Homeownership in 2023

 Whether you are purchasing a home or selling a home, it is a very personal decision. The house you sell or buy is your home that you will spend a good part of your life. It is also a big financial decision that can affect your finances. To make the best decision for you, professionals in the industry reveal what the real estate market looks like in 2023. 

As you begin the search of finding the right home, many start by looking at listings. According to the National Association of Realtors in 2022 almost half (47%) started the process by looking for a home online. Buyers that were younger than 41 had around 60% that purchased a home online. This actually is a good way to handle the process due to the frenzy and fury of buyers in the market. As of April 2023, the median home price for existing homes was $388,800 which was a decline from a year ago. Even with the decline, the stats were up from recent months.

Once you find a home you want to buy, you have to secure the finances. Getting a pre-approval from a mortgage lender will help you in the buyer’s market. This also goes along with a down payment which can be daunting. It was reported that 26% of first-time home buyers agreed that saving up for a down payment was the hardest part of the home-buying process.

Baby Boomers have been at the forefront when it comes to purchasing a home, but there is a new generation, the millennials who have taken over. In 2022 millennials were noted as the largest home buying age group at 43%. Sixty percent were married couples while single women were next at 19%.

If you are in the market to purchase a home, contact a local realtor who can help you through the process. A Realtor can also recommend a mortgage lender who can help you with the financing aspect of purchasing a home.

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Best Regions for Owning or Renting a Home

 According to the Bureau’s Home Vacancies and Homeownership report, the Midwest region of the country has the highest homeownership rate at 70.3% in the first quarter of 2023 and the South followed with 67.3%. If you are in search of a home to rent, then your best bet is to look in the South or Midwest regions of the US if you need to rent something in a hurry.

The U.S. Census Bureau agreed, reporting these two regions have the highest homeownership rates. The remaining regions reported were the Northeast with 62.7%, and the West with 61.9% which was up 1.7% from the same time last year. In fact, the rental vacancy rates were higher in the South at 8.3% and Midwest at 7.5% than the West at 4.3% and Northeast at 4.1%.

If you are looking to rent or purchase a home, contacting a local Realtor is the best way to go. A Realtor will be able to help you with what the best way to go for you might be. They also are familiar with the housing market and the Bureau’s report Owning or Renting the American Dream.

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Positive Expectations for Housing Availability

 Many future and current homebuyers are seeing brighter days ahead for the new home construction sales. The Housing Trends Report showed 29% of those who were looking to buy a home felt that they housing availability was better. In fact, there was a 2% increase from the last quarter in 2022 to the second quarter of 2023 from 24% to 26%.

The overall perspective has been more positive among all the regions across the U.S. We saw a big impact from the last quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of 2023. In the Northeast it increased from 28% to 36%, the West 27% to 34%, the Midwest 19% to 25% and the South 24% to 27%.

Although the regions changed in a positive light in all regions, the changes were more drastic in some regions over others. From the final quarter in 2022 to the second quarter of 2023 the inventory perceptions increased in the Northeast from 26% to 42%, the Midwest from 23% to 28% but in the South it went from 32% to 31% and the West from 31% to 30%.

The Housing Trends Report (HTR) is based on research done by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). The goal for the report is to measure perceptions about the availability and affordability of homes for sale in their markets.  The report comes out quarterly.

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Everyone Loves Butter Krisp Diner's Donuts

 Residents in Covington were heartbroken when a storm Spring of 2022 ripped the roof off of Butter Krisp Diner. After fifteen months, the hot spot finally reopened its doors. In fact, the first day back to business the diner sold over 13,000 doughnuts.

The ironic thing about the opening day was it was only supposed to be a soft opening to train the employees according to owner Joseph Bonon III. The soft opening was anything but as the Covington police had to step in to keep U.S. 190 clear as drivers waited in the long line for the drive-thru. Patrons even said they took a long lunch break to wait in the long line for the delicious treats.

“We’ve been here for probably about an hour,” said Kallye Melancon as she waited in line.

“People were used to coming here every day, and they lost it all of a sudden. It kind of tore ’em up. It’s crazy. I’m really happy,” said Bonono about the line outside his diner.

Patrons from all over came to enjoy the scrumptious delights. Ciji Wallace came all the way from Mississippi. “They have doughnuts in Mississippi but they’re not Butter Krisp,” she comments.

Those that go to the diner for the doughnuts can also enjoy a plethora of items on the menu. The 24-hour diner is the perfect place for a late night burger and BLT.

If you haven’t already stopped by for a doughnut that is the same as it was before. “Every ingredient is the same,” Bonobo said.

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Is a Raised Garden Bed Right for You?

A raised garden bed can look lovely but there are things to consider before making the decision to install one. A raised garden bed takes planning and can be a bit pricey. To save on costs, you will want to get it right the first go around. Before you jump into the project, here are some questions to ask when considering a raised garden bed.

1. How do you decide where to put your raised beds?

The location of your bed will depend on what you are growing in your raised garden bed. For example, if you choose vegetables, you will need a spot that gets at least six hours of sunlight. So you will want to choose the location of your bed according to the amount of sunlight the area tends to get in a day. There are sunlight calculators you can use or even an app on your cell such as Sunseeker or Lumos.

2. What type of soil do you need?

Since a raised garden bed is elevated off the ground, you will want to use a soil mix that will hold water and nutrients. Absorbent soil can be a little costly especially if your bed is large. Recommended is a topsoil mixed with compost and peat moss.

3. How deep should you build your raised beds?

If your raised garden is sitting above fertile soil, then it should be raised 12 inches or less from the ground. The reason for this is because plant roots will have access to a foot or so of nutrients below bed level.  For soil that is not as fertile, you need to raise the bed higher as high as three feet off the ground.

4. What size should raised beds be?

The length and width of a raised bed will depend on a couple of things. If you want to be able to reach comfortably from both sides, you will need to measure from your arm to shoulder to fingertips and double the length of your arm and then subtract six to eight inches. So basically a popular size is 3 to 4 feet wide by 6,8 or 10 feet long.

5. What’s the best material for raised bed gardening?

The most popular materials include wood, plastic, aluminum and galvanized metal. If you choose to do wood, you will need corner reinforcements and cross bracing. The best types of wood to use include cedar, cypress, redwood, or white oak. You do not want to use treated lumber because it contains toxic chemicals.

Take time to carefully plan out your raised garden. Also, answer these five questions to see if a raised bed is really right for you and your garden.

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A New CEO for Lakeview Hospital

 LCMC Health’s Lakeview Hospital in Covington has a new CEO. Benjamin Richaud, who has more than ten years of experience in healthcare management has been appointed.

“Richaud has a strong background in hospital operations, strategic planning and financial management,” the news release reads. “He has served in various leadership positions throughout his career, including his most recent role as CEO of Baptist Medical Center, a 603-bed, flagship hospital within the Baptist Health System (Tenet Healthcare) located in San Antonio, Texas.”

“Ben is a respected healthcare leader with more than a decade of senior leadership experience,” Greg Feirn, CEO of LCMC Health, said in a news release. “His strategic vision and commitment to patient-centered care make him an ideal fit for Lakeview Hospital.”

Ben holds a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama Birmingham, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. He is a North Shore native and is very excited to be working in his own community.

A full-service hospital with 167 beds that serve patients from St. Tammany Parish which include Lacombe, Abita Springs, Madisonville, Covington, Mandeville and Slidell. It has a 24/7 emergency room, a heart center, a surgical institute, a rehabilitation center and a behavioral health center.

“As a North Shore native, I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the exceptional team at Lakeview Hospital,” Richaud said in the news release. “I look forward to working with the talented staff and physicians to continue building upon the hospital’s strong reputation as a leading provider of healthcare services in the region.”

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A Gain in Single-Family Starts Seen in May

 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau’s data shows a positive outlook when it comes to single-family starts. A good part of this is to give credit to limited existing inventory and improving supply chains.

May saw an increase of 21.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.63 million units.The May reading of 1.63 million starts is the number of housing units builders would begin if development kept this pace for the next 12 months. This caused the single-family starts to increase 18.5% which is still 6.6% lower than seen a year ago.

According to a NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI survey, builder confidence and housing starts are improving because of improvements to the supply chain. The start of the year though still puts it down 24% on a year-to-year basis. Single-family completions are only down 1.2% which is good news for the inflation.

Even though on a regional and year-to-date basis it is down in all four regions overall permits increased. Each region came out as 21.7% lower in the Northeast, 24.7% lower in the Midwest, 16.5% lower in the South and 24.1% lower in the West. Permits went up 5.2% to a 1.49 million unit, single-family up 4.8% to and 897,000 unit rate, and multi-family up 5.9% to an annualized 594,000 pace.

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