The Northeast Florida February 2020 Market Stats Show the Same Positive Trends.

As I write this letter, there is a lot of uncertainty and concern over the Coronavirus. I do not pretend to know the impact we will see on the real estate market or the economy, but I know God is in control and I will take one day at a time.

I can tell you the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market stats report for February 2020 shows the same trends I have been repeating every month. Pending sales, closed sales, median and average sales prices are up and inventory of homes available is down. These are all very positive trends.

From the NEFAR report, “The recently released January ShowingTime Showing Index saw a 20.2 percent year-over-year increase in showing traffic nationwide. All regions of the country were up double digits from the year before. As showing activity is a leading indicator for future home sales, the 2020 housing market is off to a strong start, though it will be important to watch the spread of COVID-19 and its potential impacts to the overall economy in the coming months.”

There were 2,743 contracts written and pending sales were up 10.3% month-over-month and year-to-date. There were 2,201 closings which is up 4.1% for the month and 6.7% for the year.

The median sales price is $239,700 which is up 6.6% over last February and the average sales price is $287,068 which is up 12.2% for the same period.

The inventory of homes for sale is 7,949 which is down 17.2% from last February and there is a 2.9 months supply of homes available which is down 23.7%.

Interest rates have dropped and there is a huge number of people looking to refinance their mortgage. Borrowers were being quoted 3.25% for a 30-year mortgage then on Tuesday it was 4% and Wednesday 4.5%. An article in the Denver Post by Alodo Svaldi said, “What changed last week was the extreme volatility in stock and bond markets because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Buyers of mortgage debt typically purchase hedges to protect themselves from big moves up or down in interest rates. But with Treasury yields swinging around, buying that protection has become difficult.”

The Federal Reserve continues to address the issue and said it will purchase $500 billion of Treasury securities and $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities to smooth over market disruptions.

As I said earlier, I don’t know how this will impact the real estate market, but if you have questions or concerns, please reach out. Stay safe!

————————————————

About 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.

————————————————