It’s a sobering experience when a bank won’t give you a $5 million revolving line of credit to build a housing development in one of the worst states in the country right now for real estate.  I remember the good ol days – not too long ago when a developer could pay: a savvy architect to master up some blueprints, a creative mind to draw up some colorful sketch of a high-rise (with of course those fancy cars that haven’t been invented yet parked on or zooming down the street, to the skinniest people sipping their morning cup of Joe while the wearing all the latest fashion on a beautiful sunny day…but I digress) and voila – he could get all the financing (bridge, construction, and mezzanine – thanks NCO Capital) he could ever want. 

With all the media surrounding the condo "slump" and the mortgage issues, experts from across the country are being asked to predict the end and "how bad it will get".  Even the experts know it is tough to tell where the market is headed.  Of course we can look at historical data and market indicators, but many have done this in the past and been wrong.  So who really knows?

Builders of Orlando condos for example are facing big decisions.  The builders with projects that have not broken ground yet are probably better off than those who are "past the point of no return".  However, many Orlando condo buildings such as the Vue at Lake Eola are taking reservations and have cash deposits on a large portions of their units.  Now it is a matter of how many will close.  many are still confident that the progress made so far is a good sign that the projects will come out on top. 

The builders of Orlando condos that haven't broken ground yet are mostly on hold to wait things out.  They are waiting to see signs of an upturn as well as to see what happens in the lending industry on the home buyer and construction side.  Of course the other market indicators are still obvious.  The demand has dwindled.  Speculators have pulled out and construction costs have gone through the roof.  I know, I know...this is nothing new that we haven't all heard before.  I think the main questions still is how will all real estate related companies weather the storm?  Will there diversify their business model or just close up shop and ride it out. 

The city of Orlando is one of the widely traveled to cities in the country.  Orland has tons of condos for sale and no one seems to see the big picture yet.  Let me break this down for you.  Orlando is home to a small world called Disney.  Our global population is growing...fast!  Kids love Disneyworld and everything related to Disney.  Kids beg and plead to their parents to take them to Disneyworld.  Parents give in and say, 'ok, dear, we'll go.'  Parents go ONLINE to book a hotel.  Get it?  No?  Ok, I'll go further.  Wouldn't you want to make some sort of a profit in this scenario?!?!?  I would.  So, let's say you're a savvy investor.  You now buy a unit in an Orlando condo/hotel, like WorldQuest Resort and voila, you can now earn a piece of the action off that little annoying, spoiled brat who has convinced his parents to take him to see Mickey & Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and if they're lucky, they may see Snow White. 

Are you seeing the big picture yet?   

SkyCity is the latest Orlando project to be approved by the Orlando City commission. Two towers, mixed use, 300 million.“They’re crazy!” I hear you scream. “More downtown condos? Those developers are out of their tiny, concrete-ridden minds!”

True, the current downtown projects are having trouble selling, but construction on this baby is not expected to start until 2009 and they probably won’t be finished until 2011. By then the current condo glut should be pretty much used up - just in time for the baby boomer invasion. YAY.

Besides, much of the space is devoted to business. The first tower will be a 25-story office building - and the first ten floors will be for parking. Gotta have parking. The 11th floor will feature a 20,000 square foot luxury fitness center. Nice!

The second tower will be an even larger, 35-story building featuring both a hotel and, on the upper floors, just 120 condominiums. I think we can handle 120 more!

When looking at regional home sales, we often compare sales on a monthly basis to the same month in the previous year.  Is this a good method to predict how the market is doing?  Possibly.  Under the current market conditions however it would seem more prudent to compare on a quarterly basis, but that’s not usual how its done.  In Orlando for example, single family home sales and condo sales dropped in April as compared to April in 2006.  207 existing Orlando condos sold last month which is a 57% decrease from April of last year.  We are noticing the median sale price for Orlando condos are also decreasing slightly. 

Interestingly though on a state-wide level, median condo prices increased in April 2007 as compared to prices in April 2006.  Also on a state-wide level, 1,000 fewer condos were sold this April as opposed to last April.  What does all this mean?

One thing that we can all feel better about is that condo sales are expected to start increasing during the second half of the year.  Of course, many think only the optimists feel this way while the pessimists say we haven’t seen the worst yet.  Only time will tell.

The Orlando Condo market presents a number of amazing choices for home buyers and investors right now. There are some very cool incentives going on as well. WorldQuest Resort is offering to lease back the condos you buy for a 2 year period if you purchase now. This is a way for an investor to have a nice income stream and get in the market at the right time in Orlando. Being so close to Disney World, Orlando is a top vacation spot and resort community and the population and real estate values continue to grow. With the massive convention center in Orlando, large conference such as the National Association of Home Builders are help there every year.

The Blue Rose is another exciting community there that we advertise for. This is a massive condo/hotel with 1300 units and will be on the largest new condo projects in the country. Orlando has a alot to offer for everyone. It is not just Disney World Anymore. We found a great article about the top 207 things to do in Orlando. If you are planning a vacation to Orlando anytime soon, you should check this out here 207 Things to do in Orlando

New Condos Online recently joined efforts with The Jaymor Group out of Canada to promote new Orlando condos.  The Jaymor Group was founded in 1989 and has evolved into one of Canada’s premier real estate investment companies that specialize in developing multi-family residential housing across the state of Florida.  New Condos Online and Jaymor have joined together to promote two of their latest projects. 

Orlando is not just Mickey Mouse and Disney World any more.  It is Condo World!

While come condo markets have slowed, Condos in Orlando are still a wise and hot investment.  Orlando has many positives driving the market including the weather, proximity to Disney World, Conventions, and a growing business population.

Our team recently attended the International Builder's Show in Orlando and over 100,000 people attended the event. We visited a lot of the developments that we represent and the amount of cranes on the ground is incredible.

www.newcondosonline.com is the first and largest new condo advertising website in the country. With a network of over 20 million unique visitors per month, www.newcondosonline.com proudly showcases 20 new condo developments in Orlando.

The website recently began a partnership with The Condo Store based out of Atlanta to help market many new condo developments online.  Several new condo developments in Orlando just started on www.newcondosonline.com.