The inventory of single-family homes available for sale in Northeast Florida in July is nearly doubled from a year ago amid a surge of new listings. Meanwhile, the median sales price fell 0.4% to $398,970 after setting a record of $400,500 in June, according to a report from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors.
Those are signs that the Jacksonville residential real estate market is tipping slightly in favor of buyers, according to NEFAR.
“July statistics showed a continued stabilization of the real estate market in Northeast Florida towards a traditional balanced marketplace,” Rory Dubin, 2024 NEFAR President, said in a news release.
“Despite a worsening economy and high inflation, median prices were down slightly, and the Home Affordability Index was up. Days on market are longer, and inventory of homes to purchase is higher.”
After reaching a market median price of $400,500 in June, the median price of a single-family home dipped to $398,970 in July. It was the first month-over-month decline in the median price since January when it fell 2.6% to $374,950.
Homes are sitting on the market longer. The median number of days a house was on the market was 42, up 20% from 35 in July 2023.
New listings in July rose to 3,318, up 3.9% from June and 40.4% from a year ago. Active inventory was 7,897, up 11.6% from June and 96.9% from July 2023. This number reflects the increase in the monthly supply of inventory to 4.2 months. Active inventory a year ago was 2.1 months.
“Increased days on the market isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing for buyers; however, it is an indication of market balancing, as economists consider a 4–6-month supply to be closer to market equilibrium,” Dubin said in an email.
“It wasn’t that long ago that we were in a serious short supply of inventory.”
The Home Affordability Index has been increasing since May’s low of 63 to 65 in July.
The definition of affordability index as explained by NEFAR is “measuring 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.” A number of 100 or better is desired.
Real estate agents have their eye on the Aug. 14 inflation report, Dubin said.
“We anticipate that if the inflation rate is slowing down, the Fed may do a rate cut in September; if not, the next opportunity for a rate cut would be in December.”
Here is how Northeast Florida counties fared in July:
Baker
The county’s June median sale price of $409,950 was an anomaly. In July it fell to $225,000, the lowest median price in Baker County this year.
Dubin explained the abrupt swing.
“The median price in Baker increased by over 32% in one month because Baker has such a low amount of sales that any significantly high-priced home could skew total numbers for that county. The same is true now. Baker County had only 6 closed sales in July, and the median price decrease was at least largely an offset of the 32% plus increase in the median price the prior month. I expect Baker County to have the most drastic monthly changes of any of our counties due to far lower sales activity.”
The active inventory of 70 homes is up 16.7% from June and 52.2% from a year ago.
Clay
The median price increased 2.5% from June and 2.5% year-over-year to $369,000. Closed sales fell 0.4% from June and 7.2% from a year ago. The active inventory of 1,156 homes is up 18.4% from June and 126.2% from a year ago.
Duval
The median price is up 1.6% from June and 4.7% from a year ago to $345,500. Closed sales fell 1.9% from June and are up 5% from a year ago. The active inventory of 3,566 homes is up 12.5% from June and 99.2% from a year ago.
Nassau
The median price fell 6.5% from June and are up 6.7% from a year ago at $436,700. Closed sales rose 3.4% from June and are unchanged from a year ago. The active inventory of 519 homes is up 4% from June and 79.6% from a year ago.
Putnam
The median price fell 16.4% from June and 16.1% from a year ago to $214,000. Closed sales rose 20% from June and 11.6% from last year. The active inventory of 252 homes is up 5.4% from June and 115.4% from a year ago.
St. Johns
The median price rose 1.9% from June and 1% from a year ago to $591,000. Closed sales fell 13.5% from June and are off 4% from last year. The active inventory of 2,334 homes rose 9.7% from June and is up 85.7% from a year ago.