Jacksonville Florida Real Estate

9-16-2008 Jacksonville Real Estate Market Update

Pendings to Actives continue to improve!  We are up to 16.2% as of this morning.  We were at 12.5% last year at this time.  Right before the market took a nosedive in the spring of 2006 we were over 50%.  We still have a ways to go to reach a balanced market, but signs are improving.

There are over 1800 single family homes and townhomes currently pending and active listings have decreased.  Our inventory level based on the past year is about 13.8 months.  To the seller this means that if your home is average, is priced average, and shows average, you should reasonably expect it to take almost 14 months to sell your home.

A few Jacksonville real estate submarket inventory levels as of 9/12/08 for single family homes and townhomes:

• Northwest St Johns County- 13.42 months
• Ponte Vedra Beach- 20.19
• Jacksonville Beach/Atlantic Beach/Neptune Beach- 20.8
• Mandarin- 12.23
• Southside- 11.56

These statistics illustrate that not only is a "national real estate market" fictitious, but even a metro area can have a wide variation in health at any particular time.

Remember, there will not be a newsflash saying we've hit the bottom.  Once the market starts heading up, sellers will be tougher to negotiate with and buyers will start paying more.  Do you want to get in when the seller's are afraid that if it takes 6 months to sell their home will be worth less?  Or do you want to get in when seller's know that if they wait it out and stand firm they will get their price in a few months?

Warning...Price your Jacksonville real estate correctly!

If you were to call five different agents, you would get five different prices from them about what your home is worth.  Are they all right?  No.  Not in a buyer's market.

1. Look for someone who tells you the truth even if the message is one you'd rather not have.  If they seem to be telling you what they think you want to hear...beware!
2. Ask for statistics, inventory levels, pending to active ratios, and a detailed look at what your current competition is doing. Ask how all of this relates to your home and your chances of selling.
3. If someone promises you that your home will sell, you should know right away they are the wrong person to sell your home.  There are no guarantees in this market.
4. Make sure your potential agent knows where the buyers are.  Ask them for statistics regarding where buyers find their home.  (Hint:  It's not through print media.)

Regardless, in a declining market, you have to price ahead of the market.  Today's fair market value is tomorrow's overpriced listing.

Call us at 904.371.9654 to get a second opinion before listing your home.  With our finance and accounting backgrounds we thoroughly understand the real estate market and how pricing works.  The cost of overpricing your home is too high.  In a declining market, your value will be less 6 months from now.  Can you afford to lose more?

9-07-08 Jacksonville Real Estate Market Condition Report

As of right now we have a pending to active ratio for the metro Jacksonville real estate market of 15.55%.  This is a sign of a strong buyer's market in Jacksonville.  Six months ago the number was 13.14%, a year ago 12.66%. 

The good news for the Jacksonville real estate market is that there are more pendings to active listings than 6 months and a year ago.  The number increasing can show an improving market.  Remember there are two things that go into that, active listings and pendings.  What we are seeing is that there are roughly 1,000 fewer homes on the market than this time last year.  There are also more pendings.  This is a definite sign that we could be looking up. 

We have a couple hundred more pendings at this point in time than we had 6 months and a year ago.  A big reason for this is that prices have come down.  The savvy buyer is starting to get into the market.  By definition a buyer's market is extremely favorable for buyers.  However, psychologically buyers are still holding back because everyone else is.  If you have been hanging out on the sidelines take note.

We have almost 14 months of inventory in the Jacksonville real estate market.  This means you still have a lot of choice!  If the pending to active up tick holds...you will start to see that number go down.  For example, if everything pending right now were to close in the next 30 days and that trend holds, we would be looking at a 6 month inventory.  The Jacksonville real estate market at a 6 month inventory will present a totally different market for buyers.  The bargaining power that buyers hold today will be severely diminished.

If you think you may be ready to get started, call us, we can help you find and make deals.