Before They Buy the Block

Written by Abby Woods 

Everybody wants to talk about what’s happening to Jackson. Few people are asking the real question: Who will own Jackson when the dust settles?

This conversation is overdue.

So when I say “before they buy the block,” “they” is not one specific person. “They” represents outside investors, speculative developers and economic forces that always seem to show up right before a city changes. They arrive with cash, strategy and vision. Meanwhile, many of the people already living in Jackson neighborhoods have never been told they could own something too.

I’m Abby Woods. I’m originally from Los Angeles, but my relationship with Mississippi started long before I officially moved here in 2020. I first began visiting the state in 2013 while dating my now husband, and over time, Mississippi stopped feeling like somewhere I was simply visiting and started feeling like somewhere I was being called to live. Today, I am proudly rooted in Jackson.

I’m what’s known in real estate as a dual-career agent. I’m the Co-Founder of Too Tall Events and a freelance writer, which means my work constantly places me at the intersection of business, branding, culture and community. My background spans law, business, advertising and journalism, but real estate pulled me in because it tells the truth. Strip away the speeches, the campaign slogans and the social media debates, and nearly every conversation about a city eventually comes back to land, ownership, and who has the power to shape what happens next.

Whether it’s schools, crime, roads, water, development, neighborhood pride, business, or even estate planning. None of those conversations exist separately from property and ownership.

That is what fascinates me about Jackson. Not just the challenges people talk about every day, but the gap between how people speak about the city and what is actually possible here. Because while some people only see blight, others see leverage. While some people see decline, others are quietly positioning themselves for what comes next.

People say Jackson is changing. That is true.

The better question is: changing for whom?

Across the country, cities just like Jackson have watched the same movie play over and over. Property values stay low for years. Investment disappears. People become discouraged. Residents move out if they can. Outside investors quietly move in while everybody else is busy debating whether the city is “worth saving.” Then one day, the coffee shops arrive, the slogans change, the new branding campaign launches, and suddenly the same neighborhoods people mocked become “up-and-coming.”

By then, many of the original residents can no longer afford to stay.

That cycle should concern every homeowner, renter, church, retiree, educator, entrepreneur, and family in Jackson. This is not just about politics. This is about positioning.

Some people hear the word “gentrification” and prepare to protest. Meanwhile, somebody else is preparing to purchase the block. Ownership changes the conversation faster than outrage ever will.

Ownership means your property gains value while the neighborhood improves. Ownership is the starting point for generational wealth. Ownership means development and city council meetings sound different when people from the community actually own pieces of the community.

Jackson does not need another generation of people emotionally attached to neighborhoods they have no financial stake in.

That sentence may irritate some people. Good.

Residents of Jackson have mastered survival. Our next chapter will require strategy.

Right now, Jackson presents something many major cities no longer can: opportunity at an attainable entry point. There are homes here priced lower than luxury cars. There are neighborhoods with strong bones, cultural history, land, and untapped potential. There are opportunities for co-ops, multi-generational ownership, small business corridors, and neighborhood investment strategies that could genuinely reshape wealth in this city.

None of that happens accidentally.

Financial literacy matters. Estate planning matters. Credit matters. Ownership matters. Learning how to leverage property instead of merely living inside it matters.

This column will explore these conversations honestly. Some discussions may make people uncomfortable. That’s fine too. Comfort has not closed the wealth gap. Comfort is not stopping change.

Ten years from now, some people will say Jackson “changed overnight.”

It won’t be true.

The shift is happening right now while most people are distracted by headlines, hashtags, and hot takes.

Somebody is going to own the next version of Jackson.

Jackson’s future is already being negotiated. Property by property. Block by block. The only question is whether longtime residents will participate in the ownership of that future or simply witness it from the sidelines.

I know where I stand.

And if you are someone who has been thinking about buying property, investing, relocating, selling, or simply trying to better understand where Jackson is headed next, I would love to help guide that conversation. Reach out to me, Agent Abby Woods. 

This conversation is just getting started. Stay tuned.