Homes are being built in Lowndes County at five times the rate as in Columbus.
Approximately 23 permits for single-family dwellings to be built inside Columbus city limits have been issued since January 2012, according to building department records.
During the same period, the Lowndes County building inspector office has issued 118. Roughly half of those have gone up in the Caledonia area, according to Charles Culpepper, the director of the county’s building inspector office.
Why the move to the county?
The most straight forward theory: Lack of land.
“We just don’t have that many tracks left (to build on),” Mike Davis, who along with his wife owns RE/MAX Partners in Columbus and Starkville, said.
“There’s not a tremendous amount of open property in the city,” added Patton Whitten, a Realtor with CENTURY 21 Doris Hardy & Associates in Columbus.
Another theory: When moving to Columbus, people lean toward buying more than building.
Kelly Frady, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker, said that’s a trend she first recognized in 2007. Davis agreed, saying a nice size home in Columbus can often be purchased and renovated for less than the price of building.
Another theory: People view the county school system in a more favorable light than the city’s.
The Columbus Municipal School District, which serves roughly 4,500 students in the city, has received “D” ratings from the state Department of Education the past three school years. The Lowndes County School District, meanwhile, which serves roughly 4,300 students, has received “B” ratings. Someone looking to build a home, put roots down and raise a family might gravitate toward the county school system, Realtors said.
“The city schools are not up to par in the public eye,” Whitten said.
Whitten said sentiment seems to be that Caledonia High School is the best public option in all of Lowndes County.
Davis, though, felt that while school districts can be a driver for people, he is not sure CMSD is part of the equation for people choosing to build a county home. Davis is a city school system graduate — Caldwell High School, class of 1985 — and feels he received a fine education. Besides, he said, Columbus has several private school options that are relatively inexpensive.
Other theories floated by Realtors as to why more homes are being built in the county than city: People prefer the freedom found in the county, and it is a little cheaper to build in the county.
The biggest advantage to building in Columbus versus the county, Realtors said, is proximity to place of employment, restaurants, businesses, etc.
Starkville city officials say 207 single-family dwelling permits have been issued since January 2012. The vast majority have come from developers plotting out subdivisions without building the actual structures, according to Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman. The mayor said in those cases, a developer would provide street access and divide the subdivision into lots — according to city specifications — then sell those lots individually for home building.
Oktibbeha County does not issue permits, so the number of homes built in the county since January 2012 was not available.
The city of West Point has issued nine single-family dwelling permits since January 2012. Clay County officials say that in 2012 and 2013, they issued 18. (The county did not have 2014 or 2015 numbers available.)
Davis, when presented with the single-family dwelling permit numbers by The Dispatch last week, said one of his take aways is that inside the Golden Triangle, “there are home options for everyone.”
He said no matter where someone chooses to build — in Columbus or Starkville, in West Point or Oktibbeha County — they are within about a half hour’s drive of every Golden Triangle town. There is a community to suit every lifestyle, Davis said.
Dispatch staff reporter Zack Plair contributed this report.
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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