Key results: Sales up 19.2 percent year to date and prices up 16.4 percent; one fourth of sales are for more than asking price. Inventory of properties still shrinking.
The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors announces real estate market statistics for March 2013. Statistics encompass both single-family residential and condo sales, combined.
It’s not a blip in the market: the housing market in Northeast Florida continues to strengthen. Through the end of March, 4,541 homes have sold in 2013. That year to date figure is 19.2 percent higher than the same period in 2012. In March alone, 1,687 homes were sold; a 9.5 percent increase over last March. Steady increases in sales price are marching along in conjunction with sales. The $139,650 median sales price year to date is 16.4 percent higher than the $120,000 year to date price in 2012. In March, the median price was $140,250; a 9.6 percent increase from a year ago.
There were 2,375 pending sales in March (those in which a contract has been written but the sale has not closed). That figure is 41.2 percent higher than last March’s 1,682 pending sales. Year to date, pending sales are up 37.7 percent.
The shrinking number of homes for sale continues to be keenly watched. There were 7,825 homes in inventory in March; down 31.9 percent from last March’s 11,488. The sharply reduced inventory means that there is now only 4.5 months of supply on hand; down 43.8 percent from this time last year. A five- to six-month supply is considered a balanced market.
Another shrinking component is the percentage of lender-mediated property sales. Of the 1,687 total March sales, there were 1,012 traditional sales and 675 (40 percent) lender-mediated sales. The share of lender-mediated properties among new listings that entered the market in March is even more noteworthy. There were 1,782 traditional new listings that entered the market during March but only 912 (33.9 percent) lender-mediated properties added.
NEFAR President Carol Zingone says, “Low inventory coupled with increased sales is driving up home prices. Year-to-date, one fourth of all properties have sold for more than the listed price. Competition for properties is brisk.”
For these and numerous other real estate market statistics, take advantage of the FREE market reports available on the Newsroom | Market Stats tab of www.NEFAR.com. Three reports are available: 1) The Monthly Indicators and Housing Supply Overview Report summarizes complete activity for NEFAR’s entire service area plus *partial information for St. Johns County and Nassau County. 2) Lender-Mediated sales reports offer a targeted look specifically at lender-mediated sales and how they compare to traditional sales. 3) Annual Reports - 2011 and 2012 are available - give an extensive year in review, with comparisons from the four preceding years included.
Note: our 2013 Lender-Mediated Reports have been expanded and now feature a more detailed look at the lender-mediated market segment. Three key features of the expanded report are the Inventory of Homes For Sale and Inventory by Price Range charts on page 2 and the New Listings chart on the top of page 3. Prior lender-mediated reports focused primarily on closed sales data. Reviewing the lender-mediated properties now entering the for sale market (New Listings chart) along with the amount and price ranges of lender-mediated properties on hand (Inventory charts) provides a more current, and clearer, analysis of the local real estate market.
About NEFAR
The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors provides professional development, political advocacy, professional standards administration, media relations, and promotional activities and exchange of information among its members. NEFAR serves as the voice for real estate in northeast Florida; serving the public through efforts to protect private property rights and community affairs programs. NEFAR is Northeast Florida's largest professional association, comprising more than 5,000 members working in all facets of the real estate industry, including residential and commercial sales as well as property management. All statistics in NEFAR’s reports are based on data compiled from NEFAR’s wholly owned subsidiary, the Northeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (NEFMLS). NEFAR is headquartered in Jacksonville, with satellite Service Centers in Orange Park, Jacksonville Beach, Palatka and World Golf Village. * As all Nassau and St. Johns County Realtors are not participants of the NEFMLS; reports provided do not represent the full extent of Realtor sales in those counties.
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