Posts in category 'Buyers'

If you've been thinking about buying or selling a home lately, you may have found yourself asking the same question a lot of people are asking:

Should I do something now, or should I wait?

It's understandable.

Mortgage rates moved higher again recently. The average 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.28% as of October 1, according to Freddie Mac, compared with 7.03% the week before. Freddie Mac

Buyers are watching rates. Sellers are watching buyers. And everyone seems to be waiting for some kind of signal that tells them what happens next.

The problem is that real estate rarely gives us an "all clear."

What's happening here in Volusia County?

The local numbers are actually pretty i...

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If you're thinking about moving to the Ormond Beach area, one of your first questions is probably pretty simple:

What can I actually get for my money?

Recently, I spent the day showing buyers several homes priced under $500,000, and I thought it was a great example of just how different your options can be at the same general price point.

We looked at new construction. We looked at older homes that had been beautifully updated. And we looked at different locations and neighborhoods.

That's one of the things I enjoy about helping buyers here. There isn't one answer to "What does $500,000 buy in Ormond Beach?"

First, $500,000 is a very realistic budget here

Over the three months ending August 2026, the median sale price in Ormond Beach was approximately $380,000.

That means buyers with a budget approaching $500,000...

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If you're buying a Florida condo, it's easy to focus on the unit.

How's the kitchen?

What's the view?

Is there a pool?

How close is the beach?

Those things matter.

But you're not only buying a condo.

You're buying into an association.

And understanding the health of that association can be every bit as important as deciding whether you like the unit itself.

A low monthly fee isn't automatically a good thing

Buyers understandably pay attention to association fees.

But I wouldn't evaluate an association simply by asking, "How much is the monthly fee?"

I'd want to know what that fee is supporting.

An association has buildings and common areas to maintain. Depending on the property, that might include roofs, elevators, pools, landscaping, exterior maintenan...

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We Knew We Wanted Florida. We Just Didn't Know Where.
When Mark and I decided we wanted to live near the beach in Florida, we didn't start out saying, "We're moving to Ormond Beach."

Actually, we weren't even sure which coast of Florida we wanted.

We had a pretty simple wish list.

We wanted to be close to the ocean. Ideally, we wanted to live within about a mile of the beach. And, like pretty much every buyer I've ever worked with, we had a budget.

So we did what I now help other people do.

We started exploring.

And what we discovered is something I tell buyers today: choosing where to live in Florida isn't just about finding a house you like.

It's about figuring out how you actually want to live.

First, We Looked at Florida's West Coast

We explored the west coast because the...

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One of the questions I get asked all the time is, "How's the real estate market?"

And my answer these days is usually: It depends.

That may sound like I'm avoiding the question, but I'm really not.

Because there isn't just one real estate market.

The market can look very different depending on whether you're buying, selling or investing. It can also change depending on your price range, where you're looking and even whether you're talking about a single-family home or a condo.

If You're a Buyer

For many buyers, today's market offers something we didn't have much of during the COVID-era market: choices.You may have more time to compare properties, look at what has been sitting on the market and negotiate things that would have been much harder to negotiate a few years ago.

But that doesn't mean every property is sitting around waiting for an offer.

A home that is priced well and checks t...

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