National Real Estate Trends and How They will Affect Our Local Markets

2012 seems to be bringing a much more stable real estate market. Prices are low and will continue to be low, and demand is there. This all leads to market trends emerging and those trends seem to pointing in the direction that markets will develop for many years to come.

The financial markets have made it more difficult to obtain financing, which means more money down, making homeownership more difficult for working families, singles, and first time home buyers. The new generation of home buyers is lookig at small-scale, affordable, walkable, urban communities. This is at the same time that baby-boomers are looking to down-size and also move to smaller scale, and more walkable communities. Both groups of buyers want smaller, higher quality, lower-maintenance homes in settings in which they easily know their neighbors.

This trend is evident in the direction that many developers and architects are taking as they design new developments. The communities are higher-quality and walkable with housing that requires less maintenace and is more energy efficient.

The dialoge of smart growth and issues around food supply and organic gardening are collectivley pushing toward these unique projects that orient toward collective parkspace or a shared garden with walkablity and community as key elements.

How will these trends affect Jacksonville's local markets? Outside of the urban core, new developments will be smaller and designed to mimic properties of urban core development: walkablity, park and shared garden space, small-scale. Many of Jacksonville's intown communities were developed prior to the automobile and are already walkable with parkland woven in. Community gardens have been popping up and will continue. There is also a srong push for urban ag policies, which many cities have already adopted. Buyer demand will remain strong here as long as affordablity remains low. The interest in energy-efficiency will continue to grow and could give certain properties an edge, as long as costs remain reasonable too (building green and building smart are often the same thing and can save a lot of money).

Looking to the future, our intown neighborhoods can only grow stronger if we push our communities to develop more progressive policies toward sustainable development, supporting local food movements, and to remain affordable with mixed use. This is what the next several years of buyers want and we can provide that.

First House in Jax to Receive Mothballing COA OPEN HOUSE

The legislation that created a Mothballing COA is a huge win for Jacksonville's historic districts. The COA allows owners a way to properly board and secure vacant homes that they cannot afford to renovate at this time. If properly boarded and secured, these homes can last many years until the market comes back.

Previously code enforcement was declaring these structures unsafe and having them torn down - yes, in National Historic Districts. Many of these homes were not structurally unsound as code enforcement claimed and many engineers were brought in to counter code enforcements claims (code enforcement officers are not engineers).

The house on Walnut was structurally sound. In fact the owner was meticulously restoring it. He salvaged all the doors and had taken the house down to the studs and removed ALL the nails - NOT an easy task as wood that old tends to begin petirfying. He had taken all the trim off and marked each one so that he could put it back in the right spot. This attention to detail isn't something that can de done overnight and code had given him half a mil. in fines. Restoring the house no longer made economic sense and code was going to force him to have the house torn down - even though it was in a National Historic District and structually sound.

So, he donated the house. The new owners applied for the first mothballing COA under the new legislation. They are going to hold an open house on January 8, from 3-4:40. Please stop by, the house in on Walnut Court. Just off of Walnut Street between 7th and 8th. There will be wine and cheese and you can take a look at what one of these old beauties looks like inside when it is well cared for and before it has been renovated.

Exploring the Historic Districts During the Hoidays

This weekend kicks off the Holiday Home Tours season in Jacksonville's historic districts. This Saturday and Sunday will be the 21st Holiday Tour of Homes in San Marco. With up to 9 stops and a luminaria, it is always a lot of fun. If you go on Sunday, I will be at one of the houses on River Road. More information can be found here

The Springfield Christmas Home Tour is the next weekend, December 9th and 10th. On the 10th, there will also be a neighborhood Springfield luminaria. You can find more information here

If you are a runner, a fun 5K is the Holiday Magic and Festival of Lights Run on December 10th. It is an evening run and the route is lit up by luminarias - a different and fun way to do a 5K.

This year marks the 28th anniversary of Riverside Avondale’s beloved Luminaria celebration. The traditional lighting of the lanterns at sundown will occur Sunday, December 18th. The ever-popular Luminaria Bike Ride will leave from City Cycle on Park Street at 6 pm near European Street. More information can be found here

Whatever your fancy, there's lots to do to kick off the holidays