Home Affordability in St. Tammany Parish
With news that has the real estate market is finding a balance between pricing and interest rates, home buyers will be glad to know
that in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2013, housing affordability country-wide has increased. This is especially good news for builders with homes for sale in St. Tammany Parish. Most of the country has experienced the dramatic increase in home pricing in 2013, which has pulled the housing market out of the Recession and back into a semi-normal steady flow of purchases and sales. Because of this increase in home prices, sellers have begun to enjoy a “seller’s market,” and existing homes have begun to sell. Both new home sales and resales have decreased the supply of home inventory to a 2 – 3 month supply which is considered “normal.”
The interest rate has risen over 1% up from its low of 3.55% for conventional mortgages to 4.24% – 4.35% depending on the area of the country in which you live. The reason for the increase in the interest rate was 1) the financial market could not sustain this low interest rate for such a long period of time and 2) the Fed scaled back on its bond buying program at a small but promised rate which raised alarm in the stock market and caused the interest rates to rise. People that were able to take advantage at the record low interest rates – some as low as 2.5% for 15-year ARM mortgages – for both new home purchases and refinances were able to reduce the amount of interest and principle owed on their loans. With home prices rising and interest rates remaining low, homes that had once been “under water” during the Recession were able to regain the lost values of their homes, reduce the amount of their monthly payments (due to refinancing at the record-low interest rates), and increase their usable home equity.
These circumstances made it so that people that were once “stuck” in their homes now had the option to sell their home, move, and 
not lose money on their home sale. Now, with the stabilization of home affordability as well as home pricing, the real estate market is primed for amazing movement in the housing market in 2014. Builders in St. Tammany Parish are once again freed up to purchase new lots for sale and build new and custom homes in subdivisions throughout the Greater New Orleans area.
Unlike other areas of the country which experienced a complete “blackout” of their real estate markets, St. Tammany Parish had builders who were able to consistently build a few homes at a time, sometimes annually, throughout the Recession. Because of this, cities like Mandeville, Covington, and Madisonville did not “lose” its new home contractors and sub-contractors. These companies were able to be “kept employed” throughout the last 5 years. Most markets nationwide are experiencing a backlog of homes-to-be-built orders because of a labor shortage. Also, because so many developed subdivisions went bankrupt, there is also a shortage of land for sale on which builders can build. In St. Tammany Parish, Bedico Creek Preserve not only has plenty of available lots for sale, because of the quick sale of lots in most of our Neighborhoods, we are actually adding a new Neighborhood of lots for sale. So, now that homes are affordable, interest rates are low and somewhat stable, and home pricing has stabilized, now is the best time to buy or build your new home – right here at Bedico Creek in Madisonville, Louisiana. Contact Us Today to Get Started!! Call 985-845-4200 or E-mail [email protected] for more information.
