French Quarter Condos Market Update, March 2008
March 19th, 2008 categories: French Quarter, Market Trends
The New Orleans French Quarter Condo market is much slower than in years past. There are several reasons for this. Many of the units are second homes and the Quarter is getting competition from other areas such as the Warehouse District, Uptown New Orleans and the Marigny. Katrina had a large effect, not from damage or flooding but because today we see fewer numbers of tourists and visitors. Good news, the trend is improving!
Many of the units have retained their pre-K pricing — others have not been updated. However, with that said once you cull through the odd ball units, questionable locations, and pre-K priced condos, the number of choices becomes more manageable. I think the market may be better than in 2007 as we move further away from Katrina. The historic area will hold up if for no other reason than the location cannot be duplicated.
In today’s New Orleans MLS there were 144 condo units for sale in the New Orleans French Quarter. There are 16 units under contract waiting to go to sale. There are 55 units in the under 250k category, 66 units in the 250-500k range and that leaves 33 units over 500k for sale. The majority of these are second homes and quite a few new conversions. A lot of people are starting to look again and there is not a lot of new inventory coming on the market.
In 2007 there were 118 condos sold with 40 units being under 500 sq. ft. Can you believe that some were in the 200sq. ft. range? If you look at the units that I show between 200k and 500K the average selling price per sq. ft. was in the range of $380 per sq. ft. for 2007. These are just averages but it gives you an idea of what to expect. The secret is to find someone who is motivated to sell and who has their unit priced correctly.
