The Gulf Cup Marlin Shootout
Winner Takes All on July 4th!
Cypress Cove Marina in Venice
235 Cypress Cove Rd.
Venice, LA
Thursday, July 4, 2013
7:00AM – 4:30PM
Click Here For More information or Contact 561-310-9214 or E-mail Fly@TheGulfCup.com.
Housing Starts and Permits on the Rise in May, 2013
With its best increase in 5 years, nationally, single-family home building permits climbed 1.3% in May to 622,000 permits. Also, overall housing starts rose 6.8% in May. The housing market owes the higher percentage of housing starts to the multi-family market, but the increase of starts for apartment complexes also is a reflection of a steadily recovering real estate industry.
Typically, local builders have held back on even applying for permits on new homes because they are anxious to get rid of standing inventory before starting another project. In the Greater New Orleans area, there has been an average of a 4 – 6 month supply of homes yet to be sold. Another deterrent to home builders has been the complexity and difficulty of getting their new home construction project financed by local banks and lenders. However, two new developments have happened in the month of June, which is spurring growth in real estate.
The first development is that according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB’s) HMI (NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index), builder confidence hit a major milestone in June. Any score above 50, according to this survey is an excellent number. Based on 3 market conditions asked of builders in the survey, all three sections had high scores.
“The index gauging current sales conditions increased eight points to 56, while the index measuring expectations for future sales rose nine points to 61 – its highest level since March 2006. The index gauging traffic of prospective buyers rose seven points to 40.”
Also, in just the Southern region, expectations of future growth went up 4 points – the highest of all three regions in the United States. The second development which can be construed as both a positive and a negative for builders of new homes is that there is currently a shortage of building materials. While this poses a problem for those builders who are moving forward with positive results in this economy, the shortage of materials is also a signal to the market that there is indeed a demand for these materials and therefore a demand from buyers for new homes.
This demand also translates over into the local markets. The Greater New Orleans market has been seeing bidding wars in popular, safer neighborhoods. Realtors are literally begging their past clients to sell their homes because the demand is so high, and they can get record prices for their home – well above asking. The market may soon shift to a seller’s market once again, and builders in this area seem to be ready for it.
Lots here at The Parks of Plaquemines are selling out quickly, and we have also had interest from architects and builders in building new “spec” or inventory homes for people to buy in our subdivision. To find out more about purchasing a home in The Parks of Plaquemines, just minutes from New Orleans, Contact Us at 504-364-2350 or E-mail Info@TheParksLifestyle.com.
One Year Delay on Biggert-Waters Premium Increases
Residents of southern Plaquemines Parish applauded the first steps taken by the United States House of Representatives to delay the implementation of the flood insurance premium increases which would be seen by homeowners in this area. The amendment introduced by Rep. Dr. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge passed with a vote of 281-146. All Louisiana delegates worked together to push this bill forward. There was also plenty of bipartisan support.
Parish president Billy Nungesser also applauded this first step in making sure that Plaquemines Parish residents’ homes which were “grandfathered” into the Biggert-Waters Act’s flood insurance requirements would not be hit with exponential premium increases.
“Dr. Cassidy proved he’s the real leader on flood insurance with the passage of the Cassidy Amendment,” said Parish President Billy Nungesser. “I’m glad Dr. Cassidy took action and moved the ball forward on protecting Louisiana homeowners from NFIP rate hikes. The Cassidy Amendment is a real bi-partisan success.”
While the amendment, being dubbed the “Cassidy Amendment,” only delays the inevitable rate increase, it does give Congress “breathing room” to come up with a permanent solution. Also, this amendment is only for one year, and it only passed the House, not the Senate. Efforts in the Senate are being driven by Senator Mary Landrieu who was stymied by Senator Pat Toomey, R-PA, who blocked an amendment which Landrieu had proposed for a 3-year delay in order to come up with a concrete solution.
The amendment which Landrieu proposed was attached to a federal farm bill and was opposed not solely on its own merits. More information and discussion was needed, and Landrieu has put in the time and effort to convince her colleagues that the amendment is not only necessary but vital to the survival of any kind of housing market in Southern Louisiana.
“We do believe that we can fix, amend or modify to mitigate against some of these extraordinary increases in a smarter, more compassionate, fiscally smart way,” Landrieu said. “We just need time to figure that out.”
Sens. David Vitter and Thad Cochran endeavor to take things one step further by not only delaying implementation of the Biggert-Waters Act but also reforming the Act of major “flaw in the design.” Their bill is called the Responsible Implementation of Flood insurance Reform Act. One of the standouts of these flaws is that the new Flood Insurance Maps do not take into account non-federal, local improvements including an entire construction process of what are called 50-year flood improvements – in the case of a type of storm which could hit the area twice in a 100-year time period. The only improvements which are now being included or given consideration are the federally mandated and approved 100-year storm flood protection systems. However, individual parishes currently have projects going and are building levees and pump stations which would greatly mitigate the effects of storms and also change the required elevations of new and existing homes in the areas.
As it is, the flood insurance premium increases would be so cost prohibitive to homeownership in some portions of South Louisiana as to make people move away from the area. Much work still needs to be done both to bolster the failing national flood insurance program, which is not only underfunded but losing money at a rapid rate; but also to reform the Biggert-Waters Act designed to fix the system. Both House and Senate hope for bipartisan support moving forward in this process.
4th Annual July 4th Party
Celebrate Independence Day in Plaquemines Parish!!
Lighthouse Fishing Lodge & Villas Venice
42256 Louisiana 23
Venice, LA 70091
Saturday, June 29, 2013
5PM – 9PM
Get together with friends and enjoy food, live music, face painting, airbrush tatoos, water slides, and jumpers for kids!
For More Information, Call 504-532-2522.
Generation Y the “New” New Home Buyer of New Homes
As the real estate market recovers from a financial disaster, a new generation of home buyers has emerged, or we should say matured. Interestingly, as the housing market turns to more energy-efficient – “everything” – so does this new demographic of interested purchaser. Not only is the home building industry focusing on Green Building, but it is also financially beneficial both to the builder and the home buyer because of government programs which offer rebates and incentives for using energy efficient, “green” appliances, products, and systems.
For instance, solar energy has been a strongly emerging market, which is undeniably profitable both for solar energy companies as well as people who install these systems in their new or existing homes. The monthly utility cost is cut by as much as 85% because of the use of a solar system vs. using a traditional electrical utility.
ENERGY STAR-rated appliances, insulated windows, specialty blown or foam wall insulation, insulated doors, and even water proofing features (great for hurricane flooding protection) are all “must haves” of the Generation Y home buyer population, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Before, builders considered these types of luxuries to be upgrades, not standards. However, as affordability for these products and government backing for the use of these products have increased, these features, for some builders in the Greater New Orleans area, have become standards.
It’s almost a natural progression of supply meets demand when it comes to builders building new homes which are the exact product that new home buyers, aged 24 – 35, are looking for. Another factor that these buyers take into consideration is the cost of buying/maintaining a home. New homes require less money on an annual basis to take care of vs. previously owned or existing homes. In fact, an NAHB study found that homes built before 1960 have average maintenance costs of $564 a year, while a home built after 2008 averages $241.
The train of thought for Generation Y buyers is that they are not looking to save a lot of money on the front end of the new home purchase, but they would like the monthly costs, once they buy the home, to be as low as possible. With interest rates remaining historically low, the emergence of the standard use of energy-efficient features by builders, and the benefit of buying a new home vs. a used one, Generation Y home buyers have found their perfect solution by building a new home with top quality builders in the Greater New Orleans area.
Most of the builders at The Parks of Plaquemines design and build homes with tons of energy efficient features. This new home community is located a little more than 10 miles from the Central Business District (CBD) in New Orleans, so home buyers enjoy an easy commute, city convenience, more security and safety from living outside city limits, and less monthly and annual cost because the cost for taxes and utilities are based on Plaquemines Parish regulations instead of the City of New Orleans. To find a home just right for you, Contact Us at 504-364-2350 or E-mail Info@TheParksLifestyle.com.
