(Jackson, MS)
Home shoppers beware, bidding wars are likely to be the case in the Central Mississippi area, marked by a short list of inventory and an increase in Median Sales Prices. In February, Central Mississippi MLS reported a median sales price of $155,000 for its ten county area, up from $146,750 in January. The overall months supply of inventory remained relatively low at just 6.0 months, down from 6.9 months in a year-over-year comparison.
This isn't bad news for sellers who received 95.1 percent of their list price in just an average of four-months or 123 days on market. In Hinds, Madison, and Rankin areas the median sales prices increased to $159,750 nearly a ten-thousand-dollar increase compared to just last month. Rankin county home sellers outpaced those in Hinds and Madison with a 12.3 percent increase in New Listings at 457 units last month.
Housing Affordability Index CMMLS reported the housing affordability index1 was down by 8.1 percent to 164 in February. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said that buyers will face challenges as they search for affordably priced homes. Yun said, "Realtors® are reporting stronger foot traffic from a year ago, but low supply in the affordable price range continues to be the pest that's pushing up price growth and pressuring the budgets of prospective buyers."
Buyers can best position themselves by first obtaining a loan pre-approval and hiring a REALTOR® who can assist with determining what homes in the area will fit their budget, needs and wants. NAR President and REALTOR®
William E. Brown, says "Homes in many areas are selling faster than they were last spring. A buyer's idea of a dream home in a popular neighborhood is probably the same as many others. That's why they'll likely have to decide quickly if they see something they like and can afford."
National Stats
The median existing-home price for all housing types in February was $228,400, up 7.7 percent from February 2016 ($212,100). February's price increase was the fastest since last January (8.1 percent) and marks the 60th consecutive month of year-over-year gains.
First-time buyers were 32 percent of sales in February, which is down from 33 percent in January but up from 30 percent a year ago.
Regional Stats
Existing-home sales in the South in February rose 1.3 percent to an annual rate of 2.34 million, and are now 5.9 percent above February 2016. The median price in the South was $205,300, up 9.6 percent from a year ago.
Here's a YTD snapshot of Hinds, Madison & Rankin Counties
County
|
New Listings
|
Closed Sales
|
Median Prices
|
Inventory Units
|
Months Supply
|
Hinds
|
464
|
226
|
$120,000
|
1009
|
6.7
|
Madison
|
371
|
175
|
$205,000
|
809
|
6.3
|
Rankin
|
457
|
232
|
$158,500
|
755
|
4.4
|
(all figures are year-to-date)
About Central Mississippi MLS, Inc.
Central Mississippi MLS Inc. and Central Mississippi REALTORS® are
"The Voice for Real Estate in Central Mississippi" and
represent the largest real estate association in the state of Mississippi serving more than 1,800 licensed real estate professionals across ten counties of Central Mississippi (Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Yazoo, Holmes, Attala, Leake, Scott, Simpson and Copiah). To learn more about CMMLS, visit
centralmsrealtors.org
or call 601.948.1332.
1
Housing affordability is measured by the percentage of the median household income that is necessary to qualify for the median-priced home under prevailing interest rates. A higher number means greater affordability. An index of 165 means that the median household income was 165% of what was necessary to qualify for the median-priced home under prevailing interest rates.
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