Driving through the neighborhoods of Natchez, a plethora of for-sale signs is enough to cause pause.

Anecdotally one might think half the city is on the market.

The experts, however, suggest the number of houses for sale is higher than average, but nothing to be alarmed about.

They suggest recent sales activity seems to indicate the lull in the local housing market may be nearing an end. We hope they’re correct.

But ultimately the high number of signs indicates our community has significant work ahead.

A town with a high number of properties for sale looks to an outsider like something must be wrong, otherwise, why would so many people be trying to sell?

Clearly the community needs to keep working on bringing new people to town.

That could come through either additional success in recruiting businesses and industries to the area or improving the quality of life here so people simply want to live here in retirement.

Our community’s single largest problem is the declining population. Less people simply puts a drain on all area businesses — from grocery stores and restaurants to hardware stores and hospitals.

We agree with local real estate broker and developer Glenn Green when he says, “It comes down to creating good-paying jobs.”

Natchez needs to keep working on improving itself. People will follow the success and vision of a city making improvements and with a plan for the future.

We see good things ahead for Natchez with continued good civic leadership. The downtown revitalization plan should begin being realized soon and perhaps then the signs of houses for sale will be replaced by new signs touting “open for business.”