Northside real estate is a seller’s market right now. In fact, a bulk of the country’s housing market favors sellers, but that means something different for this area than it does for many other parts of the country.
Robert Conwill Jr., Central Mississippi Realtors MLS director, said the current Northside real estate climate is seeing low inventory and high buyer demand.
Typically, a seller’s market means listing prices go way up as demand increases and inventory drops. However, prices in this area are fairly stable and have seen minimal increase.
“Property values increase when inventory is low,” Central Mississippi Realtors President Rod Crosby said.
Prices are not going up much though.
“It’s been pretty reflective of inflation and cost of living,” Conwill said.
Conwill said the decline in inventory isn’t a new thing.
“Over the past several years, it’s been slowly going down,” he said. “Our available inventory has been trending downward in the past few years.”
Crosby said this year has seen much more activity than in recent years.
According to MLS data, the Eastover and Northeast Jackson area has seen the biggest drop in active listings. From January to June in 2017, that area had 736 active listings.
During the same period in 2018, there was a 10 percent drop in active listings, but a three percent increase in the quantity of sales.
Last year, $39,839,706 worth of homes were sold in 39211 by the end of June. As of the end of June 2018, the average sale price for a home in that area increased by $9,118.
In the 39206 area, there was a 6 percent drop in active listings this year between January and June compared to the same period last year.
There was also a 10 percent drop in sales. Seven more homes were sold in that area last year compared to 2018. However, the average sale price for a home went up $13,367.
Active listings in the Woodland Hills area has seen a decrease of one percent and a 27 percent drop in sales. The average price dropped by $16,085.
Belhaven has only seen a one percent drop in active listings. However, sales have increased by 23 percent.
The City of Madison has had a slight increase in active listings, which Conwill said could be due to the number of new developments in the city.
The number of sales in Madison has stayed consistent with an increase in the average sale price by $19,613.
“Anywhere where you have new developments going in, houses going up, you’re going to see an increase in inventory,” Crosby said.
According to Neighborhood Scout, Madison real estate is some of the most expensive in Mississippi.
The City of Ridgeland has 413 active listings, which is only two less than last year. The city has seen an uptick in sales by 14 percent and an increase in the average sale price by $31,409.
So, nearly all areas have seen an increase in demand and a drop in inventory.
“Raised interest rates, or if something else comes along, it could go the other way just as easy,” Conwill said.
“This year is a whole lot better than years we’ve seen in the past, as far as activity goes,” Crosby said.
Conwill added that the drop in inventory is something Central Mississippi Realtors has seen across the board. He said this is a good thing for sellers.
“It’s good news for sellers because it means there is a demand,” he said. “Things that go on the market turn around fairly quickly.”
On the other hand, low inventory is not typically good news for buyers, according to Conwill.
“It’s not so good for buyers sometimes, because the house they’re looking for can get sold out from under them before they know it,” he said. “If the numbers were going the other way and there was a lot of inventory, then that’s good for buyers, because there’s a lot of selection and not as much pressure to jump on something or move on something right away.”
The downtown Jackson area typically has no activity, according to Conwill, but there is one listing this year. So, that means there is an increase in that area.
“Overall, everything seems to be doing well,” Conwill said. “Here, it’s been good. Good, steady, healthy growth,” Crosby added.
Many market factors affect sales. Crosby and Conwill said that the time of year affects sales, and summertime is most popular, since children are out of school and the weather is nice.
Realtor Becky Tann said that the uptick in activity that the area real estate market is typical for this time of year.
“At this time of year, there are more people moving in,” Tann said. “But most of our activity is people moving around within the area. Buying something larger, buying something smaller.”
She echoed Crosby and Conwill’s claims that the market is steady.
In Northeast Jackson and Madison County, homes typically spend about 104 days on the market on average. However, the more expensive the house, the longer it takes to sell.
Houses between $200,000 to $300,000 typically stay on the market for 95 days, and homes from $300,000 to $400,000 spend around 137 days on the market.
Tann said homes in the $150,000 to $225,000 stay on the market the least amount of time, on average around 76 days.
“Our prices have stabilized and are on the rise again,” Tann said. “We are beginning to see appreciation in many neighborhoods. Just like anywhere, some go down, some go up. Fondren, Belhaven, they have held their value beautifully.”
All statistics are from Central Mississippi MLS, Inc. reports for the following zip codes from January to June 2017 and 2018: 39211, 39206, 39216, 39202, 39201, 39110 and 39157.
