JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Homes in Northeast Florida are going so quickly, sometimes they don't last for even a day on the market. Realtors say it's a seller's market in Northeast Florida and prices are rising.
"The fact is, with inventory as low as it is, finding good deals is few and far between," said Cole Slate, of Yellow Fin Realty.
Slate says buyers don't have much wiggle room when it comes to negotiating price because with so few homes for sale, there is more competition from other buyers.
"There (are) absolutely more buyers than sellers, especially now in the St. Johns area, for example, because of the big push with award winning schools and things like that," Slate said.
Realty website Zillow shows that homes in the top sellers' markets, like Jacksonville, sell nearly 43 days faster on average than homes in the top buyers' markets.
Homes are selling between 95-97 percent of list price; a lot are even going for more than asking because of how many buyers are out there.
And our area has a lot of buyers.
"What's also bringing more buyers are the rates out there right now," Slate said. "You have rates floating around the high 3s and low 4s (percent). That's historically very low."
Those low rates have people wanting to invest.
"More people are thinking, 'Why are we renting right now? Why are we paying someone else's bills?'" Slate said. "After a little down payment, they can pay their own bills and investment."
Tight inventory throughout the country helped push home prices up 4.5 percent in January from one year ago.