builder Archives - Ron Lee Homes

A Plan For St. Tammany’s Growing Economy

The economy and housing market are the strongest they have been in the past 10 years. As the housing market and economy thrive so does the ever-changing communities throughout the country. St. Tammany Economic Development District wants to evolve with the ever-changing market.

The St. Tammany Economic Development District is the forefront of St. Tammany’s economy. As stated on their site, the agency’s objective is to “seek to preserve and promote the quality of life by strengthening and supporting vibrant economies.” Businesses and Residence can follow the community’s economic development, successes and future opportunities found throughout St. Tammany via the agency.

St. Tammany is a great area to both live and work. With the low cost of living and the strong business climate, the parish is on a growing trend and is home to industries that include advanced manufacturing, corporate headquarter offices, distribution and logistics, oil and gas, information technology, and healthcare and biosciences. The current population of 255,000 and civilian labor force of over 126,000 keeps this strong economy going.

Along with the growth comes competition with other attractive communities throughout the state and the country. Chris Masingill, who leads the St. Tammany Economic Development District, announced a plan to attract and keep businesses in St. Tammany Parish to the St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce, November 10, 2018, at a breakfast held at Tchefuncta Country Club. First on the agenda is to rebrand St. Tammany Economic Development

District with a name change to “St. Tammany Corp.” and a new logo.

Masingill explained that along with the name change, the St. Tammany Corp. will have a new framework for how it handles business in the Parish. They will focus on many factors which include how the Parish’s various communities interact with each other to the role of government and tax incentives in economic development.

“This is not just an academic exercise,” Masingill said. “We’re looking at everything.”

A study will be conducted on how the agency wants to expand its “regional reach.” Masingill wants to establish a good working relationship with other agencies in the Parish, the economic development group Greater New Orleans Inc. and even over state lines. The plan for the new framework is slated to be completed by year’s end.

Click here to view the source of the information.

Local News

Real Estate Trends in April Showing Growth and Good News

With the 22.6% increase of single-family home construction starts compared to the previous month and year of March, 2015, real estate nationwide has taken a very positive step forward. In addition to a substantial increase in new home starts, there is good and bad news when it comes to new homes being built and put up for sale in the real estate market. The bad news is that builders are finding it difficult to procure land to build new homes, as well as the labor required to start and complete a new home project in a timely manner. On the flip side, that is also good news in that there are now a tremendous amount of construction jobs available for those trained and experienced in the construction industry.

The lack of land and lots to build also increases the new home buyers’ demand across the entire United States, making it so that builders are building new homes “on demand” for prospective homeowners. Now home buyers are waiting on builders to supply new homes to buy whereas just a few years ago, it was builders waiting on home buyers to be able to buy a 1.5 years’ supply of new homes.

Existing home inventory currently in the market is also really tight according to the National Association of Realtors. Right now, existing home inventory is at just a 4.5 month supply – really good news for sellers and Realtors, but not such good news for home buyers. However, existing home sales increased 5.1% in March, despite the dearth of homes available to buy.

If home buyers are in the market for a new home and can afford to wait to be able to build their dream home, they may consider buying a new custom home from local builder Ron Lee Homes in St. Tammany Parish. Custom homes built by this award winning builder are “worth the wait,” and by using Ron Lee Homes, buyers get full-service attention on the new custom home building process. Ron Lee Homes designs floorplans, builds new custom homes, assists with financing, and literally walks home buyers through the home building process from start to finish. So, if you would like to Consult with a Custom Home Builders in West St. Tammany Parish, Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

Click Here and Here for the Sources of the Information.

Ron Lee Homes' Blog

Trends That Are Showing Up in Remodeled or Newly Built New Homes

Whatever type of home construction you are planning – a new, custom home or a complete remodel / renovation of your existing home – you will want to pay attention to the trends that are showing up in remodeled or newly built new homes. Below are several trends that are popular among contractors, builders, and homeowners.

1. Luxurious garden tubs or jetted garden tubs have held steady in home construction for years, but for 2016, the trend is shower stalls or walk-around showers with shelving and seating. There are some really unique shower designs that include multiple shower heads and even massage sprays.

2. For your backsplash, trim, or even walls and floors, ceramic tile is not as popular now among renovators and builders as glass tile. The glass tile comes in many different colors as well as designs with multiple colors, so choose your matching design and go crazy!

3. When stepping up to the gourmet kitchen or luxurious master bath, granite countertops used to be the ultimate material that reflected the type of construction of your new home or remodel. There is a new material that is called engineered quartz that is not only tougher than granite and lasts longer, but it has the same timeless, classic, and upscale design for your custom counter work.

4. Toilets naturally came in lower to the floor sizes for decades, but now there are choices of toilet heights that are available to new home buyers, and buyers are choosing height over flow. The new, higher toilets are also more water efficient and modern, saving some homeowners on utility bills.

5. Along with ornate, custom-built, real wood cabinetry; home buyers and remodelers now have a choice of painted, stained, and dark wood cabinetry vs. the traditional oak cabinets that were standard for new home construction projects. Choose and contrast these colors as well with a two-toned look in the kitchen or bathroom.

6. Even though, we as a custom home builder still encourage you to buy reliable appliances throughout your home, the industry has caught up with technology, so some home buyers and home renovators are now going with a mid-range level of appliance vs. a high-end appliance package. The appliances themselves seem to have the same duration of service, and you can also purchase upper end looking fixtures, such as stainless steel to achieve the look you want without all of the cost.

7. Back to the basics – homeowner and savvy new home buyers know to renovate and build their homes with real wood flooring such as solid oak or pine instead of engineered flooring. While the look and cost of an engineered floor is great for the first few years, the results after many years of wear and tear don’t stand the test of time, weather, and constant use. Homeowners and new home buyers will be looking to find affordable real wood choices for their flooring.

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Local News

Building a Raffle House for Charity in St. Tammany Parish

The Northshore Home Builders Association (HBA) in St. Tammany Parish is once again, in 2016, building a Raffle House for Charity called Raising the Roof for Charity. A new home is constructed by member of the Home Builders Association of St. Tammany Parish on the North Shore, and then, this home is auctioned off to raise funds for several chosen local charities. This year’s recipients include Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Louisiana, Building a Raffle House for Charity the Covington Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity-St. Tammany West and the Tammany Trace Foundation.

The new Raffle House is being built by Integrity Builders in Spring Haven Subdivision in Madisonville, Louisiana. Tickets are sold by members of the Northshore Home Builders Association to colleagues and associates in order to raise funds. The HBA will be having two early drawings for Raffle House tickets – one on March 19th and one on April 16th. Winners of these two drawings will receive a $1,500 reward. The final Raffle House drawing will be held at the new, custom home in Spring Haven on June 4, 2016. Special events will be held in the months leading up to the Raffle House drawing where opportunities to win a free raffle ticket will be available.

The new, custom home being built by the St. Tammany Parish builder member is a 2,600 square foot home of living space with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths which was designed by DesignTech Residential Planners. The value of the home is estimated at $422,000. This open floorplan includes a flowing design throughout the living room, dining, room, and kitchen. The living room also has a gorgeous fireplace and coffered ceiling. The kitchen includes an oversized kitchen island with breakfast bar and undermount sink. Granite countertops, real wood cabinetry, and stainless steel appliances complete this deluxe kitchen setup. The master suite features an oversized walk-in closet off of the sumptuous master bath, complete with centered tub with a separate shower flanking. For outdoor entertainment, this new, custom home has a huge, covered outdoor patio, complete with outdoor kitchen setup.

In addition to the grand prize of the Raffle House being given away to a lucky recipient, there will be other prizes given out on the day of the drawing to winning raffle ticket holders. The Raffle House is an important part of raising money for local charities as well as rewarding a St. Tammany Parish resident with a new home. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to view this new, custom home in Madisonville, Louisiana.

Click Here For Information on Raffle Tickets.

Click Here for Information on the Raffle House.

Local News

New Home Buyers Have More Selection in New Homes

Even though the housing market has been making incredible strides in its recovery since its low in 2008, one of the major obstacles that has been holding the sale of real estate back is the lack of supply for the growing demand of home buyers. New home buyers especially have been stymied by a lack of inventory from local builders. Builders themselves have been frustrated by the tightened funding requirements for construction loans from banks and lenders, so there is been a “stalemate” of sorts going on in the new home industry.

However, good news is on the horizon for real estate because single-family home starts have been on the rise and holding steady over most of the months of 2015. Single-family home startss remained steady from August to September with 740,000 starts nationwide for both months. Overall, housing starts (including multi-family housing) increased by 6.5% and reached the 1.2 million mark – the highest its been since October, 2007.

From a yearly perspective, quarter-over-quarter, single-family home starts are up 5.7% 3rd quarter from second quarter with a total of 746,000 home starts. The numbers year-over-year show that single-family home starts are up 11% compared to 2014.

Another strong sign of new home real estate recovering is the number of housing permits for single-family home starts. The number of permits for single-family homes went up 9.4% year-over-year and also remained unchanged compared to the previous month of August from September, 2015. Trends also show that money of the new home purchases are coming from “contingency sales” where a home buyer has a house to sell and wants to build or buy new which is excellent news for new home builders.

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Ron Lee Homes' Blog

Custom Home Builders in St. Tammany Parish

What distinguishes Ron Lee Homes from other custom home builders in St. Tammany Parish is that Ron Lee is personally involved in almost all of the custom home projects that are completed in the cities of Mandeville, Madisonville, Covington, and Abita Springs. New custom homes require an almost daily review and critique, so Ron Lee’s hands-on approach to building new homes on the Northshore is the key to his success in building custom homes. With amazingly unique interior and exterior amenities, energy efficient green building techniques, and top-of-the-line building materials, the new, custom homes built by Ron Lee Homes stand above the competition in design as well as durability.

One of the main aspects of a home built by Ron Lee is the foundation. Ron Lee takes great care with each and every foundation of his new homes because of the shifting and sometimes unreliable soil in Southeast Louisiana. These foundations have a step-by-step meticulous process that requires attention to detail and experienced

sub-contractors that have worked with Ron Lee Homes for many years. Relying on sub-contractors is a huge part of being a successful St. Tammany Parish builder, and with 24 years building in St. Tammany Parish, Ron Lee has met and vetted many different types of subs. With Ron Lee personally overseeing the laying of the foundation, the framing, roofing, siding, and interior construction of your new home, you can count on the construction work to be quality as well as critiqued and corrected as the new home is put together.

Another benefit of having such a personally vested builder is that you will get to have one-on-one contact with your builder. Ron Lee answers his phone, e-mails, and requests as timely as he can. Also, he is backed up by a team of people at his home building company who have years of experience in the real estate industry as well as the St. Tammany Parish area. From the many testimonials from our satisfied homeowners, most of our new home buyers have been pleasantly surprised by the level of professionalism, communication, and follow up provided by Ron Lee Homes.

If you are not sure where to begin your new home building experience, Contact Ron Lee Homes today for a custom home consultation to learn more about the new home design and building process. Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.