Hey folks, big turnaround in our Northeast Florida home market last month! After a few sluggish months, December really woke things up with home sales jumping 27% to 1,751 closed single-family transactions. That's according to the latest from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR), reported by Stuart Korfhage in the Jacksonville Business Journal.
For context, November was pretty quiet at just 1,374 sales (down from 1,662 in October and 1,651 in September). So yeah, holidays usually slow things down, but not this time—buyers came out swinging.
The median price for single-family homes climbed to $390,000, up from November's $375,000. More people jumping in pushed prices higher, but things still feel more balanced than crazy.NEFAR President Kim Knapp put it nicely: The numbers show momentum but also moderation. Prices are rising, but buyers are being smarter and more thoughtful. With more inventory (6,293 active properties) and 1,423 new listings in December, plus homes sitting longer on the market, folks have more breathing room to make solid decisions without feeling rushed. Affordability's still a chat, but it's giving everyone a fairer shot.
Looking ahead to 2026, mortgage rates aren't gonna crash or anything dramatic. Experts like Ted Rossman from Bankrate think the 30-year fixed will hang around 6% most of the year—maybe dipping to 5.5% at times if Fed cuts happen and stuff cools off, but inflation or other factors could nudge it back up. Expect it to bounce around 6%, nothing too wild.Knapp says the market's doing what healthy ones do: stabilizing without stalling. Buyers get to be picky, sellers still get good value, and realistic expectations all around make it better for everybody.
Quick county breakdown for December single-family homes:
Let's gooooo! 😘
The median price for single-family homes climbed to $390,000, up from November's $375,000. More people jumping in pushed prices higher, but things still feel more balanced than crazy.NEFAR President Kim Knapp put it nicely: The numbers show momentum but also moderation. Prices are rising, but buyers are being smarter and more thoughtful. With more inventory (6,293 active properties) and 1,423 new listings in December, plus homes sitting longer on the market, folks have more breathing room to make solid decisions without feeling rushed. Affordability's still a chat, but it's giving everyone a fairer shot.
Looking ahead to 2026, mortgage rates aren't gonna crash or anything dramatic. Experts like Ted Rossman from Bankrate think the 30-year fixed will hang around 6% most of the year—maybe dipping to 5.5% at times if Fed cuts happen and stuff cools off, but inflation or other factors could nudge it back up. Expect it to bounce around 6%, nothing too wild.Knapp says the market's doing what healthy ones do: stabilizing without stalling. Buyers get to be picky, sellers still get good value, and realistic expectations all around make it better for everybody.
Quick county breakdown for December single-family homes:
- Duval County: Median $335,000 (up 1.5% from Nov), 874 closed sales (up 18.8%), new listings down to 779, inventory at 3,137 homes (about 3.6 months supply).
- Clay County: Median $361,000 (up 3.1%), 242 closed sales (up 25.4%), new listings down to 211, inventory 936 homes (3.9 months supply).
- St. Johns County: Median $549,995 (up 8.7%), 476 closed sales, new listings down 33.8% to 290, inventory 1,526 homes (3.2 months supply).
Let's gooooo! 😘
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