New Orleans experiencing real estate boom

Regis Philbin · Jul 8th, 2006, 10:05 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/us...gewanted=print

Quote:

July 9, 2006

Investors Lead Home Sale Boom in New Orleans

By SUSAN SAULNY

NEW ORLEANS, July 8 — In a market spurred by speculators and bargain hunters, an extraordinarily large number of houses in the flood-ravaged metropolitan area here are being sold, according to real estate analysts, who say volume and sales prices exceed levels before Hurricane Katrina.

The higher prices are largely due to an increase in value in suburban areas, many of which were not heavily flooded, or in dry areas of New Orleans. But flooded houses in the city are being bought as well, often at deep discounts of as much as $50 a square foot less than they would have sold for before the hurricane.

"We have a stronger housing market than before," said Wade R. Ragas, professor emeritus of finance at the University of New Orleans and the president of a local consulting firm, Real Property Associates.

"There is renovation activity in every ZIP code of Orleans Parish," Dr. Ragas added, "but the strongest buying activity is, in general, closest to where it did not flood or where there was under two feet of water."

Across the nine-parish region that includes New Orleans, 7,506 single-family homes were sold between January and the end of last month, compared with 6,449 in the same period last year, according to statistics from the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors and the Gulf South Real Estate Information Network. The average price so far this year is $221,244, compared with $193,097 in the same period last year.

The interest in buying, selling and renovating has been a bright spot since the last months of 2005, and has confounded some people who thought the flooding would cripple the housing market for years. But it is just one of many counterintuitive contrasts that are defining the area and making easy predictions unreliable.

Before the storm, Jennifer and Rodney Greenup lived in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans, in a 1950's-era, 2,600-square-foot house with a red tile roof that they bought nine years ago for $108,000. It was appraised for nearly $240,000 before Hurricane Katrina.

Quote:

and has confounded some people who thought the flooding would cripple the housing market for years.

Once again, the experts are "confounded"...what else is new???

SparkleHugs · Jul 8th, 2006, 10:15 PM

Well i would imagine most wouldnt want property there....until they see how cheap it is. if i could get a house for dirt cheap i would buy it also.

Regis Philbin · Jul 10th, 2006, 06:48 AM

One of my first thoughts after that happened is that if I had lots of money I would go down there and buy some real estate at very distressed prices and sit and wait for the price to go up in the future when the city recovered...

Looks like some people did just that...

**Annoyedlistner** · Jul 10th, 2006, 07:31 AM

well just goes to show you people arent moving back to NO...its interesting though, because my girlfriend is from the the gulf coast (ocean springs, MI)...her parents still live there and their house was basically the only one on the block that didnt have to be rebuilt....housing prices have almost doubled since the hurricane do the the fact there is not enough housing to go around.

**db44** · Jul 10th, 2006, 07:39 AM

Ocean Springs, Michigan? Wow, global warming has really sped up if the Great Lakes meet the Gulf!

As for the topic, you're proud of the fact that investors are cashing in on other's misfortunes Brad?

**Annoyedlistner** · Jul 10th, 2006, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by db44

Ocean Springs, Michigan? Wow, global warming has really sped up if the Great Lakes meet the Gulf!

As for the topic, you're proud of the fact that investors are cashing in on other's misfortunes Brad?

haha woops...i mean Ocean Springs, MS (i think thats right haha)

WannaBreatheYou · Jul 10th, 2006, 04:41 PM

They are going to have a helluva time getting homeowner's insurance though. Because of all the natural disasters over the last 10 years or so, many places it's nearly impossible to get homeowner's insurance and many companies aren't drafting homeowner's insurance policies anymore, and dropping the ones they have.

**pinky** · Jul 10th, 2006, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by db44

As for the topic, you're proud of the fact that investors are cashing in on other's misfortunes Brad?

That's the neocon way, isn't it?

**db44** · Jul 10th, 2006, 07:16 PM

Right, right, evil incarnate. I forget.

Jul 8th, 2006, 10:15 PM	#2
SparkleHugs Registered User Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: i forget. care to give me directions? Posts: 14,671	Well i would imagine most wouldnt want property there....until they see how cheap it is. if i could get a house for dirt cheap i would buy it also. __________________ America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. --Abraham Lincoln I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. --Albert Einstein

Jul 10th, 2006, 06:48 AM	#3
Regis Philbin Registered User Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Neither here nor there Posts: 15,288	One of my first thoughts after that happened is that if I had lots of money I would go down there and buy some real estate at very distressed prices and sit and wait for the price to go up in the future when the city recovered... Looks like some people did just that... __________________ When most Americans read the novel 1984 they were scared. When Obama read 1984, he started taking notes. --- Rush Limbaugh The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money. --- Margaret Thatcher

Jul 10th, 2006, 07:31 AM	#4
Annoyedlistner Moderately Annoyed Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Charlotte Posts: 2,948	well just goes to show you people arent moving back to NO...its interesting though, because my girlfriend is from the the gulf coast (ocean springs, MI)...her parents still live there and their house was basically the only one on the block that didnt have to be rebuilt....housing prices have almost doubled since the hurricane do the the fact there is not enough housing to go around. __________________ “We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all our citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization.” FDR (1940)

Jul 10th, 2006, 07:39 AM	#5
db44 Shark bait, OOH-HA-HA! Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Not in Kansas anymore!!! Posts: 20,747	Ocean Springs, Michigan? Wow, global warming has really sped up if the Great Lakes meet the Gulf! As for the topic, you're proud of the fact that investors are cashing in on other's misfortunes Brad? __________________ In the end, only kindness matters.

Jul 10th, 2006, 04:41 PM	#7
WannaBreatheYou Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Hell. Posts: 14,227	They are going to have a helluva time getting homeowner's insurance though. Because of all the natural disasters over the last 10 years or so, many places it's nearly impossible to get homeowner's insurance and many companies aren't drafting homeowner's insurance policies anymore, and dropping the ones they have. __________________ Thinks if you are what you eat, I'm going to eat a skinny person ASAP!!

Jul 10th, 2006, 07:16 PM	#9
db44 Shark bait, OOH-HA-HA! Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Not in Kansas anymore!!! Posts: 20,747	Right, right, evil incarnate. I forget. __________________ In the end, only kindness matters.