Lake Nona “Medical City”
In the South East corner of the Orlando MSA, Lake Nona is the site of the planned “Medical City” that is heralded to be as large of an economic driver in Central Florida as Disney has become. Major incentives and planning has been given to the area to attract medical and medical related companies to build and locate facilities to this area over the past 10 years, and it is now coming together with some of the first major employers set to open their doors at the end of 2012 and early 2013 with a 95 bed Nemours Children’s Hospital, a 134 bed VA hospital (the first built in the country since 1995!). These two enormous hospitals will join recently opened UCF Medical School, Sanford-Burnham Medical research Center, MD Anderson research center, and UF academic and Research Center. Just this first phase of the “Medical City” alone will bring several hundred high paying jobs to the area, and will be the base of an area that will continue to grow and attract additional research firms, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies with highly paid workers in need of housing. For more on the area check out www.learnlakenona.com
As for investment, the obvious potential of the continued growth is one of the main attractions to the area. Currently though, the secret is out, and on average, returns for a rental property right now are lower than other areas. This is likely caused by the anticipation of future growth keeping prices higher, but the current status of waiting for those jobs to open is not pushing the rental market higher... yet. Current drivers for residents in the area are the proximity and easy commute to other employment areas such as the International Airport, 20 minutes to the International Dr. Tourism area, 30 minutes to the Space Coast, and 10-15 minutes to east Orlando’s engineering, education, and technology employers. With low crime rates and highly rated schools, this area has quite a lot going for it, with more to come.
Property Makeup: Mostly newer Single Family detached and Townhome style homes in master planned communities with mixture of New Urbanism and contemporary design.
Price Ranges: 04/2012
- Condo’s – $80,000-$130,000 (not highly recommended in this area)
- Townhomes - $120,000-$220,000 (best rental properties are under 150K)
- Single Family Homes - $135,000 up to $4,000,000+ (Best Rental properties under $250K)
What to Watch out for: Properties to close to Highway 417 and a currently infrequently used train track, as well as most neighborhoods being subject to an additional property tax known as a CDD.
Overall Rating: “A+” for a great area with excellent future potential and OK current returns.
Favorite Neighborhoods for Investment (where I tend to find the most and best all around deals): Northlake Park, Morningside at Northlake Park, East Park, LaVina, North Shore at Lake Hart.
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