Saint Johns County FL Real Estate Market Update

The first quarter of 2021 has come to an end and boy has it been a crazy time in Real Estate. Today I’m going to tell you what we saw happen in the past few months and what I’m predicting for the rest of the year so let’s get to it.

What is going on in the St Johns County FL Real Estate market? Well it’s been a year since the Covid shut down and in Florida I think people were shocked at how the Real Estate market did last year. There was a lot of uncertainty about how Covid would affect things but in St Johns County FL we saw constant movement in the market with people buying and selling homes. We consistently saw three months of inventory so it was definitely a sellers market most of the year but once we entered January 2021 we saw a bit of a frenzy.

Moving to Florida?

Consumer demand is definitely driving this market, and here’s why. Many people are finding that they can work virtually so they are wanting larger homes, are moving to suburbs or even out of state.  Florida happens to be one of the states people are moving to. Why? Because we are open, because we have no state income tax and because we have great weather of course. So what is that doing to the market here locally? Well it’s driving the prices up and the inventory down to less than a month. WHAT???  

So is it a good time to sell? Of course it is. If you want to get a nice price for your home this is the time BUT and that’s a BIG BUT…if you need to buy a home too be ready to face some tough competition. Homes for sale are receiving multiple offers on them which makes it an extremely frustrating process for the home buyer.

Housing Market Predictions 2021 in Florida

If you are buying a home, unfortunately, we predict this sellers market to continue through this year and into 2022 so the struggle is expected to continue. 

The high demand we are seeing has driven the prices up and in St Johns County Florida we saw an 8.5% increase in prices year over year. For the month of March, prices are up 28% from the same month a year ago but that number may be a little skewed because March 2020 was the start of the covid shutdown. Anyway you look at it prices are on the rise.

Experts predict a housing affordability crisis if this low inventory continues but this year’s sales is still expected to be ahead of last years.

New Construction has even saw price increases and its not just because of lumber which has added about $20,000 on the average single family home but the increase in  crude oil has affected the cost in all materials including paint, roofing shingles, and flooring. 

Some builders, which I will not name have changed the way they are doing things due to this buyer demand and have in a sense created a multiple bidding situation for their spec homes. So with some of these popular builders the days of picking a lot and building a home is no longer a stress free process…At least for now anyway.

Now with that being said there are more new construction communities being built all over St Johns County FL so there is still an opportunity for homebuyers to get into a new home, they may just need to wait a little longer for the home to be completed.

The good thing is mortgage rates are predicted to stay under 4% so the higher prices we are seeing will be offset by these low rates.

Additionally as the vaccine roll out continues and other states start to open consumer confidence is expected to improve which may bring more balance to the current market but probably not until the end of this year. 

Needless to say, the St Johns County Florida market is an attractive one because it is just awesome to live here. We have great weather, fun things to do all year and fantastic schools so many people are looking to move here and I can’t blame them. 

Now if you are watching this you may be interested in relocating to the area or looking to sell your home. If so, I’ve provided links below to some helpful guides. 

Helpful Guides:

Sellers 👉 Pre Inspection Checklist

Sellers 👉 Staging Tips

Buyers 👉 RELOCATING TO ST. AUGUSTINE

If you want to learn more about the area, check out these videos about relocating to St. Augustine.

and of course if you have any questions never hesitate to reach out, my email is [email protected] and my phone number is 904-747-0183.

Thanks so very much for tuning in and I’ll catch you on the next one.