Jump in Jacksonville Home Sales
Jacksonville home sales are remaining strong. According to numbers from the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR), over 1,500 homes were sold in Jacksonville in October, a 38% rise from last year at that time. The median price of a home also went up in the area
, rising 20% to $191,600.
Other Portions of the state didn’t fare as well.
For example, home prices continued to rise but the number of sales fell in October overall, notably in southern areas directly impacted by Hurricane Wilma’s march across the state. This occurred after a recent surge in the southern Florida home loan market. Most insurers stopped issuing new policies when the hurricane neared the state, and, following the storm, some lenders required a new home inspection of properties before they would release mortgage money.
Median prices on the rise
Despite storm problems, however, the state’s median home price rose 28% from last October to this October - from $188,800 to $241,000. In September 2005, the median price was $247,800. FAR records indicate the statewide median sales price near the end of 2000 was $116,100, an increase of 107% over the five-year-period.
Many real estate agents across the state report gains in housing supply, providing buyers with a larger selection of homes to consider. Statewide, a total of 16,029 existing single-family homes sold last month compared, to 16,844 homes a year ago for a decrease of 5%.
The national median existing-home price in September was $212,000, up 13.4% from the previous September’s median price of $187,000, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
News on Florida home loan rates
Interest rates for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.07% in October, a slight increase from the average 5.72% in October 2004. FAR’s sales figures reflect closings, which typically occur 30 to 90 days after sales contracts are written.
Among the state’s larger markets, the Daytona Beach metropolitan statistical area (MSA) reported that 1,037 homes sold in October for an 18% gain over numbers from the prior year’s time. The median home price in Daytona Beach rose 35% during this period, from $165,000 to $223,30o.
Shawn M. Goepfert, president of the Daytona Beach Area Association of Realtors and owner of Ideal Realty of Volusia, says that demand for Daytona-area homes is now catching up with supply.
“We started 2005 off with only about 1,000 residential listings, really robust sales and it taking only about two or three weeks to get a contract,” said Goepfert. “That demand really pushed up our sales price, but in the last 30 days, our inventory has increased to about 3,000 residential listings.”
Other larger Florida housing markets with strong sales and price increases include Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, with 3,735 homes sold, good for an increase of 4% over the same time period. Home prices also rose over the year with the median price up 35%. It currently stands at $225,700.
Among the state’s smaller MSAs, Lakeland-Winter Haven posted a 24% gain in home sales in October, with 513 homes changing hands. The market’s median sales price rose 50% in October to $173,500; last year, it was $115,500.
“I think people have discovered our little secret,” said Peggy Daley, treasurer of the Lakeland Association of Realtors and a Realtor with ImperiaLakes Realty Services in Lakeland. “We’ve got the best of everything. People are moving here in droves from South Florida, plus people from the North keep coming down and quickly realize that we’re centrally located with easy access to Tampa or Orlando — but without the traffic.”
Florida home loan numbers soared in other, smaller parts of the state, as well. Ocala and Tallahassee both saw increases in the numbers of homes sold, along with the average prices on houses in those markets. This bodes well for the future of real estate across the state.
