New Orleans Home Prices Future Outlook and Effect on the Economy
National industry leaders say that the housing market might slow down soon affecting the home price increases. Although this report looks negative, local New Orleans real estate specialists are confident the market will not go cold soon.
“I don’t think weakness is the right word for what we’ll see; I think it’s going to be more a shift in gears,” Missy Whittington, CEO of NOMAR, said.
The New Orleans housing market saw a considerable rise in the number of homes for sale this summer but the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors (NOMAR) September housing-market report predicted an increase in inventory which might bring a slow down in the market. This trend would slow down the price increase, which has not stopped rising in 114 months.
“A lot of buyers got beat up and decided to take a break,” Local Agent Katie Witry said. “Now, we’re about two weeks behind what is typically the secondbusiest time of year and we’ll see how they react when the inventory comes onto the market. It’s still a strong market but I see signs that prices are cooling a bit.”
Due to Hurricane Ida and buyers frustrated with being priced out of the market, there was a pause in listings coming on the market. The hurricane could have driven some residents away from the area. Local experts feel that this was awash with some residents moving out due to the storms while others moved in.
“After a big storm there’s always some people leaving and some moving in,” said Witry, speaking on the sidelines of the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtor’s annual forecasting symposium.
According to forecasters, New Orleans metro area real estate has seen a 13% jump in single-family home prices this past year. They feel this push has been due to the pandemic wave. This has been seen through the residential real estate market nationwide. This has been due to the lack of inventory and buyer demand.
“The fundamentals of the market have not changed,” said Paul Richard, broker at Latter & Blum who co-chaired this year’s symposium. “If there is a headwind into 2022 it will be inflation and an uptick in interest rates, but then the jobs market has been improving and even most of the hospitality jobs are back.”