Appraisals a Big Challenge But Getting Easier

One of the biggest challenges facing builders and people selling their homes in St. Tammany Parish and Southeast Louisiana are the appraisals that are given for the homes for sale and built new homes.  Recently, in the last few years, laws were established requiring banks and mortgage companies to choose appraisers from a universal list, giving each appraiser an equal amount of work. However, because appraisers are not required to go through intensive training and maintain continuing education, some appraisals that were turned in to the banks and mortgage companies fell far below what the perceived value of the house was.

This causes a problem for the closing process in that the loan amount is often more than the house is worth, according the appraiser.  The appraisal process for a home for sale or new home for sale in a

new neighborhood or in a rural part of St. Tammany Parish, where there aren’t a lot of “comps” (comparisons of homes previously sold in the area) can be a stressful one for a home buyer looking to buy a new home or existing home for sale, unless it is a cash sale.  The appraisal dictates to the mortgage company or the bank how much the loan amount can be based upon the value of the house and / or the down payment of the buyer.

“An appraisal can vastly impact the mortgage process. This number alone can impact how much a buyer needs to bring to closing, or the current equity a homeowner has when refinancing,” said Bill Banfield, Quicken Loans Executive Vice President of Capital Markets. “If homeowners are aware of local home values and how they are changing, it will assist with a smoother mortgage process.”
However, there is good news for the real estate industry, the distance (difference) between the amount of the appraisal and new home and existing home prices has narrowed for 4 months in a row according to the National Quicken Loans home Price Perception Index (HPPI). Appraised values are still falling short of home prices, but the most recently logged margin during the month of September was 1.14%. This is good news for builders looking to sell their homes (and have them appraise) at market value.

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Interest Rate Increase Expected in December

Interest rates have been driving the housing recovery, as well as the economic recovery in the United States since the housing market dropped out in 2008.  The Fed has kept interest rates at zero for approximately 8 years which has been attractive for both home buyers, new home buyers, and people looking to refinance their mortgages.

As the U.S. economy has recovered at a very gradual, yet very steady pace, the Federal Reserve,

called The Fed, has, within the last year, started to gradually increase the interest rates, once in December, 2016, again in March and then in June, 2017.  During the last meeting of The Fed, October 31st and November 1st, during a two-day meeting in Washington, kept the interest rate the same.  This could be  because a new pick for The Fed chair was expected on Thursday. Rates have stayed within the 1% and 1.25% range, with a rate increase expected in December.

New picks for the chair for the Federal Reserve include the current chair, Janet Yellen, and Jerome Powell, a Fed governor and John Taylor, an economist at Stanford University.

The economy is said to be strong enough to handle another rate increase, especially with the job growth and recovery due to the hurricanes in both Texas and Florida and the wildfires, which have increase restoration construction in California.  In addition, the United States unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since 2001 at 4.2%, and the job growth has increased for the last 83 out of 84 months.

The December increase in the interest rate will not cause a huge disruption in the home building industry as, even with the rate hikes, mortgage rates are still at historic lows.  However, the refinance market has slowed down a great deal once rates rose above 4%.

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Builder Confidence High for the Month of October

A jointly sponsored survey from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo to a selection of builders in the United States rates builder confidence in three different areas: current sales conditions, prospective buyers, and expectations for future sales. The results of this survey are published each month in the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). Any rating by builders that is higher than 50 is considered a positive sign. During October, 2017, the builder confidence index rose to a total of 68 for all three categories, which is the highest level it has

been since May of this year.  March – June are considered some of the best months for real estate, so to have this high of a score during October from builders is a very positive sign for the real estate industry as a whole.

“This month’s report shows that home builders are rebounding from the initial shock of the hurricanes,” said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald, a home builder and developer from Kerrville, Texas. “However, builders need to be mindful of long-term repercussions from the storms, such as intensified material price increases and labor shortages.”

It is also interesting to note that builder confidence is so high when the hurricanes have eaten up a lot of the construction labor available to builders with flood restoration and home repair.  Some construction companies have one year and year and a half waiting lists for hurricane-related home repairs. In fact, the typical number of new home permits issued in Houston in a year has been surpassed by the number of permits requested for home repairs.

The price of lumber is also up 21% and is expected to continue to rise. However, builders are also seeing a surge in demand for new homes after the hurricanes, so this has probably helped with builder confidence levels during this month.

The exact numbers of the three survey factors are as follows: current sales conditions rose five points to 75. Sales expectations over the next six months also rose five points to 78. The component measuring buyer traffic rose just one point to 48 and is the only measure in negative territory.

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Construction Careers Experience Highest Increase Ever

The National Association of Home Builders has been publishing news articles that tout the increased need for construction workers throughout the entire United States, and this need was reflected during this year’s Virginia Tech’s Myers-Lawson School of Construction career fair.  The result of the job fair for the students was 100% employment for all students who attended the fair. The need for construction employees, whether they are workers, sub-contractors, or project managers, was one reason that the fair was so successful; but the other reason was the location of the career fair.

Virginia Tech’s Myers-Lawson School of Construction offers a program which not only trains students in their field or major but also teaches life skills and professional skills which are highly desired by potential employers. 

“There is simply not enough young talent being produced to keep up with the growth. This particular

school is preparing them not only with construction techniques, but life skills and professional skills,” says Ken Taylor, executive vice president of W.M. Jordan Company, who graduated from Virginia Tech’s building construction program in 1979.

In addition the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the U.S. News & World Report also released a study that showed the popularity of construction-based majors, saying that enrollment in construction-related majors grew by 26.4% over the past year at four-year colleges and universities. Right now, this increase holds the record for the highest increase of any major ever, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Construction careers are projected to have the fastest growth of all occupations over the next decade (adding more than 7.2 million construction jobs by 2024) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Meanwhile, for the students of Virginia Tech, the 900 participants who attended the career fair were offered jobs with starting salaries of at least $66,000.  More than 117 companies showed up to this career fair, and other companies had to be turned away from getting a booth at the fair.

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St. Tammany Parish Students Prepare for New Industry Jobs

Dual enrollment in both high school and college will be available to St. Tammany Parish students with the advent of joint enrollment programs with St. Tammany Parish high schools and Southeastern and Northshore Technical College.  Programs are being implemented in local high schools focused on getting students to think about their career goals, whether they want to attend a 4-year college, a 2-year college, or go to a technical school.  For those students who have no plans for additional education after high school, the program gives students direction on where they can get technical certifications in a field in which they are interested.

In addition to this early planning for St. Tammany Parish high school students, a new task is now

being considered by  a panel of experts who met Tuesday, October 10th to brainstorm about how to prepare upcoming graduating students to be able to join an ever-changing workforce.  One of the unique ideas being discussed is preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist.  The panel of experts include educators, members of the economic development foundation, and business associates.

St. Tammany Parish Schools’ Superintendent Trey Folse, as well as Assistant Superintendent Regina Sanford are members of this panel.  Representing Northshore Technical Community College is Chancellor William Wainwright and university president John Crain represents Southeastern Louisiana University.

Programs are being developed and will be developed based on a supply and demand basis, which is why these experts are constantly touching base with local businesses to see what demands will need to be met by the emerging workforce.

“If our school system fails, your business is not far behind,” Folse told the audience.
Wainwright, meanwhile, said educators are constantly consulting with industry and economic development leaders to determine what programs are needed to meet future demand. “The programs we offer are supply and demand driven,” he said.

One of the tools that will be used to assist high school students to reach the next level will be the $10 million science, technology, engineering and mathematics campus that has been built in Lacombe and opened in February of this year. The industries that will be offering programs through this campus are biological sciences, maritime, information technology and business preparation for students interested in moving forward to get a 4-year degree.

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New Home, Less Space? Here is Some Advice

If you have been able to purchase a new home, and you were able to afford a little less space than expected, there is no reason why your new home has to look or feel crowded, even if you have less square footage. Below are some tips to help you expand the look and feel of your newly purchased home.

1. Even if you like a lot of light, overhead lighting illuminates a room too much and actually emphasizes the size of the room. This means that if the room is smaller than you would like, excess lighting will reveal this. It is recommended that you use smaller lamps and focused lighting on the areas of the room in which you will occupy or spend the majority of your time. Table lamps and unique lighting selections can also make your decorating eclectic and inviting.

2. Color coordination – maybe a small palette of just a few colors – will make the house seem to “flow” together instead of using a different color in every room.  By using too drastically different of

colors, you are highlighting the fact that every room is separate, which may make the focus on the room size more stark. With a blended palette throughout, your room spaces may blend together more seamlessly.

3. Some people think that getting a shower enclosure is a good way to create more space in the bathroom. However, by installing a shower door, you only are creating two cramped spaces instead of a larger vanity area space. By installing a panel that can open, which only covers 1/3 to 1/2 of your shower space, you are creating a versatile space between your vanity area and your shower area.

4. When choosing your decor, think, small and delicate in order to utilize your cubic space instead of your square footage.  Oversized couches, beds, and bedroom furniture can take up all of your space and make the rooms seemed cramped and tight to move around. Have fun choosing decorative furniture that is simple in design and takes up less space.

5. If you have the ability, try to use all light colors in your kitchen, including your kitchen cabinets. Dark cabinets make a room seem much smaller, especially if your kitchen cabinets go all the way to the ceiling. Even though the storage space is great, the cabinets will seem to “swallow” the room, and a lighter color may deflect this feeling. If your cabinets don’t go all the way to the ceiling, and you have your heart set on dark cabinets, try using a sharply contrasting wall color (black and white) to set off the cabinets and give them a more aesthetic appeal.

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Historic District of Covington to Feature New Art Market Location

Located between N. Columbia Street and N. Florida Street is a slight street in Covington, Louisiana’s downtown district named Hotel Alley.  Streets in the historic district of Covington, formerly known as Division of St. John, are laid out in unique patterns of squares within squares called ox lots. This peculiar design is how the downtown district got placement on the National register of Historic Places in 1981.  The main streets, laid out horizontally, are accessed by alleyways.  That is how this particular street – Hotel Alley – came to be named.  Now, the St. Tammany Art Association is

planning on completely “renovating the street,” and renaming it: Art Alley.

Art Alley, currently a strip of asphalt, will be getting a new look, complete with cafe-style lighting overhead, connecting between the Art Association’s Art House and the H.J. Smith & Sons General Store and Museum; a lit-entry archway, a mural, and removable bollards to close off the street for special events. The special event, which will benefit from this street renovation is the Covington Art Market.  This year’s Covington Art Market will be held on October 7, 2017, from 9am – 1pm at the new Art Alley location.  Formerly located at the Covington Trailhead, the October Art Market will feature artists: Susan Carver, Wess Foreman, Julie Katich, Richard Lo Piccolo, Linda McNeely, Jeffrey Minzey, Ruth Ostarly, Allison Radtke, Jason Ronquillo, Kristy Ruffino, Robert Wagner and Chuck Wright.

“Throughout the United States, cities of all sizes are embracing what’s known as ‘Creative Placemaking,’ the art of transforming ordinary spaces into extraordinary places that promote a sense of community, spark commerce and enhance areas by creating cultural hubs of activity,” said Kim Bergeron, STAA’s executive director.

The October Covington Art Market is also doing something a little different.  They are partnering with American Art Therapy Association and the South Texas Art Therapy Association to provide hurricane relief efforts to children affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.  The visitors of the Art Market can contribute to an art supply drive which will then be donated to those children in need. The effort is being spearheaded by Jaclyn Warren MS, ATR-BC, a STAA Artist Advisory Board member and president of the Louisiana Art Therapy Association. Colored pencils, crayons, cay-pas, unruled journals and sketchpads, and coloring books are just some of the supplies that can be donated.

“We hope the community sees the possibilities that Art Alley offers and embraces our efforts to bring that vision to reality,” Bergeron said. “And, of course, a visit to the art market is an opportunity to discover new talents and to celebrate our community’s artists.”

For more information, call 985.892.8650 or visit www.sttammanyartassociation.org.

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