NEW ORLEANS — Whether you’re on the North or South shore, in Jefferson or Orleans parish, you’ve likely seen the many “for sale” signs at homes throughout the Metro area.
A four-bedroom, 2.5 bath custom home on N. Labarre Road in Metairie recently got listed. The asking price: $685,000. Jamie Hughes with Reve Realty says within 24 hours of listing the property, the interest is growing.
“I had a broker tour yesterday, and I’ve already had several buyer inquiries and showings lined up,” Hughes said.
In her 17 years as a realtor, Hughes says there hasn’t been a housing market like the one we’re seeing as we emerge from the pandemic. Hughes says it’s a combination of factors. Two of the biggest are a low inventory of homes and extremely low interest rates.
“Pre-Katrina they talked about 6.5% being historically low, well now we’re at 3%,” Hughes said.
The median listing price for houses in New Orleans is around $349,000, according to Realtor.com. That’s up 16% percent from last year. Hughes says this is a seller’s market but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee sales.
“I’ve personally experienced multiple times in the past year where there is a bidding war, but there’s buyer’s remorse or there’s contentious inspection negotiations and it might fall through and we didn’t get to a close,” Hughes said.
In potential bidding wars, there are anecdotes of some buyers willing to bypass home inspections. It’s a move that some buyers believe would give them an advantage in pursuing their dream home. Thomas Kelting says it’s a move they may later regret.
“You could buy a house and then figure out a few months later there are huge structural issues. You’d be out $50,000 or $100,000. I’ve seen it happen,” Kelting said. “I’ve sometimes even testified in court about it.”
Kelting owns Sunshine Home Inspections in New Orleans. He says it should be a red flag to buyers if a seller refuses to have their home inspected or appraised.
“Walk away from the deal. Do not buy a home unless you get an inspection,” Kelting said.
If you are looking to buy in this very competitive market, Jamie Hughes says it’s important that you have a good realtor and also a good local lender. She advises against the use of online lenders.
“If you’re running around to open houses and you haven’t looked at what that loan estimate looks like and your total cost to close, then you might be looking at a price range that you might not be comfortable in,” Hughes said.
Hughes says the current crowd of buyers is a mix of families and investors. If you find that you’re getting priced out, Hughes says you may want to consider a different type of property or look in a different neighborhood. At a time when competition is stiff, flexibility may help in your house hunt.