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!

The Housing Market Hits a Three Year High

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NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI)’s report released this November 2019 was good news for the housing industry. Housing affordability reached its highest in three years in the third quarter of 2019.

Those involved in the industry say the high is a result of the three-year low mortgage rates and the vigorous job market. “With mortgage rates at historic lows, consumers are experiencing greater buying power and increased affordability,” said NAHB Chairman Greg Ugalde, a home builder and developer from Torrington, Conn.

The third-quarter report keeps the national median home price at $280,000 with mortgage rates falling from 4.07% to 3.37% which positioned the rates at the three-year low.

As for each of the housing markets throughout the nations, both large and small, data varied for the third quarter. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, Pennsylvania, was the nation’s most affordable major housing market where 89.3% of new and existing homes that were sold to median income families. The most affordable smaller market was Monroe, Michigan where median income families purchased 95.3% of homes on the market. The least affordable housing market in the country was San Francisco ranking at just 8.4% of median income families purchasing homes. The smaller housing markets with least affordability all came in from California including Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, and San Diego-Carlsbad.

The top five for most affordable were ranked as follows. The top five major housing markets with the most affordable housing were Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Indiana, Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pennsylvania, Syracuse, New York and Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The smaller most affordable housing markets were Monroe, Michigan, Cumberland, Maryland-West Virginia.; Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Illionis; Kokomo, Indiana, and Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Click Here For the Source of the Information.

Pyre Provisions to Open in Covington

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Covington residents have a new restaurant featuring a menu that focuses on the smoker and grill. This week, Pyre Provisions will officially open its doors.

The new restaurant, located at 70437 Hwy 21 in Covington, will serve lunch Monday – Saturday, dinner Tuesday – Saturday and brunch on Sunday. Pyre Provisions is a steakhouse meets barbecue-style restaurant with a laid-back, family-style shared meals atmosphere.

A vast array of menu items are featured from brisket to Chinese-style pork ribs to hanger steak and grilled fish.

“When I look at this style of cooking, it’s not just the barbecue of the United States,” owner and chef Jeff Mattia said in an earlier interview explaining his intent for Pyre Provisions. “They’re doing barbecue in India, they’re doing it in Argentina, they’re doing it all over the place. We’re going to get creative here.”

Chef Jeff Mattia is a well-known chef from New Orleans who is the former chef for Bacobar close to downtown Covington. Mattia and his crew use a smoker in the back of the restaurant and a grill located in the kitchen. Although this is a laid-back family-style restaurant, Mattia does add his culinary techniques from his career in fine dining.

Mattia’s resume includes chef de cuisine at celebrity chef Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak in Connecticut, executive sous chef at Restaurant August in New Orleans, executive chef at the American Sector in New Orleans, chef at Hyatt Regency New Orleans and the Royal Sonesta New Orleans. Along with his extensive background, he is also a pit master for Hogs for the Cause (a charity cook off team formed with fellow military veterans).

“This is about being into barbecue, embracing Southern cuisine, adding the precision for the restaurants I’ve been a part of,” he said. “We’re putting it all together with the idea of passing dishes around the table, like sitting at the Italian table I grew up with.”

Click Here For the Source of the Information.

Grocery Shop From Your Home

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Amazon took shopping to a whole new level by introducing the consumer to shopping online with one-day delivery. Grocery stores are now getting on to the bandwagon. Winn-Dixie is now offering online ordering and grocery delivery from the Covington, Mandeville, New Orleans, Slidell, Westbank, and other New Orleans metro area locations.

The regional grocery chain (part of Southeastern Grocers) will be partnering with on-demand grocery delivery providers. All items that are offered on the online delivery service will be the same price as in-store. Products include grocery and household products such as fresh produce, meat and seafood, health and beauty goods, pet products, and consumable baby items.

“We are always looking for additional opportunities to meet the evolving needs of our customers in each community we serve,” said Andrew Nadin, executive VP and chief customer officer, Southeastern Grocers. “As we embrace digital advancements, we are excited to expand our e-commence partnerships to offer added conveniences for Louisiana shoppers. Partnering with marketplace leaders will provide our customers with simple options for the same quality products and value, which will help make their lives a little easier.”

Although there is a Winn-Dixie just 5 miles from Bedico Creek, residents now have the option for grocery delivery.

Click Here For the Source of the Information.

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.

Click Here For the Source of the Information.

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.

Click Here For the Source of the Information.

The Fourth-Largest Tourism Economy in the State Goes to St. Tammany

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The University of New Orleans Hospitality Research Center, known for its economic analysis and forecast, conducted a study regarding the forecast of tourism indicators. According to their recent analysis St. Tammany Parish has the fourth-largest tourism economy in Louisiana.

The study, done on behalf of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, found that visitors to the parish spent $804.72 million in 2018. This is 12% higher from the figure reported in 2016 and 7% up from 2017.

The study was shared at the St. Tammany Parish Tourist and Convention Commission’s monthly meeting at the Harbor Center near Slidell by chief executive officer Donna O’Daniels.

In the meeting it was shared that the parish tourism employment was also up 8% from the year before. It was reported that 1,149 jobs generated $274.59 million in earnings in 2018. The parish also generated $45.95 million in state taxes and $37.67 million in local taxes.

The positive findings will be shared in the new edition of the visitor’s guide and also on the commission’s website www.louisiananorthshore.com.

Click Here For the Source of the Information.