Pending Home Sales Highest in September 2019

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The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported a 21-month high for pending home sales in the month of September.

The catalyst for this spike stems from lower mortgage rates. National buying power has increased by 6% due to improved interest rates.  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) believes this is the case for the two consecutive gains in sales reported.

Pending home sales are based on The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The PHSI is an indicator that looks ahead based on signed contracts. The National Association of Realtors reported the highest PHSI since December of 2017 last month. It rose from 1.5% from 107.1 in August to 108.7 in September 2019. Looking at sales from a year-over-year basis, they were up 3.9% higher than reported just a year ago in 2018.

Looking at the September PHSI it was mixed regionally. In the Midwest it measured at 3.1%, in the South it was 2.6% higher, Northeast fell 0.4% and in the West it fell 1.3%. Although there were some regions that fell, the year-over-year Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) grew in all four major regions which include the Northeast, South, Midwest and West. The increase ranged from 1.3% in the Northeast all the way to 5.7% in the South.

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Covington Library Grand Opening

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The St. Tammany Parish Library in Covington’s $2 million-plus renovation is almost complete. The grand opening is planned for February 2020.

The original grand opening date was set in January of 2020. Delays in the window installation have caused the month set back. During renovations the contractor discovered that water had been leaking into the 31-year-old building through the windows. It was decided to replace all the windows in the building with better sealed new windows which would better protect from the outdoor elements.

Along with the new windows, the branch located at 310 W. 21st Ave. will have a new roof, air conditioning, lighting, flooring, furniture, new ADA-compliant restrooms and the conversion of 3,000 square feet of administrative space to public use.

More improvements will come for many St. Tammany library as three new capital improvement expenditures were approved in the last library board meeting. The expenditures total $255,800 which include $115,000 for roof work on Mandeville and South Slidell branches and $140,800 in exterior work on the Covington branch.

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