“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”

Indira Gandhi

We are not supposed to shake hands while we are social distancing, but it still makes my heart happy when someone looks me in the eye and shakes my hand with both of theirs. I can feel the love and respect.

The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market stats for July indicate it is a great time to sell your home. With record-low mortgage rates and low inventory of homes listed for sale, the homes coming on the market are going under contract very quickly.

There were 3,598 contracts written in July which is an increase of 21% over last July. We are up 4% year-to-date.

There were 3,514 closings in July which is an increase of 16% over last July. We are down slightly (1%) year-to-date but catching up quickly. Closings were less than the previous year in April and May but rebounded in June and continued to increase in July.

The median sales price of $265,000 is up 10% over last July. The average sales price of $325,665 is up 15% over last July. Both prices are up 8% year-to-date. It is very clear that we are not seeing decreased pricing because of COVID.

The inventory of homes for sale is 6,943 which is down 30% from last July. This is the lowest number of homes for sale since mid-2005. For perspective during 2007 in the great recession, we had approximately 20,000 homes for sale.

We have 2.5 months supply of inventory available. A balanced market is 5 to 6 months of inventory. Inventory is low even with increased permits being pulled by the local builders. There are 6,608 building permits in the Jacksonville MSA through July 2020 compared to 6,208 year-to-date in 2019.

We are seeing increased contracts, closings and prices while experiencing a low number of homes available for sale. All add up to a terrific time to sell your home.

Mark your calendar for our annual Davidson Cares Clay Day on October 29th. We have worked out a very safe way for everyone to shoot with no group gatherings. We will be supporting Builders Care, Investing in Kids! and St. Augustine Youth Services again. Please email me at sdavidson@davidsonrealtyinc.com if you would like to participate.

Stay safe and as always thank you for your support and referrals!