Volusia County Real Estate Listings vs Sales Review for 2008

Port Orange Real Estate Blog. Information and Reports by Lisa Hill, "THE SMART CHOICE!" for all your real estate needs

I know I'm backtracking quite a bit here, but I just realized that I never posted the year-end, 2008 real estate results to this blog. (It happens when you're trying to keep up with several blogs!) So here are those results, which you can also find on my primary blog at www.RealEstateBlogConnect.com....

Being a REALTOR® can be a tough job. Especially when everyone who wants to sell real estate, or buy real estate, wants to hear some good news about the real estate market. Unfortunately, for the last couple of years, the one answer that everyone wants to hear, is not the answer I've been able to give them.

Last year, I posted a blog with a chart that showed the real estate market statistics for 2000-2007. <<>

And now it's time for the 2008 year-end real estate review for Volusia County. The following chart shows the listings vs sales comparison for the greater Daytona Beach area. The only difference between this chart and my previous charts is, this chart does not include the data for New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater. As silly as this may seem, the Daytona Beach Association of REALTORS® and the New Smyrna Beach REALTOR® Association are only about 20 miles apart. It's actually easier for me to work with real estate buyers and sellers who are interested in New Smyrna Beach or Edgewater than it is for me to work with clients who want to buy or sell real estate north of Ormond Beach. But Ormond Beach is part of the Daytona Beach area and New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater are separate. But many real estate brokerages will double post their listings to both the Daytona Beach Area Association of REALTORS® and the New Smyrna Beach REALTOR® Association

All that being said, for now, here is the chart with the real estate data for all of 2008, from the Daytona Beach Multiiple Listing Service (MLS).

And here are the specific numbers for each city...

If you'd like to buy or sell real estate in the Daytona Beach area, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS®.

Port Orange Residents, Are You Breaking City Ordinances?

I've lived in Port Orange for over 10 years, and in the Daytona Beach area since I was born. And my daughter is a 5th generation Floridian =) but I digress. I just think it's cool to have all my family nearby since it's somewhat rare anymore.

This blog post is about some information I recently discovered. When I found this page on the web site for the city of Port Orange, I started asking people if they were aware of this ordinance. (We do have a lot of unique ordinances. Many of them help keep Port Orange a city that's a step up from some of the others.) In this case, I discovered that many people were not aware of this ordinance, and some knew about it and were knowingly in violation. But it's for the good of our residents and our environment.

Ironically, I was planning to blog about our water restrictions anyway. But this seems to be more pressing. Port Orange home owners already know we have water restrictions and most people comply with them. Very few people choose to blatantly disregard our water restrictions. But I'm not sure what to think of this water ordinance.

Here's the simple, short paragraph about a Port Orange ordinance pertaining to our water restrictions.

"Rain sensors are required on all automatic irrigation systems by March 2003 according to City Ordinance 01-63. You can get rain sensors at local hardware stores. It is recommended that a professional electrician install the sensor. For information on the sensor requirement, please call Mary Kronenberg in the City’s Public Utilities Department at 506-5756. If Mary is not in, please leave your name and telephone number, someone will contact you as soon as possible."

Do you see the date in the very first line of this ordinance? This went into effect six years ago! But in my little poll, I discovered that approximately half of Port Orange residents even know about this water ordinance, and about another half had chosen to disregard it. And what I really don't get is how real estate builders are building new construction, and the irrigation systems do not have this required rain sensor. How is that possible!?

OK. Here's the deal. I'm not a fanatic about most things. But about a year and a half ago I discovered and blogged about some unbelievable problems with Florida's ecosystem, wetlands, and aquifer. My first post along these lines was titled "Florida's Vanishing Wetlands". (You can follow the link to read that post.) Part two of that mini-series was downright alarming. The second post was titled "Florida's Aquifers (Vanishing Wetlands Part 2)". Read that post for the full information, but here's what everyone needs to know.

The Floridan Aquifer is Florida's primary source of fresh water. The details of that are in the second post. but the bottom line is, the Floridan Aquifer is becoming more and more polluted. Here is a partial list of the polutants in our aquifer.

• Antimony
• Asbestos
• Barium
• Cadmium
• Chromium
• Cyanide
• Fluoride
• Mercury
• Nickel
• Selenium
• Sodium
• Thallium
• Nitrate
• Nitrite

Please read the post to learn the effects of these chemicals, and to develop a better understanding of why it's so important for us to preserve our water resources.

If you're a Port Orange resident, or even a resident of anywhere in Central Florida, please educate yourself about the pollution of the Floridan Aquifer, and have your automated irrigation systems fitted with rain sensors, as required by city ordinance.

If you're interested in buying or selling real estate in Port Orange FL, make a Smart Choice and contact Lisa Hill with Adams Cameron REALTORS®, for all your real estate needs.

www.PortOrangeRealEstateSales.com

www.LisaHillRealtor.com