Drew Dixon
The six-county First Coast region saw a drop in single family home sales in February compared to a year ago.
New figures released by the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) show a sizable dip in closed sales on houses last month compared to February 2024. There was a 19.2% decline in homes sold in the year-over-year comparison. There were 1,271 houses sold last month, down from 1,573 sold a year ago.
The monthly comparison did see an 8.7% increase, up from January’s figure of 1,169 houses sold. January, though, is typically one of the most sluggish months of the year coming out of the holiday stretch.
While sales dropped from a year ago, the median sales price did see a nominal increase. In the year-over-year comparison, the Northeast Florida typical sales price increased by 1.1%, to $389,989. The monthly price increased 4% compared to January, which at $375,000 was the lowest figure in the past 12 months.
A nagging issue for First Coast home sales in recent months is the number of houses on the market, which has been ballooning for much of the past year. Northeast Florida’s inventory of homes for sale in February jumped by 69.9% compared to the same time in 2024. That amounts to 7,954 single-family homes on the market. That figure is a 10.7% increase from January’s figure.
Duval County, the First Coast’s most populous county and home to Jacksonville, saw a drop in home sales in February compared to last year, going from to 780 closings to 667. That’s down by 14.5% compared to February 2024, but is up by 8.5% from last month.
Active inventory skyrocketed year-to-year by 89.7%, to 3,893 homes for sale in Duval compared to the active inventory of 2,052 a year ago. It’s also a 10.2% increase from January. Median home sale prices dropped by 4.4% from a year ago to $334,000, though that figure is up by 5.4% over January.
St. Johns County’s home sales dropped to 303 in February, a 26.8% decline from a year ago, but a 7.8% increase from January. The median sales price did go up to $549,000, an 11.5% increase from a year ago and a 4.6% jump from January. Inventory went up too, coming in at 2,081 houses on the market, or a 39.7% increase from a year ago and a 15.4% jump from January.
Nassau County’s monthly figures were mixed, with 82 closed sales in February. That’s a 13.7% decline from a year ago, but a 22.4% increase from January. The median sales price increased slightly compared to a year ago, up by 1.7% from to $457,450. That spelled a 2.7% dip from January. Inventory went up to 486 homes on the market, a 29.9% increase from a year ago and a 5.7% uptick from January.
Clay County saw a notable drop in annual home sales in February with 177 closings, a 22.7% plunge from a year ago, but a 10.6% increase compared to January. Median home sale prices remained fairly steady, coming in at $352,900. That’s a 1.7% increase from a year ago and a 0.2% dip compared to January. Inventory went way up, ending with 1,137 homes on the market, accounting for a 102.3% increase from a year ago and a 10.1% jump from January.
Putnam County saw nominal changes with only 32 homes sold in February, the same figure as January but a 30.4% decrease from last year. Median sales prices were $257,500, a 6% increase from a year ago and a 10.8% increase from January. The inventory figure was still notable in Putnam with 277 homes on the market, a 71% jump from a year ago and a 1.1% decline from January.
Baker County, the least populous county in the Northeast Florida region, recorded only 10 home sales last month. That’s an 11.1% increase from a year ago and a 2.5% decline from January. The median home sales price was $311,500, which is a 25.1% increase from a year ago and a 2.5% drop from January. There were 80 homes on the market in February, which is a 90.5% jump from a year ago and a 6.7% uptick from January.
