June 29, 2011

Jacksonville, FL Real Estate Trends in May 2011

Posted by Sherry Davidson in Northeast Florida Market Trends

“Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb but how well you bounce” Vivian Komori

If you own a business or are connected to the real estate industry in any way, you will enjoy the quote.

The most important trend I am seeing this month is the drop in inventory. The inventory of homes for sale in May 2011 is down 25.8% from May 2010. This inventory level translates into 8.9 months of supply versus a 11.7 months supply for the same period last year. This is a 23.7% drop in inventory. In many popular neighborhoods there are very few properties available for purchase that aren’t already under contract. We need to monitor this trend in inventory levels to better advise both our purchasers and sellers with regard to the pricing outlook.

Pending sales are up. The May 2011 pending sales of 1,756 transactions is 33.9% higher than May 2010. The year-to-date pending sales are 3.3% higher than the same period in 2010. The number of homes going under contract (pending sales) tends to bounce around each month but May 2011 is tied with March, 2011 for the highest amount of pending sales in the last 21 months. Another positive outlook.

Closings are down 10.6% from last May; however, the number of closings year-to-date are up slightly over the same period in 2010. Between lender, appraisal and title issues, it is always cause for celebration when we get a transaction to closing.

Pricing continues to be down compared to the previous year. The median sales price is down 7.9% and the average sales price is down 3%. If you look a little closer, the median sales price of traditional sales is up over 5% and the median sales price of lender-mediated sales is down over 14%. I would also point out that in the northern St. Johns County area the average price currently seems have stabilized around the same price as 6 months ago.

The lender-mediated sales in May 2011 were 49% of closings for the month. If you think this number is high, remember that short sales and foreclosures made up 60% of the closings in February. I believe this number is down because the banks are being more careful with their foreclosure process due to the recent bad publicity.

To sum it up: inventory is down, the transaction activity is up and the prices overall are down year-to-year.

If you have any questions or need any assistance with real estate issues, please give me a call 904-940-5000. I always enjoy talking about real estate.

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May 31, 2011

Jacksonville FL Real Estate Statistics in April 2011

Posted by Sherry Davidson in Northeast Florida Market Trends

“Genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple.”C. W. Ceram

The most successful people I know are able to simplify complicated issues. When I reviewed the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market statistics this month I struggled with how to simplify what seemed like some very conflicting information.  As with many issues dealt with in today’s business environment, the analytical complexity was a result of yet another “helpful” government program. Any statistical analysis comparing April, 2010 vs April, 2011 must factor in the 2009 homebuyer tax credit program. As you may recall, homebuyers were initially required to be under a contract by November 30, 2009 which was then extended to April 30, 2010. As a result, 2010 results were directly impacted by this program.

First let’s look at activity. Pending sales and closings for April look very good compared to recent months; however, when you compare them to April, 2010 pending sales are down 13.2% and closings are down 8.8%. To give a little perspective, closings are up 2% year to date over 2010.

In April, 51.1% of closings were distressed properties. That number is down from the previous three months when the percentage was closer to 60%.

Now we will look at pricing. The median sales price for April is down 8.1% when compared to last April; however the average sales price is up 1.7%. Due to the 2009 homebuyer tax credit program many of the closings last April were first time homebuyers. This year we are seeing more mid and higher priced properties selling. We will not see any strong improvement in prices until the distressed properties situation improves. (more…)

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April 28, 2011

Jacksonville FL Real Estate Trends – March 2011

Posted by Sherry Davidson in Northeast Florida Market Trends

“It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it. ”  John Wooden

This is one of my favorite quotes from the great coach John Wooden. It seems appropriate now because this economy has taken down a lot of good businesses. Many people still in the real estate business have commented to me that there is no way they would give up now after all they have been through. This spirit and determination is what makes this nation and this industry great.

The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market statistics for March continue to show good activity and lower prices. Pending sales of 1,909 homes for March, 2011 were up 3.9% over March, 2010; however, the current trend is more dramatic. The last 6 months of pending sales average 1,278 per month compared to 1,909 in March 2011. We have experienced this dramatic increase in our office and our April numbers may be close to March.

The closed sales for March, 2011 are down from March, 2010 by 7.1% but that doesn’t tell an accurate story. The March, 2010 number of 1,548 was substantially higher than all the previous months in 2010 and 2009 due to the federal tax credits. The March, 2011 number of closed sales of 1,438 was a higher number of closings than every month since June, 2010 except for 1 month. Overall we are showing an improvement in closings. I believe this is primarily a result of more confident buyers.

The average and median price declines continue and are directly tied to the continued increase, on a month-to-month bases, of lender-mediated sales. Traditional sales are down as a percentage on a month-to-month comparison and will remain that way in the future until we work our way out of the high volume of distressed property currently available. The good news is the median sales price of traditional sales was up 8.7% over March, 2010 while the median sales price of lender–mediated sales was down 13.2%. Total median sales price is down 10.9% compared to March, 2010 with a slight upward trend over February. In March, 57.4% of all closings were lender-mediated. (more…)

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March 30, 2011

Jacksonville FL Real Estate Trends in February

Posted by Sherry Davidson in Northeast Florida Market Trends

Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better start running. ~African proverb

I thought you might enjoy this proverb. It seems to describe most of us in the real estate industry these days. We are seeing a lot more buyer activity this spring and seem to be running hard every day!

I continue to be encouraged by the real estate market activity we are seeing. There were 1,525 pending sales in February 2011 compared to 1,377 in February 2010 for a 10.7% increase.  February 2009 pending sales were 1,001 so you can see steady improvement.

As you know, I pay the most attention to closings because it is so hard these days to get a transaction to close. Closings are showing the same encouraging trends as pending sales. There were 1,156 closings in February compared to 1,024 closings in February 2010 for a 12.9% increase. There were 873 closings in February 2009.

The trends for prices are not as positive. I believe this is mainly due to the amount of distressed closings. Sixty percent of all closings reported in February 2011 were lender-mediated meaning a foreclosure or a short sale. This is the highest percentage we have seen. The number of traditional closings in February 2011 was down 22% from February 2010 but the lender mediated closings were up 61%. The median sales price of the traditional sales of $165,000 was up 1.9% over February 2010 and the lender-mediated sales price of $82,900 was down 24.2% when compared to February 2010. (more…)

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March 25, 2011

Ask Sherry: Real Estate Questions Answered!

Posted by Sherry Davidson in Ask Sherry

This month on the Davidson Realty Facebook Page we asked if anyone had any real estate related questions for Davidson Realty President Sherry Davidson. Sherry has over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry and is more than happy to answer your questions!

“I was laid off about six months ago and am looking for a new career. I saw you were having a Career Opportunity event in April, but I am out of town that week. Would you mind sharing what traits make a great Realtor and how much it would cost to get started? Funds are pretty tight right now…”

We are actually having three Career Opportunity events in April. There is a happy hour on April 7th at 6:30 PM, a lunch on April 15th at noon and a breakfast on April 22nd at 9:00 AM. I would love to see you at one of our events. The traits that make a great Realtor are:
1. Loves people. Is warm and friendly.
2. Has an entrepreneur spirit. Is a previous business owner or has a desire to have one.
3. Is willing to do whatever it takes to start their own business.
4. Is a problem solver. Is resourceful.
5. Is professional.
6. Is goal-oriented.
7. Is full-time and serious about making their job a #1 priority.
8. Is willing to go the extra mile and put the hours in!
9. Is computer literate.
10. Is trustworthy.
11. Is customer service-oriented.
12. Is resilient and has the ability to recover quickly from adverse situations.
13. Is a team player.

The cost to get started in a real estate career will vary depending on the firm you select. The first expense will be to get your real estate license. You can take the pre-licensing course online or attend class. The cost varies from $150 to $400.  You will also have to pay for fingerprinting, application and testing fees to take the State of Florida exam, which is approximately $100. After you are licensed, the largest expense will be joining the local real estate association. To join the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors and the MLS will be approximately $1,500. The fees are pro-rated depending on what month you join. With Davidson Realty, that is your only expense initially. You must be prepared to wait a few months to receive your first commission check. As you can see, the cost to get started in a real estate career is approximately $2,000.

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