Mortgage Refinance Demand Up 20% in 2021

The beginning of 2021 has seen an uptick in mortgage rates. This upward climb has many rushing to take advantage of the record low rates. According to Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted rate index, mortgage applications to refinance on a home loan have risen 20% last the first full week in January compared to the week before.

“Booming refinance activity in the first full week of 2021 caused mortgage applications to surge to their highest level since March 2020, despite most mortgage rates in the survey rising last week,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting. “The expectation of additional fiscal stimulus from the incoming administration, and the rollout of vaccines improving the outlook, drove Treasury yields and rates higher.”

According to the report, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($510,400 or less) increased to 2.88% from 2.86% last week for loans with a 20% down payment. This makes the current rate 99 basis points higher than a year ago.

“For now, an air of mortgage rate invincibility and persistent setting of new record lows has been replaced by a healthy respect for what may be the first stage of a rising rate environment, the first time we’ve seen such a thing since 2018,” said Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.

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New $30M Youth Sports Complex To Be Built In Westwego

A new 94-acre sports complex is planned to be built in West Jefferson. The project is planned to be completed in 2022 and is located on land purchased next to TPC Louisiana on Nicolle Blvd.

This $30 million youth sports complex will include batting cages, a playground, a shaded pavilion, two baseball fields and five multi-purpose fields for baseball, softball, flag football and soccer in its first two phases. Future plans will add more fields and amenities. The complex will be used for state and regional tournaments as well as a local youth sports community.

This project has great proximity to the east bank by the Huey P. Long bridge. The project is located in the Fairfield area where the TPC Louisiana golf course, NOLA Motorsports Park, the Churchill Technology and Business Park and Delgado Community College’s River City Campus are already located.

The complex will be modeled after the Sports Force Parks in Vicksburg, Mississippi and will be named after the former state Senator John Alario. The project will be designed by Duplantis Design Group, managed by Legends and Circular Consulting and a construction firm will be hired this year. The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (LSED) purchased the 148 acres and plans to get underway in the third quarter of 2021.

“This is meant to be an economic driver for the region,” Jefferson Parish Recreation Director Mario Bazile said. “It’s a real push to be a regional player in travel sports.”

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7th Ward New Market and Restaurant

Vance Vaucresson’s family has been a part of the 7th Ward neighborhood in New Orleans for a while now. His family owns the Vaucresson Sausage Co. who has been part of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and in restaurants and local family recipes. The building which once housed the home of the company closed down after Hurricane Katrina. The family wants to reopen the establishment as the company’s headquarters, a restaurant, meat market and affordable apartments.

The old building located on the corner of St. Bernard Avenue and North Roman Street has sat dormant since the Hurricane. Vaucresson also hopes it will be a statement about culture and place in a changing city as a Black-owned brand steeped in New Orleans history makes a return. The project is slated to be completed by late 2021.

“We want a business that can contribute to the neighborhood in different ways, as a market, a café, by employing local people, by offering housing for people who are too often getting priced out of their own neighborhood,” said Vaucresson. “When people eat here, it will be a place to get a sense of Creole culture, an education on what that means for New Orleans.”

There will be help with funding from the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, the state’s Office of Community Development, the City of New Orleans and the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office (with historic tax credits brokered through Stonehenge Capital) and Enterprise Community Partners. The family will have partners in the project including the nonprofit Crescent City Community Land Trust, Liberty Bank and Edgar Chase IV, chef at his family’s famous Dooky Chase’s Restaurant.

In fact, Chase will be the mastermind behind the restaurant portion of the project. The restaurant will be called Vaucresson’s Creole Cafe and will feature the company’s meat throughout their dishes. Chase says that the Vaucresson sausage is the “cornerstone ingredient” for Dooky Chase’s Kitchen.

“It’s going to be a showcase for a lot of Creole flavor, the daube glacé, the hogs headcheese, chaurice and grits, all the sausages,” Chase said of the cafe’s future menu.

The company began as a stall at St. Bernard Market in 1899 and grew into the company it now is today. Even though Katrina wiped out the company’s headquarters, the sausage line was then produced at other companies and sold at festivals. Robert “Sonny” Vaucresson Sr., Vance’s father fought to keep the company alive.

“I didn’t want to find myself on my deathbed knowing I didn’t try,” Vaucresson said. “We have a lot of work to do, and now we’re dealing with COVID too, but I know I have to try.”

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Holiday Light Show Set to Celebrate 5-Year Anniversary of Lafitte Greenway

Supernova, the name of the light show that will celebrate Lafitte Greenway’s 5-year anniversary for the holidays this December, is based on the light-based art exhibit called Supernova. Friends, NORD and the Arts Council New Orleans’ LUNA Fete is responsible for this free outdoor holiday display running from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. December 9- 20. The display will include 10 glowing art installations throughout the plaza and brake tag pavilion building. The exhibit will be combined with the LUNA Fete celebration which has scattered installations citywide this year. Although the display at Lafitte is free, patrons are encouraged to make donations to Lafitte Greenway in exchange for perks at local businesses.

“This is an opportunity for us to promote foot traffic and get people to go out and spend money on local businesses that have been amazing partners for the Greenway,” said Sophie Vorhoff, director of Friends of Lafitte Greenway.

The 2.6-mile Lafitte Greenway opened in 2015 as an urban linear park and bike trail. The park runs through the French Quarter, Treme, Mid-City and Bayou St. John. Cyclists and pedestrians can enjoy a scenic path through the four historic New Orleans neighborhoods without having to worry about vehicular traffic.

The greenway is also a great gathering spot for residents and visitors to New Orleans. “I can tell the story of New Orleans by taking someone down the Greenway, from the French Quarter to Mid-City,” said Friends of Lafitte Greenway board member Kevin Centanni.

Those that come to see the exhibit will also be able to visit the new Greenway Plaza. The plaza, located in the parking lot of 3200 Lafitt Ave. in Mid-City, was the former home to the Mid-City brake tag inspection station. The old station was revitalized into a public recreation facility in March 2019. The plaza adds more needed outdoor space for residents and visitors to the city.

The plaza features a 17-foot glowing iris bouquet by William Nemitoff called “Iris of Memory” and many colorful ground murals by Brandon Surtain. The plaza is surrounded by native plants, bike racks and benches. The plaza will also host the Mid-City Crescent City Farmers Market from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays in December.

“We’re doing place-making with this site — which means taking over this space that has been disused and sprucing it up with public amenities,” said Centanni.

The development for Lafitte Greenway cost just under $12 million. The greenway has been a great benefit for the city and its businesses. Along the greenway, you can find new business ventures, outdoor gyms, landscaping, bioswales and housing developments.

“The return on investment is many times that public investment,” Jeff Schwartz, director of economic development for the City of New Orleans said. “When you think of the property taxes and community impact of that area, the return on investment over the long term of those public dollars is massive.”

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Homeowners and Buyers Came Out On Top This Election

COVID-19 helped push mortgage rates to record lows. Now, the 2020 presidential election is the catalyst to the 12th record low in mortgage rates this year. The unpredictable election was the reason it pushed mortgage rates even lower.

“Interest rates dropped to another record low this week … because of uncertainty around the election results,” said George Ratiu, senior economist at realtor.com.

According to Freddie Mac, the first week in November saw a drop to 2.87% in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate. The same week last year the 30-year fixed was 3.69% and the last week in October 2020 it was 2.81%. The 15-year fixed, FHA loans and jumbo mortgages also saw record lows.

The mortgage rates are somewhat mirroring the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury. The uncertain economic environment such as the elevated unemployment rate and low returns due to the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing has prompted bond investors to focus on mortgage-backed securities.

These record-low rates are prompting homeowners to refinance. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) mortgage applications to refinance are 80% higher than they were this time last year.

The low mortgage rates are also fueling the demand in buyers. The pandemic has caused a surge in the housing market. So many are looking for a larger space because of stay-at-home orders. In fact, homes sold faster this October than September which has not been seen since 2011.

“With a rising second wave of COVID cases, the challenge of social distancing continues to drive peoples’ quest for a housing solution,” said Ratiu.

The National Association of Realtors also reported that the “Summer Peak” home price of $350,000 remained through the fall. The low mortgage rates and lack of inventory are rising home prices. Buyers are seeing bidding wars across all of the country’s’ regions.

“October continued to defy seasonality as new records were broken by both buyers and sellers,” said Andrew Abrams, chair of the Denver Metro Association of Realtors’ market trends committee.

“Sellers continued to have little competition as escalation clauses, appraisal gap waivers and “as-is” offers were frequently used, while buyers had to fight hard, making concessions in all of the ways referenced above, to secure a place they could call home,” he said.

If you are thinking of purchasing a home now is the time. With record-low mortgage rates, buyers are able to purchase more home for their money. A Realtor can help with each step in the purchasing process and get you the best price for the best home.

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