Hattiesburg Realtors: Market "Balanced"

[chaz]

I thought this was interesting, if things are so rosy, why do they have to tell us about it? More houses were sold in July than January? The market is up!!!!!

The HA could have saved some coin on a reporter and just published their press release verbatim.

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070906/NEWS01/709060315/1002

[RGDoherty]

Well Chaz, I'd have to say Hattiesburg is always in better shape than the rest of the country on real estate because of the turnover issues talked about, and our cost of housing is low comparitively. In Montana, Mizoula, a realtor friend of mine said a house of my size would be about three times the cost of up there. Don't even get me started with Southern Montana. South Florida my house would fetch at least 5 times what it's worth here.......believe me, I've looked at buying a 12oo sq foot home and the 400K made me say Dahhhhhammmmm!

[BlueDogDemocrat]

Balanced, my ass!

[BlueDogDemocrat]

I know a lot of folks in the home construction business -- they are really hurting right now. New homes sales have come to a screaching hault. One contractor said in his 20 years in business in Lamar County he's never seen it go from busy to nothing in a matter of one month.

I hope these boys like Larry Johnson don't lose their ass on these big developments they are just getting off the ground. This is a terrible time to be starting a new development.

[Fish-Bait]

And just think, I am fixin' to build a house.......

[Augustus McRae]

While I'm the least qualified person alive to give financial advice, I think I've been alive long enough and have made enough financial mistakes - on home loans and purchases and otherwise - to realize this is just part of a "cycle" that is pretty predictable. Good thing is the mortgage rates are still really dang low! And I can tell you from experience, it is a "healthy" thing to have a conservative lender when you buy or build a house!

I, too, know a lot of folks in the construction business; but by now (folks my age) should have learned that getting into a business at a time of "high demand and booming market" does not guarantee a lifetime income stream - especially one without peaks and valleys. Heck, that's true in EVERY business.

Between the "westward flow" and the "post-Katrina" period, a lot of folks in the building and property trade have "gotten well." It HAD to hit a plateau and even a dip at some point. Only thing that could turn it back upwards in the same fashion would be the addition of a large new industry with decent wages that would bring in 1,000 or so folks. Unfortunately, we don't recruit that kind of business in our area. We give away the farm to get 50 $ 9.00 a hour jobs and call it "economic development."

[Fish-Bait]

Actually, your timing may be perfect for breaking ground right after H'cane season. Oct thru Jan. historically best (driest) foundation digging months.

Not to mention a few construction workers will be hungry.:-D

[bpitt]

Our family construction business is slow now. We've got some minor remodeling jobs and such, one new construction, enough to keep 2 or 3 people busy, which is what we have.
Our real estate side is starting to pick up, we handle foreclosures for lenders, which again, are beginning to pick up in the area. It was dead after the hurricane.

[CircusRide]

It is all a cycle. Every 3 to 5 to 7 years pretty much.
The government is about to make some changes to the lending laws, rates, and with FNMA, so I would expect things to pick up a little after the first of the year (not a lot). Remember, when you see over the next few months how low the mortgage numbers are running, it's always slower from October to February. We peaked about 3 years ago and the market is just correcting itself. There's just more to correct this time.