Home prices on the upswing but no new housing projects to aid market health

The Franklin County Comprehensive Housing Needs Analysis study, revealed in May, came to the conclusion that over 600 units of housing, either from rental, senior or market-owned will be needed through 2025 to both handle current market pressure and withstand future trends. Maxfield Research and Consulting examined the for-sale market and interviewed area builders and realtors to gage the conditions of the Franklin County housing market.
As many probably know based off their tax assessments and realtor guides, for-sale home prices are on the upswing in Franklin County. According to Maxfield, the median sales price of a 1,391 sq. ft. Franklin County home was $56,500. In 2013, the median sales price of a 1,511 sq. ft. home was $71,000. In 2016, for a 1,532, sq. ft. home, the median sale price was $82,900. Maxfield uses the median sale price for better accuracy due to the fact that using an average number can skew the data. Of all four submarkets, from highest to lowest median sale values in 2016, they ranked Hampton ($88,500), South and West Central ($62,000) and Sheffield ($56,000). In order to afford the median list price of a Franklin County home ($76,900), a household would need to make between $21,970 and $25,630. Approximately 77 percent of the county has annual incomes at and above $25,000.
Read the full article in the July 26 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.