If Jacksonville stays hyper-competitive, a pivot isn’t failure.Some overseas investors I’ve seen succeed either:   JV with strong local operatorsMove to small multifamily or rentalsOr focus on fewer but higher-margin projects  All smart pivots, not retreats. 

This looks like a competitive marketplace, but I see a group of senior citizens walking a steady pace on the same safe trail, carrying the same size backpacks.Different logos.

Leverage is lost with competition and making the effort during the week, can be the difference between acceptance and an all-cash offer coming in over the weekend.

I wanted to toss this out there to get opinions on market competition.

I work locally in the Dublin & Worthington, OH market and wanted to share what I am seeing so far in 2026, especially for anyone evaluating buy-and-hold or small residential investments.The market is still competitive—but not uniformly.A few observations:Inventory is up year-over-year, but uneven by neighborhood and school districtWell-priced, move-in-ready homes are still attracting strong interestOverpriced or poorly positioned properties are sitting longer and seeing reductionsDemand remains strongest near walkable areas like Bridge Park and established community hubs in WorthingtonThere are more homes for sale in Central Ohio, so buyers have more choices.

My minimum target is $30k net profit per flip, and with how competitive the market has become, that bar is getting harder and harder to hit. 

The other thing to understand is this is a very competitive market so dont think there are not people who are going to not buy a property or you are gonna get it for a steal.

We have some competition on posting the detailed smokies data!

In the wholesaling/investing space, the standard benchmark most people shoot for is a 0.5% to 1% response rate (so 5–10 calls for every 1,000 pieces sent).In terms of closings, the 'rule of thumb' is usually 1 deal per 3,000–5,000 mailers, depending on how competitive your market is and how aggressive your follow-up is.That said, I found that the 'cost per deal' was getting eaten up by bad data (returned mail).

Hey Will,They are competitive enough that conventional banks are starting to 'try' to do them, rather unsuccessfully in many cases.Honestly, especially when it comes to investments, they seem to be superior for the seasoned folks.