JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville saw the fourth-largest decrease in asking rents among major U.S. metros, according to a new report released on Monday.
Rents dropped 6% year over year in January to $1,459 a month. Rents are now $241 (-14%) below their record high of $1,700, set in July 2023, according to Redfin, a residential real estate brokerage and mortgage company.
Redfin said rents are dropping in states like Florida and Texas because they are building more than other states.
“There’s more supply now, especially of apartments,” Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s Chief Economist, told News4JAX. “There were many apartment buildings that were starting to be constructed during the pandemic, that are still coming online. Now, those units are being completed, they’re sitting vacant, and when they’re in more vacant apartments, that means that it’s more of a renter’s market. They can negotiate for a bit better rent, or at least shop around and find something a bit more affordable, which allows rent to come down.”
Fairweather points out that Redfin’s data collection is based on their listings and doesn’t reflect the entire North Florida rental market.
But Redfin said economists are also keeping a close eye on rental supply as potential new tariffs could hamper new construction.
“Construction of apartments typically requires steel. So if there’s across the board, tariffs on steel imports that will inevitably lead to higher construction costs, which means fewer buildings getting built, or, you know, builders, developers demanding higher rents for the ones that do get built. So it probably won’t be immediately affected, immediately felt in the housing market, but it could be felt down the line,” Fairweather said.
In the local housing market, the median sales price for single-family homes in Northeast Florida’s six-county region decreased by 5.8% compared to December, falling to $376,990, according to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR).
The good news for home buyers was housing became more affordable.
Since December, the active inventory of single-family homes increased by 14.7% to 7,556 properties. However, according to NEFAR, this is a drastic increase from the previous year, as the number of properties has skyrocketed by 72.6% since January 2024. This rise in inventory from 2024 is a welcome development for buyers, providing a wider range of options.
