Summer Saw an Increase in Private Residential Spending

The strong housing market and an uptick in the US economy are encouraging homeowners to spend money. According to NAHB analysis of Census Construction Spending, there was a 0.4% increase in the month of August in private residential construction spending. This took the seasonally adjusted annual rate to $786.6 billion. The data reported shows a 24.3% increase in total private residential construction spending over a year ago.

There was a dip in spending on single-family and multifamily improvements in July but it jumped back up 2.5% in August. This might have been due to such issues with building material supply chains and labor challenges. Material prices such as lumber are also skyrocketing.

The National Association of Home Builders construction spending index saw solid growth in single-family construction and home improvement. The data also reports a rebound in new multifamily construction spending. Private nonresidential construction spending was reported at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $455.6 billion in August.

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The Opportunity to Learn Construction Skills for Students in St. Tammany Parish

World Changers, an entity of LifeWay Student Ministries, provides mission experiences for students looking to serve others and share the gospel.  By interacting with churches in different communities throughout the United States, students have the opportunity to learn construction skills such as sheetrock, painting, siding, roofing, windows & doors repair or replacement, interior repair / renovation projects, wheelchair ramps, fencing, landscaping, and

disaster cleanup.  They also learn leadership skills which will help them with not only future mission trips but also future education and professional opportunities. The

World Changers program began in 1990 and has expanded to 67 North American locations as well as international locations.  In 2011, World Changers  became a part of LifeWay Student Ministries which expanded the number of students involved as well as the church networking opportunities.
World Changers along with Northshore Baptist Association, Southern Baptist Association, Kent Design+Build and the St. Tammany Parish government will aid in this year’s project in St. Tammany Parish. A federal grant through the Community Development Block Grant program will be used to purchase $30,000.00 in lumber, paint, doors, windows and all other materials needed for the volunteers to get the job done.
This is the 4th year in a row that volunteers from around the country will repair and fix up homes for low and moderate income home owning families in St. Tammany Parish. Twelve homes in the community were chosen via an application process and the majority of the homeowners are disabled and/or elderly.


The 150 volunteer teens and adults from around the country will be housed at First Baptist Church in Covington. The volunteers’ week of construction work such as painting, scraping, demo and repair of these homes.

“We welcome the World Changers group back to St. Tammany. They have made such a difference in so many people’s lives over the past four years, and we cannot thank them enough,” St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister said. “Collaborative efforts like these between public, private and faith-based organizations, make our community stronger, improve our quality of life, and benefit everyone involved.”

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Residential Construction is Environmentally Friendly

In the past 10 years, new single-family and multi-family structures are trending more energy efficient, spending less energy and emitting fewer greenhouse gases.  During the 1950’s and 1960’s, the United States started to really develop huge residential sections of cities and towns.  Neighborhoods and subdivisions began to pepper the landscape with many houses in a row.  These homes typically had unique and open façade with front porches and tree-lined sidewalks for neighbors to spend time outdoors and interact with each other.  Subdivisions and communities today are harkening back to these times by building what developers are calling Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND’s), master planned communities with a town center and homes built with rear alleys for rear-entry and side-entry garages.  Because of the types of homes that were built in the 1950’s to 1980’s, the homes tended to be smaller but did not have the advantage of the energy efficient, green building techniques of modern-day builders.

Beginning at the end of the 1980’s, builders started building single-family residences that were much larger than previously built homes.  These homes were more sprawling, typically had two stories and more square footage.  These homes consumed a lot of energy and emitted more greenhouse gases.  At the end of the 1990’s, the National Association of Home Builders started a program that focused on green building techniques.  And, during 2000 – 2009, the homes that are built are still larger than homes built decades ago, but they consume less energy and emit less greenhouse gases.

Specifically, residential construction of single-family and multi-family homes from 2000 – 2009 consume 22% of the total energy consumed on the grid in the United States, and they are accountable for 18% of the greenhouse gases that are currently expelled.  Many buildings at Bedico Creek Preserve are highly experienced in building green with energy efficient techniques.  Also, Bedico Creek Preserve values the conservation of energy and the promotion of a natural environment by developing our lots and building our homes into the surrounding greenscapes instead of clear-cutting the land to make room for new homes.  That is the reason that buyers who purchase a home in our subdivision in St. Tammany Parish enjoy not only the acreage on their lot but also the surrounding 500 acres of green spaces, lakes and waterways, and even a wildlife habitat.  If you are a conservationist at heart and want to commune with nature each and every day where you live, Contact Bedico Creek to take a tour of our Neighborhoods.  Call 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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