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January 28, 2021
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE ISSUE
Daily Record THE PONTE VEDRA JACKSONVILLE
BOOM
UP
8.2%
Home sales increased 8.2% in 2020, according to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors 2020 annual report.
Daily Record Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
THE
JACKSONVILLE NO. 1 SALE
Blackstone Real Estate owner Jonathan Young said his sales were 26% higher in 2020 than in 2019 and he recorded the top home sale of the year at $7.67 million.
Home sales surge comes amid low inventory
Relocations helping drive the market squeeze. BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
Photo by Katie Garwood
Buyers are fleeing more expensive regions of the U.S. because of the pandemic and low interest rates. BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
L
ow interest rates and an influx of residents from the Northeast and California helped several Ponte Vedra real estate agents make 2020 the best year in their careers. Agents who sold the region’s most expensive homes in 2020 said they are
seeing more new-to-the-area buyers than ever, many coming from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and California. “People are moving out of the urban areas to smaller communities because of the COVID concerns,” said Elizabeth Hudgins, a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services in Atlantic Beach.
MORE REAL ESTATE INSIDE Construction strong: Building permits surge 21.4% from 2019, according to the Northeast Florida Builders Association. Page 3 Ponte Vedra dominates: The Top 10 residential home sales of 2020 in Northeast Florida. Page 4-5 More sales: The Top 10 sales of the fourth quarter in the region. Page 6
Nearly 35,000 home sales closed in 2020, up 8.2% from 2019, according to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors 2020 annual report. The report encompasses Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties. The year ended in a low inventory market with a 1.5-month supply of houses for sale, down from a 3.2-month supply at the end of 2019. A typical market would have a 6-month supply, said NEFAR President Missi Howell. She estimates the market has had less than a 4-month supply since about 2016. At the end of 2020, 4,549 homes were on the market. At the end of 2019, 8,569 homes were on the market. Howell said the low inventory market can be attributed to buy-
SEE PONTE VEDRA, PAGE 3
SEE NEFAR, PAGE 3
ARE YOU A TOP CONTRACTOR? LET US KNOW Contractors based throughout Northeast Florida are invited to apply for inclusion in the Jacksonville Daily Record and Jacksonville Record & Observer’s inaugural Top Contractors issue scheduled March 18. The issue will rank the top contractors in the region by revenue, amounting to a valuable who’s-who guide to the industry. The 2021 Top Contractors issue will include information about the most important projects the companies started in 2020 and the most notable projects in their portfolios. To find out more and submit your information, please visit jaxdailyrecord.com/top-contractors-submit
VOLUME 108, NO. 51 • TWO SECTIONS