A Surge In Construction Job Openings

The housing market was a bit slower in the last half of 2018. Despite the slowdown in the sale and resales of homes, the job openings in the construction industry boomed in the last part of 2018.

The National Association of Home Builders and the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey reported an increase in the number of job openings in the construction field. The quits rate for the construction sector jobs increased 2.8% in the last month of 2018. This was a jump from the 2.2%

reported in December of 2017. The open position rate increased from 3.9% to 4.9% from the beginning of 2018 to the last half of the year. The rate reported at the end of 2017 was just 2.1%. The cycle high was 382,000 in December of 2018 which was much higher than the 149,000 reported December 2017.

The housing market will continue to thrive making the need for more workers in the construction field. The construction industry has had an overall increase in jobs since the end of the recession. It is anticipated that in 2019 the jobs might level off but there will still be a high demand in the industry.


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New Orleans Mission Opens The Mission Pantry on the North Shore

It is reported that there are over 24,000 St. Tammany residents that are in need of food. These hungry individuals now have a place to go for help called the Mission Pantry.

Started by The New Orleans Mission, The Mission Pantry is the origination’s latest accomplishment. Founded in 1989, The New Orleans Mission has been serving the New Orleans area for three decades. It has helped residents who are struggling with homelessness, addiction, abuse or lack of food.

The Mission Pantry is located in Lacombe on the site of the New Orleans Mission’s Giving Hope

Retreat at 31294 U.S. 190. The Giving Hope retreat is a 58-acre campus where programs are provided to help aide the homeless population. It offers housing to 80 men who are going through a year-long recovery program.

Walmart donated a $75,000 grant to The Mission Pantry which was used to purchase a refrigerated truck. The truck is used to pick up food from neighboring retailers in the North Shore area.

“With the help of our incredible community partners, we hope to get farmers, grocers and other food purveyors to support the program as we attempt to eradicate food insecurity in St. Tammany Parish,” Mission Pantry Program Director John Proctor said in a news release.


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St. Tammany Tree Bank Will Help Plant 30,000 Trees In 2019

St. Tammany parish is a great place to live and its popularity has shown through the booming housing market. One negative aspect of the growth in the parish is the decline in the beautiful trees the area is known for. St. Tammany parish is the home of oaks, pines and cypress that give the area a canopied greens-cape. St. Tammany parish government has created the Tree Bank program and Adopt-A-Pond program to help with this problem by preserving the tree canopy, enhancing the water quality improvements, increasing flood mitigation and creating Eco-corridors along with wildlife habitat in St. Tammany parish.

“Water quality, flood prevention and preservation of our natural resources, are top priorities in St. Tammany, and we are able to address them all, in varying degrees, through these programs — the Adopt-A-Pond Program and the Tree Bank. This is another example of forward-thinking ideas put

into practice, with wide-ranging results,” said Pat Brister, St. Tammany Parish President. “We also have the benefit of teaching our young people about their own environment and how all of these elements work hand-in-hand to give us our wonderful, natural surroundings, and what they can do in the future to protect our community.”

Funding for the program is fueled by the parish Tree Bank. The Tree Bank is financed by fees that the developers incur when removing trees off land in St. Tammany. Agency partners which include NOAA SeaGrant Program, the LSU AgCenter Youth Wetlands Program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Sunbelt Innovative Plastics, and are in the Adopt-A-Pond program, also help with monetary needs.

Along with the parish government, the St. Tammany School District has taken the initiative to help reach the goal of planting 30,000 new trees in the parish by year’s end. Boyet Junior High has already planted 325 trees at Meadowlake Pond in Slidell. The Adopt-A-Pond program will allow STEM students from St. Tammany high schools and junior high schools to plant trees along the banks of six ponds around St. Tammany. The school district plans to plant 2,300 trees this month alone.

“I’m excited that these community partnerships are allowing our students the opportunity to participate in hands-on science projects while also improving the environment of St. Tammany Parish,” said St. Tammany School System Superintendent Trey Folse. “These are real life lessons that students will be able to use far beyond the walls of their classrooms.”

Along with the 325 trees along the pond’s banks, 75 young Live Oaks have been planted along Oak Harbor Blvd. in Slidell. So far in 2019, over 400 trees of 13 species have been planted in the community.

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Reasons To Why Home Building Should Be In High School Curriculum

A high school degree can only get you so far but coupled with a college degree or a skill set can give you further career alternatives. There is a demand for career and technical education in high school. Here are some great reason why every high school should incorporate home building as an elective.

First reason why is because it’s challenging. Taking those mathematical equations a student learns on paper and applying them in a real life situation is all together different than just applying them on a high school test. Students not only have to figure the problem out on paper but they have to make it

work when building a house. According to Scott Burke, who runs a home building program at Eureka High School in Eureka, Missouri, he has seen honor students who are stumped when applying geometry principles to building homes.

Second reason, it prevents slacking. Students have to work at solving the problems to be able to build. It is much more than just doing a little homework and then taking a written test.

Third reason why is it’s useful. Students get to see a real life scenario of how a subject like geometry can be applied. Students aren’t just sitting in a class room learning the subject but they are also incorporating it into the building of a structure.

Another great reason is because it’s memorable. Students are hands-on in a project. It is easier to remember an equation when they have to apply it to building a home. Math becomes relevant to a student when they physically see the outcome of a nice new home.

The last reason why is because it promotes higher achievement. In the case of Eureka High School, the evidence has been seen that the students who are in the program have an advantage over their peers.

Students need to be thinking more outside of the box and be inspired. Text books are not as inspiring as hands on experience.


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A Great Start to the 2019 Housing Market

The New Year has started out with a great report on the future for the housing market this year. Still rebounding from the housing crisis, there was a slow moment in 2018 for the market. KB Home and Lennar have reported that shares are up this week. Investors and builders have been given an incentive after hearing the good news.

Last week, Lennar’s net income went above and beyond expectation and shares rose up 10%. This makes Lennar’s shares up more than 11% week to date. Their strategy has been affordability in home prices and with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage around 4.78%, affordable home pricing is the key.
KB Home reports their average selling price at the end of 2018 was down 5% from the previous end of 2017.

Lennar CEO Richard Beckwitt describes current sales as, “increased traffic, increased qualified traffic, increased folks willing to buy.”

KB Home CEO Jeffrey Mezger said, “The economy is expanding. Consumer confidence is high. Employment is strong, wages are growing, and household formation is increasing. Alongside these positive factors, the supply of existing homes remains low at 3.9 months nationally, and below that level in many of our markets, and single-family housing starts for 2018 will once again be well under the long-term annual average.”


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Dixie RV SuperStores New Corporate Headquarters

Friends Coastal Restaurant in Madisonville has been an abandoned building for close to two years.  Part of the problem for the seafood restaurant was the parking, noise and litter which hindered the nearby residents.  The community was not a suitable fit for the large restaurant.  Fortunately, the building along the Tchefuncte River was purchased by Greg Lala and Steven Guidry of Dixie RV SuperStores.

The proposal for the 27,0000-square-foot building to be renovated into a multi-use complex was approved at Madisonville’s planning and zoning commission meeting on December 4, 2018. The new

structure will include corporate office space and different types of eateries. Mayor Jean Pelloat is in agreement with Lala and Guidry.

“This type of mixed-use development with offices appears to be our best chance to get this building back into commerce,” Pelloat said.

The two business men plan to move their corporate headquarters to the building. The third floor will house the Dixie RV SuperStores Headquarters while the remaining space will be for the eateries.  The second level will be an upscale restaurant and the lower level will be an open-air venue with casual eating served from Airstream concession trailers.

Unlike Friends, who hosted bands that play loud music late into the night, the new establishment will work under the town’s noise ordinance closing all food service no later than 10pm.  The first level open-air venue would stop serving food at 8pm and the music would not be amplified.

“This is not going to be a fly-by-night restaurateur,” said Lala, a St. Tammany Parish resident. “We don’t want to be Friends (restaurant). We want to be good neighbors.”

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Determined Home Buyers Willing to Wait for the Perfect Home

The results are in, and according to the National Association of Home Builder’s (NAHB) Housing Trends Report, 13% of adults in the United States are going to purchase a home or new home in the next 12 months. The poll was taken during the 3rd Quarter of 2018, so that is the time period covered by the survey. These new home buyers and home buyers are unique in the fact that they are taking their time in making a decision about their home purchase. Some buyers reported already taking more than 3 months to look for a home to buy, and they have not found it yet.

What is interesting about this is that these home buyers state that they will not stop looking for a home if it takes longer than expected – less than 20% to be exact. The reasons why they are having

trouble finding the exact home they want to buy is that 49% of buyers said that affordability is a factor followed by 40% looking for specific features. 38% of home buyers said that they cannot find the home at the right price with the right features in a neighborhood where they want to live.

During the last quarter of 2017 and the first 2 quarters of 2018, over 50% of home buyers said that they have been looking for the right home for over 3 months. The highest percentage was during the 4th quarter of 2017. One reason also that might be affecting the ability of home buyers and new home buyers to find a home they would like to purchase is that supply has been steadily falling in the housing market of the United States. At this time, it has truly been a seller’s market with demand substantially outpacing supply. Because of this, buyers are reporting that they are getting outbid by eager competitors with bigger resources – approximately 21% of buyers reported experiencing this frustration.

So, what will these home buyers do if they cannot find the right home? 61% of home buyers said that they will continue to look in the same location. 27% said that they will look in a bigger are and 23% said they will accept a smaller or older home if the price, location, and features are right. Just 16% said they may consider a higher price range of home to buy to get what they want. Only 18% said they would give up completely.

If you are experiencing the frustration of finding the perfect home to buy with your exact features in West St. Tammany Parish, the good news is that Ron Lee Homes will be able to help you with your purchase. We can even assist you in finding land on which to build, and we can definitely accommodate most requests for features within your specified budget. If the features you are wanting are not within your price range, we have the experience to recommend work-arounds or other options you may not have considered yet. So, to assist with all of your home buying needs, Contact Ron Lee Homes today at 985-626-7619 or email Info@RonLeeHomes.com.



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