Orlando Real Estate

I've been studying real estate listings, and drove around a bit today.

This area has a ton of lakes. It is surprising how many homes have lake views, lake access, or are on a lake, until I looked at the Orlando, FL map and see that there are just a bunch of lakes around.

Real estate here crosses the entire range of prices. There are downtown condos in the mid $500's, lakefront homes in the country (halfway out to Daytona Beach) in the mid $150's, and a lot in between. For about 75% of what my home in Kirkland, WA costs, I could have a slighly larger lakefront home in Clermont, FL, a few miles west of Orlando. (I just mention Clermont as it is a hotbed of triathlon activity). Or, nestle into some gated master planned communities west of the airport.

I've been looking and mapping, and it seems a lot of new construction is in the southeast part of the city... towards the theme parks. I'm pretty sure I don't want to get tied up in that kind of traffic (!!) so I'll be searching more to the north.

I drove out to see some new townhomes near work. I walked through the models, and I have to say, I do enjoy looking at real estate. Especially model homes, where everything is decorated to perfection. Makes me think, I wonder how much extra for all the furniture and artwork that is so carefully chosen and displayed?

I also drove through a community near Lake Baldwin. It took a bit longer to get there than I'd like my commute to be, so while I might visit the sales office tomorrow, I won't really consider it. The community is a mix of homes, townhomes, and condos, plus a "downtown" shopping area, with planned open spaces and parks. So far, it is mid-construction and looks like a movie set - especially the faux downtown area, which isn't yet complete, but has what looks like empty store fronts, ready for businesses. It could be nice in a theme-park-facade looking kind of way, when it is completed...