The Northshore, the River Parishes and Jefferson Parish Will Now Be Connected Through Cultural Tours

The New Orleans area has a vast amount of great historical and cultural tours that both visitors and residents can enjoy. The St. Tammany Parish Tourist Commission, the River Parishes Tourist Commission and Jefferson CVB have come together to offer a unique tour that will begin on the Northshore, going to River Parishes and ending in Jefferson Parish. The tour will highlight the Native, Creole and African American people, heritage, culture and way of life in the triparish region and will be updated on a daily basis to cover different parts of history and culture.

The tour will start at the Northshore where patrons will visit places such as the Bayou Lacombe Museum highlighting the history of natives and a Three Sisters and Medicine Wheel Garden and the Fontainebleau State Park where 153 enslaved people who worked at Bernard de Marigny de Mandeville's sugar plantation have a historical marker. Other stops along the way will be at the Madisonville Historic Museum, Jean Baptiste Lang Creole House, the Dew Drop Jazz and Benevolent Hall, and the nine Native and African American markers on the Historic Mandeville Marker Tour.

The next stop will be in the Louisiana River Parishes. Patrons will tour Whitney Plantation and learn about the cruel labor slaves went through on sugar plantations. There is also a memorial to the 1811 Slave Revolt that is located at the plantation. The Destrehan Plantation will also be toured where an exhibit is housed honoring the 1811 Slave Revolt procession and the Rost Home Colony. On a lighter note, the tour will also go to the 1811 Kid Ory History House and the Historic Riverlands Soul River Musical Journey where life after slavery is represented.

The tour will end in Jefferson Parish where patrons will visit the Marsalis Mansion Motel Marker, Camp Parapet and learn about this safe haven for slaves that were housed here during the Civil War's Union's occupation. Local gospel artist Mahalia Jackson’s gravesite is also located onsite. Other destinations on the tour will include True Vine Baptist Church, the oldest and longest-running African American Church on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish and famous pirate Jean Lafitte's smuggling route which is now the Barataria Preserve of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.

The tour is a five-day tour and can be customized. The tour is ideal for groups of around 10 - 25 but can have up to 50 people. Martha Martinez of YAYA Louisiana Tours and Travel is a certified tour guide and will accompany and lead groups if desired.

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St. Tammany Parish Libraries Are the Place To Go

The pandemic closed most public places for a good part of the last two years. Places are slowly starting to open back up with new procedures in place to help stop the spread of the virus. The St. Tammany Parish Library is one of them and is now open for residents to enjoy.

This fall the library will be pack with things for patrons to be involved in. The only difference, many events will be virtual programming or in-person outdoor events. Each library will maintain the rule of social distancing and the libraries have been redesigned to incorporate safety standards and features to keep patrons and library staff safe.

Masks will be required for everyone visiting the library ages five and older. Under Governor John Bel Edwards' indoor mask mandate masks must be worn by both vaccinated and unvaccinated patrons and workers. Computers will be open but only every other computer may be used and sanitizing supplies will be provided by the library.

If patrons are still leery of visiting the library, the libraries wills still offer curbside service and free wi-fi will be available in the parking lots of each library. The small libraries Abita Springs, Lacombe, Pearl River, Lee Road, Folsom, and Bush will now have evening hours on Wednesday nights.

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Another Drop in Mortgage Rates

 

Mortgage interest rates have been rising from the record low rates that were seen at the beginning of 2021.  Good news for those that missed out, rates are showing a dip back towards record lows. Freddie Mac reported the 30 year fixed rates have dropped to 2.88% and the 15 year fixed rates have dropped to 2.22%. These are the lowest levels seen since the middle of February 2021.

"Since their peak at 3.18% in April, mortgage rates have declined by thirty basis points," said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "While this decline is not large, it provides modest relief to borrowers who are purchasing in a market with strong home appreciation and scant inventory."

The rising house prices coupled with rising rates pushed some buyers back from purchasing. Now that the rates are dropping these buyers hopefully will start actively looking again.  George Ratiu of Realtor.com believes the rates will offset the higher home prices.

"For buyers seeking predictable monthly payments, the continuation of low rates will enable them to keep searching for a desirable home with the peace of mind that their housing costs will remain steady for years to come with a low fixed-rate mortgage," he said.

Another positive outcome in the home market is the home inventory is up 5%.  Sellers are encouraged by the rising home prices and are now putting their homes on the market.

"The influx of fresh listings is helping moderate record-breaking price growth, presenting more opportunities for buyers. However, affordability will remain a challenge for many first-time buyers, as the monthly payment for the typical home is still $116 higher this week than it was a year ago."

Refinancing dropped in June 2021 due to the rising rates.  June 2021 saw refinancing 30% lower than in March of 2021 and 60% down from January 2021.  Now since the rates are dipping again, now is a good time for homeowners to revisit refinancing.

If you are in the market for a new home, contact a Realtor who can help with the process from start to finish.  This is a great time for potential homebuyers to take advantage of the low mortgage rates.

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Will the Fall Bring a Cooler Housing Market?

The National Association of Realtors says the housing market is hinting at cooling off this fall. This doesn't mean the market still will not be viable, it just will not be as hot as we have seen in the first half of 2021.

"There has been a turn in the market from superheated to still very strong," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist.

High home prices have detoured many from purchasing but this scenario is improving a little according to Yun. Unsold homes increased 7.3% from June 2021 to July 2021 and unsold inventory is up at a 2.6 month supply at the current sales pace. There is a balanced market currently at around a 6 month supply of homes.

"We see inventory beginning to tick up, which will lessen the intensity of multiple offers," said Yun. "Much of the home sales growth is still occurring in the upper-end markets, while the mid-to lower-tier areas aren't seeing as much growth because there are still too few starter homes available."

As of July 2021, the median home price for existing homes was up 17.8% from a year ago to $359,900. The year-over-year gains have increased for the past 113 months in a row. Cash purchases have remained strong with all-cash sales making up 23% of home sale transactions in July. This was up 16% from July 2020. Low mortgage rates are still helping the current market and homebuyers.

"Despite the ongoing challenges of today's housing market, including limited inventory, lightning-fast home sales and competition from investors with deep pockets, many buyers are finding ways to persist until they find and close on a home," said Danielle Hale, Realtor.com chief economist.

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An Uptick in Home Building Construction Times During 2020

The 2020 Survey of Construction (SOC) revealed that it took 10 days less to finish a home from authorization to completion in 2020 than in 2019. The survey also shows that the average completion time of a single-family house is around 7.8 months, which usually includes a little over a month from authorization to start and another 6.8 months to finish the construction.  Good news for the housing market as inventory has been very low the past year.

Depending on the function of the new construction single-family homes the time it takes to complete varies. For a house built for sale, it took the shortest amount of time which was 6.9 months from permits to completion. A new construction home built by owners took around 13 months and a home built for rent took around 10.6 months. New construction homes built by a hired contractor only took 9.7 months from permits to completion.

Time also varies by region. The region with the longest time tied with Middle Atlantic and New England at 11.6 months while the shortest was the South Atlantic division with an average of 7.8 months. The remaining regions include the Pacific at 10 months and East South Central at 9.1 months.

Hopefully, with the shorter construction times, there will be more inventory for homebuyers. If you are in the market for a new home, choose a Realtor to help you with the process.

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Buyers’ Must-Haves When It Comes to Kitchen and Bath Features

The National Association of Home Builders' publication What Home Buyers Really Want, 2021 Edition, gave us the top features buyers want in a kitchen and a bathroom. In the kitchen, four out of every ten buyers feel that a double sink is essential and expressed they would probably not purchase a home without this feature. For bathrooms, most buyers said it was essential for a separate shower and tub in the primary bathroom.

The kitchen top 10 kitchen features that rated essential or desirable were a double sink (side-by-side) 81%, walk-in pantry 81%, table space for eating 78%, a central island 77%, drinking water filtration 76%, granite/natural stone countertops 73%, recessed lighting 69%, customized backsplash 69%, pull-out shelves 68% and a breakfast bar 64%.

Broken out by buyers who say it is essential and buyers who say a feature is desirable were surprising. For the top 10 features that were essential 42% of buyers said a double sink, 35% table space for eating, 34% chose a walk-in pantry, 32% said a central island, 32% drinking water filtration, 26% granite/natural stone countertops, 26% recessed lighting, 23% customized backsplash, 22% pull-out shelves and 19% breakfast bar.

Bathrooms are deemed very important to today's buyers, especially the primary bathroom. The top ten on the list for the home's primary bathroom were a linen closet 76%, both shower stall & tub 74%, double vanity 69%, private toilet compartment 67%, toilet, tub & sink-white 65%, granite vanity 65%, ceramic tile walls, multiple shower heads 59%, whirlpool tub 56% and body spray panel 56%.

Buyers who said that the bath shower stall & tub were essential ranked the highest at 36% while the linen closet ranked the highest in desirable at 49%. The lowest-ranked feature for both essential and desirable were dual toilets.

If you are in the market for a new home, now is the time to purchase one due to historically low interest rates. Remember to use a Realtor who can help you with the process from choosing a home to closing.

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Home Buyers Will Need Patience When Purchasing a Home in 2021

The current housing market is booming which is good news but is it for buyers? Homebuyers are facing many obstacles in this seller's market. In fact, it is one of the most competitive markets we have seen for homebuyers recently. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), homes that are for sale are getting around 4.8 offers per sale! This is due to the lack of inventory in the current housing market.

“The housing market is still relatively under-supplied, and buyers can’t buy what’s not for sale. Relative to what we saw in 2017 to 2019, March 2021 was still roughly 117,000 new listings lower, adding to the pre-existing early-year gap of more than 200,000 fresh listings that would typically have come to market in January or February. Despite this week’s gain from a year ago, we’re 19 percent below the new seller activity that we saw in the same week in 2019,” says Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at realtor.com.

Many are blaming the pandemic for lack of inventory because sellers are scared to have potential buyers in their homes but this is not the case. The main cause is the shortage of new construction of single-family homes. A chart which shows the completed single-family homes per decade shows a dramatic decrease from 2000-2009 to 2010-2019. From 2000 - 2009 12.6 million single-family homes were constructed and from 2010 - 2019 only 6.5 million single-family homes were constructed.

“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and current recession, the housing market was facing a substantial supply shortage and that deficit has grown. In 2018, we estimated that there was a housing supply shortage of approximately 2.5 million units, meaning that the U.S. economy was about 2.5 million units below what was needed to match long-term demand. Using the same methodology, we estimate that the housing shortage increased to 3.8 million units by the end of 2020. A continued increase in a housing shortage is extremely unusual; typically in a recession, housing demand declines and supply rises, causing inventory to rise above the long-term trend,” says am Khater, Vice President and Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, Economic Housing and Research Division.

Freddie Mac estimates that close to four million homes will need to be built to meet the current demand. NAR reports that as of March 2021, there were 1.74 million housing starts which is the highest they have been in 14 years. This is an increase in both single-family and multifamily units. It will take around 4-8 months from start to completion on new construction so patience is needed.

If you are considering purchasing a home this year, you will definitely need some patience. A good idea is to contact your local real estate professional to help you navigate this demanding housing market.

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