Moving to New Orleans doesn’t have to be super-expensive. There are good deals to be had; you just need to know where to look when you are getting ready to move.
So, why are there so many good deals available in New Orleans? Why hasn’t the foreclosure crisis hit the Big Easy as hard as it has other cities? Some experts chalk it up to Brad Pitt. No, the actor-turned-Good Samaritan hasn’t single-handedly saved the city from any type of disaster or crisis, but he has helped.
Pitt backs the Make it Right campaign. This project is responsible for building environmentally friendly, hurricane-resistant, affordable housing. These homes are replacing many of those lost in the Lower Ninth Ward during Hurricane Katrina. Make it Right has definitely influenced the city in a huge way – in fact, it might be part of the reason so many people actually moved back to the town after things started getting rebuilt.
With everyone going ‘green’ these days, it makes sense that Pitt’s brainchild would make a difference. It’s just very surprising how much of a difference it has actually made. In fact, busloads of people came from all over the country to help rebuild New Orleans. The massive influx of people moving into the city definitely helped stimulate the local economy.
Part of the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina involved gutting homes completely and building them all over again, from the ground up. However, there are plenty of homes right in the heart of the city that never had to be gutted and weren’t rebuilt. Those can be picked up for almost nothing – some are listed today at about $24,000. Of course, if you choose to move into one of those homes, you’ll have your work cut out for you!
Those damaged homes aren’t the only ones that are available for a steal. There are a number of homes throughout the St. Bernard District, as well as New Orleans East, which were hit hard during the storm and are on the market for really cheap rates. People are pricing them correctly and are having a lot of success selling.
One home in St. Bernard Parish recently sold for $72,000 – it was a five-bedroom, 2,400 square-foot home in Chalmette. The house was actually listed for about $69,000 but was so popular that when it went on the market, it sold for a little more than its asking price.
Let that be a lesson to you if you are trying to sell your house and move – price it fairly and you may actually drive the price up!
So, if you aren’t worried about a repeat of Hurricane Katrina or have always wanted to move to New Orleans, now may be the right time. There are many deals to be had in New Orleans’ real estate market; you just have to look!
Lance Grooms
