Davidson Realty, Inc.

A Look Back at 2011 Real Estate Trends!

January 30, 2012

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Posted by in Northeast Florida Market Trends

“Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” Chinese Proverb

I thought I would start 2012 by sharing my favorite quote and an optimistic attitude that we will continue to see stabilization and improvement in the real estate market. The main reason I predict continued improvement is the tightening of inventory.

The numbers are drastic enough to tell the story. At the end of 2010 there were 14,510 active properties for sale compared to 9,902 properties available at the end of 2011. That is a 32% decline in inventory. The “months supply of inventory” dropped from 10.6 months supply at the end of 2010 to 6.7 months supply at the end of 2011. A 5 to 6 months supply indicates a balanced market. The inventory declined the most (45%) in the under $150,000 price range but declined by 41% in the $500,000 to $999,999 price range.

A more practical example of the decline in inventory is how often my agents tell me stories about a customer liking a home and calling back a few days later to move forward with a purchase only to find out the home is under contract.

I know there is a lot of pent up demand of people that would like to sell their homes. The normal progression should be tightening of inventory, causing prices to rise, causing more sellers to list their homes. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out during 2012.

The pending sales from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors Market Stats are up 24.5% in December 2011 compared to December 2010. We averaged 1,468 pending sales per month in 2011 compared to 1,375 per month in 2010 for a 7% increase. There were 1,471 pending sales in December 2011. The price range with the strongest increase in sales was $500,000- $999,999.

There were 16,550 closings in 2011 compared to 16,214 in 2010 for a 2% increase. Davidson Realty finished 2011 with a 20% increase in our closings compared to 2010.

The median sales price in 2011 averaged $127,900 which was down 6% from the $135,900 median sales price average in 2010. The average sales price in 2011 was $168,887 which was down less than 1% from the $170,906 average in 2010.

Metro Market Trends Report on 2011 Real Estate Activity for St. Johns County indicates there were 1,419 pre-foreclosure filings (Lis Pendens) in 2011 which was a 37% decline. Actual foreclosures were down by 40%. I keep getting conflicting information about foreclosures but this information is factual and very good news.

Please feel free to give me a call if you have questions about the real estate market. I love to hear from you and always enjoy hearing your thoughts. Since I am starting the year with optimism, I am staffing up to meet the increased demand we will see in 2012. If you know of any great agents looking for a new opportunity or anyone interested in a career in real estate, please let me know. Happy New Year!

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About the Author
Sherry Davidson
President of Davidson Realty

Since launching Davidson Realty in 1989, Sherry Davidson has built the firm to include nearly 60 agents and exceed $100 million in annual sales. She is known throughout the First Coast as an authority on all things residential real estate, having served on the Board of Directors for Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, Florida Realtors® (a division of the National Association of Realtors), and Builders Care (charitable arm of Northeast Florida Builders Association).

Thanks to Sherry’s leadership, Davidson Realty has been recognized as one of the state’s Best Companies to Work For (Florida Trend Magazine), as well as one of the region's Best Places to Work and 50 Fastest Growing Companies (Jacksonville Business Journal). Get to know Davidson Realty’s talented team of agents by clicking here or call us at (904) 940-5000.

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