Davidson Realty, Inc.

Jacksonville’s December Real Estate Trends – Distressed Homes Down by 53%

January 21, 2016

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Posted by in News, Northeast Florida Market Trends

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can achieve excellence.” Vince Lombardi

Florida Realtors published a great article reviewing 2015 and looking ahead to 2016. I would like to share the highlights with you.
1. The market – According to Freddie Mac’s latest Multi-Indicator Market Index, Florida’s real estate rebound led the nation, with Orlando the top U. S. rebound city.
2. Inventory is getting tighter – Some underwater owners still can’t sell, some boomers are staying put, and some investors scooped homes in the lower-price categories, leaving today’s first-time buyers struggling.
3. Mortgage process scrambled – On October 3rd, the industry had to adjust to the new TRID regulations with locked-in-stone timelines that delayed closings.
4. Financing – Mortgage-backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac introduced a number of buyer-friendly changes such as mortgage downpayments as low as 3% and FHA lowered its mortgage insurance fees.
5. Mortgage rates – On December 16, 2015, the Federal Reserve boosted its key rate 0.25 basis points for the first time in seven years. That increase has an indirect impact on long-term rates.
6. 2016 Prediction – Florida Realtors Chief Economist Dr. John Tuccillo says “Against the backdrop of an expanding state economy with growing employment, home sales should increase by 8-10 percent over 2015 (numbers) and home prices (measured as actual value) should rise about 5 percent.”

The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors Market Stats for December 2015 indicate a year of continued improvement in the real estate market. There was a year over year 17% increase in pending sales, an 11% increase in closed sales, a 7% increase in median sales price and a 6% increase in the average sales price. All are extremely positive trends.

Even though new listings increased by 7.5%, our inventory of homes for sale dropped 19% to 8,537 properties. We have not been below 9,000 properties available since 2005. It is interesting that the 19% drop in inventory is mostly due to the drop in distressed listings. Lender-mediated inventory is down 53% and traditional listings are only down 7%.

We are down 30% to a 3.7 months supply of inventory. Five to six months of inventory is a balanced market which means right now the sellers have an advantage in all price ranges under $500,000. We will have to watch and see if new listings and new construction will provide the homes we need to meet the buyer’s demand.

I welcome any questions or comments about the real estate market because I love to talk about all things real estate. Please let me know if I can assist you or anyone you know that is buying, selling or renting. Our beach office opens Thursday, January 21st and we look forward to serving you from both locations.

I wish you a prosperous 2016 and I hope your favorite team makes it through the playoffs into the Super Bowl.

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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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