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Cost of Living In Jacksonville Florida 2020

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Cost of Living In Jacksonville Florida

Check out the updated one for 2021: Cost of Living in Jacksonville 2021

  Today’s blog post is about the cost of living in Jacksonville Florida.  If you prefer videos, I got ya covered above. I’m This is a park close to Roosevelt Blvd in Jacksonvillealso going to cover St. John’s and Clay counties as well.  From housing costs, to employment info, cost of some food items and more. Let’s dive in! First let’s talk about the median sales price in 2020. Just in case you’re wondering I’m writing this in November 2020.

Median sales price-

Jacksonville– 220k

St Johns– 351k

Clay County– 235K

Median rental prices– From our MLS  residential homes

Jacksonville– 1345

St Johns– 1895

Clay County– 1455

Average rentals– apartments

Jacksonville– 1109

St Johns– 1,303

Clay County– 1150

Let’s go back to housing. I get asked all the time what the property taxes are here in Jacksonville, which isn’t a simple answer. So, I’ll give you an example. This will be based on If you homestead your property, which means you claim it to be your primary home, the house you live in. If I.m basing it on a 200k house, you can expect to pay somewhere around 2700-3000 in taxes each year. That number can be different based on exemptions you qualify for  and can go up each year. That’s a whole other beast that I won’t go over in this post, but I will include the links below.

Jacksonville Property Appraisers

St Johns County Property Appraisers

Clay County Property Appraisers

Let’s talk about income and the job market briefly.

Median Income-

Jacksonville– 65,880

St Johns– 90,356

Clay County– 62,653 (could only find 2018 numbers)

Jacksonville’s unemployment rate for 2019 was 2.6%, which is below the national average. Go Jacksonville!!! As of September 2020 it’s up to 5.5%. Covid related, I’m sure. Still below the national average.

We have a lot of big name employers here. CSX, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, Mayo Clinic, Citi bank, Amazon, who currently operates 4 facilities here in Jax, plus looking to add 2 more. Wayfair is coming towards the end if 2020 and we have amazing healthcare jobs available. St Vincents and Baptist hospitals to name a couple. Baptist will be adding 700 jobs in Fleming Island when they add to their ER there.

You may  have heard we have a NFL football team.  Pretty sweet right? We’ll skip over their win loss record for now, but based on what my facebook newsfeed is showing lately, in between the angry cries, we have a very personable quarterback, who is winning the hearts of the jag fans again.

I left the best for last and that’s our awesome military presence in the area. Nas Jax and Mayport, we got the coast guard, the reserve, national guard, marines. No one is gonna mess with us! I appreciate their service and am glad to live in a military area.

We have no state income tax, less tax filing.

No sales tax on certain food in the grocery store.

Our gas prices are running around $1.99, which is what I’ve seen in Orange Park and parts of Jax.

Bread is about 2.58 a loaf

Eggs are @ 2.50 for 36 eggs

Milk is about 2.57 a gallon.

I’m a chuck eye kinda gal, which runs about $8.98 a pound

We still have toilet paper around here, but saw some bare shelves. People!! What’s with the stockpiling of toilet paper???

Next, I’ll share my utilities with you. Well, at least what they run me. 🙂

My cable, internet and home phone runs about $198 a month.  Yes, I have a home phone. I don’t even know my number. I only got it, because it was cheaper that way. Go figure. My water runs about $60-$70 a month, electric is all over the place, but lowest can be around 100, highest was I believe under 200. I know, that’s vague. It was summer time.

Last thing to add is daycare costs. So many different prices, but I found infants can run about $170-$220 a week. Could be more or less. Before and after school care can run between $95-$120, again it could be more, could be less. Sooo expensive these days. I’m glad to be out of that stage!  

If you’re looking to move to Jacksonville and got questions, call or text me at 904-910-3516. See below for free guides and links to search for homes in Jacksonville.

Are you a home owner in Jacksonville and wondering what the home values are like in Jacksonville? Check out What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth?

📕 Free Guides on the Home Buying & Selling process: 📕

 
 
 
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Homes For Sale in St Johns County

Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report July 2020

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Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report July 2020

Friendship Fountain downtown Jacksonville, by the St Johns River
The real estate market has changed quickly this year, which isn’t really a surprise. It is 2020 after all. 😲 Check out the Month’s Inventory below. 1.8!!!! I went back to 2002-2005 and did not find any months where it was under 2. What that stat means, is let’s say no more new homes come on the market. At the rate of 1,406 homes selling, it would take 1.8 months for all 2,526 homes to sell. That’s a crazy hot seller’s market. You might be wondering if these numbers apply to your home, but each neighborhood is different, so if you’re thinking of selling and want to know more click:
What is My Jacksonville Home Worth? Click To Find Out!
If you’re a buyer and want to see what homes are available in Jacksonville, click the following link: Want to Search for Homes in Jacksonville Florida?
This chart shows what the Jacksonville Fl Real Estate is like for July 2020
Median Sales Price: Looking at sold homes it means that half the homes that sold were more than 225,000 and the other half were less than 225,000. Month’s Inventory: Based on the number of actives and homes that have sold it would take 1.80 months to sell the active homes, if no other homes came on the market. How to determine what type of market we are experiencing: Buyers’ Market: More than 7 months of Inventory Balanced Market: From 5-7 months of Inventory Sellers’ Market: Less than 5 months of inventory Average Days on the Market: This is the average based on the time the house came on the market until is went under contract. Original List Price to Sales Price: This is the percentage of what the home sold for compared to what it was originally listed for. Not what it was listed for at the time it went under contract. What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth? Homes for sale in Northeast Florida:

Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report March 2020

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Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report March 2020

When I write these market reports, it is always about a month behind. It allows time for the agents to input their sold info for the previous month.

As you know, Covid 19 was making the headlines by now in March. I know it started sooner, but it seems March is when it really became front and center. March didn’t see any negative trends, because it was still too soon, and our area was still business as usual.

The April 2020 market report will show some differences, since the Governor issued the 30 day stay at home order starting April 3rd.  I took a peak to see what things were doing.  As far as median sales price, Jacksonville is up again, but what’s interesting is that the number of homes sold so far in April is 664. That’s with a week left in the month. Last year in April, we sold 1,579. That’s a difference of 915 homes! I doubt we will sell 915 in the last week. We do have 905 under contract, but many of those could be for next month (May).

Looks like we will see an increase in inventory and less homes sold, which will change our market conditions some. Still have another week to go. I will do April’s report sooner than I normally do, because I’m getting more questions on how the real estate market is doing.

You might be wondering if these numbers apply to your home, but each neighborhood is different, so if you’re thinking of selling and want to know more click:

What is My Jacksonville Home Worth? Click To Find Out!

If you’re a buyer and want to see what homes are available in Jacksonville, click the following link: Want to Search for Homes in Jacksonville Florida?

Median Sales Price: Looking at sold homes it means that half the homes that sold were more than 215,000 and the other half were less than 215,000.

Month’s Inventory: Based on the number of actives and homes that have sold it would take 2.56 months to sell the active homes, if no other homes came on the market. How to determine what type of market we are experiencing:

Buyers’ Market: More than 7 months of Inventory

Balanced Market: From 5-7 months of Inventory

Sellers’ Market: Less than 5 months of inventory

Average Days on the Market: This is the average based on the time the house came on the market until is went under contract.

Original List Price to Sales Price: This is the percentage of what the home sold for compared to what it was originally listed for. Not what it was listed for at the time it went under contract.

What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth?

Homes for sale in Northeast Florida:

Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report December 2017

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Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report December 2017

You’ll notice the list to sales price dropped in December, which means sellers took about 14% less than what they listed their house for. Oh and speaking of list price to sale price. That figure can be skewed to make an agent look like they sell their listings closer to the listing price, by using the list price the house was when it went under contract, instead of what the list price was when it was first listed. So if you have price drops and the agent isn’t using the original list price, it makes them look real good. That’s ridiculous and not showing the true picture. I want you to get the most money you can, so there are times I have went a little above what I recommended, because that’s what the seller wanted to try, and if it didn’t work out, we reduced. That makes my stats look horrible, but I don’t care about that. I care about trying to get my sellers the most money.

Step off the soapbox now….I can not believe there were less than 3k homes on the market in Jacksonville in December.  Almost 40% sold!! That is making certain price points very hard to find and causes them to go quickly. Buyers, you need to be on your toes and have your financing together to win out over others.

You might be wondering if these numbers apply to your home, but each neighborhood is different, so if you’re thinking of selling and want to know more click: What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth?

If you’re a buyer and want to see what homes are available in Jacksonville, click the following link: Want to Search for Homes in Jacksonville Florida?

Median Sales Price: Looking at sold homes it means that half the homes that sold were more than 186,000 and the other half were less than 186,000.

Month’s Inventory: Based on the number of actives and homes that have sold it would take 3.30 months to sell the active homes, if no other homes came on the market. How to determine what type of market we are experiencing:

Buyers’ Market: More than 7 months of Inventory

Balanced Market: From 5-7 months of Inventory

Sellers’ Market: Less than 5 months of inventory

Average Days on the Market: This is the average based on the time the house came on the market until is went under contract.

Original List Price to Sales Price: This is the percentage of what the home sold for compared to what it was originally listed for. Not what it was listed for at the time it went under contract.

What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth?

Homes for sale in Northeast Florida:

Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report November 2017

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Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report November 2017

Median home prices up from last year and about 600 houses less on the market now, than in November 2016. Buyers are feeling that for sure. More homes have sold this November than last year too. I think overall, our market didn’t feel the devastation from Irma as we could have seen. Not to discount the many folks who have seen their homes destroyed by flooding from the storm.

You might be wondering if these numbers apply to your home, but each neighborhood is different, so if you’re thinking of selling and want to know more click: What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth?

If you’re a buyer and want to see what homes are available in Jacksonville, click the following link: Want to Search for Homes in Jacksonville Florida?

Median Sales Price: Looking at sold homes it means that half the homes that sold were more than 185,000 and the other half were less than 185,000.

Month’s Inventory: Based on the number of actives and homes that have sold it would take 3.30 months to sell the active homes, if no other homes came on the market. How to determine what type of market we are experiencing:

Buyers’ Market: More than 7 months of Inventory

Balanced Market: From 5-7 months of Inventory

Sellers’ Market: Less than 5 months of inventory

Average Days on the Market: This is the average based on the time the house came on the market until is went under contract.

Original List Price to Sales Price: This is the percentage of what the home sold for compared to what it was originally listed for. Not what it was listed for at the time it went under contract.

What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth?

Homes for sale in Northeast Florida:

Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report September 2017

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Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report September 2017

This report is going to show some side affects from Hurricane Irma on the real estate market in Jacksonville. Last month in August, there were 1,231 homes that sold, where in September we see 888 homes sold. You will also notice that in Sept 2016, there were 1,088 homes sold. We obviously see a decrease in that number. I’ve heard stories of buyers who backed out of a deal, just days before closing, before the storm hit. I think they were afraid they would buy a house, only to see damage or worse, days after due to the storm.  I have not looked at the numbers for October yet, since we are not through the month, but I predict we could see less homes sold in October vs Sept, just for the fact that there have been many homes with roof damage. Waiting for the insurance companies to pay their claims and have a new roof installed can delay closings, or even cause some owners to wait to put their home on the market.

You might be wondering if that applies to your home, but each neighborhood is different, so if you’re thinking of selling and want to know more click: What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth? If you’re a buyer and want to see what homes are available in Jacksonville, click the following link: Want to Search for Homes in Jacksonville Florida?

Median Sales Price: Looking at sold homes it means that half the homes that sold were more than 190,000 and the other half were less than 190,000.

Month’s Inventory: Based on the number of actives and homes that have sold it would take 3.30 months to sell the active homes, if no other homes came on the market. How to determine what type of market we are experiencing:

Buyers’ Market: More than 7 months of Inventory

Balanced Market: From 5-7 months of Inventory

Sellers’ Market: Less than 5 months of inventory

Average Days on the Market: This is the average based on the time the house came on the market until is went under contract.

Original List Price to Sales Price: This is the percentage of what the home sold for compared to what it was originally listed for. Not what it was listed for at the time it went under contract.

What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth?

Homes for sale in Northeast Florida:

Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report August 2017

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Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report August 2017

From the last real estate market report for Jacksonville, we really don’t see many changes. It is note worthy to see the original list price to sales price is 10% less  now in Aug 2017, than in August 2016. What that means is on average, the sellers in Jax took 15.85% less than what they had originally listed the home for.  Now, there’s a way to make that look better, and I’m sure some agents will do it to artificially inflate their numbers.

There’s a Original List price to sold price and a list price to sold price. The original is meaning the price at the time the agent lists it and calculated for what the house has sold for. The other way of calculating it, is to take the list price of when the house sold, and calculate the sold price with that number. Usually, but not always, there’s some price reductions in between the time the house was originally listed to when it went under contract, but if the agent uses the PL/SP and says look at me, I net the seller’s more! There’s missing pieces to that puzzle and doesn’t represent the true picture.  I actually don’t know what my OLP/SP ratio is. I also don’t care for the most part. Here’s why: There are times I list houses that are more difficult to get a true and accurate list price, because there may not be enough sold homes to compare it to. Could be an unique property, so we maybe we list it higher than the market bears, and we reduce it as we go along. Or sometimes sellers want to go higher, even against what the market is showing us.  Within reason I will list it at a higher price, because I don’t want the seller to miss out on netting more, just in case I’m wrong. So, if I concerned myself with those ratios, I described above, I would not be looking after the best interest of my sellers. Now, I do want to stress that it is not good to just throw a price out there to see how it sticks. That can cause appraisal issues and a longer time on the market. Whoa…that was alot of talk about sales price to list price. 🙂

You might be wondering if that applies to your home, but each neighborhood is different, so if you’re thinking of selling and want to know more click: What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth? If you’re a buyer and want to see what homes are available in Jacksonville, click the following link: Want to Search for Homes in Jacksonville Florida?

Median Sales Price: Looking at sold homes it means that half the homes that sold were more than 180,500 and the other half were less than 180,500.

Month’s Inventory: Based on the number of actives and homes that have sold it would take 3.30 months to sell the active homes, if no other homes came on the market. How to determine what type of market we are experiencing:

Buyers’ Market: More than 7 months of Inventory

Balanced Market: From 5-7 months of Inventory

Sellers’ Market: Less than 5 months of inventory

Average Days on the Market: This is the average based on the time the house came on the market until is went under contract.

Original List Price to Sales Price: This is the percentage of what the home sold for compared to what it was originally listed for. Not what it was listed for at the time it went under contract.

What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth?

Homes for sale in Northeast Florida:

Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report June 2017

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Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report June 2017

Welcome to another real estate market report for Jacksonville Florida! This report I’m going to show some comparisons to the market back in June 2005, which was a crazy market that was followed with a nasty burst of the bubble.  It is normal to have ups and downs in real estate, that’s just the nature of the beast, but I like to watch and learn from the past to see where the current market is going. So here’s an overview of June 2005:

Median Sales Price: $186,000

Months inventory: 2,555 available homes, 1,213 homes sold, which gave 2.11 months of inventory

Average days on the market: 45

Original List price to sales price: 97.5

It is hard to imagine only having 2,555 available homes back in June 2005, when right now in our current market, it is so hard to find houses due to low inventory levels, and that’s with having over 800 more homes to choose from now, than in 2005. More homes are selling now and for a little more, based on the median sales price, but the list price to sales price in June 2017 shows about a 2% difference than in June 2005.  Oh and another cool stat, in June 2006, the inventory level was right around 5,484 available homes, with 1,150 sold homes, giving us 4.77 worth of months inventory.  That was a big change in just a year. I won’t tell you what June 2007 looked like, that was scary stuff. Ok, I’m gonna tell you anyway!!! 🙂 Over 8,100 homes available in Jacksonville in June 2007, with only 890 homes sold, giving us 9.1 months of inventory. Whoa! My stomach just knotted up writing that out.

You might be wondering if that applies to your home, but each neighborhood is different, so if you’re thinking of selling and want to know more click: What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth? If you’re a buyer and want to see what homes are available in Jacksonville, click the following link: Want to Search for Homes in Jacksonville Florida?

Median Sales Price: Looking at sold homes it means that half the homes that sold were more than 189,100 and the other half were less than 189,100.

Month’s Inventory: Based on the number of actives and homes that have sold it would take 3.30 months to sell the active homes, if no other homes came on the market. How to determine what type of market we are experiencing:

Buyers’ Market: More than 7 months of Inventory

Balanced Market: From 5-7 months of Inventory

Sellers’ Market: Less than 5 months of inventory

Average Days on the Market: This is the average based on the time the house came on the market until is went under contract.

Original List Price to Sales Price: This is the percentage of what the home sold for compared to what it was originally listed for. Not what it was listed for at the time it went under contract.

What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth?

Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report December 2016

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Jacksonville Fl Real Estate Market Report December 2016

Ending the year on a good note, showing all stats to be improvements over last year. Overall, we are in a seller’s market for the month of December in Jacksonville. Days on the market are shortening, seller’s are getting closer to their asking price, inventory levels have dropped since last month, and the median sales price for homes in Jacksonville has increased by 3.1%. Not too shabby and should make sellers happier going into the new year.

You might be wondering if that applies to your home, but each neighborhood is different, so if you’re thinking of selling and want to know more click: What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth? If you’re a buyer and want to see what homes are available in Jacksonville, click the following link: Want to Search for Homes in Jacksonville Florida?

Median Sales Price: Looking at sold homes it means that half the homes that sold were more than 165,000 and the other half were less than 165,000.

Month’s Inventory: Based on the number of actives and homes that have sold it would take 3.30 months to sell the active homes, if no other homes came on the market. How to determine what type of market we are experiencing:

Buyers’ Market: More than 7 months of Inventory

Balanced Market: From 5-7 months of Inventory

Sellers’ Market: Less than 5 months of inventory

Average Days on the Market: This is the average based on the time the house came on the market until is went under contract.

Original List Price to Sales Price: This is the percentage of what the home sold for compared to what it was originally listed for. Not what it was listed for at the time it went under contract.

What’s my Jacksonville Florida Home Worth?

Florida Hardest Hit Down Payment Assistance in Jacksonville Florida

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Florida Hardest Hit Down Payment Assistance in Jacksonville Florida  

So you’re wanting to buy a house and wonder of there’s any chance at all to get some help with the down payment and closing cost? You may qualify for the Florida Hardest Hit DP assistance program.

  •  $15,000 for down payment and closing cost assistance with a 5 year deferred 2nd mortgage forgiven at a rate of 20% per year.
  •  Must be first time homebuyer; except for veterans.
  •  FHA and VA financing.
  • Combined household income cannot exceed $69,176. for families of 1-2 or $79,552. for families
    3+. Combined income adds the combined annual income of all family members aged 18 or
    over regardless if they are on the loan or not (limit may increase if the property is in a Federally
    Designated Targeted area).
  •  Purchase price cannot exceed $298,192. Higher limits available if the property is in a Federally Designated Targeted area.
  •  DTI cannot exceed 45%.
  •  640 middle credit score required for all borrower(s).
  •  Interest rate typically higher than regular FHA and VA rates. Call for a quote today.
  •  No co-signers.
  •  Borrowers must attend an approved buyer’s education course.
    (Information deeded to be correct but not guaranteed)

15k Down Payment Assistance Flyer

I want to point out the first bullet point above. Just to make it clear, ever year that goes by, 20% of the assistance you used goes away, and after 5 years it’s done. That is a pretty sweet deal! You’re probably thinking, what’s next right? The next step is to speak to a lender who is experienced in this program. Feel free to email me at pam@pamgraham.com, call or text me 904-910-3516 and I can get you in touch with lenders who know this program.

In the meantime, the search for homes below is for homes that qualify for this program:

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