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Geographic
Jacksonville is two hours north east of Orlando. Home to the famous beaches of Ponte Vedra and St Augustine; one of the busiest ports in the country, one of the largest metropolitan regions in the country and fine educational faculties are all within an easy drive.
Jacksonville is nestled along the stunning coastline of North-east Florida, just below the Georgia border. Overlooked by the multitude of foreigners and a surprising amount of out-of-state visitors, Jax – as it is known locally – is one of the most beautiful cities in the southern states of America.
The St. Johns River gently meanders through the heart of the city, making it a poster-child for urban living.
The waters of the St. John have attracted three U.S Navy bases, an extremely healthy import and export trade, a growing number of major corporations and a host of sporting events, competitions and teams.
With a population of over 1 million, Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida and home to an abundance of finance and insurance related companies, medical suppliers, hospitals and an increasingly growing tourism market thanks to its stunning beaches and a plethora of water based sporting attractions.
Lifestyle and Attractions
One of the important attractions of investment in Jax is that county, government and municipal costs are relatively inexpensive thanks to an amalgamation of services back in 1960, which to this day makes Jacksonville one of the cheaper large cities in which to live. Jacksonville Metro consists of 7 counties; Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns and together represent the largest city in square miles in the US.
The population of Jacksonville is relatively young at 33 years old and due to the amount of families here, education is a huge priority, boasting 250 private and public schools, 14 regional colleges and universities. The MSHS does not have on-campus dormitories nor in fact, any form of onsite housing, which means that students need to arrange their own accommodation when on courses in Jacksonville.
Boasting several museums, theatre, opera and sporting venues, the Jacksonville area, the Atlantic beaches and the beautiful beachside (former capital of the United States) city of St Augustine are important cultural attractions in this region of Florida. The eclectic blend of old money, a multi-cultural society and a wonderful lifestyle continue to make the region one of the most popular in the country for relocating young families. Jacksonville is the ‘Gateway to Florida’ and the main hub for state import and exports, thanks to its excellent location just south of the Georgia state line, railroad connections and the most important deepwater port in the southern U.S.
With so much going on, Jacksonville is just about as perfect a city in which to invest as you will find anywhere. There is a high volume of students and the naval base personnel which change annually; and there is a strong and growing local populace of wealthy business people which thrive on the increasingly expansive financial, insurance and industrial sectors.
Business and Industry
Jacksonville is a cosmopolitan mix of New York and the southern states. Blessed with stunning beaches and a thriving financial market, manufacturing, import and export, tourism and other intrinsic industry sectors, Jacksonville is a thriving city area that remains growth orientated and popular with migrating families.
The Jacksonville area is home to a range of business sectors, many of which are high paying industries and this tends to attract up and coming family professionals. Industries served in the area include:
- § Business and information services
- § Finance & Banking
- § Information services
- § Academic Research
- § Health care
- § High-technology industry
- § Medical device manufacturing
- § Microelectronics and nano-technology
- § Education
- § Culture, recreation, and sports
- § Sports teams
- § Import/Export
- § Tourism
- § Marine Biology
Property
Prices are currently well below the highs of 2006; and in many cases offering discounts of up to 70%, real estate investment is becoming a hot topic in and around the city. Today there are a number of fantastic bargains both in and on the outskirts of the city that offer some excellent returns for ‘landlord investors’.
Residential repossessed investment property in Jacksonville has been reaching an average net yield of 12% to in some cases 14%, however, demand from investment funds from across the country for bank repossessed property has changed that and yields are reducing as the funds eat up available good homes from the banks, driving up prices and lowering yields. This is a time sensitive opportunity.
Demand by families for quality rentals, due to their inability to achieve an affordable mortgage as banks are just not lending on residential real estate, especially to people who, through no fault of their own have defaulted on their own home mortgage, is on the increase in and around Jacksonville with occupancy rates at around 90% There is a considerable gap in the market for investors to buy properties at current much lower prices and undercut existing owners on rentals.
House prices are so affordable now for local families, that prices will start to rise once again within the next few years. For foreign investors this puts you in the right place at the right time, as you can buy property for next to nothing, receive a decent yield of 8% net on average for several years and have an exit plan in place to sell the property to local families once their credit is back in place, in order to capitalize on any equity gain that has accrued in the interim period.
Population growth predictions for 2007 to 2035 are over 40%.
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QUICK FACTS
City:
Jacksonville (city - not including Jacksonville Beach)
County:
Duval County
State:
Florida
Population count 2011 est.
827,908
Population , percent change, April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011
0.7%
People 65 and over, 2010
10.9%
Mean travel time to work (minutes), 2007-2011
23.8
Housing units, 2010
366,273
Homeownership rate, 2007-2011
63.3%
Housing units in multi-unit structures, 2007-2011
28.4%
Median value of owner-occupied housing units, 2007-2011
$166,400
Households, 2007-2011
311,932
Persons per household, 2007-2011
2.57
Median household income, 2007-2011
$49,192
Total number of firms, 2007
64,114
Land area in square miles, 2010
747.0
Persons per square mile, 2010
1,100.1