re: Things aren't looking good for Louisiana's RE market

There is nothing in the Lake Charles market for real estate and what is on the market is absurdly priced.

New Orleans Suffers from the following:

High crime
High taxes
High insurance
High water
Low wages
Low levees
Poor education
Et cetera

The city is booming, but there have been a ton of high end apartments that are recently finished and under construction. I have already started to see rents dropping for some of these projects compared with roughly one year ago.

Another thing that I personally think will play a big role in the local residential market is that most of the larger multi-family projects were done with historic tax credits. Once the associated five year holding period expires many owners plan to sell them off as condo units as an exit strategy.

I think lower rents and an influx of high end condominium units may loosen the demand for some of the older single family homes.

What if they legalize marijuana and prostitution? Won't that provide more good-paying jobs and taxes to help the real estate market?

Stout

Me and the wife purchased .5 acre in Youngsville, planning on building there this year.
Due to the O&G Industry I'm actually getting out of the industry now and not waiting to get laid off. Getting into the financial business so at first I will be taking a pay cut. I've been following the real estate market closely looking at foreclosures etc.
You think I should just hold onto the property and look into purchasing a home at a reduced price instead of building? Only saying this b/c it looks as though I may be able to find a really nice home for a great price
I can still use the value of the property as my down payment or just try and sell the property outright as well.
Just looking for your thoughts. I have a friend in the RE business who has his eye out for homes, just wanted another opinion on someone who may be more taped in.
TIA

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I've been following the real estate market closely looking at foreclosures etc.
You think I should just hold onto the property and look into purchasing a home at a reduced price instead of building? Only saying this b/c it looks as though I may be able to find a really nice home for a great price

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In a word, YES. Wait a bit longer, and you'll get some excellent deals, esp in Youngsville.

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I'd ask your friend that knows that market better than I do. I invest in the LC market and also happen to manage a lot of homes in a lot of states for banks so my interest lies purely in that but I would expect that there will be plenty of inventory and fewer buyers in the Laffy area soon. That's just what happens when bubbles pop. It's just hard to know for sure what that timeline will be and if it fits inline with yours.

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Ok, sorry about that I thought you dealt w/RE in this market exclusively.

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The other thing to consider is that you may be able to build fairly cheap if there are contractors not building specs due to the slow down and looking for work.

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My wife's uncle was going to build our home, he's a great contractor that would build the house quite under the normal sq ft dollar amount for that location. Which is why I purchased the property so I would be able to flip the home in 10 years.
Just started to change my thinking b/c of the excess amount of homes that may be coming onto the market soon. I was also thinking of holding onto the property if possible.

I am begging my parents to sell the house I grew up in in lakeview. I know they could make a bundle right now and I don't want them to miss it.

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doesn't have the jobs to support current prices

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Thats what I keep saying, the math never lies. When you look at total cost including maintenance and taxes and insurance the numbers just don't add up in New Orleans.

The "new" part is the soaring real estate prices. Those problem were always there but real estate was also affordable.