Jacksonville Beach, FL

Here are the numbers of active property listings, those under contract, and sold properties for Single Family Homes in Jacksonville Beach, FL for the month of March 2008:

• Active 322 active listings for Single Family Homes (no condos)
• Pending 9 pending (inspections & financing have been done)
• Sold 10 sold (prices ranged from $177,500 to $2,585,000)
• New Listings 53

The active listings are EXACTLY the same number from 2007 to 2008. Our pending listings are down 57%, sold listings are down 33%, and our new listings are down 25%. The new listings decrease is a good sign: people who do not NEED to sell are not putting their homes on the market, so we are looking primarily at truly motivated sellers, not lookers.

I have heard, and seen first hand, an increase in buyer activity - my listings are being shown more, and I'm working with more buyers, so market activity is up, which is another good sign.

Here are the March 2007 numbers for comparison:

• Active 322 active listings for Single Family Homes (no condos)
• Pending 21 pending (inspections/financing have been done)
• Sold 15 sold (prices ranged from $176,900 to $768,000)
• New Listings 71

It's a great time to buy, particularly if you have a good credit history and some money to bring to the table - depending on your income and credit, you may not need 20% down. Talk to your lender to see what options are available to you.

If you are selling, now more than ever, it's imperative to make the best possible impression from the first day. Look at your home with a critical eye, or, you have difficulty doing that, have your Realtor or a stager look at it and help you determine how to improve. I see homes in the Multiple Listing Service that are selling in less than 60 days.

Now is a great time to buy - if you have questions about buying now versus waiting a few more months, call me for more information.

My power in South Jax Beach, FL, went out at 6:45am this morning - not the usual time you would "expect" a power outage, although there really is no "usual" time, per se....there were no storms, no generators blowing, just zip! the power went out.

Not expecting my power to go out, I didn't have my flashlight handy (which has no batteries currently anyway), but I do have candles scattered throughout the house, and matches. Proved to be very useful this morning.

I could not continue cleaning up my email inbox, as the wireless router was down (requires electricity), and I could not look at changes in MLS for the same reason. I could not cook breakfast or make a cup of tea, as all my appliances are electric as well. It actually surprised me how quickly I went through all the things I could not do without electricity, probably because I take it for granted.

To best utilize my time, I decided to shower, even though it was kind of dark - I figured I could light candles and have enough light to lather up, and rinse (no repeat, because I had hot water in the tank, but no way to make more).

My point in a round-about way here is we can't always be prepared for what is coming next - all we can do is make the best of the situation, learn & adapt and move forward.

Here are the numbers of active property listings, those under contract, and sold properties for Single Family Homes in Jacksonville Beach, FL for the month of February 2008:

• Active 300 active listings for Single Family Homes (no condos)
• Pending 6 pending (there is a contract and inspections/financing have been done)
• Sold 4 sold (prices ranged from $221,000 to $700,000)
• New Listings 52

This month it appears Jacksonville Beach is taking a step backwards: our active listings have increased 4% from January 2008, our pending listings have decreased 25%, our sold listings have decreased 55%, and our new listings have decreased 16%. WHEW - that was a lot to type!

I have been hearing positive news from Realtors, and other associated industries I talk to on a daily basis, including mortgage lenders, home inspectors and insurance people, so these decreases are surprising to me.

One factor influencing us at this time is the tightening of the mortgage markets, and the disappearance of 100% financing. Many buyers may not have the 20% down payment lenders would like to see, and when you are talking about a $350,000 purchase, that 20% is $70,000, which is a big number. Also, many lenders I talk to know will only lend to 95% of appraised value - something else to take into account.

Here are the February 2007 numbers for comparison:

• Active 285 active listings for Single Family Homes (no condos included)
• Pending 11 pending (there is a contract and inspections/financing have been done)
• Sold 7 sold (prices ranged from $231,000 to $500,000)
• New Listings 62

It's a great time to buy, particularly if you have a good credit history and some money to bring to the table - depending on your income and credit, you may not need 20% down. Talk to your lender to see what options are available to you.

If you are selling, now more than ever, it's imperative to make the best possible impression from the first day. Look at your home with a critical eye, or, you have difficulty doing that, have your Realtor or a stager look at it and help you determine how to improve. It's not impossible to sell right now, you just need every possible advantage!

Make It A Great 2008!

Here are the numbers of active property listings, those under contract, and sold properties for Single Family Homes in Jacksonville Beach, FL for the month of January 2008:

• Active 289 active listings for Single Family Homes (no condos)
• Pending 8 pending (there is a contract and inspections/financing have been done)
• Sold 9 sold (prices ranged from $180,000 to $400,000)
• New Listings 62

The great news here is the number of sold listings in January 2008, when compared to January 2007: 9 compared with 4, which means we have closed DOUBLE the number of units year to year.

Let's see what the numbers looked like in January 2007 to see what the true impact is.

• Active 272 active listings for Single Family Homes (no condos included)
• Pending 6 pending (there is a contract and inspections/financing have been done)
• Sold 4 sold (prices ranged from $185,000-$249,000)
• New Listings 66

While our active listings is higher in January 2008, versus January 2007, the pending and sold numbers are also higher, and the new listings are less (although not considerably less.).

Ask your Realtor for comparable neighborhood properties to see first hand what those houses sold for so you can prepare a solid offer. A low ball offer does not always make the most sense, if you really want the house.If you are looking for investment property, or a short sale, you can lowball all day long -you never know when someone will be hungry enough to take it.

If you are selling, ask your Realtor to provide you with properties that have sold that are the most similar to yours. Also ask how your Realtor will market and present your property. The first impression is the one you need to be concerned with - it is what sets your house apart from allt the others. Your property will need to be priced right and presented right to grab attention in this market. An experienced Realtor will offer suggestions to help make your home more salable, and some of these are just good old fashion elbow grease, and putting some things away.

Make It A Great 2008!

The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors are hosting a public forum on the Property Tax Amendment. This event is open to the public, and Duval County Property Appraiser Jim Overton will explain the proposed property tax amendment. This amendment will be on the January 29th ballot.

The forum will be at the University Center at UNF from 6-7pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2008. The address is 1200 Alumni Drive, UNF.

If you have questions, you can contact NEFAR Government Affairs Director Nancy Garcia at 904/394-9494 x 1205.

This is an important issue - voters need to be well-educated about this and other items on the ballot.