Jacksonville Beaches Real Estate

Home sales up 12.9% in NE Florida From WOKV News Talk Radio Jax Jacksonville, FL — In February home sales were up 12.9% from a year ago in northeast Florida. The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors is reporting sales are up but prices are down 12.9%. NFAR communications director Melanie Green says most of the homes sold last month were not traditional sales. "The sales that occurred in February were weighted heavily by lender mediated sales, those are your foreclosed and short sales." She says that's a bit of bad news but it does indicate that investors are coming back into the market. We also heard from consumer warrior Clark Howard. He says right now is the perfect time to buy, the reason being that the timing is right. "If you're buying a home now, man everything is smiling on you, the prices are phenomenal on the homes, the cost of money to borrow and finance those homes is still great, and this is not a gotcha this is an opportunity....

Oh my gosh. I think I'm making believers out of my buyers these days! I'm NOT using car salesmen tricks by saying "you better buy it now or it'll be gone". Read my lips: you better put an offer on it or it will be gone!! I kid you not. That's how hot the Jacksonville market is right now. First time buyers are gobbling up the houses in the 100-185,000 price range like I can't even believe. This is a hot, hot price range and the inventory is there to give everyone lots of choices. The $8000 credit towards closing costs is really going to help a LOT. Call me today and let's go find one of these bargains for YOU!

News from Florida Assoc of Realtors is a mixed bag, to say the least! Sales are way up--with prices WAY down. At least some of the inventory is "going away". There have been lots of sales because of all of the foreclosed properties and short sales. That's okay if you're a buyer....not so good if you're trying to sell your home right now. It's all about PRICE in this market. If you're a seller, you're competing with dirt cheap houses all around you. Now, more than ever, if your home isn't priced right, it's not going to sell. Pure and simple. Here's a little bit of what the experts have to say about this crazy market... ...“Many people are looking at today’s market and seeing opportunities to find the home or business they’ve always wanted,” said 2009 FAR President Cynthia Shelton. “With a range of available housing options, historically low mortgage interest rates and affordable prices, buyers who may have been hesitant before shoul...

...NAR lowers expectations for home sales, prices Forecast calls for 1.3% drop in median existing-home prices Wednesday, June 06, 2007 Inman News The National Association of Realtors again lowered its forecast for 2007 existing-home sales today, following a downward adjustment last month, and also lowered expectations for home prices. Existing-home sales are expected to fall 4.6 percent this year to 6.18 million, compared with 6.48 million in 2006, with new single-family home sales dropping 18.2 percent and housing starts dropping 20.4 percent. Housing starts for single-family units are expected to decline 23 percent this year compared to 2006. From Inman News This news really surprises me! After attending class at NEFAR for the past 2 days, I was hearing all kinds of optimism from other agents. I think if you're representing buyers, you are loving this market! For those of us that also have listings, it's not all that fun.... To be continued...