Home prices across Northeast Florida ticked up again in September, but nowhere did the numbers move faster than in Nassau County, where the median home price jumped 9.3% to $496,500 even as closed sales there fell 19.3%. The region's overall median single-family home price rose 1.1% to $399,000.
Nassau County Holds Onto Its Unwanted Title
Nassau County remained the region's least affordable county in September, with its affordability index falling to 68.5 even as its median home price climbed to $496,500, according to News4JAX. The county logged 96 closed sales for the month, a 19.3% drop, while pending sales fell even further, down 37% to 68. Active inventory sat at 434 homes, a 4.5-month supply, according to the outlet's report on figures from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors.
Nassau County remained the region's least affordable county in September, underscoring the affordability squeeze facing local buyers.
Regional Picture: Prices Up, Sales Down
Across the six-county NEFAR region, closed sales decreased 9.5% from August to 1,581, while new listings also declined, per the News4JAX report. Pending sales stood at 1,591, and active inventory reached 6,287 homes, putting the region at a four-month supply, below the 4.6-month national average that Florida Realtors describes as balanced. Median days on market across the region rose to 36 days.
The September figures varied significantly across the six-county region.
A County-by-County Split
That variation showed up clearly in the September numbers. St. Johns County, the region's priciest market, posted a median home price of $568,750, down 0.5%, with 390 closed sales and a 3.7-month supply; its affordability index fell to 77.5. Duval County's median price rose 3.6% to $345,000, with its affordability index slipping from 86 to 82, while Clay County bucked the trend with prices falling 4.1% to $355,000 and its affordability index improving to 89.
Putnam and Baker counties told yet another story. Putnam County's median price rose 2.2% to $291,250 with a 6.6-month supply, and its affordability index fell to 74.5. Baker County, meanwhile, carried the region's largest housing supply at 6.7 months, and its affordability index actually improved to 80.5 even as its median price reached $378,450.
The Bigger Squeeze Behind the Numbers
Statewide, median single-family home prices in Florida escalated 53% between 2019 and 2025 while median household income rose just 24%, a mismatch that has helped push first-time buyers down from 44% of the market in 1981 to 21% in 2025, according to Florida Realtors.
Neighboring St. Johns County illustrates how steep that climb has become for working families. A local workforce housing study there found that entry-level teachers earning $47,500 and hospitality workers earning $28,300 remain priced out even of housing capped at $260,000 under a 2023 county ordinance, Hoodline previously reported. The same county's population reached 334,928 as of July 2024, a 22.5% jump from the 2020 Census, with median household income hitting $109,839.
Northeast Florida's closed sales dropped even as prices held mostly steady.
