“Something I learned early in college is to not worry about what I can’t control…But what I can control is my attitude, my effort, my focus every single day and that’s what I’m trying to worry about.” Tim Tebow
We certainly can’t control the real estate market but we can control how we respond to the changes in trends. Fortunately, the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market stats for November show continued improvement in almost all measured areas. The inventory continues to decrease. The number of properties available in the Multiple Listing Service in active status at the end of the month dropped 31% from November 2010 to November 2011. There were 15,498 properties available last year and 10,722 available this year. The number of available properties has dropped every month this year.
The months supply of inventory at 7.4 months is 35 percent less than November 2010 when we had 11.4 months of inventory. The price range with the largest percentage decrease is the $500,000-$999,999 with a 45% decrease. The months supply for this price range went from 28 months to 15 months. (more…)
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The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. – Michelangelo
I chose this quote because it seems as if our recent economic challenge has put many people in survival mode. Survival mode can distract us from our long term goals. We must not think this way but keep reaching for the stars.
I will share an overview of the market stats provided by the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors starting with Pending Sales. August 2011 pending sales of 1,744 is 24% higher than August 2010 sales of 1,402. There have been some confusing monthly comparisons because of the tax credits last year, but the year to date pending sales for 2011 are 7% higher than year to date pending sales for 2010.
The closings for August 2011 are up 1.5% over the closings in August 2010 and the year to date closings for 2011 are almost the same as 2010. I would like to go a little deeper into closings and share that there were 691 traditional closings in August 2010 and 835 in August 2011 for an increase of 21%. The lender–mediated closings dropped from 729 in August 2010 to 626 in August 2011 for a 14% decrease. This is a very good sign when we have more traditional closings and less distressed closings.
The lender-mediated closings dropped from 44.3% of July 2011 closings to 42.8% of August 2011 closings. We continue to move in the right direction. (more…)
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“Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” -Frederick B. Wilcox
I love baseball especially this time of year. I chose this quote because I am going to take a risk and predict that the northeast Florida real estate market will continue to improve. In reviewing the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market stats, I see monthly improvement in every area. Also, my office had the best month for closings since June 2008.
Let’s begin with prices. The average price in June is $181,700 which is 17% higher than January and has increased every month. The average sales price is 7% higher than last June.
The median price in June is $135,000 and has increased every month since February showing an increase of 12%. The median price is down 4% from last June.
June 2011 pending sales are up 34% over June 2010 and we are up 7% year-to-date over last year. (more…)
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Tonight is our first of three career opportunity events and we are very excited to meet new potential Jacksonville Realtors! Are you self motivated? Do you enjoy talking to people? Are you outgoing? If you answered yes and are looking for a career with a flexible schedule then come learn about starting your new real estate career with Davidson Realty!
Davidson Realty President Sherry Davidson will explain the process and expenses to jump starting your new career. She will be joined by seasoned agent, Mirtha Barzaga and newer agent, Michelle Santorelli to share their individual experiences with you. They will be able to give you great insight into the life of a successful realtor. Not to mention, you can pick their brains on how they juggle life and real estate.
Tonight we will enjoy wine, eat some good food, and talk real estate from 6:30 – 8 pm. We know this time won’t work for everyone interested, so if you miss it make sure to join us for either of the next two events in April:
April 15th: a Davidson company cookout at noon
April 22nd: 9 am breakfast
These events are planned to be very casual and to just open the floor for your questions and concerns. It’s a “no pressure” way to learn more about selling Northeast Florida real estate. If none of these dates and times work for you, be sure to contact Sherry Davidson at SDavidson@DavidsonRealtyInc.Com and she will be able to answer any of your questions.
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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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