The value of residential property in Florida has surged rapidly over the past few years. Some of the reasons were high rent, inflation, insurance companies leaving the local market, and the property insurance crisis.
Mark Rosener, President of the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, declares that the situation may become better in the nearest future. “The median prices in the market as in total, as well as the individual markets that we do business in, seems to have stabilized,” Rosener said. “It bumps up a little bit, down a little bit. But, if you average it out, it pretty much stayed the same.”
Rosener also says that interest rates have leveled out, while in the beginning of the current year, many people couldn’t afford to purchase real estate because of them. This will significantly improve the local residents’ purchasing power.
Besides, a greater number of Floridians are now employed, which increases the average income of the state’s population and enhances its purchasing power.
The home affordability index fluctuates. The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors shared data showing how this indicator grew in some counties of northeast Florida compared to last July. In Duval County, it was 79.5 – only a 0.5 increase, while Clay County with 75 points grew by 5.6%.
St. Johns County remained the state’s least affordable district to live in with an index of 49. Putnam County, with 113 points, is still the most affordable place in which to purchase a home compared to other northeast Florida localities. Nassau County has an index of 67.5, which is 42.3% higher than in July of the current year.
“There are affordable homes in our marketplace,” Rosener said. “But I think, overall, the big picture is we have to do something within our communities to make more affordable housing available.”
The supply level in the Florida market remains low and it is still far from making real estate affordable for medium-income households. Nevertheless, the home affordability index increased by 2.9%, up to 70 points for a single-family house, which is why many experts believe that the residential property sector is moving in the right direction.
There is no immediate solution to this problem. Rosener recommends buyers to analyze the market and the property value carefully before making a decision of closing the deal.