Davidson Realty, Inc.

Jacksonville Real Estate Trends in February – Home Prices & New Listings Are Up

March 26, 2018

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Posted by in News, Northeast Florida Market Trends

“My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.” Billy Graham
It is hard to be sad at Billy Graham’s passing because he is finally home. He has inspired us for many years and I will miss him.
I wanted to share my thoughts on the local real estate market and the new tax law related to the housing industry.
The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market stats for February show a very similar trend to last year. January and February historically are less active for contracts and closings with our market heating up in the spring.
Pending sales were up slightly (0.1%) from 2,356 last February to 2,358 this year. Closed sales were down 4.3% from 1,857 last February to 1,778 this year.
New listings were down 4% in January from the previous January but up 10% in February. Year to date, we are up 3% compared to last year. Our office is seeing increased listings in March unlike prior years when listing increases occurred in January and February.
The home prices have continued to increase. The median sales price of $215,005 is up 11% over last February. The average sales price of $256,725 is up 12% over last year.
The inventory of homes for sale is up slightly from the last 2 months but the 7,713 homes available is down 13% from last year. There are 3.2 months supply of inventory available which is the same as last month, but down 16% from last year.
The 2018 tax law will impact real estate owners. There are increased standard deductions and a lower limitation on mortgage interest which may affect some homeowners. One issue that people may not be aware of is the home equity line of credit interest will no longer be eligible for deduction in 2018 “unless they are used to buy, build or substantially improve the taxpayer’s home that secures the loan.”
The tax provision that may be most beneficial to our local real estate market is the state and local tax deduction being limited to $10,000. Since Florida does not have a state income tax and our property taxes are not excessive, some are predicting people will be moving from high-cost states to lower-cost states.
The ability to exclude gain on the sale of your home up to $500,000 for married couples did not change. Also, the ability to defer capital gain taxes using 1031 tax-deferred exchanges for investment properties remains in the tax code. All in all, our local real estate industry fared very well with all the changes.
Enjoy March Madness and Major League Baseball starting soon. Please let me know if we can help you with any of your real estate needs.

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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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