On September 15 Marion County commissioners unanimously approved a rewrite of the Cypress Pointe planned development on 103 acres near SW 95th Street Road, in southwest Ocala’s Liberty Triangle. The developer asked to replace 621 approved townhomes and villas with 337 single-family detached homes, 284 fewer units than the county had already allowed. Commissioners added 27-foot front setbacks so parked cars do not block sidewalks. The request ran opposite to the usual density fight, in which a builder seeks more units and neighbors seek fewer.
Newberry approved Country Way 2 in August: 160 farm acres near SW 15th Avenue rezoned for 500 homes, phased over 12 years. It follows Country Way in 2023 and the 4,500-home NC Ranch plan.
Summerfield Cottages in Wildwood: 265 ranch-style rental homes of about 1,000 to 1,439 square feet. The builder listed vertical work for fall and first move-ins in spring 2027.
Everlee’s approved plan runs 2.76 units per acre, for 2,750 units, on land whose rural zoning allows 0.28. Alachua County plans to buy about 5,000 acres of conservation land as the offset.
| Figure | What it measures | The latest read | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.28% | 30-yr fixed | 15-year 6.60%. A year ago 6.34%. Highest 30-year reading since Nov 2023. | Freddie Mac · Oct 1 2026 |
| $415,000 | FL single-family median | About six months of supply statewide; inventory down 13% in a year. | FL Realtors · Aug 2026 |
| $290,000 | Marion single-family median | 4.8 months of supply, 61 days to contract, inventory down 14.8%. | FL Realtors / OMCAR · Aug 2026 |
| $318,500 | Gainesville median sale price | 82 days on market, against 69 a year earlier. | Redfin · Aug 2026 |
| $1,020 | Alachua Citizens premium | Marion $1,263, Levy $1,385, Sumter $1,728. Statewide average $1,843. | Citizens / FL OIR · Apr 2026 |
| −4.8% | FL avg requested home rate change | 30-day average. A year ago −1.1%; five years ago +5.2%. | FL OIR via Hoodline · Sep 23 2026 |
After eight named storms, the 2026 Atlantic season reached October without a hurricane for the first time since satellite tracking began in 1966. The latest first hurricane on record formed on October 8, 1905. AccuWeather forecasts zero to two hurricanes for the rest of a season that runs through November 30.
Alachua County holds about 1.11 rental units per renter household, with a rental vacancy rate near 9 percent. Gainesville’s average rent is $1,824, up about 1.8 percent over the year. Issue 09 reported Ocala’s average apartment rent at $1,532 on August 31, down 1.58 percent.
During the Rodman Reservoir drawdown last winter, about 7,500 acres of drowned forest reappeared, along with at least 20 hidden springs. The Ocklawaha restoration bill passed the Florida House 107 to 3, but its Senate companion never reached a floor vote and died when session ended in March. The reservoir was refilled in April. Advocates say the push resumes next session.
On September 8 the Alachua County Commission voted to convey 13.11 acres to the Hutchinson Foundation for a workforce and market-rate project in east Gainesville: 55 for-sale homes, 17 of them held to long-term affordability, 24 age-restricted units, five duplexes, a licensed daycare and 14,000 square feet of commercial space.
Florida votes November 3 on Amendment 3: a homestead exemption from non-school levies of $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and a non-homestead assessment cap cut from 10 percent to 5. Two corridor counties have put their own numbers to it.
UF and Santa Fe College pay no property tax, so only about 67 percent of Alachua County is on the roll. County figures put the general fund loss under a $250,000 exemption above $36 million, leaving roughly $11.5 million for general services. Commissioners scheduled an October 6 special meeting on the 2028 and 2029 budgets.
Marion adopted a $1.736 billion budget at a combined 4.28 mills. The prior general fund rate had been held to 3.09 mills with leftover federal ARPA relief money. The county lists about $12 million more for ambulance staffing and $6.8 million for jail operations as the largest drivers. The rate still ranks among Florida’s 10 lowest.
The amendment would take an estimated $11.86 billion out of local budgets; school levies are excluded. Florida Realtors launched a Vote Yes on 3 campaign on September 9, after its board endorsed the measure on August 23. A Florida constitutional amendment needs 60 percent of the vote to pass.
The story I keep turning over is a developer in southwest Ocala who asked the county for 284 fewer homes. Cypress Pointe was approved for 621 townhomes and villas. On September 15 it became 337 detached houses on the same 103 acres. Builders do not leave units on the table for fun. They build what they think they can sell, and in that price band this one is betting on a yard.
It is not one plan. Newberry approved 500 homes over 12 years, so that supply drips in. Wildwood is getting 265 rental houses, not apartments. Alachua went the other way at Everlee. The corridor has plenty of approvals. What it is sorting out is what kind of home people will pay for with the 30-year at 7.28 percent.
Then the ballot. Amendment 3 on November 3 changes the math on every homestead, and Alachua, with a third of the county off the tax roll, has the most services at stake. Marion just raised its rate as the federal relief money ran out. Know your own county before you vote, and before you buy.
Buyer: 337 detached homes are coming to the Liberty Triangle instead of 621 townhomes. If you want a yard in southwest Ocala, new-construction choice is growing; at 7.28 percent, compare builder rate buydowns.
Seller: own a townhome in southwest Ocala? 621 new ones that would have competed with yours are off the plan. Price against resale, not new construction, and lead with HOA and insurance costs.
Investor: a builder walked away from 284 attached units, and Alachua runs near 9 percent rental vacancy. Underwrite attached rentals on real absorption, and watch Summerfield’s 265 houses lease up in 2027.