Housing Market in St. Tammany Parish Shows Increases in the Price Per Square Foot

St. Tammany Parish is enjoying a robust housing market when it comes to the value and appreciation of homes for sale and new homes for sale. During the first 6 months of 2018, the price per square foot of homes in the Greater St. Tammany Parish area were calculated and then compared to 2017’s prices and the price per square foot of homes before Hurricane Katrina hit the Greater New Orleans area in 2005. The results of that comparison are spelled out below.

Homes for sale and new homes for sale which have seen a steady increase in value from Katrina to the first 6 months of the year include homes located in Folsom, Covington Central (70433), Madisonville, Mandeville (70471), Lacombe, Slidell (70460), and Abita Springs.

In Mandeville and Madisonville, the price per square foot during the first 6 months of 2018 is actually identical at $143 / square foot. In Mandeville, there was an increase of $31 and in Madisonville, there was an increase of $37 from 2005 to 2018. In Lacombe, there was an increase of $12, in Folsom it was an increase of $15, in Slidell (70460), there wan an increase of $14, and in Abita Springs, there wan an increase of $29.

The city which saw the biggest increase in the price per square foot of a home in St. Tammany Parish overall was Covington Central (70433) with an increase of $41 per square foot since 2005. Other cities saw an increase in 2017 and then a slight decrease in 2018, which is in line with the softening of the housing market as interest rates went up towards the middle / end of 2018. These cities inclued Bush, North Covington (70435), Pearl River, Slidell (70461), and Slidell (70458). In North Covington, the price per square foot of homes for sale stayed exactly the same from 2017 to 2018. In Pearl River, the price increased from $87 in 2005 to $105 in 2017 and then decreased to $100 in 2018. In Slidell (70461), there was also an increase from $87 in 2005 to $105 in 2017 to decrease just $2 to $103 in 2018.

Overall the increase in the price per square foot in St. Tammany Parish increased 3.1% from $118.70 to $122.40 per square foot. Average home pricing went from $253,553 to $264,754, and the city which saw the most amount of growth was in Madisonville. Residency increased in Madisonville to over 11,000 residents in 2018. This small charming town on the banks of the Tchefuncte River began as a town of 4,000 at the turn of the century, just to give context to the amount of growth.

So, if you’re in the market for a home to buy, check out the areas of St. Tammany Parish where you can afford to live. The housing market is hot right now, and available housing is tight – you might want to consider building your own home so that you get exactly what you want for the price you can afford. Call 985-626-7619 or email Ron Lee Homes at Info@RonLeeHomes.com to start your building process today!



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New Homes for Sale Available Come at a Price

After the housing market struggled to make a comeback after the Recession, the supply of homes for sale and new homes for sale available in the real estate market has continued to decline. Because of this the supply of homes and new homes available to buy has decreased to a crucial point. That is that there is now more demand for homes to buy than there are homes and new homes on the market for sale.

Because of the lopsided nature of supply and demand in real estate, home prices have not only continued to increase, but they are still increasing at a rapid pace. According to Core Logic, a real estate analysis company which tracks housing trends nationwide, the price of homes for sale increased by 6.8% in June, 2018, compared to June, 2017. May, 2014 was the last time that housing prices had such a high year-over-year percentage increase, which was during one of the fast-paced recovery years of real estate after the Recession.

The price of homes continuing to go up is unsustainable as mortgage rates are also on the rise, putting

the cost of the monthly note out of reach for some home buyers. However, as long as demand continues to outpace supply, the prices will continue to have a “seller’s market” mentality for home buyers who are able to qualify for loans.

Another factor in the increase in home prices is that prices are now double that of the growth of individual’s growth in salary. However, there are signs that home prices will start to see a slow down as the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index had less growth during May, 2018 than May, 2017. There are also other trends that show an overall economic slowdown that have probably not translated to the real estate housing market just yet.

What you can take away from this news is that if you have a home to sell and are wanting to buy a new home or a home for sale, you will want to make sure you are able to move quickly on buying a home and actually moving out since it truly is a seller’s market out there. If you are buying a home in the St. Tammany Parish area, Contact Ron Lee Homes about our Homes for Sale or to build the home of your dreams in Mandeville, Madisonville, Covington, Abita Springs, or Folsom! Call 985-626-7619 or email Info@RonLeeHomes.com.



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Additional Home Loan Programs to Complement Current FHA Loan Programs

Home buyers have faced a challenging environment for being able to qualify for home loans since the real estate market crashed over 10 years ago. Since then, the main program offering affordable home loans has been from the Federal Housing Authority which offers FHA loans. Now, government sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are offering additional loan programs to home buyers with less than stellar portfolios to make it possible for them to buy a home.

One of the programs offered by Fannie Mae is the HomeReady program which allows a credit score as low as 620 or a debt-to-income (DTI) of as much as 50% with only a 3% down payment. While other factors are taken into account of a potential home buyer’s credit profile, these two factors

separately don’t automatically decline the home buyer from being able to buy a home. For people who are within the income limits of this loan program, it is a viable alternative to the FHA loan which can incur high mortgage insurance premiums which can last for 5 to 15 years on payments of the loan. This program also counts rental income as a true source of income and allows co-borrowers to be people not actually residing in the home – think a parent or grandparent co-signing on the loan.

Another program that is available is being offered by Freddie Mac. It is called the HomePossible program. It also allows a 3% down payment, and is specifically designed for home buyers with a lower income level. Repeat buyers qualify for this loan program as well. Freddie Mac is also offering a new loan program called HomeOne. HomeOne’s advantages are that there are no income limits, and there are also no geographic restrictions. A credit score of at least 640 is required for this loan, but that it still well below the “perfect” credit score require by a regular conventional loan.

Where before, home buyers had to account for every penny in their bank account before being able to get approval for their loan, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now allowing home buyers to crowd source fund a down payment for their loan. With home prices going up, a 3% down payment is turning into a higher and higher amount, so being able to raise money to buy a home, just like you would raise money for other things in your life, is a huge advantage. An program called Loftium actually has a unique “forward-thinking” program for home buyers. They allow a home buyer to rent out a room of their home, calculate the potential income for the rental and then “front” a percentage of that income as part of the down payment on the loan. This is a truly innovative way of “getting a home buyer into a home.”

Fannie Mae is also in the trial stages of a lease-to-own program for home buyers where a buyer begins as a renter and then has a deadline to buy the home for an agreed-upon price in a designated number of years. This program is not an official loan program yet, as it is just in the beginning stages.

So, however you are trying to buy your new home, there are programs out there to assist you if you don’t have the upfront money or need a little “mercy” because of bad credit or a high debt-to-income percentage. Ask your lender about these programs to see if you qualify.

For more information about buying a home for sale in St. Tammany Parish, Contact Us Today at 985-626-7619 or Email Info@RonLeeHomes.com.



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STAA: How It All Began

The emergence of the St. Tammany Art Association (STAA), on December 1, 1958, was just the beginning of the life long celebration in the community of the arts. The idea of the origination’s concept came from the first meeting notes taken August 15, 1957 at a group meeting held at the Covington resident, Mrs. Miriam Barranger. In the notes it stated that their group’s motto was “to encourage education and interest in the fine arts in the community through lectures, panel discussions, exhibits and the screening of motion pictures. To sponsor classes in painting, sculpture, crafts and the fine arts generally.”

In the last sixty years, the STAA has not only lived out this motto, but the nonprofit, has superseded it by supporting local well-known and emerging artists. Throughout the years it has enriched the Covington Art Market, Art Alley, the annual Fall for Art Festival, the annual Spring for Art Festival, both adult and children educational classes, holiday and summer camps, artists’ panel discussions and special programs such as Cancer to Canvas, Sizzlin’ Seniors and Veteran to Veteran.

residents of St. Tammany Parish through cultural programs and activities such as three galleries, six annual art markets, the

With the development of Art Alley that runs along N. Columbia Street between STAA’s Art House and the historic H.J. Smith & Sons General Store, STAA brings a space for community gatherings and cultural commerce space. Kim Bergeron, the former executive director, turned the ordinary alley into a place of art celebration and the home of the Covington Art Market.  According to Bergeron, “Art Alley initiative is a Creative Placemaking effort designed to transform an ordinary alley into a community gathering and cultural commerce space. I intend to continue to work toward bringing that project to its full potential. The harmonica campfire concert with our Culture Camp children, led by GrayHawk Perkins, and the Holiday Children’s Tea in Art Alley were among my favorite events – truly magical. I see so many possibilities for Art Alley as a place to celebrate arts, culture and non-profit organizations.”

STAA will continue to serve the community and reach as many people from all walks of life in the celebration of art. As the nonprofit pursues a new executive director, STAA will remember their motto and all of the programs created by the former leader. Roswell Pogue, president of STAA’s board of directors describes Kim Bergeron by stating, “Her enthusiasm and drive have expanded our community outreach and profile. We are here, as an organization, to reach as many people from all walks of life as is possible, and Kim has been integral to that goal.”

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St. Tammany Parish Publish School District to Give Employees A Much-Needed Pay Raise

One of the most important career paths many can take is a job that helps mold and raise the next generation.  St. Tammany Parish public school district sees the importance of its employees and is proposing an increase by $2.8 million in salaries for the 2018-2019 school year.

The $235 million that will total the salaries in the district is part of a proposed $416.6 million budget that St. Tammany Parish School Board has agreed to and developed alongside the St. Tammany

Federation of Teachers and School Employees.

The district will also use the allotted monies for special revenue funds, capital project funds and debt service funds.  Typically, the School Board accepts a spending plan in September, but this proposed budget is set for the school district’s fiscal year that began July 1, 2018 and will end July 31, 2019.

The money projected for the budget will be granted by the state through the Minimum Foundation Program, State funding, and local funding.  There will be a projected $890,000 increase in the Minimum Foundation Program, with $212.3 million from state funding and local funding will represent $203.8 million of the budget.

This is a reasonable proposal for the St. Tammany Parish Schools.  The district runs 55 schools with more than 5,600 employees and 39,000 students.  According to Superintendent Trey Folse and Director of Business Affairs Terri Prevost, the budget will not affect local sales or property tax revenues.

To learn more information or for any questions you might have about the proposed budget, the School Board has scheduled a public hearing Thursday August 23, 2018 at 6pm. The hearing will be held at the School Board’s office located at 321 N. Theard St., Covington.

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A New Levee for Lake Pontchartrain

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) and Army Corps of Engineers shows an abundance of hurricane activity along the Southern Shore of Louisiana.  In fact, the Army Corps of Engineers created a map of potential stillwater elevations for a storm surge from a hurricane with a 1% chance

of occurring that has a possibility to hit the New Orleans area in 2070. The 100-year storm would be a devastation to all areas surrounding Lake Pontchartrain if proposed new levees are not built.

Congress has before them $100 billion dollars in various flood protection projects that the corps plan to build nationally. Many of the projects would greatly help and reduce tragic loss during hurricane season in the Greater New Orleans area. Fortunately, in 2014, Congress approved the 2014 Water Resource Bill which was the first step in the process of authorizing a levee to be built. Due to an emergency supplemental appropriation that is linked to the recent devastation from hurricanes and floods, the West Shore levee has been approved and fully funded. The West shore project makes up only 1 % of the $100 billion in projects before Congress.

According to U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, the fast pace of the Congressional approval and funding for projects such as the West Shore levee is unheard of. Graves believes funding projects such as this should be the norm.  It is reported that the nation spends billions on restoring homes,

businesses and infrastructure loss due to hurricane flooding. If the nation spent just millions on flood projects beforehand many of the devastation could have been avoided. “This project pays for itself,” Graves said. “Think about the cumulative money spent picking up the pieces from Hurricane Isaac,” he said. “We cannot continue to spend billions in the aftermath of disasters. We have to spend millions in advance.”

The West Shore Lake Pontchartrain hurricane levee project is set to be completed by 2023 hurricane season. The $760 million-dollar project includes 17 miles of levee and a mile of concrete T-wall. It will mostly be located in St. John the Baptist parish which will include berms around Gramercy and Lutcher, a separate berm around Grand Point North and smaller berms around other smaller non-residential buildings. The 17-mile levee will separate populated areas west of I-10 from storm surges moving inland from Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas and adjacent wetlands.

The New Orleans Army Corps of Engineers’ office announced the project will begin construction by early 2021. According to Col. Michael Clancy the project will be divided into 11 smaller projects and will be under the local sponsor, Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. According to the federal law, the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority will pay 35% of construction cost, however the Army Corps of Engineers will pay construction cost upfront and will allow the local sponsor to repay them over a 30-year period upon completion of the project.

Once the project is complete the Pontchartrain district will control and operate the levees. St. John Parish President Natalie Robottom looks forward to what the future holds for this project.  She feels it is the parish responsibility to allow its residents and business owners to participate in the $760 million-dollar project so the dollars spent will stay within the parish.

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Bed & Breakfast Proposed Restrictions

Sometimes wording can easily get lost in translation. Thursday, August 9, 2018 questionable wording was the reason for a proposed ordinance to be placed on hold.  Councilman Mike Pulaski stated, “I have no idea what we’re voting on.” According to Mayor Donald Villere, the current way it is written will create unintended problems for residential zoning districts. The Mandeville City Council struggled with what to do with the proposed ordinance that prohibits bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) in a single-family residential neighborhood.

Several community members voiced their concern saying it brought about unnecessary restrictions on use of private property. Even though there were concerns, most of the community are in favor of the

prohibition. According to Council Chairman Clay Madden, who sponsors the ordinance, the majority of residents who reside in residential neighborhoods do not want B&Bs in their subdivision.

Currently Mandeville’s Comprehensive Land Use Regulation Ordinance allows B&Bs in residential zoned districts. Under the proposed ordinance, B&B’s are prohibited in single-family residential zoning districts, with the exception of Old Mandeville’s Historic Preservation District. The B&B’s that currently reside in residential areas will be grandfathered in.

Councilman John Keller voiced his concerns on “another restriction on people’s property,” and has never heard of any complaints regarding B&Bs until recently.  City officials commented that the issue arose when a recent B&B was permitted by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission in the New Golden Shores subdivision.

Keller’s comments led to a discussion on individual neighborhood associations allowing B&Bs through convents.  Madden however, says that is not feasible because many of the city’s neighborhoods have allowed their convents to expire or the associations are now inactive.
Once the ordinance is redrafted, the city council will revisit any action on the ordinance.
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