General market sentiment for Jacksonville

[Patrick V.]

Hi all,

I am an out of state investor who spent many years in Tallahassee, FL. I know the N Florida area well and have identified Jacksonville as a city with good potential for cash flowing rentals. I have some questions for those who are familiar with and invest in the Jacksonville area. 

- What are your thoughts on the current market? There has been a hug influx of folks since COVID and it seems property has appreciated dramatically and the market favors sellers, is this true? 

- Do you still see opportunity for quality cash flowing rentals? If so which neighborhoods are up and coming (I hear Avondale and Riverside are favorable)

- Do you foresee any price corrections in the next year?

- Any recommendations for RE agents that work well with investors? 

- Any recommendations for property managers that are quality and cost conscious? 

- What types of properties do you recommended? Ideally I would get a value add multifamily as I have enough capital and prefer to deal with one property then various SFRs and I can still get a residential loan as long as the property has 4 units or less.

Many thanks for any input!

[Minna Reid]

I've been a real estate broker for 14 years and moved to Jax about two years ago.  Yes there has been an influx of folks from other states from some time, and even well before covid. Jacksonville has been growing quickly for some time now. It is most definitely a sellers market still.

Quality cash flowing rentals are hard to find at this time. Inventory is very limited for all buyers right now, but IMO there will be more inventory at some point soon. The market has been artificially inflated as the foreclosure and eviction moratoriums have prevented a lot of distress inventory from entering market. As evictions resume, many landlords will finally evict their nonpaying tenants, and many will choose to sell.  Foreclosures will resume at some point, and those REOS will also enter market. Furthermore, there are a lot of people that have been hurting, but are in some type of workout with their lender. Many of those will fail their workout plans and also end up on market. 

When will all that happen? Hard to say with the current changes in administration. I do believe Biden will extend the moratoriums. 

How bad will Jacksonville be hit at that point? I personally feel the market will soften some, but because Florida has been mostly open all this time, we will not take as hard of a hit as other states economically and the fact that folks continue to flock to Jax will keep our local market from hitting as hard. However I do envision prices flattening/turning as more inventory hits the market...whenever that will be.

I am currently working with a few out of state investors looking for the exact same thing as you...and again, inventory is extremely limited. In my personal opinion Avondale and Riverside are currently way overpriced and I don't see any real cashflow out there, at least not with most of the homes that are currently MLS listed. Deals may show up but they are gone fast - you really need to be on top of new inventory, and investors need to be marketing to non MLS prospects.

Multis that will qualify for residential loans are in heavy demand - you will have a lot of competition looking for quads, for the same reasons you wish to buy them.