OT: Starkville Real Estate

[MSUDC11]

The wife and I are hoping to buy our first house in the coming months so we’ve started the process of looking around and price gauging. We don’t have kids but that’s probably coming in the next 2-3 years. Just looking for a good, affordable, 3 bed/2 bath type of starter home.

We’re in the very early stages of this process, but I’ve been pretty surprised to see the difference in the cost of a house in Starkville vs. the cost of an almost identical house in other parts of the state (Jackson, Hattiesburg, Coast, etc.). It seems like you can get a whole lot more bang for your buck in most other MS towns.

I love Starkville but the thought of overspending on a house that’s either 1. Old and needs a lot of work or 2. Is small and we’ll have outgrown it in 3-5 years is worrisome. The housing market here leaves a lot to be desired compared to other cities in the state. It’s just strange to see houses built in the 80’s that need lots of work in Starkville costing the same as houses built 10 years ago in other cities.

Anyone else notice this, or am I missing something?

 

[TheStateUofMS]

I would imagine you would have a supply/demand dilemma in Starksville which would effect pricing.

Who in the world wants to live in Starksville anyway? Are you high?***

 

[MSUDC11]

I would imagine you would have a supply/demand dilemma in Starksville which would effect pricing.

That was my initial thought as well, but I wasn’t sure if it was just that simple.

 

[TheStateUofMS]

I'm not a housing expert whatsoever. I don't even own a home, but I do know generally speaking there is a shortage of starter homes in the US. I would think a town like Starkville would have an above average inventory shortage.

 

[57stratdawg]

Starkville has gone through a bit of a boom over the last 10 years or so. I don’t really consider this a problem though.

Some of the economic growth of the Golden Triangle has pushed housing demands up in Starkville. Also, MSU’s enrollment and alumni base are growing. There are condos for sale (or soon to be on the market) which will be in $300-500K range.

 

[5049]

Starkville market is super high right now. That's really all there is to it.

I suggest thinking outside the box. Throw out terms like 'starter house'. Doing what everybody else is doing will put you into well, the normal path. Do you want to get ahead of the curve, or just stay on it?

I suggest talking with realtors and figuring out where the next up and coming area is, and buy a house that needs SOME work, but not a ton...I'm talking like 10K or so. Or look into a duplex, live in one side, rent out the other side. Something like that.

 

[Hugh's Burner Phone]

Maybe try outside of town. Look at Mathiston or Clay county.

 

[RocketDawg]

I'm not in the market for a Starkville house, but I've noticed it's really expensive there compared to the rest of the state, and even here in the Huntsville area. The income level there isn't all that high (median household is <$32K, lower than the state average), so I don't really see how people can afford to live there. When my son was in school 20 years ago I could have bought a pretty nice condo there for the mid-60s. Wish I'd done it now. It would be really good for football weekends.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

Maybe try outside of town. Look at Mathiston or Clay county.

This is what I was going to say. Look at Mathiston. I lived in town my whole life but now live about the distance from mathiston to Starkville from my closest town and I love it. The extra drive is worth the privacy. I don’t even have a grocery store, at least you would in mathiston.

 

[5049]

I'm not in the market for a Starkville house, but I've noticed it's really expensive there compared to the rest of the state, and even here in the Huntsville area. The income level there isn't all that high (median household is <$32K, lower than the state average), so I don't really see how people can afford to live there. When my son was in school 20 years ago I could have bought a pretty nice condo there for the mid-60s. Wish I'd done it now. It would be really good for football weekends.

First place for you to start would be to stop looking at dumb blanket statistics and look at the reality

 

[johnson86-1]

Starkville market is super high right now. That's really all there is to it.

I suggest thinking outside the box. Throw out terms like 'starter house'. Doing what everybody else is doing will put you into well, the normal path. Do you want to get ahead of the curve, or just stay on it?

I suggest talking with realtors and figuring out where the next up and coming area is, and buy a house that needs SOME work, but not a ton...I'm talking like 10K or so. Or look into a duplex, live in one side, rent out the other side. Something like that.

^^^THIS^^^ I don't envy you trying to buy a starter house in Starkville. Real Estate prices look crazy there. However, if enrollment continues to grow, and more people keep wanting weekend houses, and starkville continues to get older "escapees" from smaller towns in north MS that are dying, house pricing could continue to escalate for a while.

Or football could tank and enrollment stall and a lot of the demand disappear overnight and you could get a significant correction.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Best advice I could give you is something I heard when I was in your age range. Shortly after starting my civilian career in 2007 with a big company that was very tied into the housing market, I remember a web conference where the chief economist of the company said : Paraphrased "Never look at your home as an investment. It's more like a dog. It's an important part of your family that should make you feel good for the time you have it. You will likely have 4-5 good ones during the remainder of your life and probably a bad one. They will always cost you more than you expect, but as long as you buy it with the idea it's not an investment, it will never disappoint you."

This didn't make a lot of sense to me at the time, but about a year and a half later, I met a lot people disappointed in their "investment."

When further probed he laid out a case that most of us in the US have our wealth in home equity because it's a forced savings plan on an asset that generally doesn't depreciate. If we all rode bikes and took car and gas payments and dumped that money in stocks and bonds then the house would be our 2nd best source of wealth.

From a strictly numbers based approach you can almost always prove that on a dollar for dollar basis on a 30 year mortgage, you would almost always be way better off renting and buying S&P funds with the down payment and maintenance costs associated with owning, etc. The avg rate of return in the housing market is 3% vs 10% in the equities markets.

This is a long winded way to say, buy with your heart and not your brain. If you can't afford the house you want, rent until you can. While a house can be viewed as an investment, it's not a great one for most people. If you want your house to be an investment, rent it out to somebody else. If your paying for it, make sure it is a place you and your future family are going to be happy.

 

[TheStateUofMS]

Get you a double wide on a half acre and your set*

 

[mount lefroy]

I'm not a housing expert whatsoever. I don't even own a home, but I do know generally speaking there is a shortage of starter homes in the US. I would think a town like Starkville would have an above average inventory shortage.

“I don’t own a home”

“IM not an expert”

“There is a trend in the US of real estate”

Restated “I don’t know what I’m talking about nor do I have any experience to actually contribute, but you should make the most important investment of your life on my hunch”

 

[MaroonBelle]

I just bought a new construction home in March in Starkville. I had moved from Mobile AL a year prior and was in the process of selling my Midtown home there. Like u I has some sticker shock and was surprised by the dearth of new or less than 15 year old homes under 200,000. I was working with a realtor but ended up finding a home on my own that was still under construction but almost finished in a neighborhood at the end of S. Montgomery. (I would say S. Montgomery is prob the most desirable area for neighborhoods) It takes me about 10 min to get to highway 12 intersection and now that they have the new road into the backside of campus it only takes me 10 min to get to work there or sporting events. And i can take Poor House (horse park) Rd to get out to hwy 25 to the other end of town (Wal-Mart, etc.) really easily. My neighborhood has some home that are about 8 yrs old and then several new construction homes. They r all 3/2 open floor plan most with 2 car garage although a few garden home without. the new ones have high end finishes. Some are just being completed now and they are planning to complete the neighborhood in the next few months. A couple of the older homes are for sale by owner right now and are listed under 200K. The new ones are just over at 204K. There was not then and is not now anything on the market in Stark at this price for new or "nearly new" homes. Stone Ridge Rd is the street. Check it out if u haven't. I have seen the FSBO home listed on Trulia which is where I found my house.

 

[lanceharbor7]

Talk To Stephanie Arnett at REMAX in Starkville. She found a client of mine a house off market.

 

[Dawgtini]

Debbie Bush with Brannon Realty is a good one that I’ve worked with.

ETA: pm me if you want her cell #

 

[seshomoru]

In summation

Your retirement account is an investment. Your house is something your kids sell when you die.

 

[TheBigEDawg]

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Starkville_MS/beds-3/price-100000-250000

 

[TheBigEDawg]

I've said it before, if your house is your biggest investment, you're doing it wrong.

 

[pmack65]

There is a 3 bedroom 2 bath home for sale next to mine its listed (or was) at $264K, fenced in yard with a pool. Broker is Starkville prop. Personally I think its over priced, been on the market for 6 months. Hope that helps.

 

[dorndawg]

What's the mole cricket situation? Do you keep Dale's on hand for neighbors to borrow?**

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

There is a 3 bedroom 2 bath home for sale next to mine its listed (or was) at $264K, fenced in yard with a pool. Broker is Starkville prop. Personally I think its over priced, been on the market for 6 months. Hope that helps.

Yea that is overpriced unless it is a 3000 square foot 3/2.

 

[TheStateUofMS]

For you to pick apart what I said and actually think you made a point shows how much of a dumbass you are. Wasn't aware I made any type of hunch or provided any advice on home buying either.

What I said was correct. You're just upset you didn't say it first or something since you're acting like a 13 year old girl who didn't get picked to dance by the guy she liked at the middle school Winter Fall Ball. Nice job.

 

[pDigital32Dawg]

My wife and I started looking for houses in Starkville between September and October of last year. We were aiming to have made a down payment on a home before 2018. Needless to say, we are extending our stay in the Jackson metro area and still shopping for homes to this day. We've toured 20+ homes in that time frame, mainly doing this during football weekends when we were in town. There's been only about 3 houses within our price range that have grabbed our attention during the search, with one being pulled off the market at the end of November.

For us, location is important. We both will be commuting quite a bit initially (1-3 years). One going east to Columbus, the other going west nearly a similar distance. Starkville in this case is the midpoint for our commutes. It makes buying down South Montgomery difficult. As one poster mentioned you can quickly add 10 minutes to your drive if you get too far down. At the rate we are going, we might be living in Jackson for a much longer duration than originally planned.

 

[RocketDawg]

Ah, you're right. I forgot to consult the authority.

 

[mstateglfr]

I cant add much since I dont live in Starkville, but i have followed the real estate there from a distance for the last 15 years and its been shocking to see. Growth turned to stangnation due to greed and the economy falling out which turned to a boom that has been surprisingly long lasting.
Its interesting to see how the housing and building boom has generally mirrored both the success in football and the influx of ESPN/SEC money. Hopefully thats totally conincidental...

If I were buying my 1st home down there, I would look for solid neighborhoods 1st and then what is in the neighborhoods that I can afford with an eye on houses that have a good base and need updating.
New construction sucks. <---blanket statement, so ill add 'typically' to it for those who are hurt to hear that new construction sucks.

 

[msubrave]

What's your budget? If your looking for 3/2, new construction, upgraded finishes, good neighborhood for 100k it ain't happening anywhere. It's not 1997.

 

[MSUDC11]

What's your budget? If your looking for 3/2, new construction, upgraded finishes, good neighborhood for 100k it ain't happening anywhere. It's not 1997.

You’re right, but an $180K dollar house in Hattiesburg or on the Coast just about costs an additional $50K in Starkville in some instances. That’s the part that seems crazy to me.

 

[Dawgbite]

Part of the problem is that the older starter homes are being put into the rental pool where allowed by zoning. When a house will bring $400-$500 per bedroom as a rental, it more valuable to rent it than sell it.

 

[Cow College]

Prices are less on the coastdue to higher insurance costs. A 180k house in Starkville May cost $1000 yr to insure while on the coast you are looking at $2200/yr

 

[KurtRambis4]

Market Value.*

*

 

[Requiem For A Dawg]

You’re right, but an $180K dollar house in Hattiesburg or on the Coast just about costs an additional $50K in Starkville in some instances. That’s the part that seems crazy to me.

Maybe parts of the coast, but I just bought a house in Ocean Springs and the houses are as high or higher as anywhere in the state. Especially near downtown.

 

[WrapItDog]

Prices in Tupelo are less than Strarkville and flood/hurricane insurance is not a factor.

 

[Drebin]

You can buy Dan Mullen's house for a paltry 1.3 M

https://www.homes.com/property/116-belmont-dr-starkville-ms-39759/id-700023049229/

 

[dickiedawg]

Part of the problem is that the older starter homes are being put into the rental pool where allowed by zoning. When a house will bring $400-$500 per bedroom as a rental, it more valuable to rent it than sell it.

This is a good point. I’m afraid the rental market is nearing over saturation. I’m seeing more “for rent” signs on houses than I’ve ever seen, and “for sale” signs on what should be rental properties.

But I’m no expert either.

 

[tbaydog]

Damn, I hope megan did not pay for an Interior Design Team. That house needs some big time help..........

 

[Wizard of bulldogery]

Houses in Starkville are always gonna be priced as an investment. There are just way more people renting, and buying second homes. Starkville has seen continuous growth due to more people going to college. Now if we have a situation like Mizzou where freshman enrollment is down I think you'd see a pretty sharp decrease in pricing. Until that happens the homes in starkville will not be priced like most other towns it's size that rely on industry instead of the college as their major economic driver.

 

[bocephus.sixpack]

I could kick myself in the *** for not following my gut and buying a 3/4 bedroom and at least 2 full baths house while my daughter was in school. The rent I could have gotten from 2-3 renters would have paid the bank note and insurance for the 4 years while she was in school, plus building my daughter a good line of credit. I spent about $650 a month on apt rent and have nothing. If I had it to do over again that's exactly what I would do.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

You can buy Dan Mullen's house for a paltry 1.3 M

https://www.homes.com/property/116-belmont-dr-starkville-ms-39759/id-700023049229/

Who?