Have buyers finally had enough of the crazy high housing market? That is the question presented by the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors market statistics for May.

At a time when one would expect to see the market showing signs of an approaching busy summer season, the numbers present a different story. In May’s single-family home market in Northeast Florida, prices and the number of closed sales increased only a tiny bit, while the percentage of list price received was flat and pending sales were down. Meanwhile active inventory and new listings continued to climb giving buyers a wider selection of homes to choose from this summer for the first time in years.

“Things are heating up in Florida and in the market for buyers!” said 2024 NEFAR President Rory Dubin. “Our last month of spring saw our area median prices rise slightly and cross a median price of $400,000 for the first time. This still places the greater Jacksonville area as one of the most affordable places to work, live, and travel of any metro area in Florida and the Southeast.”

In May, Northeast Florida’s median sales price was $400,203, a slight .3% gain from $399,990 seen in April. Days on the market climbed 13% to 34 days, and closed sales were up 7% to 2,060. Closed over list price fell 5.2% and pending sales dropped 22% to 1,490. New listings increased 4.9% to 3,602 and active inventory skyrocketed 21% to 7,586 – 3.7 months of supply.

Meanwhile, Northeast Florida’s Home Affordability Index inched down only slightly to show that the region is regaining some equilibrium.

The Home Affordability Index measures housing affordability for the region. In other words, it measures whether a typical family earns enough to qualify for a mortgage on a typical home, based on current interest rates, median income, and median home prices.  A higher number means greater affordability.  This index measures affordability factors for all homebuyers making a 20% downpayment. An index of 100 is defined as the point where a median-income family has the exact amount of income needed to purchase a median-priced existing home. An index value over 100 means that the family has more than enough income, while a value below 100 means that a family doesn’t have enough income to qualify for a mortgage loan.

NEFAR’s market reports are available at nefar.com.