“Gratitude can turn common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” -William Arthur Ward

I rely on the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) market statistics in my analysis each month. NEFAR has changed the company providing the statistics and the information is now interactive and allows you to choose property type, County, or region. Go to NEFAR.com and click on the market stats tab to check it out.

The median sales price of $310,000 is up 17.8% from last October, but unchanged from last month. Of the closings in October, 28.5% closed over list price. This is up 103.2% from last October, but down 7.3% from last month.

The inventory of homes for sale continues to be extremely low. There were 4,270 active properties for sale which is down 31.1% from last October and 7.9% from last month. The 1.4 months of inventory available is also down 25.8% year over year and 9.5% from last month.

The Northeast Florida real estate market may see smaller price increases and fewer multiple offers, but there is still a strong imbalance between buyer demand and homes available. It is still a seller’s market.

I wanted to share some interesting information from the 2021 National Association of Realtors (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Jessica Lautz, Vice President of Demographics and Behavioral Insights at NAR, says both buyers and sellers “have been driven by the desire to be close to family and friends, as well as the need for a larger home” during the pandemic.

Of the sellers who also became buyers, many traded up to bigger, more expensive, and often newer homes, with 46% purchasing a larger home and 28% one of the same size. In the past years, convenience to work and affordability had ranked as top factors for reasons to move.

The pandemic likely spurred occupants to shorten their homestay, as tenure in the home decreased to eight years from 10 years, according to the report – the largest single-year change in home tenure since NAR began collecting such data. Historically, tenure in the home has been six to seven years, but it increased to nine to 10 years following the Great Recession.

It will be interesting to see how remote work opportunities play out in the future. It seems like employees and companies are still figuring out the new rules and how that will affect home sizes and locational choices.

I want to express my gratitude for your friendship and support in 2021. Davidson Cares raised $75,000 at our Clay Day thanks to all the generous people in northeast Florida. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!