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Homeowners Insurance Rate Increases Have Slowed to a Trickle in Louisiana
The good news is that homeowner's insurance rates have stabilized in the years following Hurricane Katrina. The Greater New Orleans market has only experienced a .35% increase in 2008 and a 1.78% increase in 2009. People in New Orleans have grown accustomed to the higher insurance rates and just factor this in when purchasing a home anywhere in the New Orleans area including St. Tammany Parish. Insurance companies are coming very close to gouging consumers and more regulation of the insurance industry is being considered by many in public office. Another aspect of good news is that home buyers are enjoying historically low interest rates which makes it possible to buy a new home despite the cost of homeowner's insurance.
Economic Picture in St. Tammany Parish Offers Some Cause for Optimism
St. Tammany Parish's economic growth over the past 12 months has inched up by 2.6%. Home sales have remained the same from the 2nd quarter of 2010 to the 2nd quarter of 2011. Average home prices have gone down, but that has more to do with financing a specific price range than the value of homes going down. Retail sales are up. Unemployment is up, but recent activity shows small businesses (25 - 80 employees) expanding and hiring in St. Tammany Parish.
New Orleans Ranked 2nd Best Big City for Jobs by Forbes
New Orleans jumped 46 spots to be named the 2nd best big city for jobs by Forbes Magazine. Because of the loss of both population and jobs, New Orleans' ranking surprised many people. Jobs in New Orleans have risen 3.5% since 2006, mostly due to the rebuilding of the hurricane-torn city as well as the population growth because of the rebuilding process.
New Home Construction Perks Up
New home building statistics were up in the month of March, 2011, compared to February's numbers. The number of homes that broke ground during March was 549,000. New building permit numbers are also perking up at an 11.2 percent increase to bring the number of new home starts to 594,000, some of the best numbers seen in 2 years. Building a new home by a new home builder can be challenging in this economic atmosphere, but there could be hope on the horizon.
St. Tammany Zoning Vote Could Let Developer Build 126 Homes North of Covington
St. Tammany Parish's Zoning Commission has agreed to change the zoning on a parcel of 40 acres of land just north of Covington, LA. The designation requested was an A-4A designation which allows up to 6 homes/acre lot. However, the developers - 110 Capital Pool 2 LLC, Team Management LLC and Benjamin Thomas and his wife - are only planning on building 3 homes/acre on 60 x 120 lots. There were a few holdouts in the local community, trying to prevent this vote from happening, saying it was an example of poor urban sprawl, but the developers assured the local Covington community that their new subdivision would contain six acres of green space, a 2.6-acre detention pond and a utility site more than an acre in size. The final subdivision will have 185 new homes after the development is complete.
Universal Design
Universal Design is the new "buzz phrase" for aging-in-place, active adult communities, which have been noticed in the industry since the early 90's. Builders' awareness of the up and coming baby boomer market was greatly sensitized to the enormous amount of empty nesters that are now entering the housing market. By building homes that address the needs of people growing older and less mobile but not calling it handicap accessible homes, Universal Design has become a popular catch-phrase that reaches out to home buyers of all ages (including children). Even some of the accessories that were often thought of as helpful to children will now be helpful for someone who is wheelchair bound. Builders can now market and sell homes that are universally designed to address home buyers of all ages.
A Housing Rebound? Yes, It's Possible.
An MIT professor has a different take on the decline in the housing market. Not only does this economist think that the housing market is not in a decline, he thinks that the demand for housing is actually increasing. Because of the lack of new construction starts, the demand for new homes has increased, and consumers and buyers are steadily buying up the inventory of existing homes. At the rate of the purchases of homes, new construction will have to "catch up" to the demand of new homes, making the pricing structure for new homes stabilize once all inventory is consumed, and builders start building again. The housing slump is not only over, the market is rebounding already.
'Idea House' in Covington Selects Styles for Today's Comfort with Yesterday's Elegance
Terra Bella's Southern Living 2010 Idea House is located at Terra Bella, a Traditional Neighborhood Development located in Covington, Louisiana. Ron Lee Homes and Hearthstone Homes by Ron Lee are currently building new custom homes at Terra Bella and are onsite for the weekends of the Southern Living Idea House. The details of the Southern Living Idea House are included in the article by nola.com and the Times Picayune.
Market Faces Major Change, But Suburbs, Small Cities May Hold Onto Their Advantage
Going to the suburbs is what the millenials (children of baby boomers born after 1983) are going to do after the Great Recession, according to speakers at PCBC in San Francisco. Urban growth has stalled completely, and buyers are headed to the suburbs. They are not buying the typical big house, though, they are buying highly customized homes that are smaller, but have plenty of customization to keep any home builder busy. Suburbs, such as St. Tammany Parish and Tangipahoa Parish in the Greater New Orleans Area are considered closer-in suburbs that will be highly attractive to the children of baby boomers that grew up in New Orleans. These parishes are close enough into town, but far enough away to be desirable.
Southern Living’s 2010 Idea House Sets All-Time Opening Weekend Record
The Bayou Bend house at TerraBella in Covington, Louisiana, in St. Tammany Parish is the 2010 Southern Living Idea House. This idea house had the largest attendance on record of any idea house ever done by Southern Living. TerraBella is the only TND (Traditional Neighborhood Development) created in St. Tammany Parish, and flaunts homes priced from the $200's to over $1 million. TerraBella has spec or inventory homes as well as the ability to build a new home or a new custom home on a lot or homesite at TerraBella. Amanda Shaw will be performing live at TerraBella on July 24, 2010, and TerraBella is also hosting the Global Wildlife Center and Gray Hawk Perkins, Native American Storyteller on July 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Proceeds from the ticket sales from the Bayou Bend, Southern Living Idea House will go to The Children's Museum of St. Tammany.
Ron Lee Homes Hosts Field Trip for MAGIC Camp 2010!
Ron Lee Homes and Hearthstone Homes by Ron Lee hosted the 2010 MAGIC Camp field trip at their new custom home in Covington, LA, and also a new completed custom home at Terra Bella in St. Tammany Parish. Nancy Lee taught the girls about customization of a home, the features of a custom home, and how much a home is valued and worth. The high school girls that attended MAGIC Camp 2010, a camp put on by NAWIC Northshore Chapter #339 in St. Tammany Parish learned about painting, carpentry, electrical, and plumbing on their field trip.
Home Builders Association Luncheon
Homeowners Insurance Rate Increases Have Slowed to a Trickle in Louisiana
