As COVID-19 continued to drastically alter and disrupt business in May, Northeast Florida real estate was no exception. May 2020 real estate market reports for Northeast Florida are now on NEFAR.com, Market Stats tab. Except where otherwise indicated, statistics reflect combined results for single-family residential and condominium properties.

While 2,244 home sales took place during the month, it was a 32.9% decline from May 2019. Year to date, the number of sales is down 8.1% compared to 2019.

Fewer sellers entered the market. The 3,257 new listings that were added was 19.4% less than a year ago.

Extremely low inventory, an ongoing situation for the past couple of years, persisted. There were 8,246 units in inventory at month end; a 17.9% decrease from the prior year. This equates to 3.1 months of inventory on hand; a 20.5% plunge from May 2019.

Conversely to the downswing in quantity of sales and inventory, home prices are especially strong. The median sales price for May was $247,484, which is 6.7% more than a year ago. The average sales price was $287,842; a 4.7% increase over May 2019.

Homes sold quickly, with 63 days on market being the average.

2020 NEFAR President Ron Harris said, “While our current real estate scenario is markedly atypical due to COVID-19 concerns, NEFAR members report that there is still strong interest from buyers. That, coupled with extremely attractive interest rates, are positive indicators for the months to come.”