by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The number of permits pulled by builders in March all around the First Coast continues to go up from both the previous month and the previous year.
In March, the number of permits pulled in Clay County was 349, up from 204 in February. In Duval, 698 permits were pulled, up from 485 in February. Nassau County also saw an increase with 117 pulled in March, 24 more than in February, and St. John County also saw an increase with 377 permits in March, up from 349 in February.
Overall, in the greater Jacksonville area, there were 1,541 permits pulled in March, which is 410 more the the previous month.
Local real estate analyst Ray Rodriguez said the permits are an indication that the local real estate market is still strong despite rising gas prices, materials and labor costs and the recently quadrupled impact fee in St. Johns County which sent hundreds scurrying to file the proper paperwork before the fee kicked in.
“This is all just builders trying to get their paperwork in and logistics sorted out,” said Rodriguez, adding he hasn’t heard anything about impact fees possibly going up in Duval County.
Rodriguez is quick to point out that an increase in permits may equate to more single-family, attached homes and condominiums, but it doesn’t guarantee sales.
“Take all those multi-family developments on Butler Boulevard, for example,” he said. “They are building like gangbusters. Does that mean the homes have been sold? I don’t think so. Everybody is trying to finish what they promised and what they have on the books.”
Developers, said Rodriguez, will pull hundreds of permits in a relatively short time frame because it gives them more flexibility when it finally comes time to break ground on, say, 650 new homes. In essence, approved permits allows the developer to control his own destiny.
“That’s exactly what it is. They want to do as much as they can before it’s too late,” he said, referring to the inevitable downturn, whenever that may be.
Another trend that shows the local real estate business is still booming — though not quite like a few other areas of the state — is home sales and median home prices in March of this year compared to March 2004.
Realtor sales were up 7 percent with 1,555 sales in March. Also, the median sales price went up 17 percent to $172,300. The Fort Myers-Cape Coral area led the state with realtor sales up a whopping 48 percent from March of last year with the median sales price going up 43 percent to $246,600.
Rodriguez believes the median sale prices may be artificially inflated by the way homes are financed these days.
“There is some flexible creative mortgage financing going on,” he said. “Today, you can take out three mortgages when you buy a home. You can take out a loan for the down payment. You can take out a first mortgage for 80 percent of the loan to value. And, you can take out a second mortgage immediately. This means people are buying more than they can afford. It’s going to come back to bite them one day.”
Rodriguez said the yearly rise in median sales prices isn’t necessarily a good trend.
“Try to look for an affordable home,” he said. “It’s difficult to find a decent place for decent payments. Anything under $200,000 and there’s no quality of life.”