Find out about the latest news in Madisonville, Louisiana as well as St. Tammany Parish. We will keep you “tuned in” to all of the information about Southeast Louisiana as well as the real estate industry in general. Many new home buyers are concerned about the market, mortgage information, and builder trends. We plan on keeping you as up to date as possible on these and many more topics. There is a lot going on in the Greater New Orleans area, so you will have plenty to read!

Grand front exterior with double entry doors and covered front entry. Architectural roof and custom shutters compliment the brick and stucco exterior of this new house.

2022 Roof Shingle Color Trends

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The top renovation to the exterior of a home in 2021 was the roof. This is still true in the 2022 home improvement market. Not only are there many options for shingles but also many colors to choose from. In fact, it is reported that the roof shingle color can boost your home’s resale value. Before selecting the perfect color for your roof, here are some tips you should know.

Tones can be important when it comes to selecting the right color for your roof.

Neutral Tones

1024 Cypress Crossing beautifully designed front exterior of this new construction home is both stucco and brick. The roof is composed of custom architectural shingles and has a pleasing contour. The yard on this new construction home is fully landscaped.When you think of neutral, you sometimes think of boring but this is not the case. Neutral colors such as brown and gray can look amazing on a roof. There can be different subtle color variations. A great example is Timberline HDZ in Weathered Wood. This is currently one of GAF’s most popular neutral shingles. The shingle has both dark and light brown towns which will go with a range of home styles and exterior paint colors. Neutral tones are very practical making them popular in 2022. Since they can go with many changes, they can bring a higher resale value. These shingle tones are versatile and classic in looks.

Bold Earth Tones

Earth tones have been popular on both the interior and exterior of homes from 2021 and still in 2022. Nature-inspired shingles such as the GAF architectural asphalt shingles are good examples. These shingles alternate in color which offers a dynamic variation with a pop of color adhering to a cohesive look. A neutral exterior is perfect for this type of shingle. It will give your home more contrast and pop your curb appeal.

Classic Black

You can never go wrong with the classic black shingle. These have become very popular in 2022 due to the ongoing desire for a modern farmhouse look and easy accessibility to solar shingles. There is nothing more classic than a white home with black trim and black shingles. This combination can fit on most any architectural style from a traditional home to a modern home. Now there is even a black solar shingle that gives your home the traditional roof look. These eco-friendly roofs are currently in high demand.

Remember your shingle color can either make or break your home’s curb appeal. It not only can affect the curb appeal but can also affect your home’s resale value. The right shingle paired with the right roof can make your home have a higher market value.

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2022 First Quarter Sees a 3% Increase in Homeowner Equity

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According to a report published by CoreLogic, homeowners with mortgages in the first quarter of 2022 saw their equity grow by 32.2% year-over-year. There was a collective equity gain of $3.8 trillion in the first quarter. This was an average gain of $63,600 per borrower. Homeowners with mortgages accounted for around 60% of properties across the country. Home equity and home prices both rose together, in fact, home prices were up 20% in March 2022 compared to March 2021.

“This has led to the largest one-year gain in average home equity wealth for owners and is expected to spur a record amount of home-improvement spending this year,” Patrick Dodd, CEO of CoreLogic said in a statement.

Homeowners across the nation, approximately 62,000 homeowners regained their home equity. Good news but CoreLogic still reports that around 2% of homeowners with a mortgage still remain underwater. This is about 5.3% less than those reported underwater in the fourth quarter of 2021.

There is still hope, the report predicts that if home prices increase by 5% then around an additional 130,000 homes would regain equity. Lets hope it takes this trend, if it doesn’t and the market turns the opposite way, then around 167,000 additional homes will go underwater.

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The Current Housing Market Sees More Construction of Single Family Homes Over Multifamily

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This has been a whirlwind of a housing market since the pandemic began. It has been nine years since the number of single-family homes under construction is higher than multifamily construction. Robert Dietz, the National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist reported that up until 2008 that was the norm. Then the financial crisis that led to the Great Recession hit and homeowners moved to rentals in droves.

The pandemic could be why this trend has taken over. People wanted to get away from the dense areas and were moving out of apartments. More and more people were looking for a single-family home for space to work and school from home. Since the pandemic will this still hold up to be the case?

Multifamily housing starts were 17% higher from 2020. This shows a sign that multifamily construction will start to come back. If homeowners want to go back to living in metro areas, these communities cannot support a large amount of single-family construction. Millennials are the big chunk of first-time homebuyers and cannot afford a single-family home in this housing market. Multifamily units are more cost effcient when it comes to construction and renting. This will probably put multifamily construction back into the lead.

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Tips To Freshen Up Your Home’s Look

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Springtime is usually the time for cleaning, hence the phrase “Spring Cleaning.” It is also the best time to freshen up your home’s look. Here are five things to do to spring up the look.

#1: Clean and Declutter

After being indoors for the winter, your home might be musty and stale. The first step when the weather starts to warm up is to refresh your home. To do this start with dusting blinds, cleaning windows, washing floors, and prepping your porch — don’t forget to clean your appliances, dust light fixtures, wipe down doorknobs and light switches and freshen up your front door. If you need to update the smell of your home aromas such as linen and cotton are great choices.

#2: Awaken Your Home With Scent

As mentioned earlier, the scent of your home is important. Infuse your home with spring fragrances. Some of these scents include the calming scent of Lavender & Almond Blossom, the floral hints of Honeysuckle & Raspberry, the fruity sweetness of Vanilla & Pink Papaya, or the tropical freshness of Palm Breeze. To do this you can use an Air Wick Essential Mist diffuser.

#3: Get Into Blossoms and Houseplants

When springtime comes, people love to buy flowers and plants. The spring is when a majority of plants turn green and bloom. Bringing the outdoors in is a perfect idea for your space. You can do this with houseplants and flowers. Low-maintenance houseplants can be a perfect thing for most anyone to have. Examples are asparagus fern, snake plant, pothos, or philodendron.

#4: Say Yes to Of-the-Moment Hues

Spring colors are another great way to update your home. Use cheerful and bright spring shades to welcome the warm weather. The trend for this year is electrifying hues and muted pastels. Examples include hocking pinks, vibrant azures and canary yellows, along with ocean blues, soft basil greens and pretty lavenders.

#5: Switch Out Textiles

You don’t need your heavy duvet during the warmer months. Switch them out for nubby blankets made of lighter linens and cotton throws. This season you will see cottagecore with wildflower prints and pastoral motifs, groovy patterns and highly textured fabric, and boho chic designs.

Remember to mix this season’s colors, patterns and blooms together for a nice fresh look. To do this add a nice aroma to create a good mood in your home.

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The Beginning of 2022 Sees Higher GDP

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A drop in growth pushed the housing share of the economy up at the beginning of 2022. The overall GDP dropped at a 1.4% annual rate. This was due to the increased inventories and a jump in imports. The housing’s share of GDP rose to 16.7%.

The beginning of the year also saw a 4.8% increase in GDP in terms of residential fixed investment. There will be challenges this year for home construction. There will be a higher interest rate due to tightening monetary policy. RFI added 10 basis points to the headline GDP growth rate at the start of 2022.

Housing activities add to the GDP in two ways. First through RFI which stands for residential fixed investment. This measures how home building, multifamily development, and remodeling contribute to GDP. It can do this through the construction of new single-family and multifamily structures, residential remodeling, production of manufactured homes, and brokers’ fees.

Second is the measure of house services and how it affects GDP. This includes gross rents (including utilities) paid by renters, owners’ imputed rent (an estimate of how much it would cost to rent owner-occupied units), and utility payments. In the first quarter of 2022 housing services made up 11.9% of the economy, totaling $2.9 trillion on a seasonally adjusted annual basis.

This year the recent interest in housing has definitely affected the economy in a positive way. The shares are near historic norms.

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If You Want To Make Your Space Look Bigger, Avoid These Paint Color Trends

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Most people want their spaces to look bigger than smaller. There are some ways you can make a space seem bigger and it really is. There are many colors that are trendy this year, but this does not mean you should use them in your small spaces. If you want to make your space look bigger, choose white paint. Make sure to use an eggshell or satin finish which will reflect light. When light is reflected, it creates the appearance that a space is larger.

Even if you pick white, not all white shades are the best. It can be a challenge to pick which hue is right. A perfect choice is white paint in a soft shade that has warm undertones. This hue will add brightness to any space. Remember to test your white paint in your space to see how it reflects the light. If white is too sterile, then a pale lavender or cooler tones can also make a space feel open and airy.

A trend that has become very popular is painting the ceiling a dark color. You do not want to do this if you want your space to look larger than it really is. If your walls are in a light tone, paint the ceiling the same color which will make the room seem bigger.

A larger room nowadays looks great with dark trim on lighter walls, but this does not deem true for a smaller space. Painting the trim the same color as the walls can trick the eye to help the space look bigger. You do not want any visual distractions. Another example is not to paint one wall a different color than the others in a small space.

Remember strong bright bold colors will always make a space feel smaller. Go for light, airy tones to make your space feel open and bright.

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