First Bank

BY CALEB McCLUSKEY ENTERPRISE- JOURNAL

Timberland may not be a seller’s market right now, but the sale of housing and commercial buildings, on the other hand, are squarely in the seller’s corner, according to United Country Southern State Realty par tner and managing broker Scott Lindsey.

Lindsey, who has been with the company since 2006, said he has never seen a market quite like this in both the real estate and timber industry. He expects the trend to stay this way as long as interest rates stay low.

For anyone planning on selling a home, now is the time, said Lindsey, who has had of fers the moment a proper ty hits the market — often above the asking price.

“We have one agent with a dueling of f er situation with multiple of f er s on a single proper ty,” he said. “Because of the demand, properties are selling for above estimates. Not because they are being priced under appraised value, it is because of the demand.

“A lot of properties aren’t going to market because they are being contracted within 24 hour s of listing. Sometimes it doesn’t even make it to the listings because you know you have a buyer looking for it immediately,” Lindsey said.

This demand comes from the fact that building costs have skyrocketed since the pandemic, causing prices to sometimes triple, depending on the square footage and the availability of materials, he said.

Lindsey owns the majority interest in the company, along with par tner s Patrick Gibson, Slade Priest, his wife Lori, Scott Campbell and his wife Tera, who are all co-owner s of the business. He said Priest specializ es in Timber and recreational property while Campbell focuses on residential and commercial properties. Lindsey said he keeps a hands-of f approach with his Realtor s, but any call or email comes through him and he directs the interested party to the realtor that can best ser ve the customer.

“Ever y cold call and email comes to me and I distribute it to the agent best suited for that client,” he said. “That is how our of fice has been so successful. We pride our selves on that. I can’t say enough about our people. Our people are just outstanding. They do their best and share what makes them successful with each other.”

Low interest rates have led to lot of competition between homebuyers, he said.

Timber, on the other hand, is ripe for the picking. Lindsey g raduated from Mississippi State in 1995 with a deg ree in forestry and has been in the timber business for 35 year s. He said he has never seen prices for timber so low, which translates to a great opportunity for those who wish to buy timberland.

“It’s a crazy market right now, but the good thing about that from a recreational buyer’s standpoint, it’s a g reat time to buy land with standing timber on it. You never buy that land at a lower price,” he said. “It is a g reat time to diver sify and buy some timber for your portfolio.

“It is a great time to buy land if you are looking to get into timber. Our land market is just as hot as our residential market. It is on f ire, and I think COVID opened up a lot of people’s eyes about being trapped on islands. They were trapped, so 20, 30 or 40 acres, those kind of tracts are just f lying of f the shelves right now.”

He said there are some misconceptions about what land sells best in the region and noted that many people are looking to buy recreational land for hunting and fishing.

Over the years, the company has expanded, g rowing from a Pike County-focused realty firm to a regional brokerage with offices in Alabama and Louisiana.

This expansion lead to the company partnering with Realtree, a giant in the hunting industry.

For more information about buying or selling with United Countr y South States Realty, visit souther nstatesrealty.com or call their of fice at (601) 250-0017.

Let the agents at United Country / Souther n States Realty help you with your n ex t r e a l e s t at e t ra n s a c t i o n . C h e c k o u t o u r s e r vices on page 6-7.