It’s not as exciting as last year.
But growth is growth, and Northeast Florida housing’s steady upward trend in 2014 has left Realtors feeling optimistic.
“Real estate has actually become fun for people in the business again,” said Dane Leslie, broker at Watson Realty’s Mandarin South office.
The Northeast Florida Multiple Listing Service’s annual report shows housing sales in 2014 grew by 6.8 percent and the median sales price is up by 3.6 percent. Not as dramatic as 2013’s growth of 23.3 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively. But a continued step in the right direction.
Sally Suslak, president of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, said the trend, even more than the numbers, is what registers.
“I think people who are in the business every day know the market is getting better because agents are selling more and inventory is moving fast,” she said.
Leslie said he’s upbeat, despite the slowed acceleration.
“Steady growth is quality growth,” he said. “Although it was fun while it lasted, I personally don’t want to go back to the growth of 2003 to 2005.”
In his own office, Leslie closed fewer sales in 2014, but earned more revenue. It was a change he expected.
“In 2012 and 2013 I had a lot of investor purchases, who were in some cases buying in quantity,” he said. “Once you’ve eliminated all of that lower-end stuff, it’s natural your sales will slow.”
One statistic Leslie especially likes is the continued drop in lender-mediated foreclosures and short sales. During the recession the rate was as high as 52 percent.
“And — I can’t believe I’m saying this — now we’re down to only 35 percent,” he said. “It’s still a big number, but it’s a lot smaller than it was.”
Looking to the future, Leslie said Jacksonville’s biggest headwinds will continue to be the availability of credit and appraisal issues. Anytime the real estate market returns to a positive direction, the appraisal community lags because appraisers look for history, he said.
“I don’t think there’s any appraiser in Jacksonville that would define us as being in a declining market. But they’re cautious,” he said.
In 2015, as long as mortgage rates remain attractive and credit is available, it should be a good year.
“Look around at the development by builders. If anything – they’re moved back into this slowly,” Leslie said. “Well now, my gosh, there’s development going on everywhere.”
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