It appears that the Northeast Florida housing market is slowing to what is expected in a rising-interest-rate environment.
Although the median price of single-family homes rose 1.3% over the region to $405,000, other factors indicate that the market has stabilized and that interest rates that hover around 7% may be finally catching up with buyers.
Throughout the region, housing inventory increased more than 31% to 7,764 homes, a 4.1-month supply and the highest since January 2019.
And other market statistics are not what we usually see in the month of June. Closed sales usually go up, not down, yet in Northeast Florida for single-family homes closed sales declined nearly 11% to 1,907. Similarly, pending sales usually go up and not down in June, yet pending sales last month plummeted 35% to 1,261 homes.
“The Northeast Florida real estate market is back to a stabilized level between sellers and buyers,” said 2024 NEFAR President Rory Dubin. “Days on market climbed by almost two weeks from last month to 39 days, pending sales dropped significantly as well as new listings. Months of supply is now up to four months as active inventory climbed towards 7,800 listings.”
Meanwhile, the region’s Home Affordability Index remained the same as in May with June registering at 63.
The Home Affordability Index measures housing affordability for the region. In other words, it measures whether a typical family earns enough to qualify for a mortgage on a typical home, based on current interest rates, median income and median home prices. A higher number means greater affordability.
This index measures affordability factors for all homebuyers making a 20% downpayment. An index of 100 is defined as the point where a median-income family has the exact amount of income needed to purchase a median-priced existing home. An index value greater than 100 means that the family has more than enough income, while a value lower than 100 means that a family doesn't have enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan.
“With interest rates averaging at or above 7% today and the election year upon us, it is more important than ever for both sellers and buyers to use a trusted Realtor from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors to gain the most accurate and recent information to navigate the buying or selling process to make smart decisions,” Dubin said.
In St. Johns County, June 2024 median prices increased 2.6% to $579,900 for single-family homes. The median days on the market increased 20.2% to 51. Month-to-month, closed sales dropped 9.6% to 573, pending sales catapulted down 39.2% to 333 and new listings fell 2.5% to 835.
Active inventory climbed 13% to 2,298 homes, a four-month supply. The Home Affordability Index dropped to 44, indicating that it is very expensive to live in St. Johns County.
In Duval County, the June 2024 median price of single-family housing was $340,900, a slight decrease of 1.2% from the month before. The median number of days on the market in June was 34, more than double from May 2024. Month-to-month closed sales fell 12.6 % to 913, pending sales plummeted 36.6% to 612, and new listings dropped 2% to 1,709 homes.
Active inventory for the county climbed 21.7% to 3,533 homes, a 3.9-month supply. The Home Affordability Index inched up to 75.
