Northeast Florida housing market continues historic trend

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Nationwide, the 2021 housing market was one for the history books, and the same was true for Northeast Florida.

After three consecutive months of price increases, existing home sales are on pace to hit their highest level in 15 years with an estimated six million homes sold in 2021, according to the National Association of Realtors (NEFAR).

In Northeast Florida, sales prices reached new heights, inventory scraped rock bottom and homes sold in record time, often for well above the asking price.

“December capped off an exceptional real estate market year in Northeast Florida,” said NEFAR President Mark Rosener. “Sales of all property types were brisk throughout the year clocking in at nearly 38,000 properties sold for 2021.”

In single family residential housing across Northeast Florida, the median sales price for December rose to $350,000, a small increase over November’s median of $349,013 but a 22% increase from December 2020.

“The median sales price of all properties sold is at an all-time high of $323,900, although it appears that this may be showing signs of moderating as the December median sales price was virtually the same as it was at the end of November,” Rosener said.

Meanwhile, the region’s inventory of homes fell to 1.1 months’ supply, a 20.2% decrease from November 2021 and a 25.9% drop from December 2020.

“The end of December is historically our lowest inventory level, and we would anticipate that more homes will be coming on the market to take advantage of the spring selling season,” Rosener said. “Inventory remains at a record low with just over 3,400 properties actively for sale at the end of December, which represents just over one months’ supply at our current sales level.” 

With a median of 24 days on the market in December, homes are still selling at a fast clip with 99.6% of sellers receiving their asking price and 31.5% closing above the listing price, which is a 91% increase from a year ago.

“We still see a very short marketing time of days on market, with most properties selling at or slightly above list price, although these two indicators seem to be moderating in December as well,” said Rosener.

New listings of single-family homes in December dropped to 1,841 homes, a 19.4% decline since November 2021 and a 4.9% decline from the year before.

In St. Johns County, the median sales price in December for single-family homes was $490,250, a 3.1% increase over November 2021 and a 24.1% increase from a year ago.

St. Johns single-family homes spent a median of 28 days on the market. All sellers received their list price with 29.9% receiving more than the asking price.

In the Ponte Vedra North area, the median sales price in December was $1,986,000, a jump of 38.8% since November 2021, with the median days on the market of 33 and 95.5% of sellers receiving their list price, and 16.7% of homes selling for over the asking price.

In Duval County, the median price in December of single-family homes was $319,920, a 2.9% rise since November 2021 and a 25.5% rise since December 2020.

Duval County homes spent a median of 22 days on the market, and 99.4% of sellers received their asking price with 34.3% of homes selling at more than the list price.

“Whether someone is buying or selling, it has never been more important to get the advice, guidance and expertise of a trusted Realtor to navigate the new normal of our real estate market in Northeast Florida,” Rosener said.  “The pandemic has certainly impacted the seasonality of real estate sales and the consumer behaviors. Demand for homes remains strong. The millennial generation is getting to its prime home buying age, while investors are still active in our market, and consumers from larger metropolitan areas keep looking to make Northeast Florida their home. I believe the spring market will see an uptick in available homes for sale to meet that demand.”