The closings year to date for 2009 are 12,925, and, based on the numbers we have seen in the past few months, we expect the 2009 grand total with December’s numbers to be over 14,000 closings .

As for monthly pending sales, I believe we will continue to see some inconsistencies. Pending sales for November 2009 are 1,343, which is a 59.1% increase over November 2008. However, the November 2009 pending sales are about 200 less than the number we saw in September and October 2009.

The number of days homes in Jacksonville stay on the market has climbed steadily. The numbers are as follows:
2005: 52 days
2006: 63 days
2007: 88 days
2008: 107 days
2009: 108 days

Of course it is important to note that this trend may be a result of the high number of short sales in Jacksonville and the length of time it takes to get lender approval.

The pricing of homes continues to show signs of stabilizing. This may be the best news for our Jacksonville/St. Augustine real estate market. The median sales price for September 2009 was $145,000, October was $145,950 and November was $145,145. The average price bounced around a little more, but is still showing an improvement from the constant downward trend we have seen. The average sales price in September 2009 was $174,787, October was $178,209 and November was $173,542.

The supply of homes available continues to improve as the number of active listings continues to decline and the months supply of inventory dropped to 11.1 months (a six month supply of inventory represents a balanced market – we are getting closer).

I am very encouraged by the market statistics for Northeast Florida. We are seeing very similar trends in St. Augustine. Our number of listings are down, sales are up and the lenders are improving the process for approving short sales. I look forward to a good report for December and we will see what a new year will bring us. Merry Christmas!