Natchez is a house buyer’s market. The Multiple Listing Service Inventory supply chart of the Natchez Board of Realtors shows 397 houses on the market in Natchez, Adams County, Concordia Parish and surrounding areas as of July 1.

That is approximately 6 percent of the 6,300 households within the Natchez city limits — if that number were only within the Natchez city limits but those 397 houses listed with real estate agencies include not only houses in the Natchez city limits but also houses listed in Concordia Parish, Adams County and portions of Jefferson and Franklin counties.

Within the Natchez city limits that number is really closer to 250 houses on the market, which is approximately 4 percent of houses of the 6,300 households in Natchez.

The cold hard numbers help put into perspective what appears to many people to be a glut of houses on the market.

In reality, however, those numbers are not too far off from historical numbers.

In 2011, only 92 houses were on the market in the Miss-Lou and surrounding areas, and that number was low because the oil exploration business was still at its peak in the area and people had bought up a lot of houses in the area following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Most of the rise in the number of houses listed for sale can be traced back to the oil industry pulling out after the oil prices dropped between 2013, with 102 houses on the market, and 2015 when the number climbed to 352, where it has hovered ever since.

Interestingly, the total house sales figures have remained pretty steady year over year since 2014 when 204 houses were sold up until 2017 when 275 houses sold. Already this year, 102 houses have been sold.

In writing a story about those numbers last week, the surprise to me was that the numbers have remained fairly stable for the past four or five years.

So many people I’ve talked to since moving to Natchez about a half year ago are fixated on how many houses are on the market. Such high numbers of houses for sale cannot be good for the community, they say. Surely, it is evidence of the decline and fall of Natchez.

It just isn’t so, however, as the numbers bear out. Yes, the area took a big hit when oil prices dropped below $70 per barrel and down to $40 a barrel, but the market has remained flat ever since.

All of the real estate professionals I interviewed for the story acknowledged the oil business decline had led to the housing market’s higher-than-usual numbers and agreed new jobs would help turn the situation around.

A light appears to be emerging at the end of that tunnel, as Sue Stedman, vice president of Crye-Leike Stedman Realtors noted, saying she has seen an uptick in the house buying market in the past 30-45 days. Stedman said she believes the community is starting to feel the effect of the strong national economy.

She also noted the price of oil has been rising and is currently at $75 per barrel, which is within the $70-$80 price range that makes local production profitable again. Then, a couple of recent business announcements in Vidalia are expected to bring some 300 jobs to the Miss-Lou.

“Interest rates, even though they’ve ticked up a bit, are still very reasonable,” Stedman said. “With the number of houses on the market and a number of those with already reduced prices, and the interest rates, (all) makes it a good time to buy. All of that doesn’t occur very often, so if you’re thinking about buying, now is the time.”

Scott Hawkins is editor of The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at 601-445-3540 or scott.hawkins@natchezdemocrat.com.