JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville is seeing one of the biggest drops in home prices in the country, ranking third among major metro areas for the biggest year-over-year decrease.
The median home-sale price fell by 3.1% in Jacksonville last week, according to a new report from Redfin.
In fact, according to the report, the median home-sale price fell in 14 of the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas.
Oakland saw the biggest drop, with a 6.8% year-over-year decline, followed by two Florida metros and two Texas metros: West Palm Beach (-4.9%), Jacksonville, Austin (-2.9%) and Houston (-2.8%). Jacksonville also saw its new home listings drop by 12.1% when compared to last year, tied for the third biggest drop in the nation.
The median sales price of $309,990 in Jacksonville remains about 33% lower than the national median, which sits around $450,000.
Shauna Clark recently listed a home in Julington Creek for $799,000. she said the price was comparable to a house on the same street that sold for $789,000 last year. After three weeks on the market with zero offers, she began reducing the price by $25,000 a week.
“This house was, is stunning. It was staged beautifully. And it didn’t matter—buyers were still looking it over because it was not the right price,” said Clark, a home seller and local real estate agent. “It wasn’t until I got to $699,000, which was the sweet spot, that I got tons of interest. I got multiple offers, and the market accepted the price.”
The house was on the market for 67 days before selling, which is just above Jacksonville’s current average of 63 days on market, according to Redfin. Clark said the final sale left little room for profit after making improvements to the home.
“That was all of our profit, honestly, every penny,” she said. “We are officially under contract now — yay — but we are not making any money on it.”
Real estate experts say Redfin’s data may even understate the trend locally.
“They’re dropping actually, more than this report is saying,” said Jon Brooks, co-founder of Momentum Realty. “A lot of agents on the ground are reporting 10 to 20% declines in specific neighborhoods around town.”
Brooks predicts the local market could see further softening over the next year and a half. While that may concern sellers, it could offer relief to buyers struggling with affordability.
“My prediction is that prices will come down over the next 18 months, potentially up to 30% [from the 2022 peak],” he said. “That’s a big prediction, but the data we’re seeing on the ground is getting worse every single month.”
Brooks added that sellers who aren’t serious about meeting the market where it is may want to reconsider.
“If they’re too far apart on price, we’re advising Realtors to just walk away and not list the home if they don’t think they can actually get it closed,” he said. “The existing properties out here in Jacksonville are having a hard time competing with new builds with incentives from new construction, builders that’ll buy your interest rate down all the way to 3-4% and offer other closing cost assistance options as they continue to try to take market share away from the existing homeowners.”
Despite the dip, Jacksonville remains one of the more affordable large cities in Florida and the U.S. But as buyers gain leverage, experts say sellers will need to adjust their pricing strategies quickly, or risk sitting on unsold homes even longer.
“Sellers need to start coming to terms with two things: One, homes are more often going to sit on the market for longer than a week or two before they sell, and two, buyers are gaining the upper hand,” said James Gulden, a Redfin Premier agent in Boston. “I advise my sellers to be realistic about the price they’re going to get based on the market research I provide, while also taking into account which direction the market is moving, especially if they want multiple offers. I’m also reminding sellers to be patient and not panic. Sure, many homes have been selling within a week for the last several years, but that’s not historically normal. They have to reorient themselves to the fact that it may take several weeks, or more, before receiving an acceptable offer.”
The nationwide trend follows what local markets have been seeing in Northeast Florida for months.
According to a report from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR), buyer activity tapered off in June, with fewer new contracts being signed, while sellers gradually entered the market with more measured expectations.
The median sales price for single-family homes in Northeast Florida’s six-county region stayed at $389,000 in June.
The July housing report from NEFAR is expected later this month.