Northeast Florida Is Running Short of Homes For Sale

Northeast Florida is faced with a shortage of homes for sale according to the key players in the housing industry.

According to Jacksonvill.com, ideally there should be a supply that should last for six months to keep balance for both home buyers and sellers. However, that has never been the case in Northeast Florida and the last decade has been crazy in the real estate sector with supply barely meeting demands. Even though there are constructions and developments, homes are still sold fast at record levels and prices. Moreover, inventory was said to be four months short during the housing boom and by the year 2006, the median sales price in the area went above $200,000 for the first time.

Speaking of this situation in the real estate sector of Northeast Florida, Brad Officer, Realtor with RE/Max Specialists, said, "When someone comes in and says 'This is the kind of house I'm looking for,' normally we can show them five or six that would come close to matching that." He added, "Now it's two or three. One needs work, one is overpriced and one is in the ballpark. The choices are incredibly limited. It's crazy."

After a while, a few homes were being built some time in 2008 to 2011, according to Jacksonvill.com. After a period of cool down, sales started picking up and the supply of homes became even scarcer. On the average, nationally, the inventory is said to be at a 5.1-month supply with the current sales turnaround time, a month before, it was only at 4.8 months as reported by the National Association of Realtors.

Surprisingly with such tight supply, prices are not relatively skyrocketing. The median sales prices has only risen by 7.7 percent to $170,000 last year. Still, it was said that Jacksonville was seeing rapid increase in prices compared to the rest of the country.