More Great News for Northeast Florida Real Estate in August’s Market Trends!

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” – Nido Qubein

I am very happy with my starting point in the housing market right now. All of the trends in the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors Market Stats for August continue to be very positive.

The most encouraging trend is Pending Sales. There were 2,011 contracts written (pending sales) in August which is a 34% increase over the 1,497 contracts in August 2011. Year to date through August we have 13,724 pending sales which is 16% more than the 11,879 pending sales last year at this time.  We continue to see strong buyer activity and multiple offers on many listings.

Closings haven’t caught up with the pending sales trend yet. Closings are up 2% year to date over last year; however the 1,516 closings in August are 2% below the 1,547 closings last August. It is interesting to note that traditional closings in August are up 7% over last August, but lender-mediated closings are down 8.5%. The lender mediated closings for August are 42% of total August closings.

Locally, we are seeing more buyers hang in there for short sale contracts. They see that the price is better than what they will pay for another home. At Davidson Realty, our closings for July and August are more than double the closings in those 2 months last year so we are seeing the effects of more pending sales in our office.

Unfortunately, we are still experiencing a significant percentage of contracts that fail to close.  According to data from Capital Economics, nationally nearly 18 percent of signed contracts on existing homes were canceled from May through July. I believe tight lending requirements are causing much of the problem. Buyers find their financing is not going to be approved or they face delays in obtaining their mortgage.

The median and average sales prices are both showing improvement. The median sales price in August of $141,750 is up 4% over the last August price of $137,000. Year to date the median price is up 5% over the same period last year. The average sales price in August of $196,294 is up 10% over $178,556 last August. Year to date the average price is up 6% over the same period the previous year.

The days on market until sale dropped 9% from 121 days in August 2011 to 110 days in August 2012. During 2003 through 2006 the days on market varied from 50 to 80 days.

The inventory of homes for sale in the NEFAR area is 8,915 properties which is down 30% from the 12,804 properties available the previous August. The months supply of inventory is down 39% to 5.7 months from 9.2 months last August. A balanced market is between 5 and 6 months of inventory.  We are down to a 4.4 months of supply of inventory below $150,000 and only 5.3 months supply in the $150,000 to $200,000 price range. We are seeing more new construction, especially in St. Johns County and that is a very good thing.

I hope you are enjoying fall with college football, the NFL and the baseball playoffs coming soon. The Atlanta Braves are still hanging in there and I am still hoping to see them in the World Series. This is one of the best times of the year.

Please call me with any real estate questions or referrals of someone we might assist. We cover any area of Jacksonville or St. Augustine and are happy to help with any real estate need. It is still a great market for investors. I am hoping your favorite team wins!