Tag Archive for: St. Tammany Parish

Custom Home Builders in St. Tammany Parish

What distinguishes Ron Lee Homes from other custom home builders in St. Tammany Parish is that Ron Lee is personally involved in almost all of the custom home projects that are completed in the cities of Mandeville, 2-1 Polo Farms ExteriorMadisonville, Covington, and Abita Springs. New custom homes require an almost daily review and critique, so Ron Lee’s hands-on approach to building new homes on the Northshore is the key to his success in building custom homes. With amazingly unique interior and exterior amenities, energy efficient green building techniques, and top-of-the-line building materials, the new, custom homes built by Ron Lee Homes stand above the competition in design as well as durability.

One of the main aspects of a home built by Ron Lee is the foundation. Ron Lee takes great care with each and every foundation of his new homes because of the shifting and sometimes unreliable soil in Southeast Louisiana. These foundations have a step-by-step meticulous process that requires attention to detail and experienced

sub-contractors that have worked with Ron Lee Homes for many years. Relying on sub-contractors is a huge part of being a successful St. Tammany Parish builder, and with 24 years building in St. Tammany Parish, Ron Lee has met and vetted many different types of subs. With Ron Lee personally overseeing the laying of the foundation, the framing, roofing, siding, and interior construction of your new home, you can count on the construction work to be quality as well as critiqued and corrected as the new home is put together.

Another benefit of having such a personally vested builder is that you will get to have one-on-one contact with your builder. Ron Lee answers his phone, e-mails, and requests as timely as he can. Also, he is backed up by a team of people at his home building company who have years of experience in the real estate industry as well as the St. Tammany Parish area. From the many testimonials from our satisfied homeowners, most of our new home buyers have been pleasantly surprised by the level of professionalism, communication, and follow up provided by Ron Lee Homes.

If you are not sure where to begin your new home building experience, Contact Ron Lee Homes today for a custom home consultation to learn more about the new home design and building process. Call 985-626-7619 or E-mail [email protected].

 

Home Builders Association Election Night October 7, 2015

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St. Tammany Parish Home Builders Association
Election Night

When:
October 7, 2015
5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Where: Floorco
600 Deer Cross Ct E
Madisonville, LA 70447

What: Click Here for More Information.

Home Builders Association Luncheon October 6, 2015

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St. Tammany Parish Home Builders Association
General Membership Luncheon

When:
October 6, 2015
11:45 am – 1:00 pm

Where: Beau Chene Country Club
602 N Beau Chene Dr
Mandeville, LA 70471

What: Click Here for More Information.

Employment is Rising and Single-Family Homes Are Under Construction

New jobs reports and the falling unemployment rate have brought about a positive economic outlook of many Americans in the U.S. The employment growth is a big reason for both the real estate and housing industries’ latest boom both with new construction homes for sale as well as resale homes for sale. The strong job reports have encouraged many to believe there is not a “double dip” recession looming so many are relieved and feel confident in purchasing a new home. Everything from apartment buildings (multi-family homes) to single-family 79 Oleander Court Front Exteriorhomes are under construction everywhere you turn in the country.

The rise in household formation by millenials as well college grads that have finally been able to get a job has led to new houses being built which has attracted workers in the construction industry. Employment in the field of construction reflects an average of 20% of the jobs that have been recently created. The American Association of General Contractors showed 80% of construction firms planned to hire this year. JOLTS survey showed an increase of 36% in the number of construction job openings year-over-year.

Mark Vintner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities says, “Home building will be one of the economy’s largest upside surprises in 2015.”

This is very good news for those looking for employment in the construction industry. Contractors are desperately seeking those who are skilled in all areas of construction which include part time and full time employees as well as sub-contractors. Vintner points out that overall, nationwide, there is a shortage of skilled construction workers. 028The American Association of General Contractors also reports that 87% of construction firms are having difficulty filling positions. Moody’s Analytics Adam Ozimek believes the shortage is due to lack of wage growth in the construction industry. However with the decline in unemployment, the job market will soon become an “employees’ market” instead of a employers’ market, which should drive up competitive hourly and salary wages. For the construction industry, this should put many out-of-work carpenters, builders, plumbers, electricians, and day laborers back to work with a healthy salary. Ron Lee Homes has been following this construction employment trend in St. Tammany Parish by expanding its services to include remodeling as well as custom home construction. To build your new, custom home today, Contact Us at 985-626-7619 or E-mail [email protected].

 

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Strong Custom Home Building Numbers in Louisiana

Custom home building is going strong in Louisiana and at Ron Lee Homes in West St. Tammany Parish. The 2014 Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) reports that 34 percent of the homes built in the South Central Region were custom built.  This means the home was built for you the owner, by a custom home builder, who will either build on your lot or build on a lot owned or purchased by the builder in the area of your choice in St. 1-54 Maison du Lac Exterior 1Tammany Parish. The other 66 percent were spec homes (speculatively-built homes) meaning they were houses built for sale or houses finished on a builders’ lot, ready for a home buyer to purchase. The house was sold to the potential buyer at one total sales price instead of selling the house and selling the land separately.

The SOC defines new home starts into several different categories which include houses built for sale, houses built by contractors, homes built by owners and for rent houses.  Not only does the SOC report if the houses are built for sale, by contractors, owners or for rent, they also report if the new home starts are being built in a community development with a homeowner’s association (HOA).  The HOA is created while the development is being built, and then ownership is turned over to a homeowner board which enforces private deed restrictions and maintains common areas.  In 2014 it is reported that 58 percent of single-family homes were built in a community with a homeowner’s association.

Why the uptick in the custom home market?  Many speculate that the limited builders’ means to borrow money 3-lot-199-bedic-creek-exterior-front-3via Acquisition Development and Construction (AD&C) loans have put a damper on their ability to purchase land, build a home on the land and sell the house to a potential buyer. Borrower restrictions are not new, so custom home building is the logical route to take for any builder that has vast experience and “comfort” in being able to build custom.  It was estimated that in 2014 one in four new home starts were custom homes. The custom home market is still on the rise and has reached levels above 2012-2013 but is still below the 2008-2011 levels.

At Ron Lee Homes, we build custom homes in many different subdivisions in the area including Terra Bella Village, Bedico Creek Preserve, Maison du Lac, and many more.  These communities also have established homeowners associations as well, and have lots available to buy and build a new custom home.  If you are interested in designing and having the home of your dreams built in St. Tammany Parish, Contact Ron Lee Homes at 985-626-7619 or e-mail [email protected].

Click Here for the Source of the Information.

Conventional Mortgages for New Homes Increase for the 5th Month in a Row

When the bottom dropped out of the real estate market, the biggest indicator that the economy was in trouble was that home owners and new home buyers found themselves paying more for their home than what it was worth.  One of the biggest indicators that the housing economy has been in recovery has been the increase in house pricing regionally nationwide.  These home prices went up steadily during the end of 2013 and 2014, so much so, that investors were concerned that they would cause a housing bubble and throw the entire economy back into a 10-1 Polo Farms Kitchen IslandRecession.  Once again, though, supply and demand allowed for free market commerce to dictate the real estate market, and prices started to stabilize in the 1st quarter of 2015.

For the 5th month in a row, conventional mortgages for new homes have increased to an all-time high of $352,500 in June, and this is also a record for the average loan amount which has not yet so far been above $350,000 after the Recession.  In addition to the average amount of a loan going up, home prices also increased in June to $462,100 from $447,600 which is a 3% increase.  Also a record-breaking statistic, this is the first time that new home prices have been above $460,000 since the Recession as well.

Even though the average initial fees and charges on loans decreased by 3 basis points to 1.08%, the effetive interest rate on conventional mortgages went up to 3.98%.  Home buyers and people interested in refinancing their homes have been “spoiled” with the phenomenally low interest rates over the past 5 years, but an average overall interest rate in the 4% range is still a historically low rate and will probably not be seen again for quite some time.  The Fed was set to increase interest rates in September, but this is not a guaranteed move and has been in limbo for over a year.  Interest rates are still low, credit is easing allowing higher borrowing amounts for conventional mortgages, and Ron Lee Homes is building new, custom homes in St. Tammany Parish for interested home buyers.  Contact Us today to help you start building the home of your dreams.  Call 985-626-7619 or e-mail [email protected].

Click Here for the Source of the Information.