Jackson Lanehart - Realtor at Florida Homes Realty & Mortgage

02/19/2022

How is the real estate business these days? That's a question I am am often asked. If you are a seller, it is a great time for you to sell to the highest offer you may receive. For a buyer, interest rates are rising and as the following article suggests, its time for you to buy before the rates go higher.

So if you are thinking of selling or buying at this time, send me a text or give me a call, The time is right.

Here is what's trending nationally.

FEBRUARY 18, 2022

NAR: Jan. Existing Home Sales Surge 6.7%
By Kerry Smith
Pressured by a fear of rising interest rates, investors and families rushed to buy homes in Jan. as listings remained tight and prices rose 15.4% year-to-year.

WASHINGTON – Existing-home sales rose notably higher in January, following a decline the month before, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).

Month-over-month, each of the four major U.S. regions included in NAR’s monthly report saw increased sales, though activity year-over-year was mixed: Two regions reported sagging sales, another watched sales increase and a fourth region remained flat.

Total existing-home sales – completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – climbed 6.7% from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.50 million in January. Year-over-year, sales fell 2.3% (6.65 million in January 2021).

“Buyers were likely anticipating further rate increases and locking-in at the low rates, and investors added to overall demand with all-cash offers,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Consequently, housing prices continue to move solidly higher.”

Total housing inventory at the end of January was 860,000 units, down 2.3% from December and down 16.5% year-to-year. Unsold inventory sits at a 1.6-month supply at the current sales pace, down from 1.7 months in December and 1.9 months in January 2021.

“The inventory of homes on the market remains woefully depleted, and in fact, is currently at an all-time low,” Yun adds.

According to Yun, homes priced at $500,000 and below are disappearing, while supply has risen at higher price ranges. He says those increases will continue to shift the mix of buyers toward high-income consumers.

“There are more listings at the upper end – homes priced above $500,000 – compared to a year ago, which should lead to less hurried decisions by some buyers,” Yun says. “Clearly, more supply is needed at the lower-end of the market in order to achieve more equitable distribution of housing wealth.”

The median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $350,300, up 15.4% from January 2021 ($303,600), with prices higher in each of the four regions. January marks 119 consecutive months of year-over-year increases – the longest-running streak on record.

Properties typically remained on the market for 19 days in January, equal to days on market for December and down from 21 days in January 2021. Four out of five homes (79%) sold in January were on the market for less than a month.

First-time buyers were responsible for 27% of sales in January, down from 30% in December and down from 33% in January 2021.

Yun says that anticipated increases in mortgage rates will be problematic for at least two market segments.

“First, some moderate-income buyers who barely qualified for a mortgage when interest rates were lower will now be unable to afford a mortgage,” he says. “Second, consumers in expensive markets, such as California and the New York City metro area, will feel the sting of nearly an additional $500 to $1000 in monthly payments due to rising rates.”

Individual investors or second-home buyers, who make up many cash sales, purchased 22% of homes in January, up from 17% in December and 15% in January 2021. All-cash sales accounted for 27% of transactions in January, up from 23% in December and from 19% from January 2021.

Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales – represented less than 1% of sales in January, equal to the percentage seen in both December and January 2021.

According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage was 3.45% in January, up from 3.10% in December. The average commitment rate across all of 2021 was 2.96%.

Single-family and condo/co-op sales: Single-family home sales jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.76 million in January, up 6.5% from 5.41 million in December and down 2.4% from one year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $357,100 in January, up 15.9% year-to-year.

Existing condominium and co-op sales were recorded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 740,000 units in January, up 8.8% from 680,000 in December and down 1.3% from one year ago. The median existing condo price was $297,800 in January, an annual increase of 10.8%.

“The market is still thriving as an abundance of home sales took place in January,” says NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith. “We will continue to beat the drum for more inventory, which will give buyers additional options and also help alleviate increasing costs.”

January regional breakdown: Existing-home sales in the Northeast grew 6.8%, posting an annual rate of 780,000, an 8.2% decline from January 2021. The median price in the Northeast was $382,800, up 6.0% year-to-year.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 4.1% from the prior month to an annual rate of 1,510,000, equal to the level seen a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $245,900, a 7.8% rise from January 2021.

Existing-home sales in the South – the region that includes Florida – jumped 9.3% from the prior month, for an annual rate of 2,940,000 – a gain of 0.3% from one year ago. The median price in the South was $312,400, an 18.7% surge from one year prior.

For the fifth straight month, the South saw the highest pace of price appreciation.

“The migration to the Southern states is clearly getting reflected in higher home sales and fast rising home prices compared to other regions,” Yun says.

Existing-home sales in the West increased 4.1% from the previous month, registering an annual rate of 1,270,000 in January, down 6.6% year-to-year. The median price in the West was $505,800, up 8.8% from January 2021.

© 2022 Florida Realtors®

06/10/2019

Jacksonville is #4 in the top ten list of places the best markets for home buyers in the USA!! Its a great time to buy or sell !! Let me know if you are considering a home purchase or you are thinking of selling!!

2 Fla. metros in top 10 ‘best markets for homebuyers’

CHICAGO – June 7, 2019 – A Realtor.com study of homes for sale and prices finds two Florida cities in the top 10 nationally for those looking to purchase: Jacksonville is No. 4 and Tampa is No. 10.

The top housing market for home buyers in the country is Albany, N.Y., according realtor.com. It says a combination of low sales price growth and more homes for sale makes Albany a hot choice for homebuyers. The median list price was about $295,000 in April – about 5% below the national median of $310,000.

"It's a very middle-class, homey city," Anthony Gucciardo, a local broker with Gucciardo Real Estate, told realtor.com. "We have a lot of state government and colleges, so there [are] employment opportunities."

Following Albany, rounding out the 10 top nationwide buyers markets – those most favorable to home shoppers, according to realtor.com – are: Chicago; San Antonio, Texas; Jacksonville, Fla.; Riverside, Calif.; Los Angeles; Providence, R.I.; Dallas; Nashville, Tenn.; and Tampa, Fla.

In these markets, price growth has slowed, averaging a modest 1.4% year over year compared to 8.4% the prior year. Also, buyers are getting more choices: For Sale signs in these markets are growing, averaging 14.6% year over year. Nationally, inventories have risen only 4%.

"These 10 housing markets are already more buyer-friendly when looking at the availability of homes for sale in different markets," says Danielle Hale, realtor.com's chief economist. "As inventory continues to grow in these markets, buyers will see more options and should ultimately gain more bargaining power."

Source: "The Top Real Estate Market for Home Buyers Is What?" realtor.com(R) (June 4, 2019)

© Copyright 2019 INFORMATION INC., Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688

03/11/2019

Home prices are up during the 4th quarter of 2018! In many parts of the country, supply is low, demand is high. Is it time for you to sell?

NAR: U.S. home prices up 4% in 2018’s 4Q

WASHINGTON – Feb. 12, 2019 – Inventory increased and metro market prices rose at a slower pace in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The national median existing single-family home price in the quarter was $257,600, up 4.0 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017 ($247,800).

Single-family home prices increased in 92 percent of measured markets last quarter, with 163 out of 178 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) showing sales price gains in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago. Fourteen metro areas (8 percent) experienced double-digit increases, down from 18 in the third quarter.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the fourth quarter close was promising.

"Home prices continued to rise in the vast majority of markets but with inventory steadily increasing, home prices are, on average, rising at a slower and healthier pace," he says.

Total existing-home sales, including single family homes and condos, decreased 1.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.180 million in the fourth quarter, a decline from 5.273 million in the third quarter, and 7.4 percent lower than the 5.593 million-pace during the fourth quarter of 2017.

Yun said the West Coast needs more homes built. "The West region, where home prices have nearly doubled in six years, is undergoing the biggest shift with the slowest price gain and large buyer pullback."

At the end of the fourth quarter, there were 1.55 million existing homes available for sale – 6.2 percent above the 1.46 million homes for sale at the end of the fourth quarter in 2017. The average supply during the fourth quarter was 4.0 months – up from 3.5 months in the fourth quarter of 2017.

National family median income rose to $77,3924 in the fourth quarter, while overall affordability decreased from a year ago due to higher mortgage rates and home prices. To purchase a single-family home at the national median price, a buyer making a 5 percent down payment would need an income of $62,954, while a 10 percent down payment would require an income of $59,640, and $53,013 would be necessary for a 20 percent down payment.

Metro area condominium and cooperative prices – covering changes in 61 metro areas – showed the national median existing-condo price of $237,900 in the fourth quarter, up 0.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017 ($237,100). Seventy-five percent of metro areas showed gains in median condo prices year-to-year.

"Housing affordability will be the key to sustained healthy growth in the housing market in the upcoming years," says Yun. "That requires more homebuilding of moderately priced homes. Housing starts fell far short of historically normal levels with only 9.6 million new housing units added in the past decade, compared to 15 to 16 million that would have been needed to meet our growing population and 20 million new job additions.

"Local zoning law changes, expanding construction worker training programs at trade schools and promoting the use of tax breaks for developers in the designated Opportunity Zones will all play an important role in assuring an adequate future supply of housing," Yun adds.

Regional breakdown

Total existing-home sales in the Northeast were at an annual rate of 707,000 (up 3.9 percent quarter-to-quarter) and down 5.4 percent year-to-year. The median existing single-family home price in the Northeast was $286,000 in the fourth quarter, up 6.5 percent from a year ago.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales fell 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter and 5.9 percent year-to-year. The median existing single-family home price in the Midwest was $196,900, a 1.6 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2017.

Existing-home sales in the South declined 2 percent in the fourth quarter and were 5.4 percent lower than the fourth quarter of 2017. The median existing single-family home price in the South was $228,200 in the fourth quarter – 3.3 percent above a year ago.

In the West, existing-home sales in the fourth quarter decreased by 6.5 percent and are 13.9 percent below a year ago. The median existing single-family home price in the West increased 1.8 percent year over year to $383,100.

© 2019 Florida Realtors®

02/08/2019

It’s nearly springtime !! Are you thinking of buying or selling your home? Please contact me !

News Article

01/31/2019

Realtor.com: More online listings cutting prices

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Jan. 30, 2019 – Realtor.com's January housing report shows the U.S. housing market is off to a slower start in 2019. Although home prices continue to increase, 15 percent of U.S. listings had price cuts in January, and declines in days-on-market have significantly decelerated since last year.

"Although the market is slowing, it's important to remember that we're coming off of four straight years of inventory declines that pushed the market to a record low availability of homes for sale," says Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com. "The real metric to keep an eye on is entry-level homes, which are the key to getting today's market back in balance. These homes are still in short-supply."

Note: Realtor.com analyzes listings' asking prices – not selling prices – and the statistics come only from an analysis of homes advertised on realtor.com's website.

Florida metro listing price changes

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: Year-to-year inventory is up 21%; total share of price reductions up 3%; listing prices unchanged
Jacksonville: Year-to-year inventory is up 18%; total share of price reductions up 3%; listing prices down 3%
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford: Year-to-year inventory is up15%; total share of price reductions up 6%; listing prices unchanged
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach: Year-to-year inventory up 12%; total share of price reductions is up 1%; listing prices down 1%
Nationally, the share of homes which had year-to-year price cuts increased by 2 percent, and 39 of the 50 largest markets saw an increase in their share of price reductions compared to last year. Las Vegas saw the greatest increase in January, up 16 percent, followed by San Jose (+9 percent), Seattle (+8 percent), Orlando (+6 percent) and Phoenix (+5 percent).

Time on market increases

Nationally, homes sold in 87 days in January – two days faster than last year – but the rate of decline has been decelerating.

In January 2018, homes sold a full week faster compared to the previous year, but in the 50 largest U.S. metros, the typical home spent an average of one more day on the market compared to the previous year. In top-change San Jose, Calif., for example, homes spent 27 more days on the market than they did a year earlier.

Inventory

The median U.S. listing price grew 7 percent year-over-year to $289,300 in January, which is slightly less than last year's increase of 8 percent. This moderate deceleration in home prices is likely attributed to inventory growth in the upper tier of the nation's most expensive markets.

The number of homes priced $750,000 and above grew 12 percent over last year, while the number of homes $200,000 and under declined by 6 percent.

© 2019 Florida Realtors®

Search real estate property records, houses, condos, land and more on realtor.com®. Find property info from the most comprehensive source of home data online.

01/31/2019

Here are the latest statistics concerning the real estate market in the US!

Realtor.com: More online listings cutting prices

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Jan. 30, 2019 – Realtor.com's January housing report shows the U.S. housing market is off to a slower start in 2019. Although home prices continue to increase, 15 percent of U.S. listings had price cuts in January, and declines in days-on-market have significantly decelerated since last year.

"Although the market is slowing, it's important to remember that we're coming off of four straight years of inventory declines that pushed the market to a record low availability of homes for sale," says Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com. "The real metric to keep an eye on is entry-level homes, which are the key to getting today's market back in balance. These homes are still in short-supply."

Note: Realtor.com analyzes listings' asking prices – not selling prices – and the statistics come only from an analysis of homes advertised on realtor.com's website.

Florida metro listing price changes

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater: Year-to-year inventory is up 21%; total share of price reductions up 3%; listing prices unchanged
Jacksonville: Year-to-year inventory is up 18%; total share of price reductions up 3%; listing prices down 3%
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford: Year-to-year inventory is up15%; total share of price reductions up 6%; listing prices unchanged
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach: Year-to-year inventory up 12%; total share of price reductions is up 1%; listing prices down 1%
Nationally, the share of homes which had year-to-year price cuts increased by 2 percent, and 39 of the 50 largest markets saw an increase in their share of price reductions compared to last year. Las Vegas saw the greatest increase in January, up 16 percent, followed by San Jose (+9 percent), Seattle (+8 percent), Orlando (+6 percent) and Phoenix (+5 percent).

Time on market increases

Nationally, homes sold in 87 days in January – two days faster than last year – but the rate of decline has been decelerating.

In January 2018, homes sold a full week faster compared to the previous year, but in the 50 largest U.S. metros, the typical home spent an average of one more day on the market compared to the previous year. In top-change San Jose, Calif., for example, homes spent 27 more days on the market than they did a year earlier.

Inventory

The median U.S. listing price grew 7 percent year-over-year to $289,300 in January, which is slightly less than last year's increase of 8 percent. This moderate deceleration in home prices is likely attributed to inventory growth in the upper tier of the nation's most expensive markets.

The number of homes priced $750,000 and above grew 12 percent over last year, while the number of homes $200,000 and under declined by 6 percent.

© 2019 Florida Realtors®

Search real estate property records, houses, condos, land and more on realtor.com®. Find property info from the most comprehensive source of home data online.

11/30/2018

Sold!! My listing at 1839 Arden Way has sold in less than 80 days. If you are thinking about selling your home, please send me an email.
jackson,lanehart .com. Serving the beaches and surrounding areas of Jacksonville since 1975!

03/26/2018

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03/24/2018

A fence increases property value and security. Go ahead and build your own.

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Read these do-it-yourself landscaping tips and have a yard that looks like a pro worked on it -- but without the costs.

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