THE MISSISSIPPI PRESS
By Veto F. Roley
Monday, October 8, 2007
SALES TAX COLLECTIONS, HOME SALES POINT TO
ECONOMIC REBOUND AFTER KATRINA
Sales tax numbers and home sales over the last two years suggests Jackson and George counties are rapidly rebounding from Hurricane Katrina.
"There are economic development numbers that suggest a miraculous recovery," said George Freeland, executive director of the Jackson County Economic Development Agency. "There are numbers that indicate the county has made substantial rebuilding progress since Katrina."
Freeland said when he first saw the damage following Katrina there was despair.
"You couldn't help but be disheartened and discouraged," he said. "You couldn't see the industrial sector, how it would be this far ahead long-term."
But, he said the county quickly rebuilt itself, and the numbers show it.
According to the Mississippi State Tax Commission Web site, Pascagoula, Moss Point, Gautier, Ocean Springs and Lucedale show significant sales tax increases since 2005. Sales taxes are collected by the state and then dispersed to the various cities in the state. ...
Most of the growth in sales taxes came in 2006 when residents were purchasing replacements for items lost during Katrina. All five municipalities showed a decline in sales tax receipts over the first seven months of this year compared to the same time period in 2006. ...
Home sales have also been rising in recent years. According to sales numbers provided by Mark Cumbest, owner-broker of Cumbest Reality Inc., there were 203 more houses sold in 2006 than in 2005, an increase of 10.4 percent.
The numbers are even greater when compared to 2003 real estate sales. ...
From 2005 to 2003, 40 percent more houses were sold and 94 percent more land was sold. In the three years from 2006 to 2003, house sales increased 55 percent and land sales doubled. ...
"People are primarily wanting to stay in this area," Cumbest said, saying the strongest growth in sales since Katrina is away from the Coast and just inland. "They want to remain in close proximity to the Coast, within driving distance."
Freeland said the lack of affordable housing in the area and the increasing cost of living, including insurance, could throw the recovery off track. ...
Part of the answer, he said, is time. As developers continue to rebuild the 60,000 homes lost along the Coast, affordable housing will be rebuilt. As the area continues to distance itself from Katrina, costs will stabilize, he said.
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