Monday, February 29, 2016

Post Recession Recovery in New Home Sales

The National Association of Home Builders projected approximately 511,000 new homes would be sold during 2015, and the new home sales numbers surpassed that prediction by a small landslide bringing in 544,000 new home sales on a seasonally adjusted basis in December, 2015.  This was welcome news for home builders showing a recovery in new home sales numbers.  The increase was a 10.8% increase year-over-year, and this also heralded the best year for new home sales since 2007, just before the housing market crash.  In the South region specifically, new home sales were up 17.6% – the second highest percentage in the nation.
The single-family housing market in New Orleans is seeing a significant increase in the price per square feet for new homes.In addition to an increase in sales, new home inventory also increased during the month of December by 2.6% to 237,000 available homes for sale. 

However, the combination of the sales rate and the available inventory shows a trend in supply and demand that is on the rise.  The monthly supply of new home inventory fell from 5.5 months to 5.2 months with the building and selling of these new homes.
The prices of homes being sold are also encouraging.  First-time home buyers have yet to take a strong hold in the market, but second and third-time home buyers are making purchases of new homes in the $200’s – $400’s, which means that they are able to “move up” from their existing homes into their next home.  This also indicates the sale of existing homes for sale, which shows a well-rounded, moving real estate market.

Another positive trend that has emerged is the sale of pre-sold homes.  These are homes that builders are advertising before they ever break ground on the new construction.  The rendering and floorplan, as well as the lot layout may be all the new home buyer has to go on to sign a contract to buy the home, but with the reduction in available inventory, the increase in unused building permits and new home starts, the only explanation is that builders are able to sell their homes before they start building them.  This trend was prevalent during the early 2000’s and shows that the housing market seems to finally be on its way to a full recovery.

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Tuesday, February 23, 2016

2015 Real Estate Market Statistics

2-176 St. Calais Place FrontWith the housing market being such an important part of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) keeps a constant eye on the real estate industry, taking specific measurements of all vital statistics that will keep industry professionals aware of housing trends either before or as they are happening.  There are many ways to measure the growth or shrinkage of housing by just looking at the numbers.  Some of the statistics that are measured monthly include housing permits, housing starts, housing contracts, pending sales, existing home sales, new home sales, and many more.

During the month of January, numbers were complied for housing statistics during the entire year of 2015.  The NAHB reported that housing permits and housing starts were up significantly for the year 2015, compared to 2014.  Year-over-year increases for housing permits were up 12% to 1.18 million permits.  Single-family home building permits were up by 7.9%.  Specifically, December, 2015, saw an increase of 1.8% in building permits compared to November, 2015.

For housing starts, the percentages were also significantly high for 2015 compared to 2014. Total single-family housing starts in 2015 rose 10.4% to 715,300.  At Bedico Creek Preserve, a masterplanned community in the Greater New Orleans area, the completion of 2 more neighborhoods during 2015 with developed lots ready to build has accounted for the significant increase in construction of new homes on our lots.  We have also seen a surge in lot sales to individual owners interested in building a new home on their lot.

With 16 new home builders from which to choose, our home buyers and lot buyers have a selection of styles, quality, and floorplans to begin building their dream home or you can buy a new home for sale that is ready to move in.  If you are interested in a new home community that takes you away from it all with a natural setting and wildlife habitat with quality new home construction, Visit Us at Bedico Creek and Choose Your Lot Today.  Contact Us at 985-845-420 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Builder Confidence in St. Tammany Parish

8-1609 Audubon Parkway Kitchen OverviewFor 30 years, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo has been measuring builder confidence based on 3 factors of new home building – current new home sales, projected new home sales, & new home buyer traffic.  The survey is called the Housing Market Index (HMI), and builders nationwide are selected and surveyed by the NAHB each month.  The result is a gauge of how confident builders are in the housing market and the future of the housing market.  Post Recession, these numbers stayed low for many months, even years, but in the past 2.5 years, builder confidence has been up.

Nowhere is that more evident in our own backyard than at Bedico Creek Preserve, a master planned, Conservation Community in Madisonville, Louisiana, in St. Tammany Parish.  Builder confidence in St. Tammany Parish is definitely up in our community.  We have had a record high amount of 18 builders all building new homes in our subdivision at one time.  Currently, we have a list of 16 qualified and quality new home builders that offer lots to be built, as well as new homes for sale in the 9 available neighborhoods within our new home community in Southeast Louisiana.

Two of our Neighborhoods focus solely on the new homes built by exclusive builders that have purchased the lots in the neighborhoods to build established floorplans to maintain an inventory of new spec homes for sale.  These two neighborhoods are Cypress Crossing and Deer Park.  Other builders have individual Homes for Sale that are located throughout the other 7 Neighborhoods.
Builder confidence nationwide in January had a score of 60.  Any score above 50 is considered optimism from new home builders.  Broken down, the builder confidence rating scored as follows: current sales conditions rose two points to 67, projected sales conditions dropped three points to 63, and current buyer traffic came in at 44.  In St. Tammany Parish, the new homes at Bedico Creek have been selling as fast as builders have been framing them.  Many of our new homes for sale are available on our website for just weeks before they are under contract.  If you are interested in living at our new home subdivision, you may want to meet with one of our 16 builders to discuss purchasing a lot in your selected Neighborhood and then building a new home for you and your family.

Contact Us Today to Make an Appointment to View Our Lots at 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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Saturday, February 6, 2016

Home Builders Are Hiring in Large Numbers

1657 Audubon Parkway Under ConstructionHome builders are hiring according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) by BLS and the National Association of Home Builder’s analysis.  Construction jobs are being offered at a rapid rate because of the increase in the production of new, inventory homes for sale.  The number of building permits that were acquired and not used rose above 4% because of the lack of labor for builders to use to build the new homes that they had planned.  The construction industry saw an 11.6% increase in available construction jobs from October to November.  This number is actually surprising for construction employment because of the slowdown of the real estate industry in the last two months of the year – November and December.  To see such an uptick in available jobs is truly an indication that the housing market has been on an upward slide and seems to be picking up speed.

In the big picture, construction jobs accounted for almost 2% of all available employment in the United States. The good news is that with the available construction jobs comes a steep increase in hiring and employment “movement.”  Employer hiring of construction labor increased 5.1% from October to November, and employees quitting to look for better employment went up by 2% as well. In a healthy construction employment market, the movement of workers in an upward salary fashion is encouraging to the overall economy as construction employees start to get higher salaries and are able to put that money back into the economy.

At Bedico Creek Preserve, a masterplanned community in St. Tammany Parish, we have 16 builders in our Conservation Community that are all building new homes for sale on lots that have been purchased in our 9 Neighborhoods available for sale.  The construction that is going on in our community is phenomenal, and in order to keep our existing homeowners in a “livable” state, we take great care to monitor jobsites, construction equipment, and trucks going in and out of our subdivision.
If you are interested in buying your own lot and hiring a builder or contractor to construct your new home, you will want to contact our Lot Specialist, Scott Waltemath, to take a tour of lots within your price range or lot size.  Contact Bedico Creek Today to Set Up Your Appointment to View Our Lots for Sale. Call 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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Friday, January 29, 2016

Reasons to Buy a Home

1-277 W. Longview Exterior FrontFrom a survey conducted every 2 years by the National Association of Homes Builders (NAHB), builders and Realtors can learn and understand what the “average home buyer” wants in the home that they are buying.  This survey is very important in detailing a buyer’s reasons to buy a home.   From a broad perspective, the survey indicated that over 55% of home buyers would prefer to buy a new home vs. a pre-existing home, but the actual percentage of home buyers buying new homes was only 11% from 2011 – 2013.  However ,this 11% was actually a 3% increase from 2008 when only 8% of home buyer bought a new home.

Size, floorplan, price and neighborhood scored in the top 70th percentile as reasons to buy a home by home buyers surveyed by the NAHB with the aesthetics and safety playing an important role in the decision to buy in a certain neighborhood.  In St. Tammany Parish, Bedico Creek Preserve offers a master planned community in Madisonville that scores highly on not only beautiful homes and an almost completely safe neighborhood location, but also, with 10 Neighborhoods within the subdivision from which to choose, new home buyers also get to enjoy lots of variety in choosing not only a house to buy but also a lot location on which to build a new, custom home, if desired.

5-1092 Cypress Crossing Drive KitchenThe NAHB also said that good schools tended to be important to new home buyers especially.  Madisonville, Louisiana, boasts the best school district in St. Tammany Parish which already scores as one of the best school districts in the state.  Many home buyers’ reasons to buy a home in Bedico Creek is because of its excellent school district.

Another important factor found in the survey was that buyers of new homes valued quality construction especially when using a builder to build them a new home.  The construction, durability, and beauty of the home was extremely important to them.  In Bedico Creek, we have 14 new home builders that are available for a consultation on either building a new home on a lot purchased in our community or buying a new home built by our quality builders in St. Tammany Parish.

According the National Association of Home Builders,  Bedico Creek Preserve scores highly across the board for all of the features that are important to new home buyers which is probably why the homes and lots in our new subdivision are selling out so quickly.  Don’t miss your opportunity to own a new home in the fastest growing master planned community in St. Tammany Parish!  Contact Us at 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Single-Family Home Construction Available on the Northshore

1-1009 Deer Park Drive ExteriorNew Urbanism is alive and well in the Greater New Orleans area with Mixed-Use Developments being built where previously housing projects had stood.  Many developers are tapping into the multi-family construction industry, building apartment housing in popular neighborhoods.  Single-family home construction is taking a backseat to these types of developments as well as multi-family condo and townhome construction also in the city of New Orleans.  Because of this, people relocating to the New Orleans area as well as young people graduating from college and moving out are finding it harder and harder to find the traditional “first time home buyer home.”

Surprisingly, Millenials, according to the National Association of Home Builders, tend to want to live in single-family homes in the suburbs.  According to the NAHB’s survey, 75% want traditional new homes, and 66% prefer to live in the suburbs with only 10% choosing urban living, such as living in downtown New Orleans or the outlying areas.  While nationally this is a trend, the migration of Millenials may very well benefit the Northshore of the lake because in St. Tammany Parish, there are plenty of new homes for sale as well as lots for sale.

3-1009 Deer Park Drive Family Room-2Since the Recession, home pricing has been somewhat unreliable, but now housing prices seem to have stabilized, so it is less difficult to acquire housing finance for new home buyers looking to buy their first, second, or even third home.  Another factor that may drive new home buyers to the north shore is the fact that inventory in popular, safe neighborhoods in New Orleans such as the Garden District, Bywater, Uptown, etc., is very scarce, prompting bidding wars among home buyers.  Young home buyers may get priced out of the market with competitive pricing being higher than normal.

Regardless of where the Millenials in the Greater New Orleans area choose to buy their new, single-family home, Bedico Creek Preserve is “ready” for any type of home buyer with 10 Neighborhoods from which to choose new homes for sale and lots for sale.  Lot pricing at Bedico Creek starts in the $40’s, and new home prices start in the $240’s.  If you are ready to view a lot for sale or new home for sale, Contact Bedico Creek at 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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Thursday, January 14, 2016

Reform of the Housing Finance System a Top Priority

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) created a white paper in 2012 called “A Comprehensive Framework for Housing Finance System Reform” which recommended utilizing both public and private sources of housing capital to keep the current federal government housing agencies. Recently NAHB has amended the 2012 white paper regarding the advancing of housing finance so there will be a secure and strong national financial market, job market and economic growth.

This is important when it comes to the housing market.  Without housing finance there would be no reason for new
developments and construction of new housing around the country. The home building industry is dependent on the housing finance system. One of the biggest hindrances mentioned in the white paper are the credit challenges home builders and home buyers are still facing that stemmed from the Great Recession.

The white paper clearly defines the importance of federal government support within the new system but limits the extent of the federal government’s duties. Conventional mortgages will be supported by private capital and a privately funded, mortgage-backed insurance fund with a federal government backstop to ensure it will be covered in case of a cataclysmic occurrence such as what happened in 2008.  Now the housing finance will be more private-sector with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac transforming into a private-sector oriented system.

NAHB has challenged Congress and federal regulators to redefine housing finance reform because every American should have a decent place to live as stated in The Housing Act of 1949. 

Homeownership is one of the best financial decisions one could make and proves to be a stable investment. It provides solid jobs for Americans through home building and manufacturing products used in construction.  Hopefully these steps and challenges will reduce the risk that America will be hit by another Great Recession.

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Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Green Building – Tax and Rebate Benefit for Homeowners

There are always tax benefits for taxpayers who own their own home. New home buyers and remodeling homeowners can accrue tax credits when using green building techniques. Congress established these energy-efficiency tax incentives in 2005 which include tax code section 45L credit for the construction of energy efficient homes, 25C credit for retrofitting/remodeling existing homes and 25D credit for the installation of power production property in new and existing homes.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) believes that green building is so important that they started to promote the concept in 2004 and created the first certification program for using green building techniques called
Certified Green Builder.  A good majority of new home builders and remodelers are Certified Green Builders which include some of the top builders in St. Tammany Parish. In fact, some of the builders who build homes in Bedico Creek are Certified Green Builders.

There are many green building techniques that are used today which include double and even triple pane energy efficient windows that will keep in heat or keep solar energy out (Low-E and Argon gas windows), green roofs or cool roofs which will either absorb or reflect heat, high performance insulation that is design to seal a home more effectively against elements, enhanced ventilation that moves heat and cool air through the home, ceiling fans, water conservation fixtures, solar power, wind power, thermal solutions (high efficiency HVAC systems and programmable thermostats), ENERGY STAR® appliances and paint which stands up to harsh elements.

Where can we find the residential energy credits? Windows such as Low-E and Argon gas windows, high performance insulation, roof improvements, energy efficient doors, and ENERGY STAR® water heaters / AC’s / heat pumps can be applied toward the 25C credit. Be aware of the rule changes to the 25C credit which include a 10% rate and a $500 lifetime cap. Data indicates that roof improvements are the biggest claims for the 25C credit. The 25D is the more popular of the two tax codes.  The credits can be applied through the use of solar electric, solar water heating, wind turbines, geothermal heat pumps and fuel cells. Solar electrical remodeling won for the most claimed activity for the 25D credit. In 2012, the latest IRS tax data, $1.9 billion cost for solar electric and $700 million for geothermal heat pumps qualified for the 25D credit.  The total for 2012 was $3 billion in qualified installations that were connected to the 25D.

Going green has two great benefits for the consumer as a homeowner and a taxpayer, you not only save on your monthly energy bills but you can save on your taxes with these tax credits. Builders also benefit and should consider incorporating the 25C and 25D qualified green building products into new housing and remodeling projects.

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