Jacksonville Is a Buyer’s Market—But What Does That Actually Mean?

I had a real estate agent recently tell me, “We’re sitting on 10 months of inventory in Jacksonville right now. It’s a buyer’s market.” Ten months? Buyer’s Market? Sure, I had a vague idea of what those terms meant but I did have to ask them to elaborate for me and do some digging of my own. If you’re looking to buy or sell a home in Jacksonville or Northeast Florida, you will undoubtedly have been bombarded with similar terms and may have felt equally confused. So, what is the difference between a Buyer’s and a Seller’s Market, what state is the Jacksonville area market in currently, and how can you get the best deal in this market whether you are buying or selling a home? Let’s explore!

All markets have cycles that they go through. Certain statistics go up, some go down. In the case of real estate we are looking at, among lots of other things, the amount of homes on the market vs how many potential buyers are out there and how long those homes are sitting on the market before they are sold. Briefly, in a Seller’s Market there are more buyers looking for homes than there are homes on the market for them to buy. This creates an advantageous situation for the sellers of these home in that the home spends less time on the market, they can demand higher prices, and not have to move on the pricing as far as concessions go or making repairs. If, for example, you are selling one of two houses available in a neighborhood for $200,000 and there are ten potential buyers you will be less likely to take the offer from a buyer for $190,000 if you know there are 9 other buyers out there willing to pay full price. During Covid and the following year or two I often saw houses go for HIGHER than they were asking for because inventory was low and there were more buyers than there were sellers. A lot of folks were even willing to eat the costs of any potential repairs the home may have needed on top of overpaying because the buyers were desperate enough to get into a home. This gave the sellers all of the control, thus, a Seller’s Market.

A Buyer’s Market is the exact opposite of that. There are more homes than there are buyers. So in our imaginary scenario let’s flip things around, there are now ten homes for sale in our neighborhood and there are only two buyers looking. The sellers in this neighborhood now have to compete for the buyers. The onus to sweeten the deal has now fallen on the shoulders of the seller and the advantage in negotiating position has shifted to the buyer. Sellers have to become more competitive with their pricing, and may be more willing to give concessions or perform repairs rather than have their house sit on the market longer and miss out on a sale. In this situation the buyers have more control in negotiations and, thus, a Buyer’s Market.

What do we mean when we say that parts of Jacksonville have about “10 months” worth of inventory on the housing market?  To put things in this way is really a metric of supply and demand. It means that if homes keep selling at the rate they are now then it would take 10 months to sell all the homes that are currently for sale. Does 10 months seem like a long time to have a home on the market? That’s because it is! In a Seller’s Market homes stay on the market anywhere from hours to 3 months. So a Seller’s Market will be described as having 0-3 months worth of inventory, a balanced market (where both buyers and sellers have equal negotiating power) 4-6 months, and, finally, a Buyer’s Market with 7+ months of inventory. Here in Northeast Florida we have around 10 months of inventory.

This is where I plug my own business but whether you get the inspection from me or from someone else who is reputable it is absolutely worth getting a home inspection for both buyers and sellers in today’s market and I’ll tell you why. If you are a buyer, sellers are willing now more than ever to have needed repairs performed or to negotiate concessions. Anything unforeseen that comes up in an inspection can be used in negotiations, saving you not only the headache of dealing with them after you’ve moved in but also potentially saving you money in the first place. 

If you are selling your home or if you’re about to, you can still use this knowledge to your advantage. Remember that you are now competing with all the other sellers with homes on the market in your area - 10 months worth of inventory. So, how do you make your home stand out in the crowd? A pre-listing home inspection can help you know the true condition of your home before you list it on the market. This will give you time to fix any unforeseen issues that may come up on the buyer’s inspection before hand, allow you to price your home competitively, and reduce the risk of renegotiations. Buyers may ask for huge discounts if something comes up on an inspection that you weren’t aware of - or they could simply walk away from the sale entirely. There are plenty of other homes out there for them to look at, after all, and a home that has already had its issues dealt with will be a lot more attractive.

So if you’re buying or selling a home in today’s market use this knowledge to your advantage the best you can. Reach out if you need an inspection or have a question about something more specific and I’d be happy to help or, at least, point you in the right direction. 

That’s all for now, folks.