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This is the Least Expensive Housing Market in Mississippi | Mississippi

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Samuel Stebbins, 24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square – 2023-06-23 13:51:31

Homeownership was once a cornerstone of the American dream. But for a growing share of the population, it is now more akin to a pipe dream. Within the last two years, real incomes have been crushed under the weight of historic inflation. At the same time, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes have sent mortgage rates soaring.

With reduced buying power and increased borrowing costs, consumer interest in the real estate market has cooled. The number of existing home sales in the U.S. declined by 23% from April 2022 to April 2023, according to the National Association of Realtors. But while demand from home buyers has fallen, home prices have not. (These are the states with the worst housing shortages for low income Americans.)

According to the real estate market website Realtor.com, the median list price for a home in the United States was $441,445 in May 2023 – 2.7% higher than it was a year earlier. But while such prices are prohibitively high for most Americans, there are parts of the country where homes are selling for far less and where homeownership is still possible for those on a modest budget.

Of the 68 counties in Mississippi with available data from Realtor.com and at least 10 homes actively listed, Humphreys County has the least expensive housing market. As of May 2023, the median list price in the area was $79,000, compared to the statewide median list price of $284,000.

All data in this story is from Realtor.com.

 

State County or county equivalent with cheapest housing market Median list price in county/county equivalent ($) Median list price in state ($) Counties/county equivalents considered
Alabama Dallas 70,500 336,750 63
Alaska Hoonah-Angoon 219,975 415,400 12
Arizona Graham 323,500 500,000 14
Arkansas Jackson 79,425 291,075 66
California Alpine 41,175 774,500 57
Colorado Crowley 164,900 649,450 57
Connecticut Hartford 386,950 579,900 8
Delaware Kent 417,225 499,997 3
Florida Hamilton 232,000 475,000 66
Georgia Terrell 96,175 400,000 131
Hawaii Hawaii 617,944 850,000 4
Idaho Butte 256,250 589,500 43
Illinois Greene 51,350 321,150 85
Indiana Sullivan 88,700 306,475 89
Iowa Page 112,500 319,950 91
Kansas Cloud 69,425 321,632 63
Kentucky Letcher 103,000 307,364 105
Louisiana Evangeline 113,875 289,950 60
Maine Aroostook 189,000 439,475 16
Maryland Allegany 122,350 426,780 24
Massachusetts Hampden 344,175 799,000 14
Michigan Iron 115,600 292,450 82
Minnesota Faribault 119,725 409,950 82
Mississippi Humphreys 79,000 284,000 68
Missouri Knox 62,363 301,350 105
Montana Phillips 160,375 675,000 39
Nebraska Furnas 134,900 372,513 43
Nevada Mineral 180,000 469,750 14
New Hampshire Coos 261,975 549,950 10
New Jersey Cumberland 254,975 544,500 21
New Mexico Cibola 156,875 382,475 28
New York Livingston 124,900 654,475 62
North Carolina Northampton 134,950 425,000 99
North Dakota Pierce 139,500 349,350 23
Ohio Jefferson 99,850 257,500 87
Oklahoma Woods 85,125 319,950 66
Oregon Harney 295,000 579,925 33
Pennsylvania Cambria 85,500 299,000 66
Rhode Island Providence 409,900 537,000 5
South Carolina Marlboro 143,440 360,995 45
South Dakota Perkins 98,000 372,375 27
Tennessee Lake 112,400 449,995 95
Texas Hall 86,499 389,950 210
Utah Emery 305,000 629,900 26
Vermont Essex 235,950 454,500 14
Virginia Buchanan 64,725 456,062 122
Washington Adams 378,725 650,000 37
West Virginia Mcdowell 59,175 239,495 47
Wisconsin Florence 194,925 375,000 70
Wyoming Washakie 218,750 477,500 22

 

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The Center Square

‘Historic’ Wisconsin spring election sees precincts run out of ballots | Wisconsin

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www.thecentersquare.com – Jon Styf – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-01 21:05:00

(The Center Square) – Seven locations in Milwaukee ran out of ballots, causing voting delays on Election Day.

But any voter in line by 8 p.m. was allowed to vote in what Milwaukee Election Commission Spokesperson Melissa Howard called a “historic” election in terms of spring turnout on Tuesday.

Milwaukee expanded the use of ExpressVote machines and sent couriers with ballots to the polling locations that ran out of paper ballots.

Ballots running out has “never occurred here in the city” Howard told reporters on Tuesday.

The election included three key ballot items statewide headlined by the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, which Susan Crawford led with 57.6% of the vote compared to 42.4% for Brad Schimel with 47% of precincts reporting by 9 p.m. on Tuesday.

Vote counting was expected to continue into early Wednesday at central count locations in places such as Milwaukee County. Early votes could not begin to be counted until polls closed at 8 p.m.

Early results showed 61% of the first 41% of voters approved of adding a voter identification requirement to the Wisconsin constitution. Voter ID is already law and the ballot initiative would also add it to the state constitution.

The race for superintendent of the state’s Department of Public Instruction was also undetermined with incumbent Jill Underly holding 55% of the vote and challenger Brittany Kinser holding 45% with 43% of precincts reporting as of 9 p.m.

The Supreme Court race gained national intrigue as Elon Musk and President Donald Trump weighed in on the race with support for Schimel over the weeks before the election.

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White House says Trump’s tariffs will be ‘perfect deal’ for U.S. | National

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www.thecentersquare.com – Brett Rowland – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-01 15:42:00

(The Center Square) – The White House said Tuesday that President Donald Trump and his tariff team are preparing to roll out a “perfect deal” for Americans on Wednesday, when Trump is expected to announce his plans.

Trump plans to unveil reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday on all nations that put duties on U.S. imports, which the president has been calling “Liberation Day” for American trade. Trump’s plans have roiled U.S. and global markets, but the president has yet to get into specifics ahead of Wednesday’s planned announcement. 

“The president said last night he has made a decision and a determination,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. “He is going to announce that decision tomorrow.”

Leavitt said Trump was working with his trade and tariff team to finalize the deal, which she said would be a “perfect deal for the American people.”

The tariffs Trump is expected to announce Wednesday will go into effect immediately, Leavitt said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Trump steered the U.S. economy to new heights in his term and plans to the same this time. 

“You have to trust the president’s instincts on the economy. Why? This isn’t blind faith. Remember what he accomplished in the first administration. Before COVID, we had the greatest economy in the history of the world. Not the U.S, the whole world,” Johnson said. “Every demographic was doing better because we cut taxes, cut regulations and we made a better economic environment for everyone to succeed.”

Johnson said Trump’s proposed reciprocal tariff policy “is one that makes a lot of common sense.” Johnson said he ultimately expects other countries to reduce tariffs on American products

“This is a different world, it’s a much more integrated, complex economy. And the president’s absolutely right when he says we have to think about America’s interest first because if we don’t, we’re not going to maintain our status as the great super power,” Johnson said. “If we raise and match their tariff policy, I think ultimately what happens is you get back to a free trade agreement. These countries that engaged in this disparity – this raw deal for Americans for so long – it’ll get their attention and they’ll, I think, reduce their tariffs on us.”

Johnson said Trump’s plans for “Liberation Day” on April 2 could include challenges.

“It may be rocky in the beginning, but I think that this will make sense for Americans and it will help all Americans,” the House Speaker said.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Trump’s tariff plan will help U.S. workers.

“No American President in modern history has recognized the wide-ranging and harmful foreign trade barriers American exporters face more than President Trump,” said Greer. “Under his leadership, this administration is working diligently to address these unfair and non-reciprocal practices, helping restore fairness and put hardworking American businesses and workers first in the global market.”

Last week, Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported automobiles, duties that he said would be “permanent.” The White House said it expects the auto tariffs on cars and light-duty trucks will generate up to $100 billion in federal revenue.

Trump said eventually he hopes to bring in $600 billion to $1 trillion in tariff revenue in the next year or two. Trump also said the tariffs would lead to a manufacturing boom in the U.S., with auto companies building new plants, expanding existing plants and adding jobs.

Trump predicts his protectionist trade policies will create jobs, make the nation rich and help reduce both trade deficits and the federal government’s persistent deficits.

The “Liberation Day” tariffs come after months of talk since Trump took office in January. On the campaign trail, Trump frequently called “tariff” the most beautiful word in the English language.

Some economists have predicted Trump’s tariffs could mean higher prices for U.S. consumers. The Budget Lab at Yale modeled a broad 20%, but noted “it is highly uncertain whether this is the policy that will be announced April 2.” The model suggests that prices would by 2.1% to 2.6% in the short run, the equivalent of an average per household consumer cost of $3,400 to 4,200 in 2024 dollars.

Leavitt said Tuesday that Trump’s tariff plan was long-term when asked how they could affect senior citizens living on a fixed income.

“Tomorrow’s announcement is to protect future generations of the senior citizens you mentioned,” she said. “It’s for their kids and their grandkids. To ensure that there are jobs here in the United States of America for their children to live the American dream.”

Last week, S&P Global said U.S. consumers could reduce spending in the near-term.

“We think Americans will soon pull back on purchases, dealing a blow to the world’s biggest economy, which is largely fueled by consumer spending,” the credit-rating agency said, noting a recession was possible in the next year.

Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Farm Bureau Federation, have urged Trump to back off tariff threats.

Trump has promised that his tariffs would shift the tax burden away from Americans and onto foreign countries, but tariffs are generally paid by the people who import the foreign products. Those importers then have a choice: Absorb the loss or pass it on to consumers through higher prices. The president also promised tariffs would make America “rich as hell.”

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Republicans introduce bill to repeal gun control rule on pistol braces | National

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Thérèse Boudreaux | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-01 14:18:00

(The Center Square) – A Biden-era rule placing greater constraints on millions of legal American gun owners could be struck down if newly introduced Republican legislation becomes law.

Companion bills introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., would undo a 2023 ruling by the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that classified pistols modified with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles and thus placed them under the National Firearms Act.

The action required all owners of pistols modified with stabilizing braces to pay a $200 fee, register their name with the U.S. Department of Justice and obtain federal approval to construct or transfer a short-barreled rifle or short-barreled shotgun.

“‘Shall not be infringed’ is crystal clear – and the Biden-era abuses of the Constitutionally protected rights of gun owners across the country need to be undone,” Marshall said in a statement Tuesday. “The SHORT Act takes a step toward rolling back nonsensical regulations that the National Firearms Act has placed upon gun owners.”

A 2021 report by the Congressional Research Service estimated that between 10 and 40 million stabilizing braces and similar components are in civilian hands. Supporters of the rule say it will increase safety.

Both the Gun Owners of America and the National Association of Gun Rights, who called the Biden-era rule unconstitutional when it was implemented, expressed support for the legislation.

“The SHORT Act is a long overdue step toward restoring the rights of Americans, freeing gun owners from the burdensome and outdated regulations of the National Firearms Act,” NAGR political affairs director Hunter King said. “By removing short-barreled rifles, shotguns, and similar firearms from egregious federal regulations, gun owners would be able to exercise their Second Amendment freedoms without oppressive government interference.”

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