Orlando Mortgage Facts

Orlando Introduction

Orlando, the theme park capital of the world, is located roughly in the middle of Florida on the East-West Expressway (408) and Interstate 4. Orlando is the county seat of Orange County, Florida. It is an hour and thirty minutes northeast of Tampa, an hour southwest of Daytona Beach, and an hour northwest of Port Canaveral.

Orlando Neighborhoods

The City of Orlando has 88 residential neighborhoods. One of the more famous is the Lake Eola Heights Historic District, which has been a U.S. historic district since 1992. The Lake Eola Heights Historic District contains over 480 historic buildings.

Orlando Real Estate

In 2005 there were an estimated 101,981 housing units in Orlando (U.S. Census Bureau). Of these, 39.7 were owner occupied, 60.3% were renter occupied, and 7.6% were vacant. The owner occupancy rate in Orlando was substantially below the national average of 66.9% as of 2005.

Orlando housing is relatively young. Nearly 80% of Orlando's homes have been built since 1960, and slightly over half has been built since 1980. The vast majority of Orlando residences are 4 or more rooms with 2 or more bedrooms. Around 10% have 8 or more rooms and 4 or more bedrooms. As is true of most of Central Florida, most of Orlando's homes are heated by electricity.

An owner occupied home in Orlando had a median value of $194,300 in 2005. This was above the national average and substantially above the $103,200 median value in 2000. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median price of an Orlando home was up to $267,000 by the end of the Q1 2007.

In Orlando, three quarters (74.5%) of the owner-occupied homes have a mortgage loan. Many Orlando homeowners (28.9%) are tapping into the value of their homes with equity loans and/or second mortgages.Median monthly owner costs for a residence in Orlando were $1,250 in 2005, slightly below the average for the US as a whole.

Orlando Property Taxes

The Orange County Property Appraiser is responsible for identifying, locating, and fairly valuing all real and personal property within Orange county for tax purposes. The Orange County Tax Collector collects the property taxes for Orlando and Orange County. As of 2005, the median annual real estate tax bill for an owner occupied home in Orlando was $1,683 (US Census Bureau Data).

Orlando Schools

The City of Orlando, Florida is served by the Orange County Public School (OCPS) system. OCPS is the 11th largest school system in the United States, and the 4th largest in the State of Florida. OCPS is also the second largest employer in Central Florida.

Nearly 75% of the schools in Orange County earned A and B grades in 2006 under the state’s A+ Plan for Education. Since 2005 two of Orlando's public schools have earned recognition from the Federal Government's "No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools" program.

Colleges and universities located in Orlando include: Barry University's law school, DeVry University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Everglades University, Florida A&M University's law school, Florida Institute of Technology, Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, Florida Metropolitan University, High Tech Institute, Nova Southeastern University, Keiser College, Orlando Culinary Academy, Polytechnic University, Reformed Theological Seminary, University of Central Florida, University of Phoenix, and Valencia Community College.

Orlando Economy

The main engine of the Orlando economy is travel and tourism and Walt Disney World is by far the largest employer. But Orlando's economy is not solely dependent on tourism. Other major sectors of the economy include (ranked by size of employment):

* Trade, Transportation, and Utilities
* Professional and Business Services
* Government
* Educational and Health Services

There are three Fortune 1000 companies headquartered in Orlando (Airtran Holdings, Darden Restaurants, and Hughes Supply). Behind Walt Disney, Orlando's largest employers include: Adventist Health System, Federal Government, Florida Hospital, Orange County Public Schools, Orlando Regional Healthcare System, Publix Supermarkets, Universal Orlando, and Wal-Mart.

According to US Census Bureau data, as of 2005 the median household income in Orlando was $36,699. This was well below the national average ($46,242) and below the average for Florida ($42,433).

Source : http://www.citytowninfo.com/