As was the case with many of the other states through the US, Mississippi recovered from the 2008 economic crash at an incredibly slow rate. The 2014 Mississippi housing market continues to grow a little stronger with every passing trimester. Surely, one could argue that Mississippi never fared as well at other states. Mississippi lagged slightly behind the average for the rest of the country through the entirety of 2013. However, the average prices for homes continued their upward trend. For example, between the end of 2011 and spring 2012, the average price for condos and townhouses grew from $145,000 to $152,000. This growth continued an upward trend. Single family homes listed with an average price of $208,000 in December 2013. A few months later, this same bracket listed at an average price of $215,000. This data takes in-city homes and homes in the surrounding metropolitan area into account*. The market may appear stronger in other surrounding states. However, we feel that any growth (even slow growth) is better than nothing.
Click here to read the 2013 Mississippi housing market
With a market share of 60% for family homes and condos, the 2014 Mississippi housing market remains an active place for individual real estate buyers and sellers. You could also spot the occasional industrial or office building construction project here and there. However, the foundation of this market remains firmly rooted in the transactions taking place between families (and individual owners) buying and selling houses in their search for a more suitable home. Since the market still hasn’t fully recovered in this state, a huge gap exists between the prices first required by sellers and the actual prices from these sales. Of course, these sales reflect post negotiation prices. Most everyone in this market is attempting to maximize earnings in a market not yet strong enough to allow more balanced agreements. This disparity led to the market gap. For example, the average sale price for a single family home remained at $115,000 over these last few months. These rates sit roughly 45% cheaper than the average listing prices.
Still, the 2014 Mississippi housing market treated sellers on its condominium sub-market a bit kinder: here, the average sale price of properties sits at $129,000. That rate only sits 14% below the national average listing price. Many experts feel that the strained budgets of sellers plays a strong role in this rate. Since a condominium is much less expensive than a single family home, sellers and buyers are more likely to reach a balanced agreement on a condominium that works out for both parties. Not every draw-back lacks an opportunity. For owners with a house to sell or for large-scale investors, this news may appear disappointing. The condominium segment of the 2014 Mississippi housing market has a lot of potential to become the sole relief route for this state’s recovering real estate market.
The main highlights and facts of the 2014 Mississippi housing market:
- The prices remain relatively low compared to the national average. The trend of slow recovery continues. As the aforementioned figures show, big players really can’t gain much from this market. However, families searching for a quality home stand to gain much from the ultra affordable prices. Small to medium scale entrepreneurs may offer a the opportunity to gain ground as well. The upwards trend of the market is stable enough to allow profitable investment rounds.
- The median value of the most expensive homes in Mississippi sits a bit below richer areas. However, it has been growing in the last three months. Experts presume that these conditions will continue to grow. The most expensive homes in the state are currently located in Christian Pass where the average value of listings stands at $419,840 and rising. Next up is Madison (the average price is $409,542), Ridgeland ($394,072), Oxford (average price is $307,959) and Biloxi (the average value is $254,928). At the opposite end of the market (or the least expensive homes in the state) is Moss Point (the average listing price sits at $117,547), Horn Lake (the average is currently $119,875), Pascagoula (where the average listing price is $129,816), Pearl ($152,284), and Petal ($174,305).
- Mississippi is currently a housing market deemed by the experts to be better suited to singles than to married couples with children, though there are currently some good places to live in for families as well. These family-oriented cities are Canton, Madison, Byram, Yazoo City and Indianola, but even here, at its highest, the average rate of families with children is only around 45%. At the opposite end, the best cities for singles, with a balanced proportion of men to women, are Yazoo City, Starkville, Canton, Hattiesburg and Oxford.
All in all, the 2014 Mississippi housing market is doing pretty well considering the drawback it suffered during the 2008 crisis. This real estate market surely isn’t the most attractive in the country for big investors. However, its moderate prices should appeal to families or small/medium scale investors looking to develop a charming residential complex. After all, the river scenery makes for wonderful permanent and vacation homes.
The relatively low crime rates contribute to the area’s desirability. In a few areas, these rates sit under 0.5 vs. the national average. These low crime areas include Canton, Madison and Byram to just name a few. For single families looking for a suitable home, some of the top choices in the state included Biloxi, Greenville, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Horn Lake, Jackson, Meridian, Olive Branch, Southhaven, and Tupelo over the years. Overall, the state’s appreciation rate for property prices sits at 2.71% per year. As stated above, this rate remains comfortably stable. Reliability means more for the overall well being of a market than major (albeit risky) gains. Since reliability remains the main selling point in the 2014 Mississippi housing market, we feel that this market is an overall healthy place to commit transactions on.
*All the numeric data presented above was provided by MS Real Estate.