Winter Garden continues to be a place thousands of families want to call home.

While we can’t tout a double-digit spike in sale price or $/ft we can take solace in the fact that all the metrics remained at these record levels without retraction in spite of all the negative factors converging on the economy in 2024. We need to keep in mind that the average closed sale price in 2020, just 4 years ago, was $433,197 and $/ft was $168.53. In 2024 it was $646,528 and $266.85…that’s 33% and 37% spikes in 4 short years and holding.

I would be remised if I did not point out the hundreds of homes that closed in the new construction arena not even posted on the ORRA MLS. If they were these numbers would all be much higher, the reality is that many new homes closed and funded, they sell for higher $/ft that resales of same size… it is an easy fact to agree on. This fact cannot be ignored when quantifying the 34787 real estate market and its future projections.

Let’s discuss the 2024 market activity in depth. What is most glaring is the 50% less units sold and closed from 2023. What will not be known unless I bring it up, in 2023 there were 3 closings over 4m and 1 over 3m. In 2024 the highest closed sale in 34787 was $2,700,000. 2024 had 21 homes sell over 2m to 2023’s 10.

This is important to dissect because 2024 finished “even” year to year with the lack of those 4 big, closed sales and 50% less closed volume. I personally think this is incredible news considering what other markets nationwide are reporting. To sound like a broken record, the 34787 mls data is not 100% encompassing, the new home sales are at record pace currently in the Horizons West area. New homes sell higher than resale homes PLUS new home purchases cost the buyer significantly more in closing costs due to the title insurance and documentary stamp responsibility that is actually a seller expense in the resale arena. No idea how the builders as a whole pulled this off decades ago, put that is a whole different topic.