WebSites Relevant to Louisiana Housing

A Class Project of LSU BA 7320 During Fall 1998

by

Kevin Boone

Lillie Carpenter

Kevin Cook

Shawn Darrah

William McAnelly

Dayra Peng

Christian Weichsel

 

General Housing Information Sites

1. www.nahb.com – National Association of HomeBuilders. Has information regarding:

*      New and existing homes sales and starts by year

*      New home prices by year with median and average prices

*      Home ownership rates by age

*      Housing affordability and interest rates

*      Housings direct economic impact

*      Mortgage interest rates by year

*      Characteristics of new single family homes

*      Characteristics of new multi–family buildings

*      Housing opportunity index

*      The affordability gap

*      How regulation affects the cost of housing

*      Remodeling expenditures

*      Materials used in home building

2. www.census.gov – Government website with links to national and state housing statistics including. The site has an easy to use search engine with links to a large amount of census related topics such as:

*      American housing characteristics

*      Housing starts, completions, and sales

*      Housing affordability

*      Housing vacancy survey

*      New residential construction

*      Value of new construction

*      Expenditures for improvements and repairs on home sales

*      Housing inventory change

2b. www.state.la.us/state/census/stf3ahsg.htm – 1990 Louisiana census population and housing information including:

*      Average number of bedrooms

*      Plumbing

*      Sources of water

*      Sewage disposal

*      Use of heating oil

*      Year household moved into house

*      Telephone service

*      Number vehicles per household

*      Mortgage status

*      Gross rents

2c. www.state.la.us/state/census/census.htm – Louisiana Census homepage with information regarding:

*      Louisiana profiles

*      Population projections

*      Current population estimates

*      Economic and poverty information

*      Household and housing unit estimates

*      Detailed STF4 reports

*      Louisiana benchmarks

*      State of the state 1996

3. www.hud.gov – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

*      How to buy a house with topics such as, how to get a loan or signing a contract

*      How to keep a home

*      How to buy land

*      HUD refunds

*      Fair Housing Act

*      Housing counseling

*      Housing discrimination

*      How to handle bad landlords in federal housing

*      Deceptive Home Improvement Contractors Act (Title I)

*      Fraud

*      Handling waste and abuse on property

4. www.rriworld.com – RRI World. Has a newcomer kit for every metropolitan area in the U.S. that can be used when relocating or traveling to a new area. These kits include:

*      Homes for sale

*      Cost and Availability

*      Taxes

*      Commerce and Industry

*      Culture, climate, recreation, history, and maps for that area

*      Education for the area (size, rank)

*      Transportation system

*      Available healthcare

5. leap.nlu.edu/bfact/BATONROU.TXT – The Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Facts. Summary of each state, MSA, and county in the nation. Includes information. Such economy changes over past 10 years and contrast from local compared to national estimates.

6. www.realtor.com – The Realtor Association web pages with information regarding:

*      Find a home for sale in the U.S.

*      Mortgage rates by state, city, county

*      Where to get the above mortgage rate

*      Applications for mortgage

*      Balloon notes as an option for mortgage insurance

*      Bankruptcy

*      Loan points, PMI

*      Closing on the sale

*      No money down sales

*      How to refinance and is it a good idea

*      Disclosure

*      How to get insurance

*      Home inspections and appraisals

*      Sales contracts

*      Lease options that are available

*      Rent vs. Buy

*      First time buyers and what to expect

*      FHA and VA loans

*      About property Title and Deeds

*      Zoning regulations

7. www.homebuilder.com – Official site of the NAHB National Association of Home Builders. Includes information such as:

*      Allows consumers to find new homes in any area of the country

*      Consumer can run search by picking any state and city

*      Provides information on mortgage rates and financing

*      Allows builders to join NAHB

*      Allows builders to list homes on Internet site

8. www.home–builders.org – Official site of HomeBuilders of New Orleans. Includes information such as:

*      Industry figures

*      Housing facts and figures

*      Housing forecast

*      Consumer services

*      Housing market publications

*      Mortgage calculator

*      Guide to remodeling

*      Guide for hiring a contractor

*      Guide for buying a home

9. www.nlu.edu/leap – LEAP provides same type of information as the area chambers do except it is more in depth and specific. This information includes:

*      Income breakdown

*      Median households in groups

*      Poverty levels (1990) by parish, age, city

*      Unemployment rates by city, parish for May 1998 and three months before

*      Population characteristics

10. www.louisiana–homes.com – Nationwide Homes Network. Provides information regarding communities and highlights to the area including:

*      Relocation information

*      Mortgage rates and a mortgage glossary

*      Search for neighborhoods by state with information about each one

*      Economic changes for state and cities

*      Demographics

*      Poverty status

11. www.helpfulhousing.com – Information and search engine for renting or buying real estate:

*      Listing of houses for sale by state

*      Steps to buying a home

*      Renting vs. Buying

12. http://la.living.net – School report data, residential homes, and other real estate properties:

*      Information on real estate listed by specific area

*      Help in finding a realtor in a specific area

*      Help in finding a real estate company

*      Latest updates on real estate

*      Community information for specific areas

Chambers of Commerce

These sites are the local Chambers of Commerce.

1.www.brchamber.org – Baton Rouge

*      School Board plan

*      Local taxes (rates, areas)

*      Better Business Bureau directory

*      Population demographics (1970, 1980, 1990, 1995 estimate)

*      Per capital personal income (1991, 1992, 1993,1994)

*      Household median income 1985

*      Population projections

*      General information about the Baton Rouge area

2.alexandria.iamerica.net – Alexandria

*      Alexandria business directory

*      General information on Alexandria

*      City map and geographic information

*      Information regarding atttractions to the area

3.www.shreveportchamber.org – Shreveport

*      Business and industry (types and workforce)

*      Education (information on schools and district such as size, locations)

*      General information about the Shreveport area

*      Cost of living index for major areas in the state

*      Area neighborhoods divided by area

4.www.monroe.org – Monroe (easy website with a great search engine)

*      Economic development

*      School statistics by city and county

*      Quality of life

*      Economic information from website at LEAP

5.www.chamber.lafayette.co.us – Lafayette

*      Facts about living in Lafayette

*      Schools (where to locate them, size, scholars, # that go to college)

*      Housing price ranges

*      Average home price

*      Realtor directory

*      Relocation information (can get demographics for $2 fee)

*      Parks and recreation

6.chamber.gnofn.org – New Orleans

*      General information about the New Orleans area

*      Population statistics (estimates, projections)

*      Schools (size, location, rank)

*      Housing prices and areas to live

7.www.chamberswla.org – Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana

*      Very general information about Lake Charles

*      Recreation, travel, restaurants, libraries

Information Regarding Apartments

1. www.rent.net/cgi-bin/RentNet/Home – Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana:

*      Very general information about Lake Charles

*      Recreation, travel, restaurants, libraries

2. www.rent.net.com – A site that provides apartment listings nationwide:

*      Apartments and rentals

*      Temporary furnished suites

*      Self storage

*      International rentals

*      Owner and manager resources

*      Moving resources

3. www.virtualrelocation.com – Apartments online by city:

*      Real estate by city

*      Community profiles

*      Cost of living by city

*      Careers (biggest employer, largest workforce) and education by city

*      Moving and self storage

4. www.helpfulhousing.com – Housing and rental information:

*      Renting houses and apartments in the U.S. by area

*      Buying houses in the U.S. by area

5. www.apartmentlinks.net – Alphabetical apartment listings by state or zip code:

*      Search by state

*      Search by zip code

*      News you can use regarding apartment living

*      Owners and managers

*      Add your property to the list

*      Create a web page for your apartment

*      Apartment brokers

6. www.aptfinder.com – Apartment listings by state or geographical region:

*      Search by state, city

*      Search by geographical region: North Louisiana, South Central Louisiana

*      Maps of selected area

*      Price, size, and availability

7. rentals.classifieds.yahoo.com – Information on housing, city and salary comparison, maps, school reports:

*      Search by city or town

*      Search by category: apartment complex – furnished or unfurnished

*      Information and housing

*      City and salary comparison

*      School reports (rank, size, grades)

The site www.rent.net is the best out of these sites. When logging into www.rent.net choose the option "Apartments and Rentals." Next, choose Louisiana out of the list of all the states. Information on 12 cities and surrounding areas in Louisiana can be found.

*      Baton Rouge

*      Eastern Louisiana: Leeville

*      Lafayette

*      New Orleans: Harvey, Kenner, Metairie, New Orleans, River Ridge, Slidell

*      Shreveport: Bossier City, Shreveport

*      Western Louisiana: Lake Charles

A map of the area of interest can also be found.

A search can be done on one or more cities at a time. Within the cities, a search can be done on apartment sizes by number of bedrooms. This search can be followed with another search by price ranges. Finally, a listing of apartments that fit the description will be obtained. This provides a quick, objective way of obtaining apartment rental data from cities across the state.

Information Regarding Education

1. www.nces.ed.gov – National Center for Education Statistics. Has information such as:

*      School size and teacher/student ratios

*      Size of school district by region

*      Racial composition

*      District size

*      Graduates

*      Special education

2. www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/datasurv.html – National Center for Education Statistics. Contains statistics on:

*      Elementary and secondary statistics

*      Educational assessments

*      District data books

*      Surveys

3. www.ed.gov/stats.html – U. S. Department of Education. Contains information on:

*      National Assessment of Education Progress results by nation, state, city

*      School codes

*      Technology (National expectations for updating schools with new technology)

*      Other miscellaneous statistics on schools and school districts

4. www.doe.state.la.us – The Louisiana Department of Education and the State Board of Elementary Education and Secondary Education. The site includes information such as:

*      Funding and grant opportunities

*      Louisiana Center for Technology

*      Calendar with news and events

*      Child nutrition assistance

*      Directory of schools

*      Home study information (curriculum, textbooks, guidelines)

*      School to work projects

*      Teacher certification requirements

*      Integration of technology and learning

*      Employment opportunities

*      Technological learning environments

Environmental Issues Sites

1. www.deq.state.la.us – Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality: information on

*      Air and pollution

*      Water and pollution

*      Radiation

*      Mercury

*      Cancer alley

Hurricane and flood sites

1.chaos.cceer.lsu.edu – Center for Coastal, Energy and Environmental Resources

*      LSU site on environmental concerns regarding to energy, pollution, coastal erosion.

2. www.lacoast.gov – Louisiana Coastal Restoration

*      Restoration projects in Louisiana

*      Land loss maps

*      Fragile areas

*      Wetlands overview

3. www.fema.gov – Federal Emergency Management Agency

*      Hurricane updates

*      Disaster assistance

*      News

*      Storm watch

*      Disaster impacts (areas, amount)

4. www.leeric.lsu.edu/le/ – Louisiana Environmentalist Magazine Online

*      Energy efficiency

*      New construction (types, making it more energy efficient)

*      Greenhouse effect

*      Land use (areas, maps)

*      Landloss (effects on environment, areas)

*      Insulating and building to make more efficient

*      Buying an energy efficient house

*      Ozone (effects on environment, where it comes from, projections)

Data Vendors

1.www.experian.com – Credit report agency with information on:

*      Applying for a loan

*      Credit scores

*      Tips for buying or selling a home

*      Mortgage plans

*      Selecting a broker

*      Buying and selling terms

*      Prequalifying for loans

2.www.claritas.com – Claritas is a precision marketing firm.

*      GIS data (by tract, city, county, MSA, zip code)

*      Precision targeting (who are customers, what are they like, what do they buy, where do they live, how to reach them)

*      Demographics on consumer spending

*      Census information on workplace population, how many people commute to work, and trades.

3.www.esri.com – Environmental Systems Research Institute. Concentrates efforts on:

*      Datamapping and software for GIS

*      GIS ArcView and ArcInfo

4.www.ends.com – National Decision Systems. Contains information such as:

*      65 unique databases that cater to marketing needs

*      Demographics (race, age, income, sex) per area, city

*      Traffic counts by area, street

*      MSA growth

*      Consumer profile data

*      Financial forum

*      Customer segmentation data (age, race, income)

*      Business forecast forum

5.www.transamerica.com/intellitech — Transamerica Intellitech website. Company website with information on services offered such as:

*      Real estate tax services

*      Flood hazard certification (provide flood zone determination)

*      Financing solutions in real estate

*      Business credit rating

*      Asset management

*      Census demographics

*      Street maps

*      Comparable home sales information

*      Property records

6. www.wessex.com – Data provider in geography industry. Loaded with information pertaining to:

*      Geocoding (by city, state, MSA, block, tract)

*      Traffic volumes

*      Populations statistics (by city, state, MSA, block, tract)

*      Estimates of labor force by industry

*      Population statistics on households by type, size, age race, marital status, education, income.

*      Vacant dwelling tenure by area

7.www.ira–usa.com – I Rent America. Marketing company that provides database marketing sales with information on:

*      Buying a house

*      Mortgage protection

*      Retirement

*      Length lived in residence

*      Income

Parish and City Web Sites

1. www.lpgov.org/directory – Louisiana Parish Government Website. Includes information on building permits by area, parish, and city. Has a link to each parish in Louisiana with information on:

*      Information for each parish

*      Travel information

*      Culture

*      Population information (households, race, size)

*      Education information for each parish (school size, location, news, faculty, courses, requirements)

*      Business directory

2. www.state.la.us – Louisiana state government website. Includes information on each parish statistics like:

*      Population and projections

*      Demographics and census information

*      Economic development

*      Small business assistance

*      Financial assistance

*      Loan programs

*      Job opportunities in the state

*      Department of education link

*      School websites by district or school board

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act

1. www.ffiec.gov/hmda – Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council website contains information on the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). This act that requires disclosure from banks on all people who apply for a loan and why or why not they approved the loan. HMDA data includes information from a loan application such as race, age, income, marital status, and credit rating. The site also has information on:

*      Interpretation of regulation in the Staff Commentary and frequently asked questions

*      How to file HMDA data

*      HMDA aggregate and disclosure reports

*      Publications

*      History and purpose of the HMDA

*      Census information for a specified address using the FFIEC Geocoder

Hospitality Real Estate Information

1. felsgrp@aol.com – Fels Hotel Group contact. The Fels Hotel Group is HMBA which handles broker activities for hotel real estate transactions in the U.S.

Reports on Louisiana Housing and Other Louisiana Real Estate Information

1. www.finance.lsu.edu/re – Louisiana State University Real Estate Research Institute website. The Real Estate Research Institute publishes four reports annually which contain data on Louisiana housing and other real estate. These reports include the semiannual publication of Analysis of Baton Rouge Real Estate (multifamily, retail, industrial, and office) as well as Single Family Housing in Baton Rouge and Louisiana Housing (formerly, Louisiana Housing Affordability).

2. www.uno.edu/~coba/remdc/index.html – University of New Orleans Real Estate Market Data Center website. The REMDC publishes semiannually reports on New Orleans and Gulf Coast real estate.

3. University of Southwestern Louisiana, 318-482-5378 or 6655. Lafayette Commercial Properties Survey and Analysis.

4. DBIBLE@pilot.lsus.edu – Louisiana State University at Shreveport publishes data relevant to both commercial and residential property.

Louisiana Economic Reports

1. lscott@unix1.sncc.lsu.edu – Louisiana State University Department of Economics publishes the Louisiana Economic Outlook. This publication provides a detailed analysis of economic trends affecting the individual regions of the state as well as the state as a whole.

Louisiana Real Estate Organizations

1.la.realtorplace.com – Louisiana REALTORS Association site. Has links to local REALTORS associations and important data on median housing prices across the state.

American Housing Survey

1. www.census.gov/prod/www/ais/mscho20a.html – Census site with information regarding the housing survey from 1973 to 1997. Information includes:

*      Statistics by state, MSA, or county.

*      Affordability

*      Vacancy

*      Prices

2. www.census.gov/hhes/housing/ahstext.html – Census site with information regarding:

*      Housing statistics

*      Residential segregation 1990

*      Homeownership (tables and information)

*      Vacancy (tables for 1960 to 1998 by quarter and year)

*      Affordability (tables with information on medians, age, race, age)

*      Statistics by MSA and state

Louisiana Real Estate Regulation

Louisiana Real Estate Commission – State commission for establishing and regulating real estate rules and regulations for real estate brokers and salespeople. The commission can be contacted at

            In Baton Rouge:         225-925-4771

            Out of Baton Rouge: 800-821-4529

Their mailing address is:

            9071 Interline

            Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809

Housing Data CD-ROMS

Census CD – This provides the complete 1990 Census information on one CD. In addition, it includes the information from the US Counties on CD-ROM product (time series of many variables by county) and population information from previous census counts. Demographic information on a geographic area based on a variety of variables. The user can start with a broad range and narrow the search as they wish.

Geographic Area choices:

*      Nation, region, division, state, county, tracts, or zip code

The user can also use another tool bar to narrow down the topic and pick variables. For example, the "Counts" tool can be used to select variables to be used in a search for:

*      Income/poverty

*      Housing characteristics

*      Education

*      Ethnicity

Once the area and variables are entered it will produce a map of the area chosen with the results of the variable search.