Davidson Realty, Inc.

Jacksonville Real Estate Trends for February Show a Normalizing Market

March 20, 2014

 | 
Posted by in News, Northeast Florida Market Trends

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden

I thought this quote was appropriate when I read RealtyTrac’s report that Florida is still the number 1 state in the nation in foreclosure activity even though initial filings dropped 24% in February from the previous year. The judicial foreclosure process drags on for 1,095 days on average. Only Arkansas and Hawaii have longer time frames. Jacksonville ranked number 3 in highest foreclosure rates in the nation.

I cannot do anything about the foreclosure process, but I can take advantage of all the buyers looking in our area because of the schools, the improvement in jobs and the brutal winter that most of the country has experienced.

RealtyTrac also reported that all-cash sales accounted for 44.4% of all U. S. residential sales in January. The metro areas with the highest percentage of cash sales were Miami (68.2%), Jacksonville (66.2%), Memphis (64.4%), Tampa (61.5%) and Las Vegas (56.5%).

I have analyzed the NEFAR Market Overview in detail for February and all signs point to a more normal market. New listings are up 12%, pending sales are up 14%, average sales price is up 9% and inventory is down 4%. The closings are up slightly by 2% and median sales price is up 1%.

In February, 45.1% of closings were lender-mediated compared to 44.3% last year. The median sales price of lender-mediated properties was down 16%; however the traditional median sales price was up 12%. There are still a lot of investors buying the distressed properties and their median sales price is $76,100 compared to traditional median sales price of $192,750.

The lender-mediated new listings were up 8.6% and the traditional new listings were up 13.8% in February. Lender-mediated properties are only 34.7% of new listings compared to 35.7% last year.

Collectively this information tells us that our market is normalizing. New foreclosure filings in Florida dropped year over year for the 12th consecutive month. We will begin seeing less investor and lender-mediated activity as the year progresses.

Our office closings are showing a more normal market. For the last 12 months, 32% of our closings were new construction, 7% foreclosures, 8% short sales and 53% traditional properties. It is a very good sign when only 15% of our closings are distressed properties.

I hope you enjoy the March Madness and are looking forward to baseball starting soon. If I can help you in any way with any of your real estate needs, please let me know.

, , , , , , ,
(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