Oxford’s working-class residents are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of housing in the city.
Ole Miss set another record for its largest freshman class, and Oxford has seen an 18 percent population increase, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau in May. The housing market prices have increased as well.
“I believe there needs to be more housing that’s focused on the people who actually live here,” Oxford resident Dottie Potts said.
Potts is a native of Batesville but has lived in Oxford for the past 10 years. She said the housing market and rental rates are priced for students whose parents can afford to help them pay rent each month.
“I understand that Oxford is a college town, but Oxford also has people who live here and work,” Potts said.
According to university enrollments records, the Ole Miss Class of 2020 had 3,982 new students enrolled, even though fewer students applied compared to 2015.
The median rent for student housing in Oxford is $799, according to the 2010-2015 census.
Potts said she rents a small apartment for around $510 but also pays close to $200 more for utilities each month for a two-bedroom apartment.
Potts said she would love to purchase a house where her 2-year-old son can have a yard growing up, but her family is not able to afford a home in the city.
“Who has $1,200 to $1,400 to spend on a house every month?” Potts asked. “(My family) can’t afford that.”
With additional bills and the costs of raising her family, Potts said it is impossible to find anything.
“I believe there needs to be more housing that’s focused on the people who actually live here,” Potts said.
Other Oxford residents have expressed similar concerns, but the real estate business does not appear to be lowering prices anytime soon.
Realtor Gwen Walker of Walker Realty and Land Company said the market in Oxford is only getting stronger.
“When I moved to Oxford 30 years ago I paid $79,500 for our home,” Walker said. “Now I could sell the same house for $250,000.”
Walker said homes that would be worth $150,000 when she originally moved here are now being sold for $500,000 today.
The median home value in Oxford is $151,700, but that does not include the cost of acreage. The average cost to mortgage a home is $390 per month. Without a mortgage, the average monthly payment is $1,250.
LOU Housing President Leroy Thompson said the nonprofit he has been running for the past three years is working hard to make housing affordable for working-class families.
LOU Housing was started in 2007 to alleviate housing costs and to build housing for working people in Oxford and Lafayette County. The nonprofit especially tries to assist residents in the service industry, such as teachers and law enforcement officers.
Although LOU receives some government grants to build houses, Thompson said the program is not government subsidized housing as some mistakenly think.
Although Oxford does have a housing assistance program for low-income families, Housing Authority Jeff McClure was unavailable for comment.
“We’re doing our best to remedy a problem that’s getting worse,” Thompson said.
LOU was responsible for moving 20 homes off of the university’s campus to Community Green neighborhood for low-income families to live in. The prices for housing are always relative to how much individual families earn, so it is not free, but helps make it possible to own a home.
The nonprofit has recently requested the Oxford Board of Alderman to grant LOU close to five acres of government land near the city water tower. The organization will use the land to build more homes, but the deal is still on the table with the city.
“We don’t know where we stand with that,” Thompson said.
If LOU does get the land, nine to 10 more houses could be potentially built there.
“It’s a only a small part to help, but we’re doing our best,” Thompson said.
