It is our goal at The Parks at Plaquemines to keep our buyers informed about the latest information from the local, state-level, and national real estate industry. We post content to our blog that we hope that you as our custom home buyer will find helpful. Look here for information about financing your new home, building restrictions for new homes, and real estate legislation that will impact you as you are looking to buy or build a new home in the Greater New Orleans area.
Fair Grinds Coffee House has been purchased by the owners of Cafe Degas. Cafe Degas, a restaurant that has served French cuisine in Faubourg St. John for almost 40 years, will convert the space into a new French-style deli. Co-Owner Jacques Soulas said the space at 3133 Ponce de Leon Street will expand the kitchen capacity for Cafe Degas.
Cafe Degas opened its doors in 1986 by co-owners Jacques Soulas and Jerry Edgar. The building was formally a babershop on Esplanade Avenue and even though the restuarant has expanded, the kitchen space has not.
The new concept is still in plans along with the name. There will be a casual cafe along with a counter service deli. The menu will focus on French style sandwiches and pastries serve with coffee drinks. Like neighbor Mayhew Bakery, the new sandwiches will be served with pate, French salami, and ham and Brie.
“We’re delighted that Café Degas is taking it on and excited to see what they’ll do there,” said Wade Rathke, who ran Fair Grinds from 2011 until the coffee shop closed this spring.
Fair Grinds Coffeehouse open its doors in 2000, replacing former True Brew Coffee, by owners Robert Thompson and Elizabeth Herod. The coffee shop closed its doors after Jazz Fest.
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Why have design trends for new communities changed so in the past few years?
Changes in what a new home buyer wants in a new community has stemmed from the COVID pandemic’s demands on what a home base should look like after stay-at-home orders. Developers are finidng ways to incorporate things like the latest techonolgy or shifting the look and feel of a community to attract new generations of home buyers.
The biggest way to know what future residents want in tomorrow’s communities is to survey current buyers. “Survey and consumer feedback has always been an essential part of developing and evolving Cresswind lifestyle programming,” shared Jennifer Landers, community director for Kolter Homes, which designed the Cresswind Georgia at Twin Lakes development. The housing market has definetly shifted due to the COVID pandemic.
Developers are creating new ways to fit consumer interest into new communities. The current market shows that they want flexibility, connection with nature, and sustainability. Some examples that developers are adding to communities include multifunctional spaces, community gathering spaces, community gardens, pet-washing stations, outdoor fitness centers, water activities and equestrian trails.
“Developers and home builders are working to make better connections with nature both in terms of amenities and within the homes themselves,” observed Carol Morgan, president of Denim Marketing. “For developments, the standards include wide sidewalks, walking trails, dog parks, fire pits and connectivity with any trails in the area.
“For home design, builders are including lots of connectivity to the outdoors with patios, porches, decks, etc.,” she added. “Many of these are covered to provide year-round protection from the sun and rain.”
Developers also want to keep it affordable to homebuyers and want to stretch their development dollar. Homes are more affordable if a developer can find ways to minimize the cost of the project. A great example of this is desiging road’s networks along the site’s natural contours. At the Tyler, Home on the Lake, development in North Carolina, they converted the developments 60-acre lake from a decorative feature to a usuable amenity.
“We installed paved sidewalks around the lake’s perimeter, worked with local experts to improve water quality and clarity, stocked the lake with fish, and constructed a fishing dock and kayak launch to allow residents to take full advantage of this incredibly unique community feature,” Fidler noted. “The dock is now so popular amongst the residents that we actually had a small community wedding take place there last summer.”
“Amenities are a great focus for marketing campaigns as they portray the lifestyle of the community,” Morgan stated. “We focus on amenities and lifestyle by creating a series of graphics and storyboards for social media and blogs. It is important to tell the story and help potential buyers see how the community will live.”
“Supply is rebounding, and potential home buyers will soon be back to having multiple options to choose from,” she stated. “This is when factors like community layout and design, amenities and location will come back into play and influence home buying decisions.”
Reports have shown that inflation might have already peaked. This has caused the mortgage rates to start to fall back towards 5%. The week ending in August 18th showed 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at an average of 5.13% according to Freddie Mac. The week prior was an average 5.22% and the year prior the 30-year was 2.86%.
“Inflation appears to be beyond its peak, which has stopped the rapid increase in mortgage rates that the housing market was experiencing earlier this year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
The higher mortgage rates hurt the housing market this summer which rose to a high of 5.81% in mid-June. Sales dropped on home sales for both new homes and existing homes causing a dip in mortgage applications. The last week in August 2022 mortgage applications were at their lowest levels since 2000.
“The market continues to absorb the cumulative impact of the large price and rate increases that led to a plunge in affordability,” said Khater. “As a result, over the rest of the year purchase demand likely will continue to drag, supply will modestly increase, and home price growth will decelerate.”
“Home purchase applications continued to be held down by rapidly drying up demand, as high mortgage rates, challenging affordability, and a gloomier outlook of the economy kept buyers on the sidelines,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.
If home prices slow in increasing and mortgage rates lower, then hopefully the housing market will bounce back. This hopefully will ring true as a year ago a a buyer could purchase a $390,000 home with 20% down on a 30 year-fixed rate mortgage and have a monthly payment of around $1,292. This same home today will cost a home buyer around $1,700 a month which is around $408 more each month.
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What will shade from tree coverage do for your home?
Increase home value
Keep things cool
Decrease utility bills
Reduce UV exposure
Cut carbon emission
Professionals in the industry will agree that trees and shrubs are not just great for a home’s curb appeal but also for social, communal, environmental, and economic benefits. It is said that tree coverage makes for a healthy and happy living environment. Here are some benefits of having tree coverage around your home.
Increase Home Value
Planting trees and shrubs around your home can increase your home’s value. Homes with mature trees are more alluring to prospective buyers. In fact, HGTV reported that the home value increases 7 – 19% if there are mature trees surrounding it. The Arborist News did a study that showed there is a 3 – 5% price increase in homes with trees in the front yard, a 6 – 9% price increase when there are a lot of trees in a neighborhood and a 10 – 15% price increase if there are mature trees in a high-income neighborhood. A Michigan University study reports that landscaping will give you a 109% return on your investment!
Keep Things Cool
Summer heat is not only uncomfortable but is also heavy on utility consumption. Trees are a perfect solution. They are not only beautiful to look at but also an effective cooling measure. Urban areas are usually hotter than the surrounding suburban areas. This is due to the lack of trees, grass, and shrubs in the city. Landscaped areas with trees and turf can be 25 degrees cooler than the asphalt area in the same location. The USDA’s Forest Service did a study revealing that a young tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.
Shade is your skin’s best friend when it comes to reducing bad UV exposure. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the US according to the American Cancer Society. Trees are a natural sunblock that provides a physical barrier between your skin and the sun. A neighborhood that is covered in trees reduces UV exposure in half!
Cut Carbon Emission
The whole world has seen an increase in global CO2. Trees are extremely important when it comes to the earth’s carbon emissions. Trees can store over 708 million tons of carbon, in urban areas trees can store an additional 28.2 million tons of carbon and 100 million mature trees around homes can equal up to $2 billion annually in reduced energy costs.
Remember in order for trees to flourish and help the environment, homeowners need to care for trees and the landscaping around their homes. Experts can give trees a checkup to keep them healthy and keep them going from the roots up.
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Are rising home prices a wild card for the Federal Reserve?
According to an article posted by Bloomberg, the high home prices are a hitch in the Federal Reserve’s plans for the nation’s slowing economy. Many say that this is the worst inflation the country has seen in forty years. The Federal Reserve wants to put a stop to the inflation that is currently hurting our economy.
In order for this to happen there are several factors that have to align. The three biggest are the country needs to pay three months of declining core inflation, measured month-over-month, the rate of home price appreciation needs to slow down in market price gauges and energy prices need to stay contained. If this does happen, the Fed will be able to slow the rise in interest rates.
The reason the change will not happen until September or later is that Colin Powell wants to witness a slow down in inflation via several reports. The one thing that will stall this is the housing market. Why? Because housing inflation falls behind market prices by several months.
This means that when market prices slow down, the housing market will continue to rise for several months extending into 2023. The housing market is still going strong because of low invetnory.
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