HARRISON COUNTY – Drive anyplace on Highway 90 in Harrison County and you’re bound to see them. Sale-signs are posted on vacant lots up and down the beach-front highway.

A still dull economy and the high cost of post-Katrina insurance have both contributed to an copiousness of beach front property now on the market.

“With the taxes and the insurance, on top of the construction expenses to build up or set back, it’s made it almost infeasible to be able to build back on residential lots on Highway 90. It’s really, very costly. You’re going to have to have deep-pockets to do it,” said Windy Swetman.

Harrison County Supervisor Windy Swetman is also a residential-developer who keeps close tabs on the real estate industry. He says such lots have always been premium property, but elements like the storm and recession are having a detectable impact.

“They’ve always been high-dollar. The difference right at the present is that you have a higher premium on insurance that you’re paying and the recession. So, you’re in a recession, you have higher insurance, the taxes are even there at a high rate for them,” said Swetman.

“What I anticipate happening is the property along Highway 90, for the majority part, is going to become commercial over the next few years,” says Jerry Creel, the community development director for the City of Biloxi.

He says projects like the new McElroy’s will draw other development along the waterfront.

“Right now, we’re in discussions with eight hotels, six restaurants that all desire to situate along the beach. Just the discussion stage right now, but we’ll make some proclamation as those come to fruition,” said Creel.

He says tax credit programs that pardon property taxes for up to seven years are also an incentive for new development.

There is a heave in real estate activity in the temple town and more and more people consider it safer to invest in houses.

“Be a proud owner of a plot just at the cost of a cent of land.” “Flats with all amenities are for sale. But a few are left. What are you ready and waiting for? Hurry up.” Posters and billboards call from various outlooks in Madurai, desperately trying to catch the attention of people.

Clearly, the spiraling cost of construction and growing interest rates on housing loans seem to have had little impact on the mushrooming property developers and land promoters in the city. Experts say this should not be viewed as a boom in the real-estate sector, but there is certainly a surge in buying and selling of land or flats.

With banks tramp housing loan interest rates, customers are already feeling the pinch as it has let down their making for a loan. However, one can find crowds waiting for hours at registration offices to get their properties registered, which only points that real estate has evolved as a prospective investment option.

There are also people showing enthusiastic interest in vacant plots which has tremendous potential for development. Cashing in on the enthusiasm, land promoters are trying their level best to woo the new crop of customers by making attractive offers. Most land promoters organize for a free visit to their site which is always a few kilometers away from the city. They cite the distance from the city as an opportunity to live in a peaceful, unpolluted environment away from the din and bustle.

A land promoter says “Buyers need to be more careful while looking at the documents, as there is every chance of them being forged. The land has to be encumbrance free and has to be a clear title. It is better to get a judgment before buying a plot”.

Experts in the field also feel that State Government’s string of initiatives like clamping down on land grabbers, increasing the fees for registering power of attorney and trying to bridge the gap between guideline and market values will bring in a lot of trustworthiness in land dealing.

There is no denying the possible that Madurai holds for property developers. With large corporate houses all set to enter the construction business in the city, one can expect the skyline of the temple town to change drastically in the coming years.