Good News for the Single-Family Housing Market in New Orleans
After the devastating blow of Hurricane Katrina, local residents were worried about the recovery and “return” of New Orleans. Luckily there is good news to report about the recovery of the real estate market from the decade-old storm. The New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors reports home prices are up 46% since Hurricane Katrina, and the average price per-square-foot has jumped up 8.5% in the last six months in the community. Many predicted that the price growth would slow down this year but that is just not the case. 
The single-family housing market in the New Orleans metro area has an average selling price of $121 per-square-foot which is an 18.6% increase since the storm. The average house sold for $339,743 in the city between January and June of this year. On the Northshore in St. Tammany Parish there has been a 10% increase since Katrina. The average home in the parish sold for $243,770 this year which calculates out to $113 per-square-foot.
The prediction for this year is to see about 2,800 homes for sale which is close to the 3,300 sales in 2005 before Katrina. Rick Haase, President of Latter & Blum Inc., had expressed concern that household members in New Orleans’ neighborhoods are still worried about affordability in the housing market. Fortunately he believes this will not be an issue as the mortgage lending standards for credit 
scores are beginning to slacken, making it easier for first time homebuyers to be able to purchase and finance a new or previously owned home.
“Rates are low, job creation is continuing to happen, consumer confidence is high and improving, and the Millennial marketplace, which represents a huge slice of the population in greater New Orleans, is now able to get financing even though they haven’t had a lot of time in life to build their credit scores,” Haase said.
In St. Tammany Parish, not only has the new, masterplanned community of Bedico Creek seen an increase in new home prices, but it has also seen a huge surge in home buying in the 10 available Neighborhoods for sale. Many home buyers are also delving into the custom home market and are buying lots for sale and then hiring one of the qualified St. Tammany builders of Bedico Creek to build their new home. If you are interested in acquiring a home in the Greater New Orleans area, Contac Bedico Creek at 985-845-4200 or E-mail [email protected].
