October 2008 Real Estate Update
By Sherry Davidson

The good news for October is that inventory levels continue dropping in Northeast Florida and World Golf Village. The bad news is that the wild stock market swings this month have made many would be home buyers very nervous. The sales in October were substantially less than the previous months.

The area home builders continue to close more homes than they are starting. For the 3rd quarter of 2008, the new home closings totaled 1,359 and the new construction starts were 1,206. For the 12 months ending September, 2008, the closings were 6,098 and the starts were 4,434. The annual construction starts for St. Johns County are down 37.5% since last year according to the Metrostudy report.