Building a home?

Here’s what to expect in the short term

Are you considering building your dream home? Here’s some facts and factors to consider that will affect the market over the next six months:

• Although the feds have continued to increase interest rates, building has not slowed down. It appears that as rates rise, costs associated with building materials are decreasing, which is causing the total price for new builds to balance out. We continue to see lumber prices dropping; therefore, there is still a strong growth in demand for new builds. We have seen an increase in people from Louisiana building second homes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Most of these clients are using cash to purchase these homes. Since COVID, we have had an influx of people visiting cities along the Coast and falling in love with our towns, so much so that they have decided to move here.

• The demand is very strong right now for new homes, and we still are experiencing a shortage of available supply. Therefore, we anticipate that in the next six months, the demand will continue increasing for new home builds. Anything under $400,000 appears to sell very quickly. Many magazines are promoting the Gulf Coast as an excellent place to live, and that praise has caught the attention of many out-of-town clients wanting to move to this location permanently or build a second home here. Many clients, while home during COVID, increased the value of their existing home by spending money updating their kitchens and baths to sell at a higher market price to turn around and put toward purchasing a new, larger home.

• Expansion continues along the Coast, and we continue to see new opportunities and attractions being built. There are numerous projects that have been completed or are under way in our region, including a planned Buc-cee’s convenience store, the popular Mississippi Gulf Coast Aquarium in Gulfport, the Amtrak coming to Bay St. Louis, the expansion of the Boardwalk in Biloxi, the Mississippi Sea Wolves (semi-pro hockey team) returning to Biloxi Coliseum, the expansion of Margaritaville Casino and Resort, etc. All these exciting developments happening in our area will increase jobs, thus solidifying a predicted increase in demand for new homes needed on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.