:

Countrywide and Florida reach agreement

Countrywide may help Florida homeowners avoid foreclosure

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against Countrywide Financial, one of the nation’s largest mortgage companies, for allegedly engaging in deceptive and unfair trade practices. The Attorney General’s lawsuit claims Countrywide put borrowers into mortgages they couldn't afford or loans with rates and penalties that were misleading. Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo was also named in the lawsuit.

Read complete press release


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You don't know what you don't know about selling real estate!

How can you?

Let's face it, pre-license class was all about how to obtain a Florida real estate license. Now that you have your license, what do you need to do in order to be successful in real estate sales?

Watson Realty will show you what to do. You would think that most real estate companies would but the truth is the majority of brokers and managers need to list and sell property themselves to keep their brokerage strong. This leaves them little or no time for them to assist or or offering training to their associates.

At Watson Realty, the managing brokers are non-competing. We don't list or sell. Our job in part is to teach, train, coach and motivate our agents. In addition to the hands on instructions you will receive at our branch offices, we have developed a training program specifically designed for those who are new to real estate and for those who have never received the type of training they need to be successful. This program is our Success School. Our Success School is taught locally by the Central Florida Watson Realty brokers and managers. Hands on and practical, this program lives up to its name by providing you with the knowledge you will need to succeed.

That is just a small part of why Watson Realty is different. We are proud of our commitment to provide legendary quality service to our agents and customers. In order to accomplish this, we must train our agents so that they can offer the highest quality and professional real estate service in the business.

In addition we must provide our agents with the tools and resources necessary for them to do their job and to do it well. Our state of the art offices, equipment and marketing materials coupled with our strong support staff help us accomplish our goals.

It works. As a result, the Watson Realty name is one that the public can trust and real estate agents can look to when seeking an office that will help them be successful with their careers.

Would you like to know more about Watson Realty? Give me a call at 407-304-0255.

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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Positioning ourselves for real estate success in the years ahead

People are retiring and retiring people move to Florida. Maybe not as many as predicted in years past but it would be foolish to think that the retiring baby boom generation will still not consider Florida as a great place to spend their golden years.

Our real estate agents are counting on this migration effect to increase their business in the years to come. As an agent and a Company we must have marketing and prospecting solutions that help us be the 1st contact point for these migrating homebuyers. Once the consumer arrives in Florida and has an opportunity to pick up a Watson Showcase print Magazine or the Orlando Sentinel to scan for homes available, chances are good they have already made 1st contact with a Realtor through their searches online.

Watson Realty’s involvement with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, the creation of a new user friendly website, our award winning Relocation department and our individual agents efforts to understand the value and importance of online marketing, are all positive efforts that should help propel us to the front lines of capturing this new business.

Our goals are to continue strengthening our online position, capture more leads without relying totally on lead generating companies. By our accomplishing this coupled with our already strong proven marketing programs, training and management, we will ensure that the future for Central Florida and Watson Realty will be a bright one.


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- Greg Staker Watson Realty Corp. 407-304-0255

More people visiting Florida in 2008

A news release from VisitFlorida reported that there has been a 3.4% increase in visitor traffic to Florida during the 1st quarter of 2008 as compared to the same time in 2007.

With real estate sales in Central Florida receiving a boost from overseas buyers, more good news was reported that overseas travel increased as well, with approximately 931,000 visiting.

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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Watson Realty nominated for referral award

Watson Realty Corp. is proud to announce it has been named a nominee for the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World™ DIAMOND AWARD. Only 15 real estate firms out of 700 worldwide real estate firms received this honor. The Diamond Award is presented annually to the one member company that has most actively participated in all of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World™’s business offerings and met strict service criteria.

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- Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255

Short sales offer clues to traditional home sellers

Every day it seems a new home or homes are listed in the Kissimmee/Osceola County area, which are subject to a short sale contingency.

Some agents are pulling their hair out over the frustration they feel when trying to get all parties: lenders, sellers, buyers and agents on the same page in order to close these deals. The paperwork and time involved with a short sale, with results and answers often coming no faster than a sleeping snail, have many agents reluctant to get involved with the process.

Regardless of how agents feel about the short sale process, these transactions do offer insight to how the market will eventually become healthy.

Many homes listed with a short sale contingency are receiving something not normally found in today’s real estate. Multiple offers. With so many opinions on how these offers should be handled, we may have lost sight of an important fact, the multiple offer fact.

Why are these homes receiving multiple offers when as an industry we have been lamenting the lack of buyers? What magical lure do these types of homes have over buyers?

Sellers who are not faced with the short sale situation, but unable to attract a buyer to even look at their home, should contact their agent and find out what this magical lure is.

The answer is there.


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- Greg Staker Watson Realty Corp. 407-304-0255

Which Central Florida city has the most homes for sale?

Orlando and the Central Florida market have continued to maintain a record pace of available homes for sale. Listing inventories continue to rise in spite of record low sales being reported.

Which Central Florida cities have the largest inventory of homes for sale?

The following are the listing inventory totals for several key cities in Central Florida as of this weekend.

City/# of homes for sale

1. Orlando 11287
2. Kissimmee 4571
3. Clermont 1626
4. Deltona 1492
5. Apopka 1060
6. Sanford 936
7. Deland 912
8. Winter Park 882
9. Windermere 759
10. Oviedo 674
11. Lake Mary 493

For a complete look at available inventory in Central Florida you can visit my Central Florida homes for sale page.

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7% of Kissimmee listed home inventory are foreclosures

-Greg Staker - Watson Realty Corp. - 407-304-0255