Clay County Florida Market Report

January 2012

Single Family homes in:

· Fleming Island

· Orange Park

· Middleburg

· Green Cove Springs

January 2012 January 2011

Active Listings: 1,181 Active Listings: 1,574

Sold: 121 Sold: 117

Months Inventory: 9.76 Months Inventory: 13.45

Average Price: 380,029 Average Price: 413,149

For January 2012, Clay County didn't see the same positive improvements as Jacksonville did, but still more positive than in January 2011 as far as inventory levels. I was showing a house in Clay County the other day, and it was bought in April of 2011 for 198k and is now on the market, under contract, with a list price of 214k. Until it's sold, we won't know the exact amount it was sold for, but let's just assume it's at 214k. This home is NOT a short sale or distressed, because the owners paid cash. (Of course we don't know what is going on in their life to sell it so quick) Just think, in our current market, they will end up making 16k. We haven't seen that happen as often in the past 4 or 5 years. It will be nice to get back to a normal market, where shorts sales and foreclosures are not so prevalent.

And now for a Blast in the Past…………..

January 2011

Active Listings– The amount of active listings in the month reported

Sold– The amount of sold listings that closed in the reported month.

Months Inventory– How many months it would take to sell the current inventory based on the sold amount.

Avg Sale Price– Average sale price of the sold houses in the reported month.

SP/OLP Ratio– Sales price to Original List Price, this is the percentage showing the difference of what the house was originally listed for and what it sold for.

Days on the Market– The length of time it took the house to get under contract from list date.

Sold REO– How many homes sold that were foreclosures (REO=Real Estate Owned).

Sold Short Sales– How many homes sold, that were short sales

Want to know what these numbers mean to you when selling your Clay County Florida Home? Call me at 904-910-3516 and find out!

Eagle Harbor Club Championship | April 14-15, 2012

Don't miss the Eagle Harbor Golf Club Championship coming up in April.

Here are the details:

FORMAT 30 Holes each day
TIME 7:30 AM Tee Time Start Both Days
ENTRY FEE $70 Plus Applicable Fees
TEES Players must select their own tees
SCORING Prizes will be awarded in Gross and
Net Flights in Each Division
DIVISIONS Men's Championship - Blue Tees
Men's Regular - White Tees
Men's Senior 55+ - Green Tees
Men's Senior 70+ - Gold Tees
Ladie's Division - Red Tees

To be eligible to play, you must be an Eagle Harbor Patron to participate in the Club Championship.

Originally Published at FlemingIslandFLRealEstate.com

Lake Asbury, Green Cove Springs, Florida

Lake Asbury offers multiple lifestyles, which is different than most cookie cutter neighborhoods. If you're looking for waterfront homes, there are 3 lakes, with about 430 properties. One lake (Lake Ryan) is for paddle boats and canoes, the other two lakes, (Lake Asbury & South Lake) you can enjoy boats and jet skis. Only the lake owners have access to the boat ramps on these two lakes.

There are also properties zoned for horses for the equestrian folks. What all the lots have in common are some elbow room. Some properties start at 1/4 acre, but those are rare, the majority are 1 acre or more, some even at 5 acres and up.

Inside the Lake Asbury neighborhood is the local fire dept, that's gotta make you feel a little better, knowing those guys and gals are close by. There's also a small playground and community center right next to the fire department.

The lake owners are members of the Lake Asbury Lake Lot Owners Association (LALLOA) and the Lake Asbury Municipal Service Benefit District. (LAMSBD). The function of the LAMSBD is to preserve the quality of the lakes and LALLOA would retain all authority as to lake usage and title to the lots that posses the boat ramp access to the lakes.

Lake Asbury is located in a quiet community, a little ways from the hustle and bustle, but still close to shopping, churches, boat ramps, walking distance to two schools (see below for school info), about 35 mins from NAS Jax. Taking the scenic route to St Augustine, you can be there in about 40-45 mins, even though mapquest says about an hour. No, I don't have the pedal to the medal either. :)

These pictures were taken in January, so not quite as green as it normally is.

View Lake Asbury in a larger map

Schools

Lake Asbury Elementary

Lake Asbury Jr High

Clay High School

Always check with the school just in case of zone changes. You can view the Clay County Florida bus routes and input your address to determine what school your child(ren) will go to.

Asbury Commons in Lake Asbury

There is some stores close by, so you don't have to drive far. There's a gas station, Italian restaurant, Subway, fitness center, dance studio, Duke's BBQ, Chinese, a Dick's wings, grocery store, Game Swap and my family's favorite Just Chillin.

The Island Life Grill | Fleming Island Florida

Welcome The Island Life Grill to Fleming Island Florida!

We finally have what Fleming Island residents have wanted for so long - an upscale restaurant serving fish, steak and other fine dishes to save us from having to go "over the bridge" for a really good meal. The Island Life Grill is located in the Fleming Island Plantation downtown area, at the end of the street on the left hand side.

Their lunch and dinner menus are very diverse and they have copied some dishes from places "across the bridge" that are so good, well, you won't have to go far from home to satisfy your fishy cravings! We tried the Fried Calamari, Grilled Ahi Tuna, and Rock Shrimp "Island" Style and everything was delicious. We sat outside on a pleasant evening - great place for a Girl's night out!

Next time we'll have to sample their beef and chicken, but the fish definitely won rave reviews.

If you're looking for something "a cut above" the other restaurants on Fleming Island, give The Island Life Grill a try.

The Island Life Grill
2245-3 Plantation Center Drive Fleming Island FL 32003
904-215-4243

Market Trends | Fleming Island FL Foreclosures | March 4, 2012

As of today, there are 13 single family home foreclosures available on Fleming Island. This represents about 5% of the Active listings, which number 218. There are 3 Active in Pace Island, 3 in Eagle Harbor, and 3 in Fleming Island Plantation. There is one townhouse foreclosure, also in Fleming Island Plantation. There is one house on the River available.

Historically, many areas of Fleming Island have had a very low % of foreclosures compared to other areas of Jacksonville. For example, in Eagle Harbor, there are 73 Active Listings and only 3 foreclosures. That is 4% of the listing inventory.

Is this a sign of a Real Estate Recovery?

There were three waves of Foreclosures in the Fleming Island area. The first ones were people who were barely making it who decided to buy a house because it was so easy to get a loan.

The second wave were the investors, who were betting on the market to keep rising so they could flip their homes. Some of them rented at first, but eventually as prices dropped, they let them go.

The third wave of foreclosures was made up of people who were stable when the market crashed, but times changed and job losses and/or cutbacks ate into their savings and at some point they couldn't hang on any longer. Many of them tried loan modifications, but the loan mods sometimes were an even higher payment than they had before. The other part of this third wave were the people who strategically walked away because it no longer made sense to make payments on a house where they were so upside down.

This past week, the big banks inked agreements with the attorney general in Florida and in all the other states. Banks are now free to proceed with foreclosures on homes that have been delayed for the past year since the robo-signing debacle. Look for a fourth wave of foreclosures as these homes roll on the market.

26% (5) of the 19 homes that sold on Fleming Island from February 4-March 4 were foreclosures. Look for this number to rise as we work through the backlog of foreclosures coming on the market throughout 2012, bur stay tuned for other positive indications of a Real Estate Recovery, such as new home starts.

This Market Trends report was brought to you by Team Alters. Please text us at 904-673-2308 or email sharon@teamalters.com for more information.