By Cynthia Barnett, Amy Welch
Brill, John Finotti, Joan Hughes, Mike Vogel
Either way, $200,000 won’t get you what it could
five years ago. Median home prices have risen 50% since 1998.
Consider this: The $100,000 home you bought in 1998 is now
worth $150,000. A $200,000 home is now worth $300,000. According
to the Florida Association of Realtors, the median price
of a resale home in Florida has jumped more than 51% over
the past five years, from $97,500 to $151,200.
Those big gains aren’t slowing down home sales either.
Lawrence Yun, senior forecast economist for the National
Association of Realtors,
says existing-home sales will rise about 3% through this year, while
existing-home prices will climb by about 6%.
And demand for Florida homes is fueling new construction,
as well. Florida registered the second-largest gain in housing
units in the year ended July 1, 2002.
So with prices rising robustly and demand still
healthy, exactly how much home can you buy in various parts
of Florida
for $200,000? Florida Trend canvassed the state. We checked
both rural and urban markets from Pensacola in the Panhandle
to Key West. On the following pages, you’ll find out, for
instance, that while $200,000 can get you a 3,000-sq.-ft.,
two-story home in Taylor County overlooking a river, that
same amount will buy you only a 513-sq.-ft. studio condo
in Key West.
SOUTHEAST
Broward / Palm Beach
West Palm Beach
Old Northwood Historic District near downtown West Palm Beach
Square Feet: 1,643
Bedrooms/Baths: 1 / 1
Age: 50
Selling Price: $195,000
The house has a carport and a detached one-bedroom, one-bath rental
cottage with a one-car garage.
Fort Lauderdale
3 miles from downtown
Square Feet: 1,505
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2
Age: 26
Selling Price: $195,000
This home, southwest of downtown Fort Lauderdale, is close to I-95, 595
and U.S. 441. While the kitchen and baths had been updated, the house
had neither a garage nor carport.
West Palm Beach
3 miles from downtown
Square Feet: 1,200
Bedrooms/Baths: 2 / 2
Age: 25
Selling Price: $199,500
The condo, in a building that overlooks the Intracoastal, ocean and city,
comes with two parking spaces and is on North Flagler Drive.
Miramar
Square Feet: 1,246
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2
Age: 6
Selling Price: $190,000
This home in the Silver Lakes development in southwest Broward County
sold in two hours, says Stanley Rosen of Keyes Co. It has a one-car garage.
Miami-Dade / Monroe
Key West
Square Feet: 513
Bedrooms/Baths: Studio
Age: 75
Selling Price: $199,900
A studio condo, with bath and kitchen, on the second floor of an apartment
building being converted into six condos. The 1928-era building is
a few blocks from Old Town. The cheapest single-family detached home
on the market in July was listed at $365,000.
| Miami Beach: The $200,000 single-family
home is a thing of the past. — Norbert Machado,
managing broker of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell, Miami Beach |
Miami Beach
Square Feet: 1,050
Bedrooms/Baths: 2 / 1 1/2
Age: 37
Selling Price: $203,000
The Bay House condo is on the bay a half-block from Lincoln Road and
has a pool, a balcony and wood floors. No single-family homes have
sold in Miami Beach for under $200,000 in the last 15 months, says
Norbert Machado, managing broker of Esslinger Wooten Maxwell’s Miami
Beach office.
Miami Beach
Square Feet: 641
Bedrooms/Baths: 1 / 1 1/2
Age: 22
Selling Price: $199,900
This seventh-floor condo unit is in an oceanfront building built in 1981.
Donna Bloom of Coldwell Banker says $200,000 won’t buy a single-family
detached home on Miami Beach. As for condos at that price, “there’s not
really much at all.”
Treasure Coast
Hutchinson Island
east of Stuart
Square Feet: 1,186
Bedrooms/Baths: 2 / 2
Age: 28
Selling Price: $205,000
Furnishings were included with this oceanfront condo. The building
has a pool, tennis courts and gated security.
Port St. Lucie
Square Feet: 1,990
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2
Age: 13
Selling Price: $200,000
The home comes with a 28-by-14 pool and is in a moderate, upscale neighborhood
in St. Lucie West with lots of golf in the area.
Southwest / Tampa Bay
Ft. Myers / Naples
South Fort Myers
Ten Mile Canal neighborhood
Square Feet: 1,249
Bedrooms/Baths: 2 / 2
Age: 32
Selling Price: $200,000
This home, on a canal, is the cheapest waterfront property in the area,
just a mile from Terraverde Country Club, a new golf course development.
| Naples: “You can’t find an empty
lot on the coast in Naples for under $500,000.” — Michael A. Manuri, Naples Realty |
Naples
Sabal Lake community
Square Feet: 1,749
Bedrooms/Baths: 4 / 3
Age: 4
Selling Price: $207,500
The house is in a master-planned community about six miles from downtown
Naples. The home has a lake view and access to a community pool.
Tampa / St. Pete / Clearwater
St. Petersburg
Old Northeast
Square Feet: 1,210
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2
Age: 78
Selling Price: $205,000
On the fringe of the popular and trendy Old Northeast neighborhood,
just two miles from downtown, the home has hardwood and ceramic tile
flooring and a fireplace.
South Tampa
Palma Ceia
Square Feet: 1,195
Bedrooms/Baths: 2 / 1
Age: 61
Selling Price: $200,000
Palma Ceia, five miles from downtown and just blocks from Hyde Park’s
trendy cafes and upscale shopping, is a Tampa hot spot. The home sold
in 1988 for $49,500.
Pasco County
Trinity community
Square Feet: 2,194
Bedrooms/Baths: 4 / 2
Age: 4
Selling Price: $200,000
Located on the Pasco/Pinellas county line just a mile north of Palm Harbor,
the house has a garden bath, walk-in closets and an oversized two-car
garage.
Clearwater, Island Estates
Square Feet: 1,215
Bedrooms/Baths: 2 / 2
Age: 15
Selling Price: $239,000
It’s tough to get anything on Clearwater Beach for anything below the
high $300,000s. This older condo is the closest thing on the market for
$200,000 with a view — of the Intracoastal. The unit has been updated.
| Clearwater Beach: “Honey,
there isn’t anything!” — Elizabeth
Seither, Executive Inc. Homes, when asked what
was available on Clearwater Beach for $200,000. |
Sarasota / Bradenton
Bradenton
Lakewood Ranch
Square Feet: 1,625
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2
Age: 9
Selling Price: $200,000
Lakewood Ranch is a 7,000-acre master-planned community on the Manatee/Sarasota
county line. The home has a pool, hot tub, walk-in closets and a two-car
garage.
Sarasota
Nottingham neighborhood
Square Feet: 1,720
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2
Age: 13
Selling Price: $199,000
Just two miles from trendy neighborhoods west of the Tamiami Trail that
boast views of the bay and downtown, this ranch home has a pool and dual
walk-in closets. It’s a few blocks from Fruitville Road, a major thoroughfare
connecting downtown with Interstate 75.
Central
Orlando
Southwest Orlando
Dr. Phillips area
Square Feet: 1,948
Bedrooms/Baths: 4 / 2
Age: 19 years
Selling Price: $199,000
The Dr. Phillips neighborhood remains popular for its solid feel: Older
neighborhoods are known for suburban-style homes with large lots and
mature landscaping. This home in the Sand Lake Hills subdivision is
a 30- to 40-minute commute to downtown Orlando during rush hour.
Downtown Orlando
Lake Eola neighborhood
Square Feet: 1,000
Bedrooms/Baths: 2 / 1
Age: 49
Selling Price: $215,000
This cottage three blocks from Lake Eola in Orlando’s downtown sold for
$98,000 in 1990. The revitalization of downtown has more than doubled
the price of this non-restored historic property.
Orlando
Thornton Park neighborhood
Square Feet: 1,680
Bedrooms/Baths: 2 / 2 1 2
Age: 30
Selling Price: $202,000
The three-story town home’s previous sale price of $90,000 in 1995 (with
only one real improvement since) shows how things have changed in Thornton
Park, just a mile or two from downtown Orlando. The neighborhood was
once an area where people wouldn’t walk after dark.
| Lake Mary: “Most folks
form their original impressions of Orlando from
visits to Disney. They are surprised to know
that we have older areas with oak-shaded brick
streets and so many beautiful lakes, rivers and
natural springs.” — Broker Doug
Packard, Buyer's Realty Group, Seminole County |
Osceola / Seminole
Kissimmee
Osceola County
Square Feet: 2,226
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 3
Age: 5
Selling Price: $197,000
This three-car garage, golf course home is within walking distance
of grocery stores and other amenities. It is a 30-minute drive to downtown
Orlando and the airport. The house has a large screened-in-patio. “For
$200,000, you can get a brand-new house that’s at least 2,000 square
feet, with a pool,” says Realtor Cyn Ewald Zellner of Goodwin Realty
of Kissimmee.
Lake Mary
Seminole County
Square Feet: 2,173
Bedrooms/Baths: 4 / 2 1/2
Age: 12
Selling Price: $204,900
Some of the best schools in the nation (as recently ranked by Newsweek)
and a half-hour commute to Orlando make Seminole County among the hottest
bedroom communities in Florida. This home has a screened-in, lagoon-style
pool with a stone waterfall.
Space Coast
Cape Canaveral
Square Feet: 1,799
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2 1/2
Age: 17
Selling Price: $194,000
This townhouse, just one block from the beach, features a living room
that opens into a private garden, as well as a fireplace, custom tile
counters and a large screened-in porch with an ocean view. “We’re still
affordable here,” says Jean Starkey, owner of ERA Aladdin Real Estate
of Brevard County. “You can have a beautiful view of the ocean for
less than $200,000.”
Northeast
Jacksonville
Green Cove Springs
Square Feet: 1,814
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2
Age: 3
Selling Price: $199,750
Contemporary, single-story home located in gated Magnolia Point Golf & Country
Club. The Clay County home is about 22 miles from downtown Jacksonville.
It has a screened porch overlooking a lagoon and golf course.
Jacksonville
Square Feet: 2,108
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2 1/2
Age: 9
Selling Price: $200,000
Off Atlantic Boulevard in Jacksonville’s fast-growing — and increasingly
congested — Southside, this split-level home overlooks a man-made lake
and has a two-car garage.
Downtown Jacksonville
Square Feet: 1,442
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 1
Age: 80
Selling Price: $199,900
The renovated 1923 bungalow is in Avondale near downtown shops and restaurants.
It includes a sun room, formal living and dining rooms and an updated
eat-in kitchen with new appliances.
Atlantic Beach
22 miles east of Jacksonville
Square Feet: 1,328
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2
Age: 40
Selling Price: $199,900
A one-story bungalow on main street in one of the Jacksonville area’s
most sought-after beach communities. A recent renovation includes a new
kitchen. The house sold for $81,000 in 1995.
St. Augustine /Palm Coast
St. Augustine
Lincolnville
10 blocks from downtown
Square Feet: 1,144
Bedrooms/Baths: 2 / 2
Age: 11 1/2
Selling Price: $195,000
Located in a historically black section of
St. Augustine, Lincolnville is undergoing a rejuvenation, thanks its
proximity to downtown and affordable land values. This custom-built,
two-story Florida cracker-style home features cypress wood floors,
beadboard cabinetry, a metal roof and a 480-sq.-ft. detached garage/workshop.
| Palm Coast: The majority of Realtor
Gail Downs’ Palm Coast buyers are Baby Boomers retiring early. |
Palm Coast
Indian Trail subdivision
Square Feet: 2,425
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 3
Age: New
Selling Price: $203,000
It’s not easy to find a $200,000 sale in Palm Coast. This purchase
included $188,500 for the home and $14,500 for the two lots it was
built on. The home is 20 minutes from the beach.
Gainesville / Alachua
Ocala
about 8 miles from downtown
Square Feet: 3,700
Bedrooms/Baths: 4 / 3
Age: 6
Selling Price: $208,750
The split-plan home with nine-foot ceilings sits on 3 1¼ 2 acres with
a small pond. Despite the acreage, the house isn’t zoned for horses,
a disadvantage in Ocala.
Northwest Gainesville
Brookfield subdivision
Square Feet: 2,200
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2
Age: New
Selling Price: $201,000
While environmentally minded Gainesvillians worry about what they see
as sprawling growth on the west side, Brookfield is close-in by other
Florida-city standards: It’s just seven miles, or a 15-minute drive in
traffic, to the University of Florida campus.
| Gainesville: New subdivisions
popping up west of the city are attracting a
good mix of families with small children, single
professionals and retirees moving to town in
part because of its top-notch healthcare facilities. — Bonnie
Cameron, Cameron & Cameron Mortgage |
Northwest
Northwest Coastal
East Panama City Beach
Bay Point subdivision
Square Feet: 2,200
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2
Age: 17
Selling Price: $200,000
This gated community home sits on the 12th fairway of the Meadows golf
course. Features include a sunken living room with wood-burning fireplace
and wet bar, Jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom and a screened-in porch.
Beaches and downtown are only a few minutes away.
East Panama City Beach
Summerwood Community
Square Feet: 2,200
Bedrooms/Baths: 4 / 2 1/2
Age: 2
Selling Price: $200,000
This home, part of the Arvida/St. Joe Co. Summerwood development, includes
a hot tub, enclosed patio, heated swimming pool, gas fireplace and cathedral
ceilings.
Southeast Pensacola
East Hill area
Square Feet: 1,645
Bedrooms/Baths: 2 / 2
Age: 65
Selling Price: $207,500
Historic East Hill, five minutes from downtown, has become one of the
most popular residential areas in Pensacola. On a large corner double
lot, the home has hardwood flooring, ceramic tile, a formal dining room,
a covered wraparound porch, brick courtyard and pool.
Southwest Pensacola
Chandelle subdivision
Square Feet: 2,200
Bedrooms/Baths: 4 / 2
Age: 4
Selling Price: $200,000
Southwest Pensacola is the fastest-growing area in Escambia County. This
contemporary home has an enclosed pool. Chandelle is less than 10 minutes
from the pristine beaches of Perdido Key and 20 minutes from historic
downtown Pensacola.
Fort Walton Beach
Kenwood area
Square Feet: 2,200
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 2 1/2
Age: 18
Selling Price: $198,000
The golf course community home has a stone fireplace, sits on a large
lot and has a pool. Close proximity to downtown, malls, Destin’s beaches
and Eglin and Hurlburt Air Force Bases makes the area attractive.
West Fort Walton Beach
Scottsdale subdivision
Square Feet: 2,376
Bedrooms/Baths: 4 / 2 1/2
Age: 23
Selling Price: $195,000
This home sits on a large corner lot in an older neighborhood minutes
from downtown and has been remodeled to include tile and marble flooring.
It has a pool, separate workshop, double garage and professional tropical
landscaping.
| Taylor County: “People call me all
the time and say: ‘Find me a place where I can’t see my neighbor.’ A
lot of my clients are people who originally bought property
in south Florida and planned to retire there, but now that
it’s time, it’s too crowded and they want to get away.” — Karen
Barnhill, Mayo's Southern Sky Realty |
Northwest Rural
Marianna
Indian Springs subdivision
Square Feet: 2,733
Bedrooms/Baths: 4 / 2
Age: 17
Selling Price: $194,900
An hour from Tallahassee, rural Marianna offers a bit more bang for
the buck. Sitting on a five-acre lot, the home has an additional two-story
garage/shop and is minutes from downtown Marianna and area schools.
Taylor County
Steinhatchee
Square Feet: 3,000
Bedrooms/Baths: 3 / 4
Age: 10
Selling Price: $217,000
This two-unit home has two screened-in porches overlooking the Steinhatchee
River. The price included the lot next door, bringing the total land
to an acre and a half.
Tallahassee
Tallahassee
Goose Creek subdivision
Square Feet: 1,968
Bedrooms/Baths: 4 / 2
Age: New
Selling Price: $199,000
It’s tough to find a new home under $200,000 inside Capital Circle,
the highway that rings the tree-lined inner city. The home sits on
a quarter-acre lot and has a two-car garage.