The “selling season” in Northeast Florida has arrived, albeit a bit early this year. For single-family homes, prices are up, active inventory is up, new listings are up and so is the median number of days on the market.
There are only two exceptions. Pending sales for single-family homes dropped nearly 20%, and, unfortunately for consumers, the Home Affordability Index ratcheted down slightly, 2.2%, to register at 66.5.
The Home Affordability Index measures housing affordability for the region. In other words, it measures whether a typical family earns enough to qualify for a mortgage on a typical home, based on current interest rates, median income and median home prices.
A higher number means greater affordability. This index measures affordability factors for all homebuyers making a 20% downpayment. An index of 100 is defined as the point where a median-income family has the exact amount of income needed to purchase a median-priced existing home.
An index value exceeding 100 means that the family has more than enough income, while a value below 100 means that a family doesn't have enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan.
“The market is moving up in a positive direction each month,” said 2024 NEFAR President Rory Dubin. “March saw over a 20% increase in closed transactions despite a slight increase in the median price. In fact, almost a third of sales were above list price, indicating high demand in our more affordable market compared with the rest of and most of the Southeast. Both inventory and new listings increased as well, showing a robust market for both buyers and sellers.”
Specifically, the median sales price for single-family homes in the region in March was $389,000, a 1% increase from February. Active inventory totaled 5,920 homes, a 3.2% increase over last month. Likewise, new listings tallied 3,580, a 6.7% increase. And the median number of days on the market stood at 33, up 3.1% from the month before.
As spring arrives and the selling season becomes busy, employing a Realtor who has local knowledge and experience is vital, according to Dubin.
“It is more important than ever to use a NEFAR Realtor to navigate the high amount of activity in real estate in Northeast Florida,” he said.
In Duval County, the March median price of single-family housing was $345,950, slightly less than a 1% drop from February. The median number of days on the market in March rose to 29, a 7.4% increase from the month before.
Month-to-month closed sales rose 24.4% to 964, pending sales fell 19.4% to 746, and new listings increased 10.5% to 1,813. Active inventory for the county climbed 5.4% to 2,709 homes, a 2.8-month supply.
In March, the Home Affordability Index remained the same at 75.
In St. Johns County, March median prices climbed 10.4% to $546,259 for single-family homes. The median days on the market rose 21.9% to 39.
Month-to-month, closed sales rose 17.5% to 484, pending sales dropped 17.2% to 409 and new listings increased 3.3% to 989. Active inventory increased 4.3% to 1,852 homes, a 3.8-month supply.
The Home Affordability Index fell, 11.3% to 47, indicating that it is still very expensive to live in St. Johns County.
