What recession? First Coast home sales sizzle in July

The First Coast real estate market remains robust in the face of the coronavirus outbreak with increasing values on homes and sales going up as well in July.

There were substantial jumps in home sales both on a monthly and annual basis, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Northeast Florida Realtors Association.

There were 3,514 homes sold in July on the First Coast, a 15.8% increase over July 2019. July’s figure is also a notable jump of 339 home sales over June when 3,175 homes were sold across Northeast Florida.

The latest data continues a streak of upbeat home sales which seem impervious to the economic downturn caused by the pandemic on the First Coast. June’s figure was an increase of 684 home sales over May’s total of 2,337 residential properties sold in the region.

Fueling the run on home sales in Northeast Florida is a dwindling supply of houses on the market. The inventory for residential properties for sale continues to fall with only 6,943 houses on the market in July. That’s a dramatic 30% plunge from July 2019 when 9,905 homes were on the market.

NEFAR officials said the region is in the middle of a strong seller’s market as those with houses on the market are getting strong returns on their asking prices.

“Buyers are taking full advantage of extremely low interest rates, despite dealing with fewer available home choices. If any homeowners are even considering becoming sellers, there couldn’t be a better time for them to make their move,”  said NEFAR President Ron Harris.

As a result, home prices on the First Coast are on the rise with no signs of slowing down. The median price for a Northeast Florida home in July was $265,000, a 9.8% hike over a year ago and up from June’s median sales tag of $255,000.

The average price for a home in the region now stands at $325,665, a whopping 15.3% increase over July 2019 and more than a $15,000 one-month hike over June’s average of $309,757.

Given the shrinking inventory and increasing prices, some 15.8% of July’s home sales went for more than the seller’s asking price.