Home Pricing Increases Continue Amid Low Inventory

 

Despite the increase in mortgage interest rates, home prices have remained stubbornly high for those real estate buyers who can still afford to purchase a new home for sale. The reason for this is that the market hasn’t recovered from the exceptional interest rates before and during the pandemic. Housing inventory remains low, which prompts bidding wars for available homes for sale. These bidding wars almost artificially inflate home prices, and the result has been a 1.4% increase in home value from April to May, which is the highest it’s been since June of 2022.

Even though this spring’s home buying season has been muted compared to the last two years, home buyers are still in the market to buy new and previously-owned homes in the Greater New Orleans

area. Nationally, the average home value was at $346,856, almost 1% higher than a year ago and 3.4% more than the beginning of 2023.

During a normal real estate market, pricing tends to trend downward beginning in August, but experts are waiting to see what this year’s market brings. The Midwest had the highest monthly price increases, and New Orleans, considered one of the smallest markets, increased by .6%. The trend of abnormally low home inventory continues in 2023 with May showing a 23% drop in listings compared to May, 2022, and this percentage aligns with the same drop of inventory in March of this year of 22%.

In addition to the pandemic surge and buyout of existing land and houses, another factor in the abnormally low inventory has been the high mortgage interest rates. Homeowners don’t want to sell their home, which probably had a fantastic interest rate and buy a home at a significantly higher rate. Also, once they put their home on the market, and it sells, they may not be able to find a new home to move into. Overall, in a 4-year comparison of home inventory, May 2023, inventory is 3.1% less than May of 2022, and 45.7% less than May of 2019.

If you are looking to buy a new home or build a new home, Ron Lee Homes has available lots for sale and ready to build your new home. Consider getting started with your home building process and Contact Us Today!

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Costco Being Built at Nord du Lac Shopping Center

 

St. Tammany Parish shall soon be the recipients of a Costco location in Covington in the Nord du Lac shopping center off of Pinnacle Parkway. The location will be in “good company,” surrounded by such stores as Koh’s Department Store and Academy Sports + Outdoors, as well as the restaurants of Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse, and Saltgrass Steak House.

This well-know area and location will be convenient to residents of Covington and Madisonville in the expansive shopping area off of Highway 21. The investment of approximately $48.5 million for the 159,000 square-foot store will add to many other profitable developments that have sprung up in the

area in the last few years. Land clearing has begun for the project, which could take up to 16 months to finish construction.

According to a press release from St. Tammany Corporation, 75 new, full-time jobs with average salaries of $59,000 will be available once the store has opened, and there will also be 75 part-time jobs. The traffic to this new, big-box store in St. Tammany Parish is expected to produce approximately $60 million in sales and property taxes over the next 10 years.

Additional lanes on Interstate 12 have been completed, and construction on the “loop” that crosses over I-12 (Pinnacle Parkway) shall help with the new traffic that this new shopping area will produce.

“We are incredibly excited to see that construction is beginning on the new Costco on Pinnacle Parkway in Covington. We look forward to this great family-first company opening their doors, which will bring dozens of jobs and sales tax revenue to St. Tammany Parish,” St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper said.

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Make Your New Custom Home Design Exceptional

 

At Ron Lee Homes, we specialize in semi-custom and fully custom-built homes for our many home buyers. Because of this, we have an extensive portfolio of house plans that include a mix and match of features that we have introduced throughout the years to our discerning custom home buyers. Through specialized requests and the new and unique custom features constantly being introduced throughout the real estate market, we have an incredible variety of specialty offerings we can propose for any floorplan design.

Whether it’s a specific type of wine cellar, butler’s pantry, mud room, custom closet, walk-through shower, etc., we have worked with our new home buyers to try to provide them with their dream home

design. Our floorplans are constantly being evaluated for efficiency, as well. Making our designs not only built to an exceptional quality but making them as friendly to your budget as possible is all part of our custom home building process.

When building new, custom homes, we take into account much more than just the interior amenities and features. We are looking to design and build for you a complete plan, where the exterior can be just as important as the interior. We have created extensive outdoor spaces, such as custom, covered, screened-in porches with an outdoor patio area, covered and outdoor kitchens and catering areas, outdoor fireplaces, design for outdoor entertainment, including sound systems and televisions, pool and fountain designs, hot tubs, and so much more!

If you are ready to start your custom home building journey, get in touch with us to Schedule Your Consultation to discuss your new home floorplan and exterior design! Call 985-966-0086 or email Info@RonLeeHomes.com.

 

 Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Buying vs. Renting – Building Wealth Through Real Estate

 

It is sometimes said that real estate is a great investment. Sometimes people equate this fact to owning property and earning rental income, purchasing land and developing it for commercial and residential real estate ventures, or the value of land or property as it appreciates over time.

According to the a report released by the National Association of Realtors, on average, homeowners in the low, middle, and upper income levels nationally accumulated $98,900, $122,100, and $150,800 in wealth by owning their own home. Putting aside the equity earned while making mortgage payments on a home that you own, as well as the interest that can be written off for tax purposes, the benefits of

owning vs. renting translates into actual accumulated wealth, according to this report.

The report by the National Association of Realtors focused on the “built-in” wealth of home appreciation. The amount of equity in a home that appreciates in value over time automatically adds money to a homeowner’s portfolio. Specifically, around the state of Louisiana, the low, miiddle, and upper income homeowners in the New Orleans-Metairie metro areas accumulated $41,110, $75,030, and $75,680 respectively. In Baton Rouge, low, middle, and upper income homeowners achieved an additional $60,020, $73,500, and $102,980 in additional personal wealth.

Owning a home has so many more benefits than renting because all of the money put into the home and the payments made on the homes is money working for you. In the West St. Tammany Parish area, rents and mortgage payments are now closer in price than ever. Consider purchasing a new home for sale or building a custom home. If you’re ready to begin, Contact Us for a Consultation Today!

Click Here for the Source of the Information.