A resale buyer in Covington's 70435 ZIP code is often weighing the house on the screen against a new build down the road, and the two prices are closer than most people expect. Through the first nine months of 2026, the median sale price for all residential properties in 70435, new and resale combined, was $325,000, according to the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors' September 2026 Local Market Update for 70435. At Tantela Lakes, about four miles north of I-12 on LA 1077, the builder DSLD lists new homes in the same ZIP from $319,990 to $411,990, with quick move-in homes ready now.
Because those ranges overlap, the builder's price sheet works as a comparable for every resale home in that band. A 15-year-old house at $340,000 is up against a brand-new one with the same bedroom count. That makes it matter how many more new homes come along to join that comparison. In August 2026, St. Tammany Parish removed 800 of them from the plan.
The 800 homes that will not be part of the comparison
Earlier that month, the St. Tammany Parish Council voted to rezone two tracts in the Goodbee area from rural to suburban, clearing the way for the Isadora and Esperanza subdivisions: up to 800 single-family homes on roughly 300 acres, according to The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com. The paper reported that the larger tract, a 264-acre parcel, sat just west of LA 1077 and north of U.S. 190. That is the same corridor buyers drive to reach Tantela Lakes. DSLD was set to be one of the builders.
Three days after the council vote, Parish President Mike Cooper vetoed it. His official statement put the decision in infrastructure terms:
"High-density developments in areas with planned, but not yet designed or funded infrastructure improvements, would have undermined the progress we have worked so hard to achieve."
The same statement cited the "already strained state highways" and drainage concerns in a floodplain. On August 12, Fox 8 reported that a council override looked unlikely. District 2 Councilmember Larry Rolling told the station, "This land is zoned to put houses there but houses in the right density, that's the key." Opponents quoted in that story said another 1,000 homes are already planned for the area. Council records and news coverage through early October show no override, lawsuit, or resubmission.
For a resale owner in 70435, the effect is easy to state. The new-construction competition along LA 1077 is mostly what is already active or already in the pipeline, and an 800-home block of future supply on that corridor is off the table for now.
A pipeline that was already running thin
The veto lands on a parish that was already building far fewer homes than its own planning documents call for. NOLA.com reported that a little over 1,000 single-family building permits were filed in St. Tammany in 2025, citing U.S. Census Bureau data. A parish-commissioned housing study released in April 2026 put the need at 2,300 to 3,460 new residential construction permits a year. The same study projected the parish population could grow 17% to just under 300,000 within four years.
Builder output reflects that gap. According to NOLA.com, DSLD was on track to build 150 homes in St. Tammany in 2026, about a third of its 2018 total, compared with 300 in neighboring Tangipahoa Parish. Mike Saucier of Gulf States Real Estate, Development & Construction Services, who helped draft the parish's 2024 zoning changes, told the paper, "We have some of the most stringent drainage ordinances in America in St. Tammany."
Growth around Covington is still moving through the approval process, but in small pieces:
- Buds Lane: the parish council adopted this rezoning to large-lot residential at its October 1, 2026 meeting.
- Wise Road: on October 6, the Parish Zoning Commission recommended rezoning 1.101 acres to allow a one-acre minor subdivision.
- LA 1077 and P. Morgan Road, Folsom: the same night, the commission denied a 15.54-acre R-2 rezoning, with staff saying it could support five three-acre lots.
- Piney Ridges Estates: a proposal for up to 154 homes on 34 acres won unanimous concept-plan approval from the planning commission in February 2026, then went back to the parish council on appeal.
Larger tracts with drainage and roadway questions face a steep path, while lot splits and large-lot rezonings keep moving. A buyer who expects a wave of new subdivisions to cool resale prices in north Covington has no approved projects of that size to point to.
What September's numbers say, and what they do not
If supply is that tight, sellers should be in full control. The September 2026 data shows something more mixed. Here are both Covington ZIP codes, from NOMAR's Local Market Updates current as of October 7, 2026:
| Metric | 70433, Sept 2026 | 70433, YTD thru Sept 2026 | 70435, Sept 2026 | 70435, YTD thru Sept 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median sales price | $365,000, down 8.5% | $349,900, down 5.8% | $384,657, up 27.8% | $325,000, up 6.2% |
| Closed sales | 49 | 514, up 26.6% | 27 | 290, up 1.8% |
| Days on market | 67, up 34.0% | 59 | 66, up 20.0% | 63 |
| Inventory | 212, down 20.3% | n/a | 124, down 10.1% | n/a |
| Months of supply | 3.9, from 6.1 | n/a | 3.8, from 4.4 | n/a |
The 27.8% jump in 70435's September median rests on 27 closings. The report itself warns that percent changes "can sometimes look extreme due to small sample size." The year-to-date median of $325,000, up 6.2%, is the steadier figure. It sits inside the $290,990 to $445,990 range DSLD lists across its active Covington communities: Oak Alley Meadows, Alexander Ridge, Lake Ramsey, Tantela Lakes, and Spring Lakes. Builder prices online are live and undated, so they move.
The pattern shared by both ZIPs is fewer homes for sale and each sale taking longer. In September 2026, inventory fell in both while days on market rose by 20% or more. The parishwide report shows the same split: inventory down 10.4% to 1,402 homes and days on market up 25.0% to 70. Sellers who did close in 70435 received 99.0% of list price that month.
Where the ceiling actually comes from
The affordability readings suggest the market is limited by what buyers can pay more than by a lack of homes. NOMAR's Housing Affordability Index for 70435 fell from 100 in September 2025 to 74 in September 2026. Parishwide it fell from 104 to 91. Short supply and a stretched buyer pool together explain why homes sit longer even as the number of listings shrinks.
In 70435, that leaves a resale seller with two reference points: what buyers can finance, and what DSLD is asking for a new home a few miles up LA 1077. The veto made the second one more stable by removing 800 future competitors from the corridor. It did nothing about the first.
70433 is behaving differently. Through September 2026, closings there rose 26.6% while the median fell 5.8% to $349,900, which suggests the mix of homes selling has shifted rather than that values fell across the board. The 70433 average price has been falling as well, from $470,128 to $460,189 year to date. More of the homes changing hands appear to sit in the middle and lower end of that ZIP's range.
FAQ
Is there a Covington city-level market report? NOMAR's public tool returned no report for Covington as a city for September 2026. The figures above are by ZIP code, and neither ZIP report separates new construction from resale.
Does the veto mean no more new homes near Covington? No. DSLD lists several active Covington communities, Piney Ridges Estates is still in the approval process, and Money Hill in Abita Springs has parish approval for long-term expansion toward 3,500 homes across 4,400 acres. What changed is the 800-home block near LA 1077 and U.S. 190.
Could the Goodbee projects come back? Cooper's statement tied his veto to infrastructure that is planned but not yet designed or funded. As of early October 2026, no dated project plan for that area or resubmission of the subdivisions had been made public.
If you own in 70435 and are thinking about selling, the useful question is how your home compares with a new build on LA 1077 at the same price. If you are buying, the same comparison tells you what a resale home has to offer to justify its price. Allison Vencil can go through the current builder pricing and recent closings with you for your specific street. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
