March 27, 2012

Northeast Florida Market Trends for February: The Highest Number of Pending Sales Since April 2010!

Posted by in Northeast Florida Market Trends

“I’ve got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom.” Angus Grossart

I have been saying for almost 32 years that I could never be bored married to Jim. There is no way to predict what he will do any day and he somehow always convinces me to join in whatever adventure he creates. Something new I am working on is to find some joy in every single day. I hope you will also.

I found some joy in the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors Market Stats for February. The most exciting news to me is the increase in pending sales of 27% over February 2011. For the last 12 months we have averaged 1,493 pending sales and in February 2012 there were 1,750 contracts written. This is the highest number of pending sales since April 2010. Interestingly, based on a rolling 12-month total the $500,000-$1M price range had the highest percentage increase (over 17%) in pending sales.

The inventory has continued to decline. There were 14,321 active properties available in the NEFAR market area in February 2011 and there are 30% less properties available in February 2012 with only 9,977 active properties. The months supply of inventory dropped 35% from 10.3 months supply in February 2011 to 6.7 months supply in February 2012 very near market stabilization. The price range with the largest decrease in number of properties and months supply is the under $150,000 price range with a 5.3 month supply. (more…)

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February 27, 2012

North Florida Real Estate Trends for January 2012

Posted by in Northeast Florida Market Trends

“If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.” Unknown

This quote really hit home for me, I hope you enjoy.

The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market stats for January revealed some interesting information. First I noticed the large drop in closings from 1,432 closings in December, 2011 to only 977 closings in January 2012. I looked back and found similar trends every January. Next I compared January 2012 to January 2011 and saw a 6% decline in closings. I looked a little closer to discover that in January 2011 there were 612 lender-mediated closings and this year there were only 488 for a 20% decline. The traditional closings increased by almost 14% from 430 in January 2011 to 489 in January 2012. So overall closings are down but non distressed closings (traditional) are up.

It has been reported that the banks are going to increase foreclosing properties. How they market these foreclosures and whether this impacts short sale negotiations may be a major factor in 2012. We have seen the banks get much tougher lately with negotiations on short sales. (more…)

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February 23, 2011

Jacksonville FL Real Estate Trends in January 2011

Posted by in Northeast Florida Market Trends

 “The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down
 the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn’t matter
 which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark.”
        – Barbara Hall

We have embarked on a new year and January is already proving correct many predictions of ups and downs in the real estate market during 2011. See the table below for the latest Northeast Florida Association of Realtors statistics.

 

Jan 2009

Jan 2010

Jan 2011
Pending Sales

942

1,148

1,396
Closed Sales

701

921

993
Days on Market Until Sale

109

102

120
Median Sales Price

$155,000

$132,700

$120,750
Average Sales Price

$201,832

$164,825

$153,361
% of Original List Price Received

86.3%

88.6%

86.1%
Inventory of Homes for Sale

16,690

15,443

13,198
Months Supply of Inventory

15.9

12.3

9.4

As you can see, pending sales, closed sales, Inventory of homes for sale and months supply of inventory are all showing positive trends. There are more sales each year and less inventory.

The median and average sales prices are declining. One major reason for this decline is that a staggering 59% of all closings in January were short sales or foreclosures.

If you take a 12-month average of the average sales price for the most current year, you will see it comes to $169,465 which when compared to the previous year of $179,057 shows a 5.4% decline in pricing. This method helps to smooth out the bumps in pricing each month.

If you know of anyone that would like to buy, sell, or rent a home, please give me a call. I would love to take great care of any of your referrals.

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February 22, 2010

January NEFAR Market Statistics May Surprise You!

Posted by in Northeast Florida Market Trends

Sherry DavidsonIf you have been reading my market analysis for the last few months, you probably think you can skip this one because I have been saying the same thing over and over. Well this month brings a few surprises.

My first surprise is that closed sales for January 2010 were about 40% less than December 2009. There were 1,316 closings in November, 1,365 in December and 834 in January.

This looks like very negative news, but I believe the reason for the decline in closings was mainly due to short sales. We saw lenders approving and closing short sales in December to get them closed by year end. Maybe the holidays were also a factor, but we did not see any short sales making it through the process in January. (more…)

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September 18, 2009

How is the Real Estate Market?

Posted by in Distressed Properties,Foreclosures,News,Short Sales

Sherry_DavidsonHow is the real estate market? I hear this question a lot. My answer lately has been that activity is up dramatically, but prices are not. Here are three trends that I like to watch.

1. Inventory levels
The number of active listings in the Northeast Florida Multiple Listing Service continues to decline. There are 14,945 properties for sale in August 2009 compared to 18,326 in August 2008. There are 18% less properties for sale. The months supply of inventory dropped from 17.1 months in August 2008 to 12.6 months in August 2009. Six months of inventory is when the market is most balanced.

2. Pending Sales
The pending sales in August 2009 are up 48% over August 2008. We have seen a large increase in the number of buyers looking for a home and the contracts that are being written.

3. Prices
The median sales price is down 17% from last year and 25% from two years (more…)

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