Investing in New Orleans

[Connor McGinnis]

Any advice for a 24 year old moving to New Orleans who wants to purchase a multi family property? Preferably 2-4 units. Would live in one of the units. My dad would help finance the deal.

I found a realtor through a friend who is ready to help me look. I would like advice on what to look for and how to make my first purchase a successful one. Any nuances with the NOLA market? Am thinking about the suburbs of New Orleans like Metairie, Elmwood, River Ridge but open to area downtown too. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

[Braden Smith]

Quote from @Matthew Kwan:

HI Conor, 

I am no expert of the NOLA market however I just visited there a week ago. The hosing over there is definitely affordable. I was living at a Duplex near the French Quarter which is considered one of the prime tourist areas of NOLA. The air bnb host said that he bought it for $160k 5-6 years ago and that it definitely cashflows but nothing too crazy tho. As he did mentioned the housing insurance and flood is definitely on the higher due to the extreme weather conditions that happens throughout the year. Just wanted to share my intake of the city!

@Carlos Valencia @Albert Bui

In 2023, any double under 200k in New Orleans is going to be in terrible condition and/or in a terrible area. And New Orleans definitely has some war zones to be avoided.

Here are some current market stats from the MLS for New Orleans:

Currently, there are 295 doubles/duplexes that are active listings on the MLS in New Orleans.
The average list price is $412,979 and the median list price is $345,000.
The median price per foot is $169.36/sqft and the average price per foot is $181.48/sqft.

The median price point for single-family homes in NOLA is $329,000 and the average is $428,427. 
The median price per foot is $200/sqft and the average price per foot is $205/sqft. 

This article has some good info on the areas surrounding New Orleans:  Cities with the fastest growing home prices in New Orleans metro area

Here's an article regarding the insurance situation in Louisiana:  Insurance Shock: Homeowners' policies skyrocket - bad for all; worse for some

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