Jacksonville Real Estate Climate Cooling, But Still a Bargain For Florida Buyers
The Jacksonville housing market, which has been churning along steadily in the past few months while the southern portion of the Sunshine State cooled off, is finally seeing its own signs of slowing, reports the city’s First Coast News.
As we have seen in areas such as Palm Beach and Broward counties, some builders in the Jacksonville area are starting to offer incentives to help sell homes. With unsold units sitting on the market longer, the people building them will go to great lengths to keep money coming in.
The area’s new construction permit activity is down when compared to a year ago, with 7,077 permits issued this year to date in Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties, compared to nearly 8,800 during the same period a year ago.
One number that keeps moving upward, even as area sales decline, is the median price. Home prices continue to increase at a 15 percent clip even with fewer buyers eagerly snapping them up. In Jacksonville, the median price currently stands at $208,700, meaning half the city’s homes are on the market for more, and the other half for less.
That’s a bargain compared to the sizzling-turned-stagnant South Florida housing market, where single-family homes in most counties are going for $300,000 at the absolute least.
Despite the recent warning signs, the Northeast Florida Builders Association maintains that the local housing economy is still very healthy.
“I think in an adjustment period right now. I think going to get into what is a steady market,” said Jerry Linder, the group’s president.
Among the housing numbers that point to a healthy housing market is the number of homes that changed hands in May of this year. A strong 1,732 existing homes were sold in greater Jacksonville during the month, which actually represents an increase of four percent when compared to May 2005.
Bottom line? Northeast Florida far exceeds the South in terms of affordable housing. Even with the market in flux and Florida home loan rates on the rise, the price is right for first-time buyers. Now is the time to buy!
