Published on January 10, 2024 at 12:54 pm
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The housing market is growing stronger in Northeast Florida, providing hope for people looking to buy or sell a home, local Realtors say.
The number of homes on the market is up significantly from last year, and they’re growing more affordable, according to new data from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors.
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New listings increased by 19.5% in December compared with a year earlier. The total number of homes for sale was up 15.8% from last year.
The “affordability index” — a measure of whether a typical family can afford the typical home — was lower than the year before, meaning homes were less affordable than in December 2022. But affordability rose from November to December, a good sign for potential buyers, the Realtors said.
The affordability index takes into account interest rates, median income and median home prices. It stood at 67 in December. An index of 100 would indicate that a family earning a median income has the exact amount of income needed to buy a median-price home.
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“The local indicators bode well for Northeast Florida’s housing market for both buyers and sellers in our region,” association President Rory Dubin said in a news release. Dubin took from 2023 President Diana Galavis during a ceremony Jan. 4 at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel.
From the seller’s persective, prices remain strong. The median price of a single-family home in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties stood at $384,750 in December, down only 1.3% from the month before, the Realtors association said. The price is still 4% higher than in December 2022.
Houses also are selling more quickly than they were a year ago. A single-family home remained on the market a median of 48 days in December, down 4% from last year.
The number of sales that closed in December, 1,498, was down 9.9% from a year earlier but stilll 5% higher than in November.
