Real Estate in Jackson Mississippi
Friday February 15, 2008
Jackson Miss. Metro home prices drop nearly 17 Percent in the last Quarter of 2007
Most major media outlets reported on February 14, 2008 that home prices in the Jackson area dropped a record amount for the last quarter in 2007. The National Association of Realtors was cited with providing the statistics. 77 out of 150 metro areas across the nation saw drops according to the report.
Home prices in the Jackson Mississippi area spiked following the Hurricane Katrina storm in 2005. As residents in the Mississippi coastal region and New Orleans were displaced by the storm, many relocated to the Jackson area. Along with increases in home prices we experienced an increase in traffic congestion, and crime as well. All the result of a fast in flow of more people to an area not prepared for the rapid population increase. We also made some great new friends. Change brings about the good as well as the bad.
With the sub prime housing problem, home building has stalled in the area. Some corporate builders continue to work on developments that were well under way when things started to unravel. The small builder working on speculation has become nearly extinct. No where is this more evident than in the fast food restaurants at the lunch hour. Where parking lots used to be filled with pickup trucks we now have empty parking spaces. One weekday at Wendy's, I counted 9 people including myself in the dining room. A year ago the line to get to the counter may have stretched to the door at noon time.
The untold story in the statistics is that for those of us in our homes because we need a roof over our head, the situation is probably pretty stable. Life in the 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch home is not that bad right now. Particularly if you are still working and able to make the payments. One the other hand if your money is in a 6000 square foot 4 bedroom, 5 bath home with an a house note that is $1800 looking to go to $2600 later this year, the outlook is far less optimistic. Any one looking to sell in this market is not doing that great. The inventory of upper scale homes on the market is tremendous.
The real estate as a good investment myth is quickly dying. Yet you will still find believers. You can ride around the Jackson area and find a number of new mini malls. These mini malls are 4 and 5 suite commercial buildings with high visibility store fronts. The all have one thing in common. That is the For Lease sign in the window. No tenants can be found. Some myths die hard.