Those who thought Natchez would be turning off the lights when International Paper closed its mill might want to move over and make room for those who are turning on the electricity in their new homes.

The real estate market in the Miss-Lou is as busy as ever, whether it’s a young family moving into their first house or new residents purchasing a million-dollar mansion.

Lower interest rates are certainly part of the reason, but the activity reflects a local economy that did not collapse with the closure of IP and other manufacturing plants.

Several of the people buying houses have moved here with the intention of opening new businesses. The attraction of Natchez &045; its beautiful homes and hospitality &045; has certainly not waned.

All is not exactly rosy: Construction costs and simple lack of space inside the city have limited the market on moderately priced homes. Those that are on the market are snapped up quickly, real estate brokers say.

Still, the ability of a family to move up to a bigger house &045; or into a first house &045; says a lot about our viability of our community’s economy, now and in the future.

And with a new condo development in the works on the riverfront, we have even greater opportunities ahead.

The investors behind that development believe new business and other industry won’t be far behind &045; a variation on the &uot;build it and they will come&uot; theory.

We hope they are right &045; and that the real estate market continues to grow and prosper in the Miss-Lou.