Northeast Florida Market Trends in July are Encouraging!

August 29, 2011

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Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.
–H. Jackson Brown Jr.

danceIn my opinion, it is time to get on the dance floor. There are opportunities in great neighborhoods for investors, first time homebuyers and anyone in between. I am  feeling encouraged about the real estate market after reviewing the July market stats data produced by the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. The pending sales are up; and the inventory numbers continue to improve. Quite possibly in the near future we may reach inventory stability which will lead first to stabilized pricing with a gradual increase in pricing.

The pending sales in July 2011 of 1,661 are up 18% over July 2010. The pending sales year to date for 2011 are 6% higher than year to date 2010. It is encouraging to see more contracts being written despite the continued turmoil in Washington.

Closings in July 2011 are 1% less than July 2010. This is not unusual since closings normally dip in July each year. Closings are also down from the previous month.

The average sales price in July 2011 is up 5% over July 2010; however, the July 2011 average sales price of $177,596 is down from the previous month average price of $184,166. The drop from last month doesn’t concern me because the average price normally varies each month. The overall pricing trend this year continues to be up.

The median sales price in July 2011 is down 5% from July 2010. The July 2011 median sales price of $130,199 is also down from the previous month’s price of $135,364. The July median price is higher than every month this year except June.

The consistent good news is that the inventory of homes for sale is down 30% from July 2010. The available inventory of homes in July 2011 of 11,529 homes is also down from 12,285 the previous month. The months supply of inventory is down to 8.2 months and continues to drop every month.

The lender mediated closings were 44.3% of all closings in July 2011 which is very close to last month’s 43.6%.

I looked at the property tax records through June to see the average sales price of single family closings in the four zip codes where we do most of our business. 32092 (World Golf Village area) had an average price of $210,502 which is pretty similar to where we have been all year indicating some level of pricing stability in this portion of the market. 32095 (Palencia area) was $408,694 which is almost double the previous months because of a few high-end  homes closing. 32082 (Ponte Vedra area) was $512,459 which is down from the last few months. 32259 (Julington Creek area) was $321,880 which is a large increase over the last few months. As indicated above there is still quite a bit of pricing instability in the overall market place.

As always, if you have any questions or I can be of assistance in any way, please let me know (904.940.5000). Our business is built on referrals and I always appreciate a referral of someone buying, selling, or renting real estate.

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Davidson Realty