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Archive for the 'Ortega' Category
Sheer Elegance – Ortega Blvd. Masterpiece becomes available
It’s rare that one of the crown jewels of Ortega Blvd. becomes available and we are proud to be the listing agents for one of the best homes on “the Blvd” (as it’s called by the locals).
Just listed at 3915 Ortega Blvd, this 4BR/3.5BA home is the epitome of classic elegance. Among it’s wonderful features are a grand entrance foyer, tall ceilings, formal living room with carved stone mantle, cozy library, slate patio, riverfront dining room, an incredible “river room” with walls of windows and fireplace, large kitchen, renovated master bathroom and professionally landscaped gardens. It’s situated on a high bluff with incredible vistas of the St. John’s river.
There aren’t many opportunities like this and we look forward to introducing this property to qualified buyers. If you’re considering a move to Jacksonville or looking to “trade up”, we’re standing by to be of assistance. Thanks for reading and we look forward to hearing from you.
Incredible Home in Best Part of Ortega Becomes Available!
If you feel like you’re bursting at the seams in your small 3br/2ba cottage and have hoped for a home where you can really stretch your wings, your dream has come true! Just listed, with nearly 5,000 square feet, 5 bedrooms and 5 baths, there’s plenty of room for everyone! A classic two story brick on one of Ortega’s best streets, 4620 Algonquin awaits your arrival!
From the moment you open the door to the gracious foyer, you sense that you’ve stepped into paradise. On your right is a stunning wood paneled office and to the left a large light filled formal living room with fireplace. Next is a bright and relaxing sunroom where you could curl up and read a book or perhaps take a nap.
T
he formal dining room is a large space that will accomodate a crowd. The kitchen is open to the family room and features a center island,breakfast area, stainless steel appliances and a large window over the sink. There’s a two car garage with workshop and the lot is deep. The house has great flow with all rooms opening to the garden that’s completely fenced so dogs and small children are free to roam.
If storage has ever been an issue, look no further. This home is one of few in the neighborhood with both a basement and permanent stairs to the attic. Tall ceilings, wood floors, newer roof and insulation that’s been sprayed into all attic spaces, make this one of Ortega’s most sought after homes.
If you’re not familiar with Ortega, it’s a wonderful place where neighbors know each other, children ride their bikes to and from each others homes and to school, people have block parties with barbeque and there’s always someone on standby to lend a hand if needed – a real sense of community is evident here.
The list price for this beauty is $1.1M – priced competitively for today’s market. Please call us today for an appointment.
Thanks for reading! Please join us next time for state of real estate in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside.
I’m looking for…a BARGAIN, a STEAL, a real DEAL!
In working with buyers these days, the thing we hear most often is, ”I’m looking for a steal” or, ”I’m really not interested unless it’s a DEAL”.
The irrational exuberance that once led people to pay ridiculous amounts for real estate has become irrational vulturism (I made that up) and buyers won’t buy unless they feel they’re getting a “STEAL”.
This, of course, begs the question, what exactly IS a steal and how will you know one when you see one?
Is a STEAL a house that’s priced at a certain price per square foot? Is a STEAL a house that’s been reduced by a million dollars? Is a STEAL a house that came available at a fair price on a street where houses almost never come up for sale? Is a STEAL a foreclosure?
Most realtors use the price per square foot method to develop the asking price of a house and most buyers use it to locate what they believe to be a BARGAIN. To get this, you take the asking price of the house and divide it by the heated/cooled square feet of living space.
I personally don’t believe that price per square foot tells the whole story. There are so many other variables to consider including location, quality and condition (amount of renovation/upgrades). Just because something is being sold for a low price per square foot doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a DEAL.
Take these two houses for example. One is located on a cul de sac in Ortega and the other on Riverside Avenue in Avondale. Both were very nice homes in good locations and both sold for around $390K. They had different square footages, however, so the ppsf for one of the homes was $142 and the other was only $118. Which person got a better deal? Post a comment and let me know what YOU think.
There are plenty of “deals” out there so if you’re in the market for one, call us and we’ll help you find it!
Thanks for reading — please join us next time for the state of real estate in Avondale, Ortega and Riverside!
Ortega Waterfront in High Demand-Market Heating Up!
Over the past four weeks, five Ortega Waterfront Homes have been put under contract. Four of them had been on the market for a long time (over a year). The fifth one is a private sale (one of the agents in our office was working with a waterfront buyer and knew of someone who was willing to sell). She contacted the person, got permission to show the house and, voila, a deal was made!
All of these sales are active contingent which means that there’s something left to do before the status gets changed to pending. This could be home inspections or financing approval.
All five transactions had either Prudential Network Realty as the listing agent or the selling agent.
If you’ve been thinking of buying Ortega waterfront, you might want to hurry, looks like the inventory is coming down!
Quick Sale in Ortega!
4547 Bass Place
So far this year (as of 2/19/2010), there have been only two single family home sales in Ortega. This house on Bass place was listed for sale in November of last year and an offer was made about a month later. So…it was 90 days before the house closed/sold but it was under contract in only 30 days — qualifying it for the “gone in a day” category!
The house has 4BR/4BA with a two car garage and pool. It was built in 1997. The selling price was just over $400K — a great deal for the buyer.
Thanks for reading — if you’re thinking of buying or selling in Ortega, Avondale or Riverside, please give us a call – we’d love to point you to the next great deal out there!
New Low for Riverfront in Ortega?
A riverfront house that was originally listed for nearly 1.9M at 4404 McGirts Blvd. has closed for $965K — that’s almost 50% less than the original asking price! Was the property ever worth 1.9M? Maybe not. There was, however, an offer of well over 1.4M that another realtor brought them early on in the listing period that was turned down – ouch!
There’s an existing house on the property that will eventually be torn down to make way for a new construction home. The lot had about 150′ of riverfront and beautiful views of both the marina across the way and of downtown.
I wrote a post yesterday about a non-waterfront lot on a prime street in Ortega that just closed for about $250K — between that low on Arapahoe Avenue and now this one for waterfront, my prediction is that this is the bottom. If you’re waiting for deals, you should choose quickly because at these prices, they will begin to disappear.
If you’re looking for something special, please let me know. Sometimes I know about things that aren’t yet listed and/or price reductions that are about to happen. Inside information can help you snag a great deal.
Thanks for reading. Please join me for my next post about what’s happening in Ortega, Avondale and Riverside!
PRIME Lot in Ortega sells for less than $250K!
Well folks, between the low of $180 per square foot for the short sale on Elizabeth Place and now a new low for land in Ortega, I think we have finally hit the bottom.
A prime lot (there’s an existing house on the property that will be torn down) in the neighborhood of Ortega recently closed for just under $250K. The actual sales price was more like $222K but the buyer paid thousands of dollars in closing costs making the net sale price closer to $250K. The buyers intend to build a new home on the lot and will live in the neighborhood while their new house is under construction. The lot dimensions are 100 x 125.
My prediction is that people will begin to say to themselves “I should have bought that” and start looking around for the next best opportunity. This will cause some of the inventory that’s been languishing to begin getting snapped up.
If you’re one of those people, we have a great lot listed on a prime street in Avondale. I wrote a post about it several weeks ago but since then, we’ve been granted permission by the historic commission of Jacksonville to have the house torn down. So…. if you’re looking for a great building lot on a great street, please give me a call!
WANTED! Bungalows in Avondale, Ortega or Riverside!
With the economic stimulus offered by the government set to expire at the end of April and interest rates that remain under 6%, bungalows under $250K are in more demand than ever!
My partner Caroline and I know that there are lots of people out there looking for these houses and would love to help you sell yours.
If you’ve beening thinking of selling but wonder what’s going on in the market, please give us a call — we’d love to talk.
Where Can You Buy Great Toys in Jacksonville, FL?
Looking for the perfect gift for a little one on your Christmas list? Look no further than a fabulous toy store in The Shoppes of Avondale called The Green Alligator. Brainchild of owner Sandi White, The Green Alligator opened in April 2008 and has been a smashing success from day one. So successul, in fact, that they’ve just opened a second store in Ponte Vedra — just in time for Christmas.
Located at 3581 St. John’s Avenue, the Avondale store is open seven days a week and is chock full of the latest and greatest toys of the season. This year, Sandi says that a few of the HOT toys are the Wobble Board which is a balance and agility game or anything from OGO Sports which are large discs that look a little like mini trampolines. They can be used as frisbees or to play “tennis” of sorts. There’s also a new type of puzzle called WasGig (Jigsaw spelled backwards) where you put the puzzle together from the perspective of a person who’s looking back at you. I know — a little confusing. Do NOT try to do this while drinking wine!
They also have a fabulous game called Banana Grams which is a bit like scrabble but without the board. Instead of building on another players words, you create words with your own letters. The winner is the one who uses all of their letters to make “connected” words and there are no tiles left in the “bone pile” in the middle of the table. We played this game for hours on end over Thanksgiving and it was great!
Sandi will be glad to help you find something for your Christmas list but will also be there year round to help you find birthday gifts for the many children that live in Avondale,Ortega and Riverside.
Thanks for reading. Please join me for my next installment of great places to go in the Avondale, Ortega and Riverside neighborhoods of Jacksonville.
2009 – Number of Sales Increases by 38% in Riverside
The number of homes sold in Riverside in 2009 has increased 38%. In 2008, there were 34 single family home sales and so far in 2009 there have been 47 closed sales. That’s an increase of 38% – Wow!
In Avondale, the numbers are nearly even with 2008. There were 100 closed sales in Avondale in 2008 and there have been 104 so far this year for a net increase of 4%.
The numbers in Ortega are not as good. In 2008, there were 57 closed sales and so far this year, there have only been 46 for a net DECREASE of 19%.
Another important piece of the picture is to take a look at the total dollar volume of these sales for each neighborhood. Riverside had a nice increase in the number of units sold but the total dollar volume of these sales went down by 4%. So…more houses were sold for less money.
Avondale has a similar story with a net increase of 4% on number of units sold but the total dollar volume for these sales is off 5% so, again, more units (houses) were sold but for less money.
Ortega decreased in both the number of houses sold and the dollar volume of those sales. The number of houses sold is off by 19% from 2008 and the total dollar volume is off a whopping 32%! The graph to the right illustrates these statistics.
That’s all for today — thanks for reading — please join me for my next installment of what’s happening in
Avondale, Ortega and Riverside real estate.
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Recent Posts
- A Short Sale Success Story in Murray Hill neighborhood of Jacksonville, FL
- Sheer Elegance – Ortega Blvd. Masterpiece becomes available
- Luxury Home Available at a Great Price!
