New Home Pricing Up in the Greater New Orleans Area
One of the clear indicators of a healthy housing market is home pricing. Whether it is new home pricing or prices of existing home, the price of homes in any area can give a clear picture as to the health of that area’s housing market. While coming out of the Recession, many economists kept a sharp eye on housing prices because of the constant, steady, and sometimes sharp increases in home prices. If prices went up too much, too fast, there was a danger of a “double-dip” Recession because the housing market would create what is called a housing bubble – inflate home prices and then tumble leaving homeowners in homes that were not worth as much as the price for which they were purchased.
The good news is that prices stabilized in the housing markets nationwide about 6 months ago, and local communities have been enjoying nice profits on homes that previously were not selling with as much regularity. Taking a look at the Greater New Orleans area pricing, Wade Ragas, of Real Property Associates, who authors the twice-yearly report regarding real estate trends, reported that New Orleans pricing, especially in historic neighborhoods, jumped 14% during 2015.
For many people, this price range became unattainable, and many home buyers started looking to the suburbs of New Orleans such as Jefferson Parish on both the East Bank and the West Bank, St. Charles Parish, and St. Tammany Parish. However, even though prices were a bit more affordable in these outlying suburbs, pricing in these other parishes also increased during 2015. St. Tammany Parish home pricing rose 4% from $103 / square foot to $110 / square foot. The average price of a house in St. Tammany Parish in 2015 was $242,442, up 3.2% from 2014 which saw an average house price of $234,818.
According to Ragas, two things will impact the Greater New Orleans housing market moving forward – oil prices and interest rates. Oil prices have been slightly volatile, causing layoffs and reducing the price per barrel of oil. Mortgage interest rates are still at historic lows even with the Fed recently raising the interest rate, so now is still the right time to make the investment in a new home or an existing home in the Greater New Orleans area.
