Thoughts on the Ocala Market

[Alecia Downing]

Hello Investors,

I randomly wanted to gauge some thoughts on the Ocala, FL Market, any experts in this market, need to hear the pros & the cons. 

Thanks in Advance 

[Clay Lehman]

Good afternoon Alecia,

I have lived in Ocala since 2005.  I have been in real estate as an agent/broker since 2009 and own a large property management company.  I am also a real estate investor, primarily new construction single family homes.  I had a quad but sold it in 2021.  

For pros, the area is one of the lower priced MSA's in Florida.  There has been a ton of population growth as well as job growth.  Ocala was one of maybe 5 markets to add jobs during the pandemic.  Ocala consistently ranks as one of the top move destinations in the Uhaul study every year.  The employment base has broadened significantly in the last 10-15 years.  Where we were once primarily service, healthcare and equestrian jobs, we have added very significant distribution jobs with FedEx, Amazon, Chewy, Autozone and Dollar Tree all building large distribution centers in Ocala.  I believe that this positive momentum will continue.  Ocala has a strong underpinning of the economy with recession-resistant industries like healthcare and equestrian (they are so rich, they tend to be recession proof!)

Cons - I am interested to see what will happen with the distribution jobs in a recession.  I don't think we would be at risk for like a full-scale shut down of any of the facilities but if spending lets up, I could see some cutbacks in the number of employees at each facility.  Median income isn't terribly high in Ocala, I think it is around $40-$45k, but I believe that is increasing.  As much as we have grown, the area is still rural and we struggle a bit with workforce development.  The City/County leadership continues to work on this and are making progress but it is still difficult.

Overall, I feel good about the long term investment potential of Ocala.  I like the broad employment base and the low (relative to the rest of the state) median home prices.

I hope this info is helpful.