NIH
November 17th, 2008, 08:13 PM
Housing bust hits north shore
Posted by Kate Moran, The Times-Picayune November 16, 2008 4:08PM
For the past three decades, the north shore has accumulated new residents faster than the city of New Orleans, and the state as a whole. Builders followed, launching a construction boom that at one point accounted for a quarter of all single-family home permits in the state.
That thriving market appears to have finally overheated. An analysis issued Friday by the University of New Orleans shows that housing permits in St. Tammany Parish dipped last year to their lowest level since 2001. Prices have begun to retreat as well.
Ivan Miestchovich, director of the university's Institute for Economic Development and Real Estate Research, said the north shore housing market has softened because of the surfeit of houses for sale and the weakening national economy, which has made banks wary of extending loans and consumers nervous about taking on large amounts of mortgage debt.
"The reality is that these national and global disruptions will have trickle-down effects in Louisiana at large and in the north shore region in particular," he wrote.
The real estate institute releases an annual report about housing trends across the metro area, but this year it launched a separate analysis for the five north shore parishes -- St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington, Livingston and St. Helena -- because they have emerged as a market with a distinct identity and regional heft.
Real estate prices are tethered to the general economic health of a region, including its rate of job and income growth. Miestchovich here notes mixed signals for the north shore. The area has benefited in recent years from the flight of businesses out of New Orleans -- Chevron is perhaps the most notable example -- and from a diverse array of businesses that have started to supplement the service-based economy. Transportation and warehousing have both emerged as growth areas.
http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/11/housing_bust_hits_north_shore.html
Posted by Kate Moran, The Times-Picayune November 16, 2008 4:08PM
For the past three decades, the north shore has accumulated new residents faster than the city of New Orleans, and the state as a whole. Builders followed, launching a construction boom that at one point accounted for a quarter of all single-family home permits in the state.
That thriving market appears to have finally overheated. An analysis issued Friday by the University of New Orleans shows that housing permits in St. Tammany Parish dipped last year to their lowest level since 2001. Prices have begun to retreat as well.
Ivan Miestchovich, director of the university's Institute for Economic Development and Real Estate Research, said the north shore housing market has softened because of the surfeit of houses for sale and the weakening national economy, which has made banks wary of extending loans and consumers nervous about taking on large amounts of mortgage debt.
"The reality is that these national and global disruptions will have trickle-down effects in Louisiana at large and in the north shore region in particular," he wrote.
The real estate institute releases an annual report about housing trends across the metro area, but this year it launched a separate analysis for the five north shore parishes -- St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington, Livingston and St. Helena -- because they have emerged as a market with a distinct identity and regional heft.
Real estate prices are tethered to the general economic health of a region, including its rate of job and income growth. Miestchovich here notes mixed signals for the north shore. The area has benefited in recent years from the flight of businesses out of New Orleans -- Chevron is perhaps the most notable example -- and from a diverse array of businesses that have started to supplement the service-based economy. Transportation and warehousing have both emerged as growth areas.
http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/11/housing_bust_hits_north_shore.html