Decrease in Condo Conversions Will Affect Jacksonville Housing Market

As the condo conversions subside in Jacksonville, the ramifications will be felt in numerous ways around the housing industry in the area. A renter’s market will become an owner’s market - and an increased number of buyers will look to take out Florida home loans.

At the 10th Annual First Coast Real Estate Outlook Conference on Tuesday, real estate experts and Florida home loan analysts discussed these effects. Walchle Lear Multifamily Advisors offered an apartment, condominium and townhome forecast for the Jacksonville metropolitan area that included the anticipation of the following:

• Rising insurance
• Property tax
• Utility and labor costs for existing and prospective apartment complex owners

Those costs, coupled with a diminishing supply of apartment properties, will likely lead buyers to look for “value added” purchases of at least 200 units whose buildings were constructed in or before 1995.

Walchle Lear’s analysis also expects apartment occupancy to reach 96 percent this year and the J. Turner Butler Boulevard corridor to see more new rental units as the per month cost for a two-bedroom apartment has dropped $600 lower than the $1,700 average Florida mortgage payment for a condominium or townhome in that area of the Southside.

This is an encouraging example for those seeking affordable Florida home loans in the city.

Other news surrounding the Florida housing market

In other presentations, prominent Florida economist Henry H. Fishkind said for the second year the national economy would weaken in its second half, largely due to decreased consumer confidence from rising energy prices and interest rates.

Fishkind also referred to the controversy about whether a housing bubble exists in Florida as a given.

“There’s definitely some over-building,” Fishkind said. “But it’s concentrated in condominiums and in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.”

The Jacksonville area isn’t exempt from a surplus of housing starts as compared to population increases, Fishkind said, though its “competitive strengths,” such as continued interest from retirees and an increasing U.S. Navy presence, have helped the real estate market remain strong.