Good Time Charlie & co.
January 29, 2015Police: Girl, 2, killed by truck in Thibodaux
January 30, 2015
As the oilfield goes, so too does our area’s economy.
As the Houma-Thibodaux economy thrives, more people here have money
As more people have money, real estate thrives.
That’s pretty much the equation of success for locals within real estate in the year 2014 as the past year’s oilfield boom created above-average numbers in terms of both units sold and purchase price throughout the market.
For 2015, the real estate boom figures to continue – as long as the Gulf is active.
“The oilfield greatly contributes to the success of the local real estate industry,” said Travis Griffin, broker, owner and Realtor for Coldwell Banker South Coast. “The Tri-parish area has and will continue to be driven by a thriving oilfield, and the growth or decline of that industry goes hand-in-hand with that of our own in real estate.”
For Griffin and other realtors, the past year was pretty sweet.
As the oilfield continued to boom, so did the number of buys on the local market. Griffin, the Bayou Board of Realtor’s executive chairman of its MLS Committee for 2015, said area real estate generated approximately $298 million and more than 1,734 units sold. Those numbers are up from 2013 when about $287 million was generated from 1,719 sales.
Griffin said looking back even farther, one can see the upward swing in the market. In 2012, approximately $233 million was generated, meaning that 2014 had more than $60 million in sales locally compares to 2012 – a two-year stretch where the area’s economy has been at its peak.
Griffin said the average sale price of homes has also increased from $161,000 in 2012 to $172,000 in 2014.
“These are signs that our local real estate market is thriving and buyer confidence is up over previous years,” he said.
Away from the blossoming economic conditions, good interest rates are helping convince customers to buy.
First Choice Mortgage Owner and Broker Verna Thomas has been in real estate for more than 25 years. She said that interest rates are currently low, which, of course, means that customers taking out a mortgage can enjoy smaller, more affordable notes.
“The market here is moving steadily,” she said. “There is a good supply of inventory and values are holding well. 2014 was a good year for purchases, as well as refinances due to good interest rates.”
“Interest rates continue to remain at all-time historical lows,” Griffin added. “But they have increased very minutely over the last year. In the early-to-mid 1990s, interest rates were consistently in the mid-to-upper 7 and 8 percent range, but they have steadily decreased over the past decade and a half to the current average rate of around 3.75 to 4 percent for a typical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.”
But even with all of the favorable conditions, Thomas said that there are a lot of benchmarks potential buyers will need to meet in order to secure a home.
Thomas said first-time homebuyers often don’t realize that having average or bad credit is a severe detriment to their chances at loan approval.
She strongly advises young people to pay all their bills on time and to use credit cards wisely – keeping the card’s balance as low as possible.
She said job stability is also a must, adding that things like length of employment, education levels and other factors will prove one’s stability.
And if unsure, she said it’s always better to ask then to assume.
Thomas said there are several programs available that allow potential buyers to secure a home with very little – if any – money down out of pocket.
She added there are a number of programs available to assist with both credit development and also grants for potential buyers with low/medium income.
“There are programs through some of the local religious and governmental agencies which provide training and counselling for potential buyers,” Thomas said. “Terrebonne Parish has a grant program for low-moderate income buyers and Louisiana has a grant program for the same.”
But ultimately, we succeed and fail with oil – a cause for nervousness for everyone involved.
Thomas said she’s a little bit nervous at the current low price of oil and recent layoffs around the oilfield industry.
Griffin said that he, too, has his eye on it, but projections and advice from experts tout that it’s a short-term blip on what will be a prosperous 2015 – another year of growth locally.
“We don’t forecast immediate concern regarding lower gas prices at this time,” Griffin said. “But of course, as previously stated, the success of the oilfield goes hand-in-hand with growth and production in the real estate industry. We expect the prices of gas to eventually revert back to the trends of recent times, and stabilize overall. Hopefully, this will not make a significant impact on the business aspect of the oilfield and related industries in the long run.” E3
‘The market here is moving steadily. There is a good supply of inventory and values are holding well.’
Verna Thomas
As our area’s oilfield continues to blossom, real estate in the Houma-Thibodaux area flourishes. According to realtors and lendors, the market remains steady, and will do so into the future as long as work in the Gulf of Mexico continues at a steady pace.
