2021 Jacksonville Real Estate Market Investing Forecast

Beth McCandry

Jacksonville, Florida is often overshadowed by more populous and popular Florida destinations like Miami, Tampa, or Orlando, but Jacksonville’s diverse economy and geography make it a top spot for real estate investors. This article takes a closer look at the local Jacksonville market as you delve into various key metrics and neighborhoods to help you be a more informed investor in the space.

What makes Jacksonville so special?

At 840 square miles, Jacksonville is the largest land mass city in the continental United States. Its location on the Atlantic coast, the St. Johns River and only about an hour from the Georgia border makes the city an important economic center for the state of Florida. Home to the National Football League (NFL), the Jacksonville Jaguars, the city has 22 miles of beaches that offer residents a mix of city and beach life. The greater Jacksonville area spans seven counties, including the popular beach towns of Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, and Atlantic Beach. Jacksonville, with a population of just over 1.2 million, is emerging as one of the major new travel destinations in Florida and a hotspot for Fortune 500 companies.

Market situation

Although Jacksonville is a large metropolis, it usually doesn’t come to mind when thinking of top destinations to work or live in. However, this city is quickly on its way up and is one of the top performing economies in the entire country. The city’s extremely low unemployment rate at a time when the nation is in crisis shows the strength of the labor market in the region. The city, like many others in the United States over the past year, is going through several changes. Below are some of the notable trends for real estate investors for the region in 2021.

1. Single-family homes are groundbreaking

There appears to be a shift in preference from rental property to ownership at the national level. Record-low mortgage rates are bringing more homebuyers into the market, but Jacksonville has historically had a higher number of homeowners than renters well before this national trend, making this an ideal city to start as a fix-and-pinball or ground-up Developers to invest. The city’s value for money is just over 15, which means it is just as affordable for residents to buy as it is to rent – a primary reason home ownership is taking the lead in housing options.

As in many other cities in the country, the demand for semi-rural and rural housing is increasing, but most of the residents still have the lead in the suburbs. Median home prices are well below the national average and have fallen recently despite low supply, meaning home buyers can afford more at a time when housing affordability is a major concern.

2. Rental properties are strong but volatile

Rental prices have risen steadily over the past five years; However, vacancies were volatile. In 2017, job vacancies in Jacksonville rose to over double the national average and returned to more normal levels by early February 2018, but remained historically above the national average. This means that rental property investors must carefully invest in Jacksonville and have a focused investment area and strategy. While the unemployment rate in Jacksonville is high, which should translate into fewer vacancies or defaults, the city could see a further rise in vacancy rates once the rental moratorium expires.

3. House prices are likely to go up

Property values ​​are rising rapidly in much of the country as the country faces extremely low supply and high demand. Jacksonville is slightly above the national average of 1.7 months, but is still well below the healthy range. This, along with the strong job market and the relocation to Florida from a number of other states, shows that city prices are likely to continue to rise over the next year.

Indicators of the demand for residential property in Jacksonville

Charts courtesy of Housing Tides, an EnergyLogic company.

The following takes a closer look at the residential and economic indicators, which provide further insight into the notable trends in the greater Jacksonville area.

One of the strongest indicators currently in Jacksonville is the unemployment rate, which is 4.4% and just under 2% below the national average. At a time when unemployment in the country is rising and slowly recovering, a healthy unemployment rate speaks for the labor market in the region. In the past, Jacksonville has managed to meet or exceed the national average unemployment rate, no doubt due to its diverse economic infrastructure.