An article in today’s edition of the Washington Post reads: “Utopia at a Discount: Housing Bust Puts Disney-Designed Suburb Within Reach”
I live about 40 minutes from Disney’s Celebration Community, where – by the way – the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold their yearly pre-season training camp – and have had an active interest in the area since it first came onto the scene. I mean, hey – our own little pice of Stepford right here in Central Florida. What’s not to like about that?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwOB1k7PJvw
All joking aside, I actually like Celebration. It has some great restaurants, and you definitely see the draw in terms of the “Leave it to Beaver” feel of the place. OK – an updated “Leave it to Beaver,” where you can actually see a multi-cultural cross-section of America rather than that bland “white bread only” (food… and people) version.
Celebration has long been a $400,000 and up community, setting financial barriers to entry for many home Orlando home buyers. However, the current housing market is taking its toll here as well.
Falling house prices are making it possible for some families to buy into a quality of life they probably would not have been able to afford in the past, and has made them homeowners in a community boasting Fourth of July fireworks and a Christmas snow – in Florida!
Read this excerpt from the Washington Post article – it gives you some idea about how the current Orlando, Florida housing market has not left Celebration, Florida untouched:
Real estate agents here tell stories of people who call every year, asking about housing availability and prices, hoping one day to afford a small piece of this Utopian Zip code.
“If you would have asked us in the last five years, ‘What’s the least expensive home you have?,’ ” said Sonny Buoncervello, who owns Hometown Realty in Celebration, “our answer was always, ‘Our houses start at $400,000, they average $600,000 to $700,000 and you have some up into the millions.’ “
“Today, I could take you to a single-family house selling for $270,000 or $280,000,” he added.
He said this while standing in a five-bedroom house that was once valued at more than $1 million and is now available for $745,000. There was no foreclosure sign outside — only a quaint “Home Available,” the generic notice placed outside for-sale houses here, regardless of how the property hit the market. A hole in the kitchen wall revealed this house was not surrendered by choice.
If a home in Celebration, Florida has long been your dream, now may be the time to act. If you need financing, give me a call. We’ll get you set up with a pre-approval letter so you can begin your “Mouse House” hunt right away!
Live in Celebration and feeling the crunch? Chime in! We’d love to hear your thoughts!
I hope you found this post useful! As always, if you or anyone you know is in need of a local Florida mortgage loan originator, I’m your guy. Call me at 888-859-7418 or apply online for your Florida mortgage. We’ll keep you posted and let you know when it’s time to pull the trigger!
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[...] News Sources wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAn article in today’s edition of the Washington Post reads: “Utopia at a Discount: Housing Bust Puts Disney-Designed Suburb Within Reach” I live about 40 minutes from Disney’s Celebration Community , where — by the way — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold their yearly pre-season training camp — and have had an active interest in the area since it first came onto the scene. I mean, hey — our own little pice of Stepford right here in Central Florida. What’s not to like about that? [...]
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Its a Lovely place to live in. Wow! what a cute n sweet city it seems to be.i basically like the restuarant which was built in 1905, its so old and classic. It was so nice of you to give us a short tour of this beautiful place.So peaceful and filled with so many happy people.Its a stress free town, isn’t it?
Hey Jack – thanks for your comment! Feel free to stop by any time. Celebration is a beautiful town. If you want in, now’s the time for sure.
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Hi Kevin,
Celebration sounds like a beautiful community. And now it’s affordable, too. How sweet is that?
.-= Barbara Swafford´s last blog ..How To Keep Your Blog Alive When Life Calls =-.
I’ve always thought that Orlando is a nice town. It is always clean and well maintained, with plenty of attractions beyond the most obvious one. I’m sure that people will be taking advantage of the discounts on homes in the area. Everything under $500,000 is selling like hotcakes in San Diego… though we’re still pretty sluggish in the $1Million and up category. Hopefully the jumbo loan market will loosen up. The upper end needs a break.
.-= Geoff@La Jolla Homes For Sale´s last blog ..Luxury Homes In Rancho Santa Fe =-.
Sign me up Donald Duck ! I will take two properties for $280,000 each, waw that seams like a bargain hey!
How times change….. this is a perfect time to buy and rent them out for the long term investment. This could be a gold mine.
I didn’t know the Bucs came there. I’ve been there a few times to eat, Celebration is really nice, always had thought about moving there, but it is somewhat further from the office.
.-= Wade Coye´s last blog ..Health Insurance and Tort Reform =-.
Today that sure seems like a deal. Hopefully things will improve in the near future. I love that place!
Hello Florida Mortgage,
I would like to add that Disney built Celebration, Florida has a number of things for visitors to the community. There is a full line of businesses at Celebration. There are restaurants, a great public golf course, and many stores located at the downtown and plazas.
Additionally, there are several churches located in the town that are often used by people visiting the community.
Be Well,
Al Valentino III
http://www.greatercelebrationchamber.com/
Orlando is such a great place to settle down.! with its weather and attractions, people will surely get advantage of these discounts.!
I agree! The Central Florida area remains a great place to live. There’s so much to see and do, and home prices are better than ever!