Jacksonville Property Values Down, Home Sales Up!

For the first time in at least ten years, the property values in Jacksonville have gone down. According to the property appraiser's office, the commercial market value had dropped 6.49 percent from last year. This have caused sales of existing homes to rise statewide and in Jacksonville. According to the Florida Association of Realtors, the median sales price continued to fall compared to about a year ago resulting with prices being down in nineteen of the twenty markets.

In Duval county, the taxable value, or the value an owner pays taxes on for their property, has dropped even further by 7.61 percent during the same period as when the market value fell. These are surprising since values have stayed flat from 2007 to 2008 and increased steadily other years. Residential property has declined 8.2 percent in market value, which resulted in the increase of home sales in Jacksonville. Sales of single-family homes have gone up 16 percent, in Jacksonville, compared to around this time last year.

The Florida Association of Realtors has reported that the median price in Jacksonville is $162,000, down 18 percent from a year ago. The statewide median price has dropped down even lower to about $150,000, which was down 28 percent from last year. This can be accredited to the sales of foreclosures and other properties that have been sold at a discounted rate compared to other homes on the market, according to analysts with the National Association of Realtors.

The decline in property values, along with increasing vacancy rates, has driven the property owners' net income to go down. In Duval county of Jacksonville alone have decreased in revenue estimated at about $30 million because of the drop in property values, $13 million of which are from commercial property values. Property owners in Jacksonville will be at least be holding on for a while until the prices go back up to what they had paid for it.

If you are a first time home buyer, now is the perfect time to look for your first house. Be sure to look out for foreclosures and other properties that are at a low price.