I'm often asked, "Where will our buyers come from?” Well, they come from everywhere, but they are almost entirely domestic.
Many are local. Growing families step up to larger homes or building opportunities, and empty nesters scale back to more manageable quarters. For many years, families on the mainland have had beach homes; that tradition continues today, as our strand of beach is still recognized as one of the prettiest around.
Jacksonville has also been blessed with a strong inflow of workers from other parts of the country. As our health care, transportation and financial sectors have expanded, Jacksonville has seen more and more transfers from all corners of the United States. Our business community is drawing top talent to Jacksonville, and those transferees are often drawn to the beauty of the waters and the natural terrain that surround us. We are blessed to have so many acres in preserve status, such as the GTM Reserve and Hanna Park.
What about international buyers? Statistics show that Northeast Florida is not a large market for buyers from other countries. These buyers are prevalent in other areas of Florida, especially the Miami and Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Areas, due to ease of travel (check out their international flight schedules), as well as proximity to South America. The Northeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (NEFMLS) tracks the nationality of buyers as closings take place. NEFMLS statistics show that the number of foreign buyers in Northeast Florida is quite limited. This is true for all neighborhoods, including oceanfront, which logically would have the most appeal to international buyers. The Beaches statistics from NEFMLS show only a couple of handfuls of international buyers in the past eight years, since NEFMLS started collecting these records.
People move to Northeast Florida for jobs, family and a variety of other reasons. Frequently they cite the highly-regarded school system, and those who can work from anywhere are free to select their home on that basis. We’ve always seen a feed of buyers from the Northeast, and that interest is stronger than ever. This week, I talked with a potential new resident from New York who is eager to escape the crushing taxation in his state. These buyers make their buying decisions based on information locally available. Their initial research is from one of two sources, the internet or friends and potential co-workers.
I’ve worked here in Northeast Florida for all of my 30-plus-year real estate career. Our communities have grown over that time, and changed, but in a good way. Great restaurants and shopping are now within our boundaries, plus a vast variety of options are within 20-minute drives from here. More than one customer has said, upon spending a little time here, “I can’t believe that you live like this every day!” We are truly blessed with an abundance of natural beauty that creates the basis for a low-stress lifestyle.
