The Williams County Port Authority is moving forward on a house in Montpelier.
The board Monday approved a bid from Andelynn Homes to build a house at 402 S. Empire St. in Montpelier for $148,000.
Sean Rupp, board member, said approving it now meant contractors could get a start on it before the weather turns.
This house will be of the newer style that features two full baths and a front porch.
“I think this house will go better in that neighborhood,” Rupp said. “It’s an older neighborhood, it fits in there. It will probably bring a little more money into that neighborhood.”
In addition to this new house in Montpelier, the authority has a house in Stryker that will go on the market in the next week, Rupp said, and a house on Linden Street in Montpelier currently listed and a house under construction in West Unity that is all but spoken for.
Stacy Lillard, board member, said a woman has expressed interest in the West Unity property but no agreement has been made in writing.
“There’s a couple details she’s asked for us that we need to figure out how to make that work but she’s ready to make a pretty sizable downpayment to make sure she gets it,” Lillard said. “She’s very serious.”
One concern Rupp said he’s had is the price difference between the houses the authority has been doing and the houses under the new style.
The first several houses the authority built were listed for $165,000 or $168,000 while the houses on the newer model will be listed for $180,000.
However, Rupp said the house still has the same square footage, despite having two full bathrooms instead of one-and-a-half baths and a porch. It also looks nicer, a sentiment shared by several other board members.
“That’s why it costs more to build, it’s got more ginger bread on it,” Rupp said.
Another factor discussed at the meeting is the housing market.
Lillard, a Realtor, said the housing market has been slow, but attributed it more to the election than anything else, adding mortgage rates are expected to go down.
Rupp said he and Lillard discuss the real estate market regularly.
“We believe the housing level we’re into is still moving, but the stuff higher up is moving up and down a little bit,” Rupp said. “The baseline we’re at is still a solid place to be.”
Board member Bill Martin agreed.
“What I hear from people is they cannot find quality apartments,” he said. “They can find something they can pay $700 a month or $800 a month, but it’s not quality. For the same mortgage payment, for most people, this is a home. We found a really nice niche.”
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