Spring break is here for many people (including yours truly 😎)!

This time of the year brings a positive shift to the real estate market throughout Florida and the South.

The time has changed, we have more daylight, and the weather is warming up. ☀️

This turns into more real estate activity and generally higher prices.

But is trouble on the horizon? 

⚠️ We're seeing changes in the market we haven't seen in a long time as new listings are relatively high compared to recent years. 

This is true locally in Jax as well as throughout the state.

I pulled the following material from my coaching session this week with my Market Insider members. 

In case you didn't know, each month I get together with my people and go over all the changes in the market so that everyone has a breakdown of the action and insight into new opportunities.

✅ Click here if you'd like to learn more about the membership.

Let's see what's happening... 

🏘️🏘️ New Listings Galore 🏘️🏘️

The number of homes listed on the market is very important.

↘️ If it gets too low, there's nothing for anyone to buy and the market freezes.

↗️ If it gets too high, prices start to spiral lower.

Either extreme is no bueno.

We want the goldilocks scenario: something in the middle.

This give us enough inventory to work with, but not so much that prices are pressured lower. 👍

You'll notice in the chart above, I'm measuring the change in active listings from December to February for the last 3 years.

Total homes for sale has increased 7.7% this year.

A 73.5% jump in new listings is the culprit.

We have historically seen a jump in new homes on the market this time of year, but not to this magnitude. 😲

Will The Real Estate Market Crash?

The surge in new listings is definitely noteworthy and we should have our ears perked up. 🦻

But... looking at just one stat can leave out important context that helps us make sense of the situation.

The graphic above shows months of supply in Jacksonville. 

This is crucial in measuring the balance of power between buyers and sellers. ⚖️

While new and active listings have increased, months of supply actually decreased from 4.91 in January to 4.03 in February.

How could it be?!? 😵‍💫

The answer: closings picked up after a very slow January.

In fact, closings were up 35% from Jan to Feb in Jacksonville. 🤯

Finding Opportunity 

We always need to look at supply and demand together.

If you focus on just one side of the equation, you can come to incorrect conclusions about the market. 🤔

In this case, more listings is natural because we've had such a shortage for a long time.

Instead of viewing this as a bad thing, consider it an opportunity. 💡

There's fresh meat on the market and buyers have more homes to pick from.

And this isn't something to stress about (yet). 😅

Months of supply is still half of the alI-important level of 8 (which is where prices start to fall consistently). 😁

Not all parts of Jacksonville are getting the new listings, either.

Buyers may be able to get better deals in the areas where more listings are hitting the market.

This week, you should pull the listings and find those opportunities.

If you need help, I'm here.

Make it a great week and share this good news with your clients. 🚀

Dr. Alex Stewart
Founder

Are you a real estate agent and looking to grow your business using information like this? 

Here's 3 ways to dive deeper:

1. 🎯 Market Insiders Coaching Membership: Join an exclusive group of Realtors focused on becoming experts in our local Jacksonville market. This membership gives you access to monthly live coaching from yours truly, a member-only community for private updates and discussions, and additional resources to address clients questions and supercharge your business.
   
   Rated 9.65 out of 10 for value to their business by my members.
   
   
2. 👩‍💻 Digital Course: How to Use Market Stats in Your Business: Accelerate your business growth by learning how to use data. This course will help you more easily understand the market, improve your client presentations, and increase your conversion rate with clients. No finance degree required as I lay everything out in very simple terms.
   
   Rated 9.84 out of 10 for value to their business by 100+ Realtors.
   
   
3. 📊 Schedule a live presentation: Want to learn in person? I offer the MarketPulse 360 presentation that connects all the dots (national to local) so you get a comprehensive breakdown of today's market. It's 2 hours of beautiful charts designed to give you all the major trends you need to know about and address the most common questions in the market. You'll walk out feeling more confident, with resources to use in your business, and a level above the rest of the Realtors who are wandering around blindly.
   
   Rated 9.74 out of 10 for value to their business by 600+ Realtors.