Tolaris Realty Group reports 67.3 percent increase in luxury home sales and traffic in Winter Park, Lake Mary, South Orlando

SANFORD, Fla. –Tolaris Realty Group, is reporting it has seen a 67.3 percent increase in luxury home sales and traffic since Jan. 1 for luxury homes and lakefront properties in Winter Park, Lake Mary and South Orlando and beachfront condominiums in Brevard and Volusia Counties.

Rick Bavec, president of Tolaris Realty Group, said the firm has handled more than 40 transactions since the start of the year. Most luxury home buyers are paying cash, Bavec said.

Tolaris Realty Group recently hosted a realtor seminar at Alaqua Country Club to discuss short sales and foreclosures. Bavec said real estate Attorney Reinhard Stephan conducted the seminar.

“Many area realtors attended the seminar and we plan to host a series of similarly themed seminars in the future,” Bavec said.

Future seminars will be open to the public.

NAI Realvest Extends Hudson Restaurant Property Online Auction to June 8

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Paul P. Partyka, managing partner at NAI Realvest in Maitland, is going online to sell a 9,367 square foot restaurant building on a 2.8 acre site in Hudson to the highest bidder on June 8.

Partyka said the facility, located on S.R. 52 in Hudson between U.S. 19 and County Road 1, is well located on a busy thoroughfare, posts daily traffic counts that range between 30,000 and 63,000, surrounded by residential neighborhoods.

“It’s an excellent opportunity for development as a restaurant or for redevelopment with another use,” Partyka said.

Buyers of mid-range commercial facilities don’t often tour Hudson looking for opportunities.

“The online auction format offers us an excellent opportunity,” Partyka said. “We can present to a worldwide audience of potential bidders who are more interested in the facts---demographics, location, facility size, parking---than the general area,” he explained.

NAI Realvest designed a special web site for the auction at NAIauction.com/Hudson, and bids will be accepted online from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8.

Introducing David Toro, Luxury Homes Specialist at Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty

Orlando, Fla. --- David Toro, International Luxury Homes Specialist at Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty, has a different take on the real estate market from many market observers.

“In my role as an International Luxury Homes Specialist at Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty I have met countless celebrities, engineers, lawyers, doctors, business owners, and executives,” Toro said.

“While many educated individuals look down upon today's real estate market, I see a breadth of opportunity,” he said.

“We are emerging from an unprecedented housing market, but positive trends are already beginning to emerge. Buyers are leaving the sidelines and sellers are adjusting to the realities of the market. That’s a win/win situation, because as the supply curve dwindles, and as the demand curve increases, we will begin seeing a steady upbeat of market valuation,” he added.

For Toro, Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty has the best grasp of market conditions and the infrastructure to shape the market.

“Our marketing department constantly innovates new avenues for our listings. We are at the forefront of the industry. Luxury QR CODE marketing is a good example of our industry-leading efforts---we are among the first real estate firms in the U.S. to implement barcodes that can be scanned from your smart phone. The codes direct users to templates on the web that depict the properties features, and in some instances, we redirect our customers to video presentations of our homes,” Toro said.

“The National association of Realtors and Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty have acknowledged that video marketing is one of the most effective avenues of distribution to social media circles, so we have made it an important part of our business to develop media. Our company has an unlimited variety of proprietary marketing avenues that distinguish us from the competition,” he said.

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty produces results that would be inaccessible elsewhere, Toro asserts.

“I have worked with many high net worth individuals,” Toro said. “In one case, I negotiated a million dollars off the asking price for a luxury property. While this is a career benchmark, benchmarks result when determination, the skills of a professional real estate advisor, and a brokering agency with a powerful infrastructure all come together,” he said.

That infrastructure extends outside the traditional “Realtor” scope, Toro added.

“Most people don’t realize that Stirling has a worldwide auction group that can auction off real estate in any part of the globe. If you have a multi million dollar property that your’re interested in selling, we can, and will sell it at market value or better,” he said.

About Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty:

Stirling Sotheby’s International Realty is affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, the largest luxury real estate brand in the world. Stirling Sotheby’s exclusive services include luxury residential, new homes, commercial, property management, in addition to supporting builders, developers, lenders, and asset managers. The company operates three performance zones which serve all of Central Florida. Visit www.StirlingSIR.com.

Ryland Homes Names Sarah McMichael Sales Assistant in Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Ryland Homes recently appointed Sarah McMichael sales assistant in the Charleston region.

Brian Cartwright, vice president of sales and marketing for Ryland Homes in Charleston, said McMichael holds a B.A. Degree in Communications from the University of Tennessee. Prior to entering real estate and new home sales, she was a preschool teacher.

McMichael will be assisting new homebuyers at Ryland’s community of Bellwood off Miles Jamison Road in Charleston.

About Ryland Homes

With headquarters in Southern California, Ryland is one of the nation's largest homebuilders and a leading mortgage-finance company. The Company currently operates in 31 markets across the country and has built more than 260,000 homes and financed more than 210,000 mortgages since its founding in 1967. Ryland is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "RYL."

Beazer Homes Opens Five Ready-To-Move-In Homes at Sawgrass in South Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Beazer Homes has five ready-to-move-in single-family homes priced from $164,900 to $249,900 at Sawgrass, located on Sawgrass Plantation Blvd. between Landstar Blvd. and Weatherbee Rd. in south Orlando.

David Byrnes, president of Beazer Homes Florida, said the new three, four and five-bedroom homes are among the last available for sale at Sawgrass---only 20 home sites remain for sale, Byrnes said.

New ready-to-move-in homes at Sawgrass range in size from 1,400 square feet of living space.

All new Beazer homes at Sawgrass feature eSMART energy-saving engineering with programmable thermostats, cost-saving CFL light bulbs, water-saving Moen low flow shower heads and faucets, MERV 8 air filters, and low VOC paints and carpets.

NAI Realvest Negotiates New Long-Term Office Lease at Primera in Lake Mary for an Information Technology firm relocating from Connecticut

ORLANDO, Fla. --- NAI Realvest recently negotiated a five-year lease agreement for 1,380 square feet of office space at Suite 125, Primera Court I, 725 Primera Blvd. in Lake Mary.

NAI Realvest Senior Broker Associate Mary Frances West, CCIM brokered the transaction. The landlord at Primera Court I is Interchange-Primera II, LLC based in Daytona Beach.

The new tenant RezZiliant, which provides IT services, offsite backup, Virtual and Server colocation, recovery and security services, and also has a division that develops Healthcare software, has relocated from Waterbury, Conn. Their website is www.rezziliant.com and contact info is 1-866-581-4678

About NAI Realvest

NAI Realvest, covering all of Central Florida, is a fully integrated commercial real estate operating company specializing in brokerage, development, investment, leasing and management, consulting and research services in the U.S. and worldwide. NAI Global is an international commercial real estate network with over 350 offices spanning the globe. Since 1978, clients have built businesses on the power of NAI Global’s expanding network. Extensive services include multi-site acquisitions and dispositions, sublease, tenant representation, lease administration and audit, investment services, due diligence and related consulting and advisory services. To learn more, visit www.NAIRealvest.com.

Ashton Woods Homes Opens New Phase for 38 New Single Family Homes at Wickham Park in Windermere

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Ashton Woods Homes has released 38 single family home sites for sale in a new phase at Wickham Park, off Overstreet Rd. and C.R. 535 in Windermere.

Michael Roche, vice president of sales and marketing for Ashton Woods Homes in the Orlando region, said new three and four bedroom single family homes at Wickham Park range in size from 1,630 square feet of living space to 1,950 square feet with two car garages.

New Ashton Woods homes at Wickham Park are priced from under $190,000.

Ashton Woods Homes is one of the nation’s largest private homebuilding companies with operations in Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, Raleigh, Dallas, Houston, Austin and Phoenix.

Allogy Interactive, McGraw Hill launch University of Central Florida Digital Press to Provide Textbook Downloads

ORLANDO, Fla., – Allogy Interactive, based in Orlando, recently entered into an exclusive agreement with textbook publisher McGraw Hill to create the UCF Digital Press, which will provide University of Central Florida students the opportunity to download their textbooks — complete with rich media, hyperlinks and coaching algorithms — directly to their favorite mobile device.

Colin Forward, Communications Director for Allogy Interactive, said the agreement means student backpacks never have to get much heavier than a tablet computer.

More importantly, digital texts will drive down the costs of a product plagued by expensive printing, shipping and a huge secondary market,” Forward said.

Allogy is taking a revolutionary step forward in the distributed learning environment, Forward said.

“Ask any college student. The hardest cost to swallow every semester is that of textbooks. Not only are they expensive, they are a pain to lug around and often play a supporting role to online resources,” Forward said.

Digital textbooks create enormous opportunities for learning, Forward said. With rich media and hyperlinks, a digital textbook becomes a far more formidable teaching tool.

“We are now able to provide students with instant access to enormous resources,” Forward said. “We won’t make libraries obsolete, but we will provide students with instant access, anywhere, to an entire library of content specific resources,” he said.

Allogy Interactive is a client of the UCF Business Incubation Program in the Central Florida Research Park in east Orange County.

About Allogy Interactive:

Allogy Interactive, a leading developer of mobile applications for education, healthcare, business, and social enterprises, connects people to promote learning, opportunity, and economic growth by understanding the relationships, creating intuitive interfaces and using data to promote the transparency and accountability necessary for achievement.

About the UCF Business Incubation Program:

Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 160 emerging companies (including 100 current clients) create over $800 million in annual revenue and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With eight – and soon nine – facilities opened across the Greater Orlando community, the Business Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, The City of Sanford, Lake County, the City of Leesburg, Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee, City of St. Cloud, the Florida High Tech Corridor Council and will be adding Volusia County. For more information, please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.

Data Transfer Solutions to participate in pilot program to reduce energy consumption in Longmont, Colo.

ORLANDO, Fla. --- Data Transfer Solutions, LLC (DTS), based in Orlando’s Avalon Park, recently was selected with Brendle Group, of Fort Collins, Colo., to participate in a pilot program to reduce energy consumption in Longmont, Colo.

A.M. “Trey” Fragala III, AICP, PMP, chief operating officer at Data Transfer Solutions, said Longmont’s energy efficiency information and education program is one of the most progressive approaches to energy efficiency in the nation.

“The goal of this project is to test and evaluate which methods of providing energy consumption information are most useful to city residents,” Fragala explained.

“The city wants to learn which energy efficiency tools result in the highest level of voluntary household efficiencies and decreased energy consumption,” he said.

DTS developed a suite of carbon calculator tools for Park City, Utah, that provides homeowners with monthly assessments of their energy use online.

“The city of Longmont realizes that significant efficiencies can be achieved if we can provide families with information on what they are doing right,” Fragala said.

“Our goal has been to assemble the data in a format that is easy to understand, effective and accurate,” Fragala said.

DTS provides asset management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), transportation planning/engineering, web design, database/software applications, and video and multi media production services to local governments and regional and state agencies throughout the U.S.

NAI Realvest Negotiates 10 Year Lease where a new Ocean Buffet will open at former Whistle Junction on U.S. 1 in South Daytona

MAITLAND, Fla. - NAI Realvest recently negotiated a ten-year lease of the 11,414 square foot former Whistle Junction facility at 1854 South Ridgewood Ave. in South Daytona.

Paul P. Partyka, principal and managing partner at NAI Realvest, along with principals Matt Cichocki and Kevin O’Connor, negotiated the transaction representing the landlord, SBI Leasing of Titusville.

The new tenant is Fort Myers-based Ocean Buffet, Inc., who was represented by Josephine Wang of Carlino Commercial Group. It will be the third location for Ocean Buffet when it is anticipated to open in July. The firm also operates Ocean Buffet restaurants in Fort Myers and St. Augustine, Cichocki said.

This is also the eighth transaction involving a buffet style restaurant that the NAI Realvest team has completed in the last 18 months.

About NAI Realvest:

NAI Realvest in Orlando, covering all of Central Florida, is a fully integrated commercial real estate operating company specializing in brokerage, development, investment, leasing and management, consulting and research services in the U.S. and worldwide. NAI Global is an international commercial real estate network with over 350 offices spanning the globe. Since 1978, clients have built businesses on the power of NAI Global’s expanding network. Extensive services include multi-site acquisitions and dispositions, sublease, tenant representation, lease administration and audit, investment services, due diligence and related consulting and advisory services. To learn more, visit www.NAIRealvest.com.