Come mingle with cheesemakers in Covington.
Acquistapace’s Wine and Cheese Gala
When: November 4, 2022
7pm – 10pm
Where: Southern Hotel
428 E. Boston St.
Covington, LA 70433
What: Tickets $150 per person
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The Honey Island Swamp Fest takes place at the Town Hall in Pearl River.
When:November 18 & 19, 2022
5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Where: KBR Lake
39576 Pump Slough Rd
Pearl River, LA 70452
What: $20
The housing crash of 2008 was a devastation to the U.S. housing market. Currently, the economy is slightly taking a negative turn. The slowdown in the U.S. economy is having many homeowners concerned with the state of the market. Fortunately, data reveals that today’s slowdown is nothing like the crash in 2008. One of the biggest factors for it not to crash down is the low inventory supply which comes from current homeowners putting their homes on the market, newly built homes being listed, and short sales or foreclosures. 
Even with the uptick in housing supply, resales are still low. Data shows that inventory is up 27.8% which was the same time last year but compared to 2019 it is down by 42.6%. This means that the current inventory is still super low because current homeowners are still hesitant to put their homes on the market. This does not mean however that there are not enough houses on the market to cause a crash or prices to drop. This would take a flood of current homeowners that would want to put their house on the market at the same time for this to happen.
Ironically even with such low inventory, homebuilders are slowing down their production currently. “It has become a very competitive market for builders where they are trying to offload any standing inventory,” says Ali Wolf, Chief Economist at Zonda.
The slowdown is a reaction to the higher mortgage rates and softening buyer demand. Builders do not want to overbuild like they did before the 2008 crash occurred. Those in the industry say it is a sign that builders are being intentional about not overbuilding homes like what happened during the bubble before the 2008 crash. The latest report from the U.S. Census states that at today’s current pace, we’re headed to build a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1.4 million homes this year. This is the perfect mix to make a stable market. This will add more inventory at a pace that does not create an oversupply of inventory that the housing market can not absorb. This is due to the builders being cautious about how much and how fast they are producing.
Distressed properties which are both foreclosures and short sales are another place inventory is pushed out in the market from. In the 2008 housing crisis, there was an influx of short sales and foreclosures to flood the market in a short period. This crisis was mainly due to the lenders allowing people to secure a loan they really could not afford the home. Today’s market does not have to worry about this as much because lending standards are much stricter today than they were back then. These tighter standards are pushing out more qualified buyers and fewer foreclosures.
Around the time of the 2008 crash, there were well over a million foreclosures per year. When the lender’s tightened their reigns on lending standards the amount of distressed homes started to decline. Also, the introduction of the forbearance program in 2020 and 2021 has aided in preventing a repeat crash. This program gave homeowners the option for loan deferrals and modifications that were not there in the past. And data on the success of that program shows four out of every five homeowners coming out of forbearance are either paid in full or have worked out a repayment plan to avoid foreclosure.
These three factors are the biggest reasons we will not see another big crash as we had in 2008. Even though our housing supply is growing in 2022, it will not even touch the amount of homes that would need to hit the market to saturate it and make home prices drop. If you are in the market for a new home, contact a local real estate agent who can help you with the purchase of a new home.
There will be gumbo tastings at this event in Mandeville.
Krewe Du Roux Gumbo Cook-off and Family Fest
When: November 12, 2022
11am – 3pm
Where:Fontainebleau State Park
62883 LA-1089
Mandeville, Louisiana 70471
What: Price: $10 – early bird / $15 at gate
Fontainebleau State Park
Click Here for More Information.
Sasanquas camellias will be in bloom in Folsom.
Fall Camellia Festival
When: November 12 & 13, 2022
10am – 3pm
Where: Mizell’s Camellia Hill Nursery
12497 Josephs Rd.
Folsom, LA 70447
What: Free Event.
There will be over 200 artist tents in Covington.
Three Rivers Art Festival
When: November 12 & 13, 2022
10am – 5pm
Where: (Downtown)
Covington, LA 70433
What: Enjoy live music, art, kids activities, food and more!
Free Event.
There will be a Jeep contest in Mandeville.
Jeep Jamboree
When: November 12, 2022
10am – 3pm
Where: Castine Center at Pelican Park
63350 Pelican Drive
Mandeville, LA 70448
What: Free for spectators
Get a glimpse of the past, present and future of the Marine Corps in Covington.
Marine Corps Birthday Ball
When: November 12, 2022
6pm – 11pm
Where: American Legion Hall Post 16
2031 Ronald Reagan Highway
Covington, LA 70433
What: $50 – $125
Click Here for More Information.
This is a yacht-themed party in Mandeville.
Unleashed! Rescue Me Gala
When: November 12, 2022
7pm – 11pm
Where: Pontchartrain Yacht Club
140 Jackson Ave.
Mandeville, LA 70448
What: Advance: $125
Click Here for More Information.
The former Hilton Homewood Suites located in Covington will be turned into an apartment complex called the Fairlane and the rent at the Fairlane will start around $900 a month. This is according to Zachary Kupperman who along with his partners purchased the property and plans to turn it into an 86-unit apartment complex.
Zachary Kupperman is no stranger to a project like this. He is responsible for developments such as The Hotel St. Vincent and the Drifter Motel in New Orleans. Covington is a perfect area for a project like this because so many works remotely and can rent or purchase farther away from New Orleans. “In bedroom communities like Covington something like (the Fairlane project) can solve all three problems at once,” said Kupperman.
The closing of the hotel was mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shortage of travelers during the stay-at-home orders. This has been seen all around the country and not just locally. Renovating closed-down hotels due to COVID has become a trend. This coupled with the strong growing need for affordable housing has piqued many developers’ interest in such ventures.
The Homewood suites is a type of lodging that is becoming rare to find these days with not only a place to sleep but a kitchen and living area as well. This kind of accommodation came around for the business traveler who might need a place to stay for weeks at a time. Although in the past Hilton has offered this type of room, they are now moving away from this sector and refocusing on a more boutique hotel.
The former Covington Homewood Suites is located at 101 Holiday Square close to Interstate 12 junction with Frontage Road. It is a perfect spot because it sits between a Honda dealership and The Collins (an apartment community that rents from $ 1,300 plus). As mentioned earlier, The Fairlane will start one-bedrooms out at $900 a month which is very affordable in this area.
“There is no heavy construction and the conversion is fairly light touch, with some painting, carpeting, adding some appliances,” he said. “So spending has been much less.”
The total acquisition and renovation will cost around $9 million which is less than half of what a comparable complex would cost to build from ground up. Many of the rooms in the hotel were already being used as long-stay accomodations. The apartment complex will be able to use the existing pool, hot tub and gym area for the amenities. The unties will be designed by Covington-based Crown Designs and New Orleans-based Key Real Estate will be managing the complex.
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