JACKSONVILLE, FL — Many Florida homeowners who bought during the market’s run-up are now discovering that selling can mean taking a loss once purchase and sale costs are included. A review by Momentum Realty found that more than half of the homeowners in several Northeast Florida counties who bought in 2022 or 2023 and then resold did not recover their full costs.
St. Johns County showed the highest share of losses in the state, with more than 70% of those recent buyers ending up underwater after estimated expenses were counted. WJXT reported the findings, which point to a sharp reversal from the fast price growth that defined the pandemic-era market.
Momentum Realty’s Florida resale review found the steepest losses in St. Johns County
Momentum Realty analyzed more than 2.3 million homes across Florida and compared each property’s latest sale with an earlier sale of the same home. The company used records going back to 2001 and estimated combined buying and selling costs at about 8%.
Based on that review, St. Johns County had the largest share of resale losses in the state. Among owners who bought in 2022 or 2023 and later sold, 70.6% in St. Johns County lost money after costs were included, according to the analysis cited by WJXT.
The pattern was not limited to one county. Nearby Northeast Florida markets also posted high loss rates, suggesting the issue has spread across a wider stretch of the region rather than staying confined to one neighborhood or one price tier.
Recent buyers in Flagler, Clay, Nassau and Duval also saw high loss rates
The same review found that 70.3% of recent sellers in Flagler County took losses. In Clay County, the share was 55.3%, while Nassau County posted 54.2%. Duval County was also above the break-even line, with 52.9% of those 2022 and 2023 buyers later selling for less than their total outlay.
Momentum Realty’s numbers only cover homes that have already been resold, not owners who are still living in the properties. That means the figures capture people who have actually tried to exit the market, not every buyer who entered it during the recent run-up.
Still, the data suggest that a large share of newer Florida owners have not had enough appreciation to offset closing costs, commissions and other expenses once they decide to move on.
Brooks says the market turned after 2020 and kept worsening year by year
Jon Brooks, a market analyst and co-founder of Momentum Realty, said the numbers reflect how sharply conditions changed after 2020. He described 2020 as the safest time to buy in Florida and said the situation worsened each year after that.
Brooks argued that 2023 stands out as the worst year in the data for a Florida home purchase. He pointed back to the long stretch when prices climbed 10% to 15% a year and said many buyers assumed that kind of growth would continue.
That expectation, he said, became a problem once the market moved away from the pandemic-era surge. Buyers who entered at the peak of that momentum have been more exposed to losses when they try to resell soon after.
Pandemic-era price growth left many owners expecting gains that did not last
Florida became one of the clearest examples of the homebuying boom that followed the pandemic. Prices rose quickly, and many households believed the rally would keep going. For owners who bought during that stretch, especially in 2022 and 2023, the recent resale data suggest that assumption has not held up.
Brooks said people saw repeated annual gains of 10%, 12% or even 15% and built their expectations around that trend. Once the market shifted, those expectations collided with slower appreciation, higher transaction costs and tougher competition at resale.
The result is a market where a sale can look profitable on paper but still leave an owner short after the full cost of buying and selling is counted. That gap is especially important for people who do not stay in a home long enough to build enough equity.
Nearby new construction can make resale harder for older homes to compete
Another pressure point for some sellers is the presence of nearby new construction. Brooks said builder incentives, including mortgage-rate buydowns, can make it harder for existing-home owners to get the price they want when they list their homes.
He pointed to a common scenario in St. Johns County: someone who bought a home built between 2010 and 2018 may later have to compete with brand-new houses nearby when trying to sell. In that situation, the older home can lose some of its edge even if the owner made improvements.
That competition can matter most in fast-growing areas where builders are still active. If a buyer can get a lower monthly payment or other incentives on a new home, resale owners may have to adjust their expectations to move the property.
Time in the home remains the biggest factor in whether a seller comes out ahead
Momentum Realty’s findings point to a basic lesson: how long someone stays in a home can make a major difference in whether they eventually come out ahead. Short holding periods leave less room for appreciation to offset closing costs, commission and other expenses tied to a sale.
The analysis suggests that many of the 2022 and 2023 buyers who have already sold exited too soon to absorb the shift in the market. Those who keep their homes longer may have a better chance of building enough equity to cover transaction costs when they do decide to move.
For now, the Florida data show a market that looks very different from the boom years. In several Northeast Florida counties, the recent resale math has turned unfavorable for many households that bought near the top of the run-up.
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