After a long and historically cold winter in Northeast Florida, we enjoyed a fantastic spring weekend in the low 80's, full of that wonderful Florida sunshine.  As I was out and about, I saw neighbors cleaning the winter's mark from their yards, trees putting on their new green "Easter Bonnets", and lot of kids headed on bicycles to the community pool for that first dip of the season. 

And that isn't the only "busi"ness going on.  Buyers in the Northeast Florida region were extremely active during February, as shown in the most recent report from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. There were 1,627 purchase agreements signed during the month, an increase of 60.8 percent from a year ago. Almost exactly half of the homes sold were lender-mediated foreclosures and short sales.

Home prices remain relatively soft, which is another reason why the buyers are coming out in great numbers. The February median sales price of $135,000 was a decrease from a year ago of 14.6 percent.  Lender-mediated homes had a median sales price of $101,850—a decline of 14.7 percent—while traditional sellers saw a median price of $174,995, a much softer decline of just 1.7 percent.

The Housing Affordability Index in February of 185 is an improvement of 17.5 percent from a year ago, and is up dramatically from the low point seen a few years back. This indicates favorable conditions for home buying.

My personal experience in this market over the last 60 days is very interesting.  Buyers that are seeking well-maintained and updated homes that are not a distressed (foreclosure or short sale) sale, can expect to compete with other buyers for the same house, if they are priced to current market conditions, at all price points.  Multiple bids are becoming common in today's market, and another sign that the market is seeing stabilization.  The data to support the stabilization is still to be collected, but for those of us who are the 'boots on the street" will be the first to agree this is an improving market.  Are we at normal appreciation rates yet for real estate?  Not yet, but we are at a point where price declines are slowing if not stopped in certain markets. 

Buyers are seeing that a distressed sale is not equal to a non-distressed sale, and are willing to reward the seller who has maintained and improved their home to keep up with today's standards.  Conversely, a buyer will offer significantly less for the house that needs paint, carpet - even simple things such as an outdated bathroom mirror or kitchen faucet will turn today's buyer off and result in a less-than-market offer, because these houses are "a dime a dozen", and the updated and/or well-maintained home are fewer and farther between. 

So, I'll be in several neighborhoods in Northeast Florida this week - Intracoastal West, Ponte Vedra Beach, Vilano Beach and a few others - so if you see me, give me a wave or stop me to chat about your neighborhood - it's my favorite conversation!