In Jacksonville, Home Sales Drop, Home Mortgage Applications Decrease

Looks like the Orlando housing market was not the only one in Florida to see a drop in sales last month.

A similar situation took place in Northeast Florida in September, with the dropoff in the sales of single-family existing homes approaching the statewide rate. Moreover, the median sales price of local homes dropped slightly.

The 1,191 homes sold by Realtors in September was down 23 percent from September of last year. Statewide, meanwhile, the number of sales dropped significantly, by a 34 percent margin over this time period in 2005.

Thanks to the median Florida home price falling by a percentage point, however, there’s a good chance sales will pick back up. Demand for home loans, as one would expect, rises as sellers come down from high asking prices.

The numbers for the Jacksonville market included figures from the St. Augustine-St. Johns County Board of Realtors for the first time since August.

In the Jacksonville housing market, the 109 sales were down 52 percent from September 2005, while the median price was unchanged at $176,700.