The current real estate in the Jackson metro area market stands out as vibrant for both buyers and sellers.
“The market is great,” said Jane Anna Barksdale, a Realtor with Nix-Tann and Associates who has been selling houses for 25 years.
It’s a good market if you want to sell a house, and it’s a good market if you want to buy one, she said. That holds true for all price ranges of houses and all across the metro area from Northeast Jackson to Madison and Ridgeland to the reservoir area.
The inventory of homes on the market is low, and, because of that, sellers may receive offers from more than one buyer, she said. “You don’t have a lot of competition because things are selling so fast and getting multiple offers,” she said.
Mortgage interest rates remain near record lows, making home ownership attractive to buyers, she said. Low mortgage interest rates also mean it’s a good time for homeowners to refinance.
The September 2020 Market Heartbeat of residential activity in the tri-county area, produced by the Central Mississippi MLS, reports, “Strong buyer activity has continued into the fall, which is normally the start of the seasonal slowing of the housing market. With stronger buyer activity in the market this year and the continued constrained supply of homes for sale, speedy sales and multiple offers are likely to remain a common occurrence and will keep the housing market hot even when the weather is cooling.”
The report goes on to say, “The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that lending standards are tightening, which makes it a bit more difficult for some buyers to qualify. At the same time, unemployment remains substantially higher than a year ago due to COVID-19. Despite all of this, buyers are out in full force this fall, showing amazing resilience in the middle of the pandemic.”
The Weekly Statshot from Central Mississippi Realtors for Oct. 16-22 lists 27 closed sales in Hinds County with a median sales price of $151,450; 43 closed sales in Madison County with a median sales price of $301,000 and 62 closed sales in Rankin County with a median sales price of $208,750.
The Weekly Statshot for Oct. 9-15 lists 45 closed sales in Hinds County with a median sales price of $171,000; 38 closed sales in Madison County with a median sales price of $369,367 and 49 closed sales in Rankin County with a median sales price of $210,000.
Katie Warren, a Realtor with Turn Key Properties who serves as president of CentralMississippi Realtors, said she’s sold homes in all price ranges in the metro area, some of them still under construction. She’s helped buyers get into their first home, buyers who want to own a larger home and a few who are downsizing.
“I’ve got some smaller homes around 1,700 square foot in Madison County and they’re not even framed up and have a contract,” she said.
She’s also sold houses at the upper end of the market.
“I’ve got several $600,000 houses that we’ve closed on recently,” she said. “People are still moving and selling and need houses.”
Warren said she received a full-price offer on a duplex in Jackson the day after it went on the market.
“What I found out was the seller was buying it sight unseen,” she said. “She saw it online and put in a full-price offer. One of the units was already leased, which is why she wanted it. It’s a strong market if you can sell a duplex in the city of Jackson that fast.”
Bethany Culley, a Realtor who is also a broker at Keller Williams Realty, said many people have pulled their money from the stock market and are investing in rental property.
“The houses that a first-time homebuyer would want are getting snatched up by investors,” she said. “That’s happening all over the metro area.”
Culley said someone in her office specializes in foreclosed property and he expects a flood of houses that have been in forbearance or foreclosure to hit the market in February or March.
“He said there’s about 700,000 for the whole metro area sitting there,” she said. “That will make the rental market even tighter because the people whose homes went into foreclosure won’t be able to buy and will have to rent.”
Even in a good market, a home needs to be clean, smell clean, be clutter free, staged to sell and priced right, Culley said. Outdoor living areas and screened porches are a plus, too.
