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!

Home Builders Are Hiring in Large Numbers

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Home builders are hiring according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) by BLS and the National Association of Home Builder’s analysis.  Construction jobs are being offered at a rapid rate because of the increase in the production of new, inventory homes for sale.  The number of building permits that were acquired and not used rose above 4% because of the lack of labor for builders to use to build the new homes that they had 1657 Audubon Parkway Under Constructionplanned.  The construction industry saw an 11.6% increase in available construction jobs from October to November.  This number is actually surprising for construction employment because of the slowdown of the real estate industry in the last two months of the year – November and December.  To see such an uptick in available jobs is truly an indication that the housing market has been on an upward slide and seems to be picking up speed.

In the big picture, construction jobs accounted for almost 2% of all available employment in the United States. The good news is that with the available construction jobs comes a steep increase in hiring and employment “movement.”  Employer hiring of construction labor increased 5.1% from October to November, and employees quitting to look for better employment went up by 2% as well. In a healthy construction employment market, the movement of workers in an upward salary fashion is encouraging to the overall economy as construction employees start to get higher salaries and are able to put that money back into the economy.

At Bedico Creek Preserve, a masterplanned community in St. Tammany Parish, we have 16 builders in our Conservation Community that are all building new homes for sale on lots that have been purchased in our 9 Neighborhoods available for sale.  The construction that is going on in our community is phenomenal, and in order to keep our existing homeowners in a “livable” state, we take great care to monitor jobsites, construction equipment, and trucks going in and out of our subdivision.

If you are interested in buying your own lot and hiring a builder or contractor to construct your new home, you will want to contact our Lot Specialist, Scott Waltemath, to take a tour of lots within your price range or lot size.  Contact Bedico Creek Today to Set Up Your Appointment to View Our Lots for Sale. Call 985-845-4200 or E-mail [email protected].

Scott Waltemath
Lot Specialist
Classic Properties Management Corp.
New Orleans, LA
Licensed in Louisiana

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A Strong Housing Market Affects Growth in St. Tammany Parish

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St. Tammany Parish is seeing the benefits and struggles of growth as it relates to the strong housing market.  It is projected that the parish population will increase from the current 250,000 to approximately 460,000 by the year 2030. Many fear the growth will lead to a look of “Anywhere U.S.A.” with separate commercial and residential developments.

Not only do experts fear it will lead to a non-aesthetically pleasing look, but it will also lead to horrible traffic problems. St. Tammany is more susceptible to this problem because everyone living in the parish has to drive 4-206 W. Longview Court Wall of Windowseverywhere they want to go. The national average of trips made by people alone in a vehicle is 70% but in St. Tammany, it is 82%.  With the growth and sprawling suburban expansion comes more roads being built, which will only increase the number and length of St. Tammany residents’ trips.

St. Tammany parish government and a company called Greater New Orleans Inc. are working towards a solution to struggles with a growing population.  They sponsored a panel of experts from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), housed in Washington D.C., to study the parish as it relates to future development, land-use strategies and hardiness to flooding and hurricanes.  According to panel Chairman Jim Heid, “the object was to provide objective and unbiased views on land use challenges.”

In a meeting held at the parish government complex north of Mandeville, the concept of a “village in the woods” was most favorable.  This concept brings the residential and commercial land use together through a pedestrian friendly development that focuses on using the natural environment. This will give residents the choices of walking, bicyclingGinger or carpooling to destinations.

The panel recommended the development could potentially be located in the area between Interstate 12 and Louisiana 36 north of Lacombe, including Louisiana 1088 and 454. Fortunately the parish already has several areas to look upon as role models for this “village in the woods” concept. TerraBella located off Bootlegger Road in Covington, the planned development Tamanend, off of Louisiana 434 and downtown Covington already project this concept with their mixed-use development including apartments, single family houses, shops and other businesses.

Stakeholders are supportive of this concept and according to Alan Razak, a member of the panel, “strong political will and some risk taking” will be the only way this vision will come to fruition.  Parish Planning Director Sidney Fontenot sees potential in other areas such as land north of Lacombe where the Northshore Technical Community College project is beginning and the Goodbee area located west of Covington.

To sum it up, the panel recommends that parish leaders update St. Tammany Parish’s comprehensive plan for the future by adding to the land with mixed-use developments. Fontenot states, “I think the next step is at what level do we go from allowing it, encouraging it to mandating it. That’s a major policy discussion for the elected officials in concert with input from the citizens.”

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Home Buyers to Consider Healthcare When Buying in St. Tammany Parish

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When choosing where to build a new home, build a custom home, or buy a new home, home buyers will want to carefully consider the region and area that they are moving into.  Many considerations come into play which include population, crime, age range, the commute, suburban sprawl, traffic, schools, and medical facilities.  When deciding in which neighborhood you would like to live, you definitely want to think about the quality of medical care that you and your family will have access to should a health emergency affect your lives.  Bedico Creek Preserve is located in the heart of West St. Tammany Parish which is the home to 2 major hospitals, several specialized hospitals including 2 heart hospitals, and multiple specialty clinics from which to choose your healthcare.

One of the major hospitals is Lakeview Regional Medical Center which is located approximately 10 miles from Bedico Creek in Mandeville.  This hospital was recognized as a ‘Top Performer’ on Key Quality Measures® by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in the United States.

Lakeview Regional Medical CenterThe excellence achieved by this hospital included sustaining escellence in accountability measure performance for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, stroke, and perinatal care.  Lakeview Regional Medical Center was one of 1,043 hospitals to receive this award nationwide with a total of 3,300 eligible hospitals considered.  This is not the first time that Lakeview has been recognized for this award.  For the past five years straight, the hospital has been one of only 43 eligible hospitals to maintain this high level of service and excellence.

Three criteria are considered in awarding this prestigious honor:

Achieving cumulative performance of 95 percent or above across all reported accountability measures;
Achieving performance of 95 percent or above on each and every reported accountability measure where there were at least 30 denominator cases; and
Having at least one core measure set that had a composite rate of 95 percent or above, and (within that measure set) all applicable individual accountability measures had a performance rate of 95 percent or above.

“We are proud to be acknowledged among an elite group of like-minded facilities,” Bret Kolman, Lakeview Regional Chief Executive Officer, said. “This recognition highlights the dedication of our physicians and staff to provide the safest and most effective health care standards to each of our patients.”

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Three Rivers Art Festival Huge Success in St. Tammany

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After narrowing down the field of prospective participating artists for the Three Rivers Art Festival from 400 to 200, 3 judges spent countless hours evaluating and viewing with unbiased eye the artwork of these 200 talented artists that were part of the festival on November 14th and 15th.  Judges were Cindy Pulling, executive director of the St. Tammany Art Association, STAA board member Jessica Danby, and STAA Advisory Council member Sarah Sparkman-Boyd.

“The goal is that all the artists feel heard and seen,” said Peggy Schoen Des Jardins, the festival’s coordinator for jurying and judging.

The first day of the Three Rivers Art Festival was spent visiting each artist to go over the presentation of their booth Three Rivers Art Festivalsetup and then to judge their artwork for its creativity, craftsmanship, and concept, and how the artist “tied it all together.”  The 2nd day of the festival, the judges were tied up themselves using a computer program to assign a score to each artist.  Artists were scored on a scale of 1 to 10 for multiple categories.

Winners included artists from all genres from jewelry making, to sculpting, to metalwork, to painting.  There were 5 main awards including the Best of Show and City of Covington Awards.  The Best of Show Award went to Susan Elnora of Minneapolis, MN, who presented her jewelry and metalsmith skills.  The City of Covington Award went to Katie Burckel, a sculptor who constructs sculptures using different items that have been discarded or donated to thrift stores.  Ethan Lillemoe of Norcross, Ga., won the Three Rivers Award for his unique sculpture. Jessica Stoddart Ladd of Cookeville, Tenn., garnered the St. Tammany Award for her colorful paintings in distinct stainless steel frames, and James Bird won the Bogue Falaya Award for his colorful photography.

In addition to the main awards, there were 15 Awards of Distinction given out during the Three Rivers Art Festival. Artwork from students from the Center of Performing Arts were also displayed – approximately 400 pieces, and the St. Tammany Art Association’s gallery exhibitions as well as local galleries were also available for visitors to peruse.  For more information on the Three Rivers Art Festival, visit www.threeriversartfestival.com.

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Consumer Credit Expands – Lending Standards Tighten

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For the economy, surprising, debt can be a good thing.  Surveys show that consumer credit expanded and lending standards tightened in the 3rd quarter of 2015.  Whether it is a construction or land loan, an auto loan, a student loan, a mortgage, or even credit card debt, the expansion of credit overall shows that the economy is on an upward trend for consumer and business credit.  Consumer credit grew 8.5% and 7.5% in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2015.  What accounted for most of this debt was non-revolving credit such as mortgages, auto loans, and student loans.  This non-revolving credit rose 7.9% in the 3rd quarter.  Revolving consumer credit also grew by 6.5%, and credit limits have been on the rise for all of 2015.  Total credit limits have increased by 5.1% since the 1st quarter of 2014.

On the flip side, credit requirements have continued to be challenging for builders and developers alike while banks are constantly adhering to new lending standards issued by the federal government including the latest release of the Closing Disclosure which has now replaced the traditional HUD-1 Settlement Statement typically used in all real estate closings.

Lending restrictions by the 20 largest documented banks have actually eased more than credit restrictions of smaller banks.  This would be excellent news except that the large banks do not hold a big majority of real estate loans – only 33% over the last 7 years.  The senior loan officers of other banks that do hold the majority of land loans, loans, and construction loans were surveyed to find out if lending had eased on these types of loans.  6.7% of loan officers said that restrictions had tightened compared to 2.7% of loan officers at the larger banks.  According to the survey, overall 4.4% of loan officers surveyed said that lending standards had tightened.  However, there was a big discrepancy between the answers of those surveyed, and the conflicting answers showed that many senior loan officers felt that standards had actually eased during the third quarter of 2015.  Regardless, lot sales and construction loans have increased over the past 3 years, and builders and developers are now having a hard time with finding sub-contractors to build their houses – a good problem to have!

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Lot Sales, Home Sales, Good News for New Home Buyers

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St. Tammany Parish now has one of the fastest growing, fastest selling new home communities on the Northshore at Bedico Creek Preserve in Madisonville, Louisiana.  Lot sales and home sales are setting a record pace for 2015.  This master planned subdivisions has, this year alone, opened up three new Neighborhoods within the community – Lakeview, Heron Point, and Heron Lake – with plans for 2 more neighborhoods to come online in 2016.  Located off of Hwy. 1077 and Hwy. 1085, .Bedico Creek is just over 3 miles from Interstate 12 and an efficient commute to Mandeville, Covington, Slidell, and Hammond, as well as the Southshore.

Close to 6 miles away lies the existing and new shopping districts of Highway 21 featuring mall box stores such as 217-w-longview-court-soldKohl’s, Lane Bryan, Belks, and Best Buy, and multiple popular restaurants such as Longhorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Cracker Barrel, and Texas Roadhouse, just to name a few.  The area also features many small boutique shops and restaurants as well as grocery shopping at Winn Dixie.  All of this approximately 5.8 miles from the entrance to our Conservation Community.

Bedico Creek was specifically designed to be a nature habitat that just happened to have houses.  The community design offers green spaces, water features, and 500 acres of walking and biking paths as well as walking and hiking trails through a wildlife preserve.  Lot sales at Bedico Creek are happening quickly, so if you decide to buy, you will not only be able to choose from among 14 quality St. Tammany Parish builders, but you will also get to enjoy 500 acres of natural beauty, peace and privacy.  Many of our lots are also waterfront lots in that they are located around the many lakes and ponds throughout the community.

New homes are built and available to buy at Bedico Creek with a selection of different sizes and prices perfect for 8-217-st-calais-place-backyard-viewyour family.  If you are interested in picking out your “view,” you can select your exact lot from a variety of Neighborhoods throughout the community.  Lots come in many different sizes and shapes with cul-de-sac and corner lots also available.

This new home, master planned neighborhood also features both natural and “man-made” amenities with a community swimming pool, Pavilion, dock / fishing area, disc golf course, and even a place to enjoy a fire on a chilly fall winter night where you have an uninhibited view of the stars.  We have a map of our parks and trails system throughout the community, and we encourage you to bring your camera to catch shots of all of the local wildlife.

Bedico Creek has it all lot sales, home sales, good news for home buyers. To take a peek at this amazing new subdivision in St. Tammany Parish, call one of our onsite sales representatives at 985-845-4200 or E-mail [email protected].