The real estate market is cooling off faster in Jacksonville than most places in the country.
A new study says only 19 of 100 housing markets have slowed down more than Jacksonville's.
Smartasset, a personal finance website, analyzed the 100 largest metro areas in terms of price reductions and demand for houses. Both were falling faster in Jacksonville than most places.
The median sales price in Northeast Florida dropped 2.4% in August, to $390,000, according to the latest data from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. Homes were remaining on the market for around 30 days, 30% higher than the month before.
A cooling market makes selling a house more challenging, but it's good news for buyers who have been frustrated by soaring prices and price wars for more than a year.
Smartasset said the cooldown signifies the end of the insanely hot housing market. The study attributed the change to rising mortgage rates, which stood at an average of 6.75% nationally last week, the highest since 2006.
Home sales nationally are down almost 18% since earlier this year, according to census data. They're down 21% in Northeast Florida since August 2021, NEFAR reported.
Prices are still 18% higher than a year ago, though, and many buyers have to accept smaller homes because of it, according to a new report from the Redfin real estate company.
Buyers in 29 of 50 metros — including Jacksonville — can afford at least 100 square feet less than they could a year ago, Redfin said.
In Jax, a buyer with a $3,000 monthly budget could have afforded a 1,770-square-foot house in September 2021, the analysis showed. This year, it was 1,662 square feet.
