Cold January for Northeast Florida home sale prices

Home sales could see a spike after mortgage rates drop.

Home sale prices in the six-county Northeast Florida region took a tumble in January, reflecting state trends, according to a report by the Northeast Florida Realtors Association (NEFAR).

While figures declined, NEFAR officials say the modest decrease in home prices shows signs of a stabilizing market which saw the cost of homes skyrocket in 2023.

The median sale price for a home was $375,000 in the entire Northeast Florida region, a drop of 2.2% compared to December. The number of days a house was on the market increased to 56, a jump by 24.4% over the previous month. Inventory also increased to 5,638 homes, up by 22.1%.

Those signs point to a more buyer-friendly market where 2023 leaned largely in favor of sellers. Ultimately, the monthly decrease in prices is a good indicator for a market that needed a cool down, said NEFAR President Rory Dubin.

“During a typically sluggish January we have seen the market stabilization continue with significant increase in new listings and inventory since December,” Dubin said.

Dubin also noted that since January is normally slow in terms of home sales, February will be a key month in determining if the housing market is truly finding balance.

“February is customarily a strong month for Northeast Florida and results this month will indicate if we are seeing normal seasonality or a greater overall shift in the marketplace,” Dubin predicted.

The Northeast Florida trends mirror state figures. The “Elliman Report,” which analyzes state home sales figures, showed that home sales figures plummeted in Florida’s largest markets in January. Only the Miami-Dade County area showed an increase in home values last month.

The biggest percentage drop in Northeast Florida home sales prices was seen in Putnam County, which witnessed a 12.8% decline from December at a median price of $205,000 in January.

St. Johns County, one of the fastest growing counties in Florida, also saw median home sales prices fall. The St. Johns median home sales price was $519,000 in January, a dip of 6.8% from December.

Duval County, the Northeast Florida county with the largest population that includes Jacksonville, also saw a fall in median home sales prices. Duval witnessed a 2.2% decline compared to December, dropping to $324,945 for the median home sale price.

Baker County also dropped in median home sale prices to $266,750, a 7.7% decline compared to December.

There were two Northeast Florida counties that saw modest increases in median home sales prices. Nassau County, which saw a huge increase in home sale prices in 2023, remained relatively flat in January, though there was a 0.3% uptick in those prices compared to December, with the figure coming in at $424,990.

Clay County also saw a bump in median home prices. Clay’s increase was more notable than Nassau with the price jumping by 2.9% compared to December at $360,000.