Commonly-held beliefs: Turkey makes you sleepy. Swimming soon after eating causes cramps. Sitting too close to the TV damages your eyesight.
Local Realtors will add another myth to that list.
“When people say nobody wants to buy a home in Columbus, I have to push back a little bit,” said Colin Krieger, a Realtor with RE/Max Partners in Columbus.
“It’s an issue of perception versus reality,” said Doris Hardy, owner of Century 21 Doris Hardy and Associates. “There are some factors that hurt home sales in Columbus, but what has happened over the past couple of years is an affordability issue that has emerged. What Columbus has going for it is that you can get more bang for your buck.”
In 2020, residential sales in Columbus increased by 6.6 percent over 2019 while the median sales price of homes grew $20,100, up by 14.4 percent, slightly higher than in Lowndes County and Starkville.
Hardy, who has been in the local real estate business for 32 years, is careful not to suggest there is a boom in real estate sales in Columbus, but does feel the reality is probably better than the perception.
“The market everywhere is still going strong,” Hardy said. “Interest rates are still low, and we have an incredibly low supply because developers just aren’t building. It’s simple economics: Demand versus supply. But if you’re asking if the market in Columbus is doing better, the answer is yes.”
In 2020, there were 644 homes sold in the county compared to 533 in Columbus. The median sale price in the county, at $170,000, is $10,000 higher than in Columbus.
But the gap, if not the perception, appears to be slowly narrowing.
When Dennis and Ali Florence arrived at Columbus Air Force Base two months ago from Tucson, Arizona, (Dennis is an instructor pilot at CAFB), they asked around the base for recommendations on where they should buy a home.
“Everybody was saying, ‘You’ve got to live in Caledonia,'” Ali Florence said. “So we drove around and blinked and almost missed it. I think we decided that day that we just aren’t country people. So we looked around Columbus and really liked downtown. We really haven’t looked at a lot of properties yet. We’re still getting settled. But I could see us winding up somewhere in the downtown area.”
The Florences don’t have children, which eliminates one of the factors that has hampered home sales in Columbus for the past 20 years or so. The city’s school district has had a D rating from Mississippi Department of Education for the last several years. While the district continues to work on improving its rating, the Lowndes County School District achieved an “A” rating in 2019, a powerful draw for families with children.
While Krieger acknowledged the appeal of the county’s school district, he said there are a couple of factors that might lure homebuyers who have children to the city.
“With COVID-19, there are a lot more people who are homeschooling,” he said. “Another thing to think about is if you can get a home that is priced 20 percent lower, you might be able to send your child to a private school and not really see the cost, when all things are considered.”
A three-way competition
For homeowners, it’s not just a Columbus versus Lowndes County equation. In recent years, home prices in Starkville have risen dramatically in relation to Columbus and Lowndes County. The median sales price in Starkville is $243,000, compared to $170,000 in Lowndes County and $160,000 in Columbus.
“We are seeing some Starkville to Columbus movement,” Hardy said.
Krieger said Columbus and Lowndes County are also competing for employees who work at the industries in West Lowndes County as well as Mississippi State professors.
“A lot of those executives and college professors are moving in from places where a 20-30 minute commute is nothing,” Krieger said. “That opens up the entire market.”
COVID-19 and the housing market
When COVID-19 first hit the area in March, home sales in the area hit the skids.
“But it turned out to be a temporary thing,” Krieger said. “It slowed down in April and May, but since then it’s picked back up.”
Hardy agreed.
“I’d say it had a minimal effect overall,” she said. “At the start, there were a few people who decided to hold off, but that didn’t last too long.”
In Starkville, however, COVID-19 has had a lingering effect.
Although sales did pick up beginning in the summer, the impact of COVID still persists, said Natalie Morgan, a Realtor with Starkville Properties.
“(Mississippi State) sports play a big role in the market here,” Morgan said. “So when games were canceled and they couldn’t bring in big crowds, we felt it. People who bought homes so they could have a place to stay during game days, that really fell off. Basically, it’s the second-home market. The market here is still pretty strong, but it has changed. It’s been a strange year.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
