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!

Another Corporate Headquarters Makes Covington Its Home

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If you live on the Northshore, then you are most likely familiar with Rapid Urgent Care. This 5-year-old company currently has walk- medical clinics in Slidell, Mandeville, Baton Rouge, Metairie and Covington. Dr. Edward Dease who owns Rapid Urgent Care and Correct Care (a company that provides physician staffing and management services) chose Covington to house the new headquarters for both his companies.

Dr. Dease, who has worked as an emergency medicine physician and as an anesthesiologist, purchased the 6,000 square-foot building at 229 Saint John Lane for the corporate office which will house both medical company’s administrative staff. With the two companies growing and doubling in the number of walk-in clinics, the Covington headquarters employees will double in size.

The new corporate office will not offer medical services but has a clinic a few blocks away which will treat patients. Dr. Dease, a longtime Covington resident agrees with Covington Mayor Mike Cooper who said, “It’s great for Covington to be able to get this building back into commerce and to know that the employees will be able to enjoy what we have to offer in the downtown area.”

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Home Equity on the Rise

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In data published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System the first quarter of 2018 saw a high in the value of owner’s equity in real estate.  The Financial Accounts of the United States concluded that real estate equity hit a new high on nominal and not seasonally adjusted basis.

Households’ owner-occupied real estate rose to $25.1 trillion in the first quarter of 2018 which was $544 billion more than the first quarter in 2017.

The value of owner’s equity in real estate is defined as the difference between the value of owner-occupied real estate and home mortgage debt. The value of owners’ equity rose to $15 trillion in the first quarter of 2018 which is a $1.4 trillion gain over the past four quarters and a 59.7% increase in value.

On a not seasonally adjusted basis the total home mortgage debt increased to $10.1 trillion which was more than $280 billion than the same period in 2017. Home mortgages are the largest share of total household loans.

The first quarter National Delinquency Report (NDS) reports that the delinquency rate for mortgage loans had decreased for loans. In the first quarter of 2018 the percentage of loans that were 90 or more days past due dropped to 1.47%.

The economy’s recovery from the Great Recession has helped homeowner’s loan-to-value ratio which has fallen as the home value grows faster than the debt.

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Construction Industry Annual Salary More Than the US Median Wage

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The median wage in the U.S. is below $37,000.00 a year.  The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), a study done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), reports that half of the construction workers in the country make more than $45,820.

The construction trade’s tops income producers are elevator installers.  According to the OES half earn over $79,000 a year with the top 25% pulling in $98,890.  The second top paying jobs are rotary drill operators making close to $70,000 and third highest paid are the boilermakers making over $65,380.

Most of the top paying crafts in construction require formal education, specialized training or licensing. Building inspectors (median wages $58,300), electricians and plumbers (both earning over $52,000) make up these craftsmen. Carpenters require less formal education and make up most of the jobs in the industry. As mentioned earlier, the median wage earned was over $45,370 with the highest paid 25% making $60,470 per year.

Within the construction industry OES publishes wages for approximately 380 occupations in construction that include not only the construction trade but workers in finance, sales, administration, and other off-site activities. The highest paid occupation is the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) who pull in an average of over $167,000 a year, after that the Petroleum engineers make a median wage of $159,330, lawyers at $134,010, flight engineers come in with $127,130, and architectural and engineering managers earn an average of over $124,030.

 

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David L. Waltemath to Be Honored by City Business in New Orleans

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Honorees Chosen for 2018 ‘Excellence in Construction and Real Estate’ Class

David L. Waltemath has been nominated by City Business in New Orleans as an Honoree for the Excellence in Construction and Real Estate class of 2018. He and his companies Classic Properties and Waltemath Interests will be profiled and honored by City Business for the Development category.

A special Excellence in Construction and Real Estate insert profiling all honorees will run in the September 28 issue of CityBusiness, and an event will be held to celebrate this year’s winners on September 10 from 5-7:30 p.m. at the New Orleans Museum of Art. For ticket information contact Marilyn Miller at 504-293-9201 or mmiller@nopg.com. Reservations can be made online here. For more information contact Web Editor/Event Coordinator Meghan Keen at 504-293-9253 or mkeen@nopg.com.

 

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Residential Construction Factors into Job Growth

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With the residential construction, boom comes more construction jobs.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the number of construction jobs rose to 2.81 million in May 2018, making that a 25,000 raise in the month of May. Out of the 2.81 million, 791,000 were builders and 2 million were residential specialty trade contractors.

Following the lowest construction job market during the Great Recession, residential construction has since gained 827,400 job openings.  The 6-month average rate of job gains is approximately 13,183 per month and over the past year the residential construction market has added 132,300 jobs (net basis).

The overall job market reported for May 2018 was positive. The job marketing increased by 223,000 and the unemployment rate went down to 3.8%. The increase this year on average has risen  207,000 a month where this time last year it was 172,000 and 161,000 in 2016. Hourly earnings have increased by 2.7% making the increase greater than those of the previous three months.

The 3.8% decrease in unemployment is the lowest since May 2000. This was factored by the rise in the labor force and the decrease in the number of unemployed people. In the construction industry, the unemployment rate dropped to the lowest since 2001 at 5% in May 2018.

 

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The American Iris Society Convention Tours Bedico Creek

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Gary Salathe, owner of Alternative Design Build Group, LLC,  and Leigh Anne Salathe transformed a mandatory retention pond at Bedico Creek into a nature-lover’s paradise. With a long history of cultivating different plant species both in and out of the different swamps and wetlands around Louisiana, Salathe took his extensive knowledge of plant life and seasonal growth and created a private wetland oasis next to his house in Bedico Creek.

This amazing pond did not got unnoticed by a particular local group named the Greater New Orleans Iris Society which worked together with Salathe to make him and his pond a part of the 2018 American Iris Society Convention in New Orleans.  The annual national convention was held by a combination of two organizations – The American Iris Society and the Society for Louisiana Irises. Visitors came to town April 8th – 14th and many stayed in the city of New Orleans. The convention regularly features several tours of local gardens in the city in which it is held. This year’s list of garden tours included Gary and Leigh Anne’s “A Louisiana Pond” on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain in Madisonville, Longue Vue House and Gardens in New Orleans, Independence Botanical Gardens in Baton Rouge, and Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, which is located at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

The history of the Iris Society is equally as important as its events because irises have actually seen a decline in growth in their native locations throughout the United States. In Louisiana, especially, irises could mainly be found only in the wild in swamps or wetlands outside of city limits. However, with the help of professional and weekend gardeners, the return of the growth of irises within city limits in professional landscaping and public gardens has seen a rise in natural annual growth once again.

Gary and Leigh Anne Salathe’s “A Louisiana Pond” was honored to be a part of such esteemed company for the garden tours and enjoyed approximately 230 guests to its location on the day of the event. Not to be outdone, right before the event, 3 families of mallard ducks showed up at the pond to be a part of the big day as well!

Click Here to View the Facebook Page for A Louisiana Pond, as well as Pictures of the Event & the Ducks!