McComb, MS, Residential Real Estate Market Report for August 2009*

For the period August 1-31, 2009, seven homes were sold in McComb. During this same period there were 28 homes put on the market (four times as many new listings as homes sold!). At the time of this writing there are 138 residential listings. This means that we have a 19.7-month inventory of homes for sale. (Please see my most recent blog about the state of the market in McComb, Pike County, SW MS. Because of the ratio used to figure the number of months of inventory—number of active listings divided by number of homes sold in one month--when only a few houses are being sold, the number of months of inventory can change by several months even when the number of active listings stays the same.) We are aiming for a six months’ supply of homes for a healthy, balanced market. To do this, we need people to buy, buy, buy! Also of note, the average number of days on market of the sold homes was 296 days (about 9.87 months). Note that this statistic is only for homes that have sold during this time period—there are several homes still listed that have been on the market for over a year.

 Right now is a great time to buy a home! Why?

1. There are so many homes on the market in our area, you have, as they say, the pick of the litter! With so many homes to choose from, the chances are great that you will find one that very closely meets your needs and desires, whereas in a seller’s market, the pickings are slim, and if you really need to make a move, you may not be satisfied with what you can find!

2. Interest rates are at or near historic lows—visit Bankrate.com. Buy now before the rates rise again, and you may save many thousands of dollars over the life of your loan!

3. Because of the competition among sellers, prices are lower now than in a seller’s market. Buy now before prices rise again!

4. Because so many homes have been on the market for quite a while, many sellers who really need to sell may be willing to offer concessions they wouldn’t normally offer, such as help with closing costs. It never hurts to ask!

5. Regardless of what the stock market has done, home ownership is still the #1 way to build wealth over the long term. Real estate has delivered the most consistent positive return over any investment over the past 40 years. Did you know that 60% of the average homeowner’s total wealth comes from their home equity?!

Make Your Move with Morgan!

*Statistics are based on reports from the Southwest Mississippi Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, and are deemed to be correct, but are not guaranteed.

McComb, Pike County, SW MS, Residential Real Estate—State of the Market, August 2009

Home sales in our area seem to be slowly picking up, but there is still a ways to go before we reach a balanced market.  For those with good credit and provable good income, with a comfortable debt to income ratio, now is a great time to buy.  Buyers can take advantage of some of the lowest interest rates in decades and they can also choose from among many (136!) homes competing on the market.  For first-time home buyers, there is also the $8,000 tax credit advantage (through Nov. 30, 2009—see http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html?portlet=7 ).  However, buyers who are weak in credit, income, and/or debt requirements are having a difficult time with many lenders. 

I would say 75-80 percent of my prospects and clients are Louisiana residents looking for second homes and/or evacuation homes.  The majority of these prospective buyers are looking to pay cash for very inexpensive homes and/or lots or land where they can place mobile homes.

To increase the chances of selling in this market, sellers need to make their homes as attractive and as move-in ready as possible.  If you can afford to do so, go ahead and put on that new roof if one is needed, add central air and heat if your home doesn't have it, and make all the needed repairs and cosmetic improvements ahead of time, so that your home will stand out against the competition! Because there are so many homes on the market competing against each other, sellers also need to price their homes accordingly (= aggressively).   I have seen many recent price reductions on homes, many of them around 10 percent.  It is better to enter the market with an attractive price, rather than drop the price every few months.  The first month your home is on the market will most likely be the one in which you get the most prospective buyers.  If your home is priced too high, some buyers may think it is out of their range and not make an offer, or not even view the house to begin with! Don't let your listing become stale or neglected!

There are currently (as of Aug. 19, 2009) 136 homes on the market in McComb, Mississippi.  Based on the number of homes sold (9) in the last month (July 18, 2009-August 18, 2009), there is a 15.1 months’ supply of homes.  In other words, if there were no new residential listings, it would take 15.1 months to sell the current inventory at this rate of buying.  This is indicative of a slow market, not good for sellers because they have to keep their prices low to compete with so many other listings.   

The chart below* gives the number of residential units sold in McComb, MS, during a one-month time period, going several years back.  Prices should rise as the inventory gets closer to a much healthier four to six months’ supply, so that sellers are not competing so much with each other.  That will be the best time for sellers to enter the market.  I will plan to post the months’ supply every month if I can.  Please subscribe to my blog (see the right margin) so that you can be in the know!

*Statistics are based on reports from the Southwest Mississippi Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, and are deemed to be correct, but are not guaranteed. 

McComb, MS, was recently named by NeighborhoodScout as Number 9 in top neighborhoods to retire in.  Click for more info.

I want to let everyone know about a special blood drive that will be held for me soon.  It will take place in the "old" fellowship hall (Ewell Martin Room) at J.J. White Memorial Presbyterian Church, 110 Third Street, McComb, MS, on Saturday, March 7, 2009, from 9 AM until 2 PM.   Please support this blood drive if you can, either by donating blood or offering to help out.  If you can't be here to donate this time, please try to donate at another blood drive, if you are able!

During the first part of January I experienced a bleeding colon due to diverticulosis.  During my five days in ICU I received twelve pints of blood.  That's a good bit, as I understand the average human body contains eight to twelve pints!  I am much better now, and don't require new blood at this time, but for every pint of blood donated in my name, I will receive credit on my blood bill at the hospital.  Patients are charged several hundred dollars per pint of blood transfused (unless they are part of a blood assurance program--see my previous blog on our Kiwanis meeting with Katie Swinney of United Blood Services ).  In addition to helping me with my bill, and more importantly, this drive will help supply the blood bank for future needs of people with various blood types.

Me when I was in ICU.  I actually look good here.  When I presented at the ER, my wife said I was white as a ghost.  My BP was 79/40!

Here are a few facts about the need for people to donate blood:

1. Every day, about 40,000 units of blood will be needed nationwide.

2.Every thirty seconds, ten people (perhaps one of your loved ones) will need blood.

3. About sixty percent of the population will need blood or blood components at some point in their lives. 

Every donor will receive a free T-shirt and cholesterol check.  To be given priority at donation time, you can make an appointment online at www.bloodhero.com (sponsor code jjwpm).  To learn more about blood donation, visit United Blood Services .  You may want to visit their frequently asked questions page, which answers questions about age and weight requirements, waiting time between donations, how to prepare for donating, among other things.  See also the donor qualifications page.  For questions regarding health, medications, or travel deferrals, call United Blood Services at 1-800-880-0743. 

Also, to avoid having to go to the hospital like I did, be sure you include plenty of fiber (fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc.) in your diet, even if you don't really want to eat them!  And if you do notice unexplained bleeding, please get to an urgent care facility as soon as you can!

Best wishes, and thank you!

Recent education budget cuts handed down by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour have led many parents to wonder: "How will this affect the education of my child?" Both parents and taxpayers do not really need to be concerned, according to both McComb School District (MSD) Finance Director Cathy Jones and Superintendent Therese Palmertree.  Jones said MSD is "well in the black" financially.  Palmertree emphasized that the district will not cut items that directly affect the quality of education for the students.  Changes to the budget would include such things as the possible non-renewal of certain "non-essential" positions, reduction in travel, and greater fuel conservation.

MSD Superintendent Therese Palmertree, left, with Finance Director Cathy Jones

In order to compensate for a state revenue shortfall, Governor Barbour cut expenditures to state agencies by about $158,000,000.  Of that amount, reductions of state monies to public elementary and secondary schools totaled about $85,000,000, the majority of which included cuts in the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP).  MAEP is "the state formula used to establish adequate current operation funding levels necessary for the programs of each school district to meet a successful level of student performance as established by the State Board of Education using current statistically relevant state assessment data."

Based on a memo from Wanda Cummins, Director of the Office of School Financial Services, Mississippi Department of Education, the MAEP reduction amount for MSD is $425,486.00, leaving $12,765,890.00 in MAEP funds for the district.  This is about a 3.23% reduction for fiscal year 2009.  The 2009 fiscal year runs from July 2008 to June 2009. 

The first area of possible reduced spending is that of positions, whether teaching or clerical, that could be considered non-essential to the instructional process.  When asked whether teacher positions would be affected by the budget cuts, Jones said, "We are looking at each position--if someone leaves--whether or not we'll fill it.  We'll leave positions open as we can.  But it will certainly be on a case-by-case basis."  Palmertree added, "We have what we call a RIF policy (Reduction in Force), and we are making every effort not to have to utilize that board-approved policy.  So instead of doing that, we have chosen to go the route of looking at those who are leaving and looking at those positions on an individual basis, as to whether it is an essential position that directly impacts children.  What we're trying to do is for those positions and programs that directly impact the quality of the educational experience for children, we're trying to leave those alone.  And by that we mean the teachers and assistant teachers, extracurricular activities, and sports, because we believe all of those are positives that directly impact children."

As far as vocational courses, Jones said that is strictly state-funded, and she does not anticipate any reductions in spending in this area.  Palmertree added, "As a matter of fact, we're actually strengthening the vocational programs, because we are a pilot site for the high school re-design through a grant that involves strengthening those programs."  Jones said the vocational curriculum has been updated for today's world of work, and the state has recently "pumped in hundreds of thousands of dollars" into Mississippi's vocational programs.

National Board Certified Teachers receive salary supplements of $6,000 to recognize them for their rigorous training to become board-certified.  Although the program received 5% ($300.00) cuts per person in their supplements, MSD is absorbing the cuts so that the teachers can still be paid the full amount of their supplements. 

There will not be any spending reductions in instructional supplies, as textbooks and other supplies were already purchased at the beginning of the year.  "A lot of those are accreditation requirements, and we're certainly going to meet all those standards," Jones said.

The second area that will be reduced is travel.  "We're going to look at prioritizing travel, and if it's travel that's essential to the quality of teaching and learning . . . we're going to approve that," Palmertree said.  On the other hand, an example of possible restricted travel would be in athletics; travel to tournaments outside the conference will be curtailed.

The third area of reduced spending is utilities.  The district has already begun reducing its heating and cooling expenses.  Each of the principals is working on an energy conservation plan, and reasonable measures are being taken to adjust thermostats to save money.

Although some districts in the state are facing dire consequences with the budget cuts, MSD is not one of them.  Jones said, "We have held a fairly conservative budget.  We monitor it quite closely-every transaction is scrutinized here, and our budget is strictly followed.  We've had perfect audits for the past twelve years." 

On Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008, McComb residents ushered in the Thanksgiving season with a celebration at Community Parks Apartments.  The day was filled with music, food, and fun.  There were face painting and bicycle giveaways by the Mayor's Youth Council, horse rides conducted by the Big Brothers Riding Club, a house fire evacuation demonstration by the McComb Fire Department, a jumping dome, a basketball competition, and Wii games.  Special acknowledgements go to the City of McComb, Mayor Zachary Patterson, the McComb Community Relations and Tourism Bureau, the McComb Recreation Department, the McComb Fire Department, and Ashley's Tires and Rims, with additional thanks to Community Parks Apartments, Walker Chapel FWBC, New Life Fellowship, 24^th Street COC, DJ and Emcee Aaron Tullos, and Mr. Charles Ashley (music management).  We're all looking forward to another great time next year! Be sure to check out the MySpace links of the performers pictured! More photos can be viewed online at www.photoworks.com/members/tmorgan100.  (Click on "View all" to see albums not pictured on the first page. 

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Castro Coleman and Highly Favored

Face painting by the Mayor's Youth Council

Zach Patterson and Chyra

Guitarist with The Static Band

On Saturday, November 15, 2008, Southwest Mississippi Christian Outreach Ministries (COM) will hold its first ever McComb Antique Show, Appraisals and Auction fundraiser.  This promises to be a huge event attracting antiques lovers from all over the region.

Location: McComb Event Center, 1221 Parklane Road, McComb, MS (see map on the SWMSCOM website).

Registration: Begins at 8 AM the day of the auction.

Pre-register by bringing your items (one or two items) to SWMSCOM.  (Avoid the lines!)

Appraisals: 9 AM-1 PM.  $15.00 entrance fee.  (You may bring two items.)

Auction: 1 PM-4 PM.  No entrance fee. Lunch will be served for $5.00. Ten percent of all sale proceeds will go to SWMSCOM.  Additional donations are accepted and appreciated. You may also donate by PayPal on the website.  Parking is limited.  SWMSCOM will not be responsible for unloading and loading of merchandise. Cash only.  Hope you can come!

McComb resident Nelsen Adelard will be headlining the second annual Camellia City Festival, sponsored by the McComb Community Relations and Tourism Bureau, on November 1, 2008, at Edgewood Park in McComb.  The festival began last year when McComb native Bo Diddley visited the town and was honored with a Mississippi Blues Trail marker.  This year promises to be a great event, as there many terrific musical performances scheduled.

Nelsen is a superb singer/songwriter and is an immense talent on the guitar, piano, and harmonica.  Nelsen's upcoming performance at the Camellia City Festival comes on the heels of the release of his fifth solo album, South by Southwest, which describes Nelsen's musical journey from Los Angeles to McComb.  The CD debuted a few weeks ago at number 39 on the Roots Blues Chart.

Adelard released his latest CD on his own new label: Blue Track Records.  He tells of how he came up with the name: "Well, I wanted to start my own label.  Right when we were thinking of moving down here, I was thinking, okay, we'll base it down in Mississippi, so I started thinking of, you know, my life, wanting to be on the right track, being in a positive direction.  I'm thinking, well, Blues-I'm on a Blue Track.  Because it's McComb, and it's got that [railroad] theme, all of a sudden it just came together for me."  As to his plans for further recordings on Blue Track, Adelard says, "My next concept album that I'd like to do is to find a Blues guy from Mississippi that's never been recorded, or either a native who hasn't been recorded in thirty years, or something like that, and do an album with that person.  Right now I'm doing research on it."

At the Camellia City Festival Nelsen will be accompanied by Baton Rouge musicians who recorded with him on his latest CD, Greg Worley on drums and James Slaughter on bass, and he will also have a guitar player who plays with all of them regularly, Elvin Killerbee from Big Al and the Heavyweights.  "He's a really, really good guitar player.  It's gonna add a nice flavor to the gig," Adelard says.

Adelard, a Connecticut native, was born into a musical family.  "My mom was a singer.  Her mother was a singer in vaudeville, and on my dad's side, both his parents were jazz dancers, so I grew up with music all the time.  My mom taught me to sing harmony when I was five years old."  His parents always played a lot of different music, including Louis Armstrong, "but a lot of Southern music, I grew up thinking was just music," Adelard said.  "I didn't think of it in terms of being North or South or whatever.  My mom used to have a 45 of Hank Williams doing ‘Jambalaya,' and I can remember singing it when I was barely able to stand up and sing! So I grew up with a mixture of Southern Roots."

Adelard began his professional musical career playing in nightclubs as a teenager.  "I was very fortunate," he said.  "When I turned eighteen, the drinking age turned eighteen.  I started playing guitar when I was fourteen, so I had played for four years--and I was in a professional band, playing three or four nights a week when I was eighteen.  Part of the scene at that time was Blues.  The major guys from Chicago, like Muddy, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Junior Wells-all those cats were traveling on campus at the time.  Blues was very big.  A generation before--if I talk to someone who's in their sixties--they'll tell you what was on the campus at that time, in maybe the early sixties, was jazz.  A lot of those cats are into jazz.  Anyone who went to college between the early to late seventies listened to the Blues.  We would do openers at a college mixer in Connecticut [Yale, U Conn, and others].  You'd pay four bucks to get in, and The Nelsen Adelard Band would open for Muddy Waters.  So we'd play-I'm talking like a gymnasium!

"My first epiphany, as far as the Blues--I was probably fourteen or fifteen- and a friend of mine had B.B. King's Live in Cook County Jail, and he said ‘You need to hear this guy.' He put those first couple of songs on, and I got shivers up my spine.  Although his guitar playing was great, it was his voice, and how earnest he sang.  It wasn't like anything I'd ever heard.  He was really telling people, instead of just singing a song.  He lived the blues-he still does."

Speaking of shivers up your spine, that's just you'll get when you put on Nelsen's latest CD, South by Southwest, and listen to the track "Sweet Home in McComb."  Nelsen tells of how that song came to be: "I moved down here, and I bought a beat-up old upright piano, and I started to write songs on that.  When I write, I write on different instruments, like I'll pick up an acoustic guitar, and I'll play for a couple of days on that instrument, and it inspires me to write different tunes-same thing with an electric guitar.  But piano inspires me in a different way, so there are several songs on the new album that were really inspired by playing this beat-up old piano, and one of them was ‘Sweet Home McComb.' I'll tell you how I got the idea for that: I was heading up North to play some gigs up there-I had been here maybe about a year-and as I'm driving up and I hit what was probably the Mason-Dixon line, I tell you-I swear to you-I started to feel a pain-now I know . . . because I started to feel a twinge in my heart, like ‘What am I doing? Why am I leaving?' I know I had business to do up North, but it was the weirdest thing.  When I came back down through Pennsylvania, and I started coming back down South, I started feeling better, and when I crossed the Mississippi line, I was like ‘All right!' I've lived all over the place, and I've never felt that kind of emotion connected to a home."

Nelsen is indeed a great salesman for the city of McComb.  "I want to get involved with the local people here, because I think this is a great town.  Personally I think it's a great place for tourists to come down and see what the real South is like.  It's a very hospitable place-really friendly people.  Anybody that I have come down here-I had a lot of friends come down from LA, and they wanted to spend a weekend or whatever-they loved it, man! I'd drive them around town and show them the downtown area, and they fall in love with it--everybody.  Even my band members from Baton Rouge, when I had them come up for a rehearsal one time, my bass player and drummer, they were like ‘Oh, man, this is the kind of place I want to retire in.' So everybody admires the town when they come for a visit, and I want to draw more and more people to the town, at least as tourists."

Nelsen has his own vision for the Camellia City Festival, as well: "I'd like to see it be a two-day festival, and make it into a Blues Festival, so that people from Europe come, or people from up North come down and spend two or three days in McComb to see the different acts.  They do this up in the Delta, you know." Nelsen emphasizes how a major musical event like this would draw people in, and they will stay at our hotels, eat at our restaurants, take in the scenery, and check the place out.  "A two-day Blues and Jazz Festival, even if it's just like Jazz Fest is down in New Orleans-it's not just jazz-it's everything.  I would like to see [the Camellia City Festival] build, and after a number of years, start to get some headliners that used to live here, like Kent Dykes [of Omar and the Howlers], and maybe bring in somebody like Buddy Guy.  I think it's something that we can shoot for--maybe we have to crawl before we walk--but I think that would be a great idea.  And I'd love to try to help-anything I can do to help put that together."

To learn more about Nelsen Adelard and his music (and to see full-length video performances!), please visit www.nelsenadelard.com .  To see the lineup for this year's Camellia City Festival, go to www.discovermccomb.com . 

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On October 11, 2008, Bob Higdon completed his "Courthouse Quest," a 150,000-mile motorcycle journey in which he rode his BMW motorbike and visited every courthouse in every state in the continental U.S.!  The trek to 3,069 courthouses took him five years and three days, from September 28, 2003, to October 11, 2008.

Autographed T-shirt commemorating the event.

Bob Higdon, right, receiving a memorial gift from Shane Smith.

Higdon's friend Shane Smith had told him that if he would save the Pike County, Mississippi, courthouse for last, Smith would have a special celebration for him at Smith's house in McComb.  So that's just what happened!  Motorcycle companions from all over North America greeted Higdon at the courthouse where photographs were made.  Then everyone rode to Smith's house for a special flag-raising event to mark the occasion.  Smith had always wanted a large flag and flagpole in his yard.  A friend of his told him there was a thirty-foot-tall flagpole available from the old downtown McComb McDonald's Restaurant.  After buying a flag from "the flag store" in Jackson and preparing the surface and raising the pole near the front of his house, Smith and his friends were ready for the special event. 

Career high-mileage motorcyclists at the event: L to R, Tom Loftus of Fairfax, VA: 1,085,000 miles; Ardys Kellerman of Lexington, TX: c. 900,000 miles; Dave McQueeney of El Segundo, CA: 1.5 million plus miles; and Lyle Grimes of Westwego, LA: 1,170,00 BMW miles, plus 216,000 Brand X miles.  At the time of the event, Bob Higdon was just a couple of thousand miles shy of the Million Mile Mark.

Friends stood at attention while Vietnam veterans Rick Williams of Macomb, Illinois, and Melvin Dye of Summit, Mississippi, raised the flag for the first time, with The Star-Spangled Banner playing over the outdoor speakers.  For the rest of the evening, friends and acquaintances told stories, gave recognitions, and celebrated over pork loin, gumbo, shrimp etouffee, and thin-fried catfish.

Rick Williams, left, and Melvin Dye, raising the flag.

The Dedication Plaque

The flag as seen in a motorcycle mirror.

More photos can be viewed online at www.photoworks.com/members/tmorgan100.  (Click on "View all" to see albums not pictured on the first page. 

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Katie Swinney, Donor Recruitment Representative for United Blood Services, spoke recently to the Kiwanis Club of Pike County about the community blood program in Pike County and the impact blood donation has on people's lives.

Katie Swinney with Kiwanis Club of Pike County President Shelton Davis

Swinney began by explaining the local community blood program. "United Blood Services is the sole provider of blood for Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center; we also provide 100% of the blood for Walthall County, Field Memorial, and Beacham Memorial, and we supply blood to seventy other hospitals throughout the state of Mississippi, western Alabama, and Louisiana.  I myself am responsible for twelve counties in Southwest Mississippi and two parishes in Louisiana.  I've met the most wonderful people in McComb.  It's such a wonderful community, and we're proud to be a partner with Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center and the other hospitals in our network."

"In Mississippi, every day it takes 300 blood donors just to meet our patient needs.  That's not to have a supply on the shelf in case of emergency-that's just to meet needs.  And we currently don't meet that.  We currently import blood from our network of blood banks, which covers nineteen states.  Per capita, Mississippi is the most charitable state, but we just can't get anybody to roll up their sleeve and give the gift of life.  I think it's a lack of education on our part, and also just getting the information out there, asking, and really encouraging people and letting people know the need.  Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center's annual usage is over 5,000 blood and blood products.  The need here is huge, and we are working closely with organizations such as Kiwanis and other service organizations.  We work through our schools, our churches, anything and everybody possible-we work with them to try to encourage people to give blood.  The number one reason people say they don't donate is that they've never been asked.  Through education programs like this, and through our schools, and encouraging early donation and lifelong donation, we are able to make a dent, and help supply what we need for our hospitals here."

Swinney next told of a blood assurance program that United Blood Services offers to businesses, clubs, and organizations.  "If twelve-and-a-half percent of their active population give blood, or if that number of units is collected, we cover that organization for a period of six months," which means that in the event that a member of the covered group uses blood, United Blood Services reimburses the cost not paid by insurance to the hospital for that individual.  For twenty-five percent participation, the group gets a year of coverage.

As an example of the blood assurance program, Swinney told of a man in Vicksburg for whose son United Blood Services is about to conduct some blood drives.  "His seventeen-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia, and this gentleman had donated at International Paper.  That covered his son for the blood he will be using.  This man had never donated blood before, and someone said, ‘Hey, will you come donate blood today,' and he said, ‘For some reason, I said sure! You never know when my family could need it.'  And now his family needs it.  United Blood Services is able to cover that huge financial burden on his family because he decided to go ahead and donate blood and help us supply the needs of that day, in that community."

Swinney told of the huge need for more donations: "We use blood to treat cancer patients, during surgery, to treat trauma-there are a multitude of uses.  Every day our researchers are finding more and more uses for blood and blood therapy, transfusion therapy, to improve the quality of life, save lives, and make an impact in the community." 

As a special incentive to come out and donate, United Blood Services has a promotion from September 15 through December 31, in which everyone age eighteen and older who donates with United Blood Services is entered into a drawing to win a 2009 Toyota Corolla LE or a seven-day cruise!

For blood donation guidelines and other information, including a posting of area blood drives and how you can sponsor a blood drive, please visit www.unitedbloodservices.org or www.bloodhero.com.