Davidson Realty, Inc.

Positive Real Estate Trends for January 2014 – Dramatic Increase in New Construction Forecasted

February 21, 2014

 | 
Posted by in News, Northeast Florida Market Trends

“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”  John Wooden

I love John Wooden quotes and thought it would be appropriate with March madness starting very soon.

The January 2014 market stats for the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors says “Potential trends to watch in 2014 include increased seller activity, more new construction and fewer foreclosures on the market.”

There were 2,771 new listings in January which is 10% more than last January when we had 2,517. Increased prices have helped many homeowners that were upside down with their mortgage, resulting in increased seller activity.

We are also seeing more new construction. David Crowe, the National Association of Home Builders’ Chief Economist, is forecasting 822,000 single family starts in 2014 which is about 200,000 more than 2013. This number would bring us to about 71 percent of normal by the end of 2014. He is predicting 1.16 million units in 2015. New homes sales are averaging 8.7 percent of total home sales nationally which is about half of the historical average of 16.1 percent. Locally we had 5,109 new home starts in 2013 which is up 35.7 percent over 2012.

Pending sales were up 15% over last January and closings were up 4%. The median price was down 5% which was the headline in the paper today. What they do not report is that the median sales price of distressed properties is less than half of the price of traditional sales and lender-mediated (distressed) closings were up 7% in January over the year before. Lender-mediated closings were 46.3% of all closings compared to 45% last January. I am guessing this is because after a long legal delay, foreclosures started hitting the market again and we are seeing the closings now.

The average sales price of $179,772 is up 7% over last January. The inventory of homes available for sale is 9,210 homes which is down 4% from 9,605 last January. We have 4.8 months of inventory available which is down 20% from 6.0 months last January. Five to six months of inventory is considered a balanced market.

Even though I have seen some negative articles about the housing market lately, I am only seeing positive signs in our market area. We had $10.5 million in contracts written in January in our office which is a very good month for us.

I hope you enjoy the college basketball in March and I wish the Florida Gators much success. Please give me a call at (904) 940-5000 if I can assist you with any of your real estate needs or even answer a question. We have a great team of over 50 Jacksonville Realtors and three great property managers here to assist you or any of your referrals.

, , , , , ,
(0) Comments
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • email
  • LinkedIn
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz
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.

Comments are closed.

Davidson Realty