Homeownerships Reach Record High

The United States now has more homeowners -- 73.4 million -- than at
any time in history. According to Census Bureau second quarter data, the
new record homeownership rate is 69.2 percent, breaking the previous
record of 68.6 percent. That means about 783,000 more people owned a
home in the second quarter of 2004 than in the first quarter. And compared
to the second quarter of 2003, the number of homeowners increased by
almost 1.7 million. Minority homeownership also set a new record with an
increase of 0.2 percent in the second quarter, though at 51.0 percent, the
numbers still lag figures for the population as a whole. "These numbers …
show that housing still leads the way in our rapidly recovering economy,"
says HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson.

Housing Developers Bank on Continued Growth

According to Maitland-based Metrostudy Corp., a national housing market research company, Jacksonville is poised for a whole new round of housing developments.

In a report released July 26 by Metrostudy, the Jacksonville area's growth trend is likely to stay strong in the short and mid-term. Metrostudy reported houses under construction in the second quarter increased by 970 units to 4,584 over last year -- a 27 percent increase -- for the Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area. "July sales activity has been strong," the report states. "It is likely much of the current construction and finished vacant inventory is sold." Lot inventory is tight and "the lack of lot inventory continues to press land and lot pricing upward." Jacksonville's steady population growth of about 1.8 percent since 2000, and an anticipated growth of 6 percent between now and 2010, lead area developers to believe the Duval County housing market is strong.

Jacksonville's population growth is seen through the demand for single-family homes. Builders are having a hard time keeping up with demand. Regardless, projects are filed on a daily basis at the city's planning department and houses are being purchased. In part, thanks to still low, but rising interest rates. The projects going up around Jacksonville are examples of the booming economy. Seven of the 20 projects filed since early July were in a cluster on the Westside, making up 717 of the 1,864 homes to be built The largest and smallest of the projects are set for Mandarin. Greenland Chase is a 535-unit subdivision on 350 acres, according to city plans; and the Weaver subdivision will have five houses, each on its own acre. Other projects scattered throughout the region range from 52 homes at Glen Kernan Golf and Country Club off Kernan Mill Lane, east of Hodges Boulevard to 87 homes at the Howard Glen subdivision between Pulaski Road and Dunns Branch North.

In a 12-month period, it is expected that there will be 13,000 homes built in Jacksonville. All of them will be sold; most will be pre-sold.