Northeast Florida Real Estate: Positive Housing Market Indicators

HOUSING MARKET NEWS BRIEFS NORTHEAST FLORIDA

In Fernandina Beach, Florida, according to Zillow housing market trends, looking at a 5-year snapshot since 2008, single-family home sales prices in the local area have been moving generally upward for about a year now, with the Fernandina Beach median sales price at $293,800 in November 2012 for a single-family home (latest Zillow data through November 2012). Median means half sold for more and half sold for less.

Annual Report on the Northeast Florida Housing Market (Calendar Year 2012 Overview), a report by the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR).

“Yearlong evidence points to market recovery…”

One need only take a look at the visual charts in this NEFAR report covering calendar year 2012 to see the overall positive trends happening in the Northeast Florida residential real estate market. Highlights of the NEFAR housing report for calendar year 2012 include:

Listings: “Traditional sellers are returning just as banks seem to be listing fewer distressed properties..” Read complete report by NEFAR.

Housing Inventory: “Buyers currently have 8,186 properties from which to choose, 28.1 percent fewer than last year at this time. Changing teams, sellers have 28.1 percent less competition with which to contend. Supply-side correction is generally a positive, but many local communities are on the brink of a housing shortage, which has given rise to new and infill construction in certain neighborhoods. High-quality, move-in ready inventory isn’t always easy to find…” Read complete report by NEFAR.

Sales: The buyer rebound remained strong throughout the year 2012. Better still, housing demand strengthened without performance-enhancing government incentives. Closed sales were up 7.1 percent to 17,872 for the year. Read complete report by NEFAR.

“Big investment firms are buying Florida single-family foreclosures in bulk, expecting to profit twice: First by renting out the homes and then by reselling them in a few years.” Read more from FLORIDA TREND, “Real Estate in Florida” article, Landlord, Inc.

Home Prices Grew Most in Six Years… “The U.S. headed into 2013 with home values on the rise due to an 8.3% year-over-year surge in home prices in December, according to data firm CoreLogic. The Irvine, Calif.-based company said December home prices grew the most annually since May of 2006.”  READ MORE FROM HOUSING WIRE

Recent news indicating housing recovery: Home Depot to hire 80,000 workers. Read more about this positive indicator for housing industry, article Florida-Times Union, Jacksonville.