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!

St. Tammany Parish Economy Shows Positive Signs in First Quarter

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St. Tammany Parish’s economy continued to grow in the first quarter of 2012, making strides in indexes ranging from employment to housing sales, statistics compiled by a parish economic development group show. Unemployment during the first quarter was 5.9 percent, down from 6.3 percent for the corresponding quarter in 2011. Moreover, the parish’s unemployment rate was better than the state’s, at 7.2 percent, and the U.S., at 8.6 percent.

Brenda Rein Bertus, executive director of the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation, which compiled and analyzed the data, said unemployment rates tend to fall in the last quarter of a year, due to holiday hiring, and then rise in the first quarter of the year.

The parish’s unemployment rate for the last quarter of 2011 was 5.4 percent.

“Employment is historically less in the first quarter,” she said.

More than 104,000 parish residents reported having jobs during the first quarter of this year, a 2,000-employed-person jump over the same period in 2011, the statistics showed.

Housing sales, meanwhile, increased 23.3 percent over the same period last year, from 477 in the first quarter of 2011 to 588 the first quarter of this year, the stats show. The average sale price, however, dipped from $206,000 in the first quarter of 2011 to $192,000 for the first quarter of this year.

Reine Bertus said the lower sale prices could be a reflection of much of the parish’s stock of foreclosed houses now being sold.

“In the past few years you’ve seen the market adjust to the changes from Katrina,” she said. “Now, you’re seeing the foreclosures being sold. Historically, they sell for a little less.

“But the sales of single family going up shows these houses are being taken off the market — that’s a positive.”

The number of permits for new single-family homes rose from 148 in 2011 to 156 for the first quarter of this year, an increase of 5.4 percent. Commercial building permits fell 48 percent during the first quarter of 2012, an indicator of a glut, at least in the short term, in current inventory of commercial space.

But citing growth in other sectors, as well as the falling unemployment rate, EDF officials said the glut might not be long-term trend.

Parish retail sales for the quarter also outpaced the numbers for first quarter 2011, with total sales of almost $940 million for first quarter 2012, about a 3 percent increase.

Reine Bertus said the numbers for the first quarter overall paint a very positive outlook.

“With the exception of commercial building permits, we are seeing evidence of a strong and growing economy,” she said.

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New Housing Permits Up 18%

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In the last six months of 2011, St. Tammany Parish Government watched a rise in permits issued for new housing starts. In a decline since Hurricane Katrina, the number of new housing permits began to move upward in the latter half of 2011 with a 22% increase in new housing permits over the same six month period in 2010.

Parish leaders watched the rise with quiet, but cautious, optimism in the hopes that the trend would continue. The permit data for the first six months of 2012 confirms their optimism; new housing permits are up 18% over the same period in 2011.

“St. Tammany’s economy is improving,” said Parish President Pat Brister. “Sales tax collections are up parish wide by 3.44% over last fiscal year, which is about double the consumer price index for the twelve months ending in May 2012. If we combine this increase with the upward swing in new housing permits, it creates a positive picture for St. Tammany.”

Remodeling permits, which rose by 150% in 2011, are on pace to meet that rise in 2012. “This demonstrates citizen’s commitment to remain in St. Tammany,” said Sidney Fontenot, the parish’s Director of Planning. “People are investing in their own homes.”

Commercial construction permits are down in 2012 but that trend is expected to turn quickly. MECO, a water purification systems manufacturer, recently committed to build a new $11 million facility in the parish. Several other large developments are also in the planning stages.

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Mandeville to Improve Playground, Perhaps Install Restrooms at Several Sites

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Tyler Thomas park in old Mandeville will soon sport new playground equipment, part of a move by the city to bolster parks and recreation areas across the city. The city might also install public restrooms at several recreational sites.

American All Fun Inc. of Monroe submitted the lowest of five proposals the city received for the playground equipment, which is aimed at the younger children who frequent the park on Lamarque Street. The City Council recently awarded an $87,000 contract to the company and the work is expected to Tyler Thomas Park, according to nola.com will start to see the addition of a playground and possibly some restroom facilities. This is part of ongoing improvements in Old Mandeville.begin soon, Mayor Donald Villere said.

The playground equipment at Tyler Thomas will consist of four areas containing swings, slides, monkey bars, etc. Villere told the council, which unanimously approved the contract, that a review committee which included neighborhood residents evaluated the proposals.

The improvements to the park were formalized at the same meeting at which the council adopted a budget amendment that increased the amount of money to be set aside for public restrooms from $75,000 for the current fiscal year to $270,000. The initial $75,000 was for a restroom at Sunset Point, which has picnic tables and a public fishing pier. The increased line item reflects the city’s intention to install public bathrooms at several other locations as well, Villere said.

The money would finance new restrooms at Sunset Point, Tyler Thomas Playground, the harbor area and the Dew Drop jazz hall and improvements to the restrooms at the Paul Spitzfaden Community Center.

City Councilman Jeff Bernard said that while building bathrooms at Sunset Point, which currently has several portable toilets, and the Dew Drop might not cause a huge stir, the same probably cannot be said for the playground and harbor area. The question of public bathrooms, including areas along the lakefront, came up during some campaign forums in the last round of municipal elections, with a range of opinions offered by the candidates.

Bernard said some residents worry about maintenance issues and possible vandalism and crime in the bathrooms. “I’m not necessarily in favor of a bathroom at Tyler Thomas park,” he added. “I think there still has to be some discussion.”

Villere said he realizes that some residents might object to restrooms in some areas, but that there is a need at Sunset Point and the harbor area.

“This is advance notice,” he said of the amended restrooms line item in the budget. “We’ve put up the money. We’re floating this idea. We’re saying ‘We want you to be aware of where we’re headed with this.'”

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