Davidson Realty, Inc.

FL Real Estate Trends in September – New Construction is Booming in St. Johns County!

October 28, 2013

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Posted by in News, Northeast Florida Market Trends

He who thinks he is leading and has no one following him is only taking a walk. ~ Malawian proverb

There is a lot of wisdom in this quote from Africa. It would not hurt for those in Washington to consider these words.

The NEFAR Market Stats for September 2013 begins its summary with “Do you hear that? Hummmmm. That’s the delightful sound of normalcy. Buyers are buying, sellers are selling, lenders are lending and builders are building.” Our monthly closing report for Davidson Realty shows 32% of our closings were new construction,  59% were traditional (normal) closings and only  9% were  foreclosures or short sales.

The Times Union reported this morning the following on new construction. “So far this year, 4,639 permits have been issued in the four Northeast Florida counties. With three months to go, that’s 382 more than all of last year, which was more than 1,000 more than the year before that.” Permits are well above the pace of any year since 2007.

Pending sales are up 28% September 2013 over September 2012 and 27% comparing year to date numbers. Closings are up 25% month over month and year to date. Looking a little deeper at closings, the lender-mediated closings are down 1% and traditional closings are up 46%.

The days on market is down 27% from 109 days in September 2012 to 80 days in September 2013. The lender mediated properties have an average 88 days on market and traditional properties 76 days.

The median sales price of $155,000 is up 18% compared to September 2012 and up 16% year to date. The average sales price of $194,661 is up 7% compared to September 2012 and up 8% year to date.

The inventory of homes for sale is down 17% from last September to 8,970 properties and there is a 4.8 months supply of inventory down 33% from 7.2 months last September. Five to six months of inventory is considered a balanced market. The builders continue to build more homes and new listings have increased by 19% over last year.

The price range with the strongest increase in sales is the $300,000 to $499,999 with a 53% increase. We are seeing more move-up buyers back in the market. There are still a lot of investor sales in our market with the investors renting the homes for a later sale. While this makes it more difficult for buyers who need a mortgage, the investors are buying with equity and the rental market is still strong.

If you need help to sell your home, buy a home or rent your home, please let me know. We are never to busy for any of your referrals.

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About the Author
Sherry Davidson
President of Davidson Realty

Since launching Davidson Realty in 1989, Sherry Davidson has built the firm to include nearly 60 agents and exceed $100 million in annual sales. She is known throughout the First Coast as an authority on all things residential real estate, having served on the Board of Directors for Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, Florida Realtors® (a division of the National Association of Realtors), and Builders Care (charitable arm of Northeast Florida Builders Association).

Thanks to Sherry’s leadership, Davidson Realty has been recognized as one of the state’s Best Companies to Work For (Florida Trend Magazine), as well as one of the region's Best Places to Work and 50 Fastest Growing Companies (Jacksonville Business Journal). Get to know Davidson Realty’s talented team of agents by clicking here or call us at (904) 940-5000.

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