Discover the Value of Homeownership in America

The value of homeownership has just been assigned a number based on information regarding homeowners in 2013 in the United State.  Owning your own home in America can save $100 billion in tax savings and deductions. Statistics showed that only approximately 11.4% of Americans who had a mortgage by owning a home that they occupied in 2013 did not take advantage of being a homeowner by deducting the mortgage interest that they paid from their federal taxes according to the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) and National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) analysis.

It cannot be emphasized enough the huge advantages of becoming a home owner in today’s economy.  In addition to the $296.2 billion that was claimed on Americans’ taxes, there was also the amount of $174.3 billion in real estate taxes that were claimed on taxes as well. Overall, people who owned homes in the U.S. in 2013 were able to trim their tax bills by over $100 billion dollars.  Mortgage interest deductions accounted for $72.4 billion in savings on taxes while real estate taxes equaled $30.2 billion.

These numbers don’t include individual state programs for making improvements and installing energy efficient, “green” products in their homes.  These deductions are specialized each year by both the state and federal government and typically have timelines and requirements on the amount of money that can be deducted.  The bottom line is that if you own your own home, you have a significantly better chance of saving money on certain home improvements than if you were renting your home.

Another advantage to owning your own home is that on-time mortgage payments will vastly improve your credit.  Just by owning real estate, your credit score will improve as soon you close on your home and log your first mortgage payment.  With better credit, you can expand your opportunities for loans and investments, thereby creating even better credit for yourself and your family.  As you pay more and more principle on your mortgage payments, you will see your home equity rise as well.  You can use an equity line of credit to make improvements to your home (and get those tax deductions!) which also increases your home’s value.  Real estate can be one of your greatest assets that continually increases in value, appreciation, equity, and opportunity if it is handled correctly as one of your greatest investments.  So, what are you waiting for – discover the possibilities of becoming a homeowner today!

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Louisiana in Top Tier of States Leading Housing Recovery Louisiana in Top Tier of States Leading Housing Recovery

NAHB Spring Construction Webinar Forecasts Strong Housing Growth

When comparing statistics in housing trends, the National Association of Home Builders place Louisiana in the top tier of states leading housing recovery nationwide.  The top states include Montana, North Dakota, and Utah, and the 2nd tier of states include Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alaska.  There are several factors that contribute to Louisiana’s (and other states’) housing recovery.  Some states, such as the top 3 states of Montana, North Dakota, and Utah did not have as big of housing bubbles as other states.

Therefore, their “fall” during the Recession was not as great, so their housing recovery was faster and better.  States like Texas and Louisiana are mainly energy sector states, so the Recession did not cut as deeply into employment and statewide income as other states.  Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has consistently held one of the highest rankings in housing recovery since the beginning of 2015 which helps with Louisiana’s housing statistics.

“The basic principle remains the same,” said NAHB Senior Economist Robert Denk. “A strong economy – whether helped, hindered or unaffected by the energy economy – will be a key factor driving housing recoveries going forward.”

Economists predict that by the end of 2017, the top tier states will have a housing recovery of 102% of normal (based on statistics pulled of the housing numbers during the last “normal” housing market pre-Recession).  The bottom tier states will have recovered to just 65% of where they were before the Recession.  The reason for the predicted recovery numbers in 2017 is based on the underlying housing market fundamentals of population and job growth which are typical in driving supply and demand in real estate.  The cycles of “boom and bust” are mostly over according to Denk.

“A common theme has emerged,” said Denk. “The progress of market recovery is no longer a function of the boom-and-bust cycle marked by price bubbles, excess supply and foreclosures. The key driver of the housing recovery is now back to the underlying housing market fundamentals of population and job growth.”

Factors that will help builders and sellers to sell their new homes for sale and homes for sale are a predicted increase in household formation by home buyers that were previously unable to secure a mortgage, stabilized home pricing that now offers tiers of homes for sale available and affordable to purchase, less foreclosures, rising employment and the first increase in wages in over 8 years, and home prices that are in line with incomes and rents making it an easier transition from renting to owning.

If you are a new home buyer who is interested in building your own custom, dream home in West St. Tammany Parish, Ron Lee Homes in Covington, Louisiana, offers full-service home building strategies such as custom home design, engineered floorplans, complete “end-to-end” home construction supervised by Ron Lee, financing and insurance assistance, and a hands-on approach to building new, custom homes in the Greater New Orleans area.  For More Information, Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

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Real Estate Trends in April Showing Growth and Good News

With the 22.6% increase of single-family home construction starts compared to the previous month and year of March, 2015, real estate nationwide has taken a very positive step forward.  In addition to a substantial increase in new home starts, there is good and bad news when it comes to new homes being built and put up for sale in the real estate market.  The bad news is that builders are finding it difficult to procure land to build new homes, as well as the labor required to start and complete a new home project in a timely manner.  On the flip side, that is also good news in that there are now a tremendous amount of construction jobs available for those trained and experienced in the construction industry.

The lack of land and lots to build also increases the new home buyers’ demand across the entire United States, making it so that builders are building new homes “on demand” for prospective homeowners.  Now home buyers are waiting on builders to supply new homes to buy whereas just a few years ago, it was builders waiting on home buyers to be able to buy a 1.5 years’ supply of new homes.

Existing home inventory currently in the market is also really tight according to the National Association of Realtors.  Right now, existing home inventory is at just a 4.5 month supply – really good news for sellers and Realtors, but not such good news for home buyers.  However, existing home sales increased 5.1% in March, despite the dearth of homes available to buy.

If home buyers are in the market for a new home and can afford to wait to be able to build their dream home, they may consider buying a new custom home from local builder Ron Lee Homes in St. Tammany Parish.  Custom homes built by this award winning builder are “worth the wait,” and by using Ron Lee Homes, buyers get full-service attention on the new custom home building process.  Ron Lee Homes designs floorplans, builds new custom homes, assists with financing, and literally walks home buyers through the home building process from start to finish.  So, if you would like to Consult with a Custom Home Builders in West St. Tammany Parish, Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

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