IT'S THE BEST TIME IN A GENERATION TO BUY OR REMODEL

This could be the best time in a generation to be a first-time homebuyer. Or a second-time homebuyer, for that matter.

Affordability is the best it’s been in 30 years, thanks to the combination of a 34 percent decline in prices since the 2006 peak and a near-historically low 3.4 percent average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

Today, the real-estate research firm Trulia figures that buying is cheaper than renting in 98 out of America’s 100 major markets. And that’s especially true in Jacksonville.

Many would-be buyers who had been wary have taken notice. Traffic in model centers is up. Sales are up. Permits are up. Builder confidence is up. Soon, as demand continues to rise and inventories continue to fall, home prices and mortgage interest rates will be up as well.

For the time being, first-time homebuyers are especially well positioned. They weren’t yet in the housing market when the downturn hit, and so escaped the devastating financial hit so many others endured. 

Move-up homebuyers are also sitting pretty right now. Big, stylish and energy efficient new homes with all the latest bells and whistles are carrying almost unbelievably low price tags.

Custom homes are also more affordable than they’ve been in years, as prices for materials and labor have fallen from their peaks and builders have sharpened their pencils in an effort to get new projects in the pipeline.

That’s why this issue of Florida Homebuyer Jacksonville has a feature about how to go about buying a new home in today’s market. Part of the feature is aimed at first-time homebuyers and part is aimed at move-up homebuyers and buyers of custom homes.

Of course, you may well love the home you’re already in — or at least, you may love the location. If so, it’s a good time to remodel for many of the same reasons that it’s a good time to buy. Also in this issue is a salute to the winners of the First Coast Remodeler Awards. It’s an extraordinary gallery of extraordinary projects by the region’s most respected designers and contractors.

Front to back, Florida Homebuyer Jacksonville covers the spectrum of buying and remodeling options. If you can read this magazine and not be tempted to make a move, I’ll be surprised.

By the way, I hope you all had a great holiday season and are looking forward to a great 2013.

Penelope Geismar

Publisher

penelopeg@thefloridahomebuyer.com