Ocala vs Belleview vs Summerfield

[Murali Jesudoss]

Hello Team,

I have been closely watching the Silver Spring Shores in Ocala and Ocala Park Estate areas and have 5 homes under my belt there. I now have an opportunity to acquire few new homes 3B 2B 1G in South east of Silver spring shores and also Belleview and Summerfield areas for 160ish grand range.

I would like to know from fellow Central FL investors how do these areas compare? Are Belleview and Summerfield as good as Ocala in terms of long term rental and appreciation? do they have high vacancy rate? If there are as good as Ocala, are there any areas or zip codes I should be beware and stay away?

Also, there are lot of homes coming up in Locust streets like locust loop, locust ln locust rd, etc(different names) in South east side of silver spring shores. Google map shows them as forest background areas with 1 or 2 homes in street but my builder says these are out of date and these roads are having lot of new homes? Can anyone on the ground confirm the same? Like if these homes would be as close to the core silver spring shore homes in-terms of rental and appreciation?

Thanks again for all your help!!

[Clay Lehman]

@Branden Esch would you mind if I asked the name of the community?  I read about a build for rent going on in Ocala, but on the NW side of town (LINK), Belleview is pretty much directly south.  In terms of the deal you are considering, my concern is the price for the rent you will receive.  For my rentals, I prefer to as much as possible stick to the median, median size, median price, etc.  My thought is that while there is more competition, it is also the most popular product so it has the most potential tenants.  In Ocala, our median home prices have been going crazy for sure, up 25% in 2021 and 2022 is starting off strong as well.  But I think the $300k for the 2,700 sq ft house is on the upper end of the median.  It is definitely a lot of house for the money, I am seeing 1,400 sq ft homes in Marion Oaks and SSS sell for $240,000.  What does the builder/seller expect the houses to rent for?

I agree with the other posters that Belleview is an attractive area for renters.  It is more rural than Ocala.  There are some nice communities in Belleview and it is closer to the villages so that opens up some more employment for your potential tenants.  Another thing I would consider as you look at where to invest is try to think through how the investment might perform in a down turn, so not just right now when things are red hot and everything is renting for top dollar with very little time on the market, but how durable is the cash flow and the desirability of the unit when supply catches up to demand and the economy cools off a little.  I have to admit, I am a bit of a downer when it comes to evaluating deals, but having lived through the last meltdown, it is hard to shake those memories.  To be clear, I do not expect something as dire, but there is no question that our economy and housing market operates in cycles and it feels like we are due for some level of correction.

Are there restrictions on how you can use the home?  Meaning would you be able to sell it if you chose to?  Do you have to hold it as a rental for a period of time before you can sell?  Something to consider as well if there is a restriction on the liquidity of the asset.

The whole Marion County area (including Belleview) is growing like crazy and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  We manage a large number of properties and our average days on market is 7 with many properties renting in 24-48 hours.  I think that there is still some runway left in the current market, but I would definitely encourage you to have an eye on what the next down cycle might look like.  No one knows for sure, but it is out there.  Good luck and welcome to the Ocala/Belleview market.  We have a strong community of posters on BP, as you can see, so please post updates and questions as they arise.