Special report: The brokerage competition in Jacksonville

By BrokerOwner.net March 27, 2024 Housing News

Pre-pandemic,
Jacksonville’s
housing
market
was
propelled
by
strong
tailwinds:
affordability
relative
to
the
rest
of
the
Sunshine
State,
Florida’s
lack
of
income
tax
and
the
quality
of
life
benefits
of
having
a
river
and
oceanfront,
to
name
a
few.
Those
advantages,
coupled
with
cheap
land,
made
the
city
a
favorite
for
homebuilders
like

DR
Horton
and

Lennar
that
brought
plenty
of
new
inventory
to
market.

The
pandemic
supercharged
movers’
interest
in
Florida,
especially
the
First
Coast.
Listings
jumped
at
both
the
state
and
city
levels
in
2021
and
2022.
Brokerages
took
notice,
resulting
in
a
surge
in
companies
and
office
locations
competing
for
their
share
of
listings,
according
to

CoreLogic
multiple-listing
service
data
shared
exclusively
with
HousingWire.

But
high

mortgage
rates
and
high
home
prices
proved
too
much
for
the
listings
boom
in
Jacksonville.
Its
listings
in
2023
fell
below
its
2019
level,
although
the
drop
was
less
steep
than
that
experienced
outside
of
Florida
and
far
less
steep
than
other
metros

like
San
Diego.

In
this
environment
of
high
rates
and
tight
inventory,
brokerages
have
had
to
become
sharp
elbowed.
The
competitive
landscape
has
shifted,
with
some
companies
shutting
down
and
others
buying
their
way
into
the
market.

Competition
heats
up

In
2019,

Watson
Realty
Corp.
enjoyed
an
almost
1,000-listing
lead
over

Keller
Williams

Jacksonville,
its
closest
rival.
Keller
Williams
Jacksonville,
too,
held
a
roughly
1,000-listing
lead
over
the
next
company
in
line.

In
2023,
not
only
is
Watson
Realty’s
lead
gone,
but
the
company
has
fallen
to
3rd
place
in
listings.
Keller
Williams
Jacksonville
has
taken
its
crown,
and

Florida
Homes
Realty
has
narrowly
overtaken
it
for
2nd
place.

Some
newcomers
have
been
able
to
carve
out
their
space
in
Jacksonville’s
housing
market.

Herron
Real
Estate
exploded
from
two
listings
in
2019
to
417
in
2023;

Momentum
Realty
grew
from
12
listings
to
612
over
the
same
period.

Dallas-based

United
Real
Estate
burst
onto
the
scene
in
October
2022
when
it

acquired

EXIT
Real
Estate
Gallery,
which
had
ranked
in
Jacksonville’s
top
10
in
three
of
the
four
years
from
2019-2022.

Software-powered
startup

beycome,
too,
has
consistently
grown
its
share
of
Jacksonville’s
listings,
nabbing
192
listings
last
year.
The
company
collects
a
3%
buyer
agent
commission,
keeps
a
third
of
it,
and
refunds
the
rest
to
the
buyer;
it
does
not
charge
a
seller
agent
commission
fee.

Other
would-be
disruptors
have
not
fared
so
well.
Listings
by
instant
buyers
(also
known
as
“iBuyers”)
plummeted
last
year,
although
the

industry
segment’s
struggles
are
hardly
limited
to
Jacksonville.

Construction
slows
down

One
thing
that
stands
out
in
Jacksonville’s
listings
rankings
is
the
recurring
presence
of
homebuilders.

DR
Horton
and

Dream
Finders
both
ranked
in
the
top
10
in
2019,
and
Lennar
made
a
top
10
appearance
in
2020.
DR
Horton,
the
country’s
largest
homebuilder,
stayed
in
the
top
10
every
year
–
ranking
4th
in
2021
and
2022.
In
fact,
DR
Horton
alone
was
responsible
for
almost
5%
of
all
of
Jacksonville’s
MLS
listings
in
2020,
2021
and
2022.

But
it
has
significantly
slowed
its
pace
of
deliveries
in
Jacksonville,
while
Dream
Finders
is
no
longer
active
in
the
area.

Homebuilders’
shrinking
listing
counts
suggest
Jacksonville
is
not
immune
to
national
trends
affecting
homebuilders.
Homebuilders
increasingly
became
more
pessimistic,
more
prone
to

offering
buyers
incentives,
and
less
eager
to
start
construction
last
year
as
mortgage
rates
crushed
prospective
customers’
buying
power.

With
rates
still
high
and

no
federal
rate
cut
yet
on
the
docket,
some
builders
have
decided
to

build
for
renters
instead
of
buyers.

However,
new-home
sales
were
up

5.9%
year-over-year
in
February
and

homebuilder
confidence
is
on
the
rise.
This
could
prompt
builders
to
get
more
active
on
the
First
Coast
again,
offering
some
relief
to
tight
inventories.