Real Estate in Northeast Florida and Around the World

I realize that a number may be a strange way to title a blog -  but this number is somewhat special to me.  It is the date of birth of my first grandchild, born on 3-22-11!  But on the real estate side, this is the one of zip codes in Northeast Florida.  The Arlington area is one of the Northeast Florida/Jacksonville's neighborhoods hardest hit with declining values, and as a continuation of my reporting on Northeast Florida neighborhoods, this month's focus is on Arlington.

Arlington actually shares two zip codes - 32211 and 32277.  The Arlington section of Jacksonville was primarily built during the post World War II housing  boom.  Most of the houses in the area are of concrete block and/or brick construction, 3 bedrooms with 1 or 2 bathrooms and built  between 1947 and 1955.  There are little to no restrictions in place, other than city/county zoning, so there are at times a lack of uniformity in the appearance of the structures and yards.

During the real estate boom between 2004 - 2007, it was quite popular to see homes in this area purchased for rehabilitation purposes, then sold for a profit - otherwise known as flipping.  Additionally, many investors of rental property have invested here.  Subsequently, as the market retreated and property values began to decline, those investors who purchased here found themselves either unable to secure the financing to complete rehabilitation, or were left with empty houses with no renters due to the impending rise in unemployment that began in 2008. 

Currently, we are seeing an uptick in purchases in Arlington, with new listings declining 23% from February 2010 to February 2011.  The total inventory also declined by 10%, resulting in a months' supply of housing also decreasing 16.6% from 10.4 months's supply to an 8.7 month's supply.  During the past year, the median sales price has declined 5.4% overall.  A closer look, however, reveals that the large number of lender-mediated sales, those either in a foreclosed or short sale status, represented 49% of all sales closed during the same time period.  Currently, 47% of listings in the area are lender-mediated.  The high number of lender-mediated sales was the key driver in the reduction of the median sales price to $87,000 for traditional sales and $58,000 for lender-mediated sales.  Yes, you heard me correctly.  A single family detached dwelling, with a decent-sized yard, 3 bedroom home for $58,000.

I'm glad to see the inventory levels dropping, and hope that Arlington will see a resurgence in "community" presence.  This was one of the neighborhoods that thrived during Jacksonville's era of consolidated city/county government, where military and civilian families lived and worked to raise their families.  This area is also home to several affluent neighborhoods, although they are along the St. Johns River and built in the last 30 years or so.  Jacksonville University and Jones College are also located in Arlington, two well-respected private universities with lovely campuses along the St. Johns River.

If you are interested in acquiring property in Arlington, or in any other area of Northeast Florida, just give me a call.  It's just in my backyard and I can tell you all about it!