Special to Realty/Builder Connection
In 2001, 12,465 homes were sold in Northeast Florida at an average price of $116,000.
In 2010, 13,373 homes were sold at an average price of $142,200.
Similar numbers, it seems.
But, as every person reading this newspaper knows, those numbers were like the pieces of bread on a sandwich and what was in between was very, very dissimilar.
North Florida real estate’s last 10 years have been a wild ride, a roller coaster that has had radical ups and downs unlike anything ever seen here.
“It has been a difficult time,” said Northeast Florida Association of Realtors President Dane Leslie of Watson Realty at the association’s annual meeting last month. “Everyone has been through it and if there’s one positive, it’s that the market seems to be stabilizing.”
Indeed, the numbers are creeping closer: home sales were up 11 percent here over last year while prices were down seven percent. The last three years have seen an increase in sales here while prices continued to tumble.
Some facts and figures, using statistics provided by Florida Realtors through information supplied by local associations and with the help of the University of Florida Bergstom Center for Real Estate Studies:
• An examination of sales over the 10-year period from 2001 to 2010 (see chart, page 1) shows a gradual increase from 2001 to 2005, then a slide for the next three years, and now an upward movement.
• Prices have taken a different track, increasing from 2001 ($116,000) to a high of $200,600 per transaction in 2006, followed by a plunge through last year to $142,000.
• The state association compiles sales and prices in 19 areas called Metropolitan Sales Areas (MSAs) and the Jacksonville area (“Jacksonville” is the official name, though it includes the nearby counties) has maintained a sales position around fourth or fifth place. Prices are different, with this area running mid-pack.
• In 2001, Naples was the state’s hottest area with an average price of $239,200 in its development-booming area. Today, Naples’ sales are so insignificant that it no longer is its own MSA, and is counted in with Fort Myers-Cape Coral.
• The state and local numbers were close in 2010 as sales increased slightly over 2009 while prices declined slightly.
• In the 10 year period, the state’s numbers for sales (167,996 in 2001, 170,848 for 2010) and prices ($127,000 and $136,500) were very close.
• The biggest sales increase in Jacksonville was from 2001 (12,465) to 2005 (18,307,) and the biggest droop was from 2005 to 2008 (9,866.)