Distressed Home Sales Contribute to Falling Jacksonville Home Values
A recent feature story in the Florida Times-Union details how the jump in distressed home sales has adversely impacted the Jacksonville housing market, dragging down property values while also helping some homeowners avoid foreclosure.
According to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors, distressed home sales are more than 40 percent of all closings. Historically, distressed sales have accounted for less than 10 percent of the market.
Distressed sales include short sales, foreclosures and bank-owned, or REO, sales.
This leap has dragged down median selling prices for the entire First Coast area, which includes Clay, Duval Putnam, Nassau and St. Johns counties, where the distressed sale median price dropped by almost 30 percent in the last two years.
One local housing expert says that until home values recover, the market will not return to normal. Even though sales are up in the past few months, those sales are largely to investors who are taking advantage of a depressed market to buy cheap real estate.
If you are a First Coast resident who is facing foreclosure, there are options available to you. To learn more about foreclosure defenses, contact our Jacksonville foreclosure law firm.
Greg Gilbert
Keith Maynard
