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NATCHEZ — While housing sales during the winter were slow, business has picked up, said two Natchez veteran Realtors.

Sue Stedman, Realtor and broker at Crye-Leike Stedman Ulmer Realtors in Natchez, said the market “seems to be firing back up. Activity has picked up in the last couple of months.”

Realtor.com reports 486 homes are for sale in Adams County, ranging in price from $7,000 to $3.9 million. The highest-priced property on the market is the historic home, Brandon Hall, located on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

However, determining how many homes were on the market at the same time last year proved difficult.

Janice Easom, long-time Realtor with Paul Green and Associates, said that whatever the number of homes on the market now, it’s not enough to meet the needs of her buyers.

“I have more buyers than sellers right now,” Easom said. “I don’t know how many homes are on the market right now, but the number seems down to me. We have some subdivisions that typically have at least one or two houses for sale that don’t have any.

“I started the month with 21 houses pending to close and closed about nine of them in the first week. It’s been crazy busy,” Easom said. “I listed one house the day before yesterday and it’s already under contract.”

High interest rates don’t seem to have stopped buyers from buying.

“People still have to have a house. I think people are banking on the fact that when interest rates drop, they will be able to refinance,” she said.

Easom said buyers in Adams County now are looking for homes with land.

“So many buyers are looking out of the city limits. They want three, five, 10 acres. That’s what is very hard to find,” she said.

Jason Dauphin, a Realtor with eXp Realty in Natchez, said his phone is ringing too, with prospective buyers wanting to look at homes.

“We are definitely busier now than we were last year. I think because last year was an election year and people may have been wary. The election is over and people have to do something now,” Dauphin said. “We have lots of people who are looking to buy for the first time and lots of people whose families are growing and need more space.”

Dauphin said the inventory of houses in downtown Natchez is large.

“Maybe it’s because some people are relocating. Maybe it’s because some people had downtown homes here that were second homes and they have decided to stay with their primary home. But there are a lot of homes for sale downtown. There are definitely more than last year,” he said.

Dauphin said downtown houses typically stay on the market longer than homes built in the 1970s and later for several reasons.

“You have to look at the price point. Downtown houses cost more. And they are bigger. It takes a lot to keep them up and to renovate. That’s why downtown houses stay on the market a little longer than in other neighborhoods,” Dauphin said.

He said Natchez is growing and is gaining interest from people outside the community who are seeking to locate to a place with a lower cost of living.

“People are showing interest in Natchez, not just because of tourism, but because of how well Natchez is marketing itself,” Dauphin said.