NOLA real estate

I've given up trying to predict the tops of real estate bubbles. I don't think there is any justification for the prices in Lakeview now... and they keep going up.

Paying $200/sq ft for a house that sits on a street that is collapsing and requires a tank to drive down it? Until the city fixes the streets, I'll pass.

That having been said, while I don't know how much prices will go up, prices generally only go down if there is some sort of cataclysmic event - another hurricane, big economic tanking, etc.

I do think for the market to keep going up, you will need to have people who want to come into the neighborhood, combined with people who are selling out. A lot of people think the two new hospitals are going to attract all sorts of out of town medical professionals to move into the city (read: Mid-City prices right now) but I don't know if I buy into that theory. VA docs aren't super wealthy, and the docs that will work at the new UMC are pretty much the same docs who are already working at the interim hospital, plus a few new ones they might recruit. IT's going to be a teaching hospital, but it's not like it will be a major research hospital on par with Johns Hopkins or anything.

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t. A lot of people think the two new hospitals are going to attract all sorts of out of town medical professionals to move into the city (read: Mid-City prices right now) but I don't know if I buy into that theory. 

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In Mid_city's case, and really the whole area around the hospital, there isn't a need for high income professionals in order to raise property values. A large influx of middle income wage earners is an upgrade to most residents in that area. I don't think anyone is expecting plastic surgeons and cardiologists to move into mid city and treme, but those $200,000-$300,000 duplexes will be tempting for middle income nurses and such, hence the increase in property values in that area.

I look at those Laeview prices and shake my head. I live 18 miles from Lakeview...paid less per square ft for true custom than those folks are paying for flooded renos. And my street is paved, no crime, and the public schools are good. The prices are nuts over there.

Great responses. A lot of you seem to share my thoughts on it. If anything I'm not looking for a huge appreciation, but if I'm paying 350k for a home I would like to at least be confident it will maintain its value.

I guess a follow-up question is if it is worth buying a new one for a little bit higher? I've been seeing some real nice new constructions in some of the numbered streets, mostly on blocks that are split half and half between new beautiful constructions and some homes that look like tear downs/duplexes.

Lakeview isn't a true bubble, because the rise in prices isn't driven by speculation or people looking for a quick buck. The rice in prices is driven by genuine demand. But whether that increased demand is rational or not is a whole nother question.

Lakeview's dirty secret is that it's priced as if it's a great place to live, but it's actually not. Living in Lakeview is completely indistinguishable from living in any random Metairie neighborhood on the downtown side of Cleary; except the houses cost an extra $100K and insurance is higher. It's a shorter commute than Metairie, and you get to say you live "in New Orleans," but otherwise I don't see anything to justify the additional cost.

I realize this is a minority opinion.

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Good for you, but you still live 18 miles away

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A fact I am thankful for nearly every time I watch the news. Here's what I don't get about Lakeview: it is all the hassle of Orleans parish yet none of the "city" benefits. You still have to drive to everything, no good public transit coverage, and it is visually blah. At least Uptown and MidCity offer a real city feel and are close to downtown, etc.

Still, sheeple want to live where they feel comfortable. I have coworkers who are third generation Lakeview denizens. You'd think it was Paris' left bank the way they carry on about it. I drive thru and see architectural monstrosities (what's up with the faux Tuscan villas shoehorned onto a 60' wide lot?), little diversity, terrible streets, and OP politics. Not paying top dollar for any of that, thanks.

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I have coworkers who are third generation Lakeview denizens. You'd think it was Paris' left bank the way they carry on about it. I drive thru and see architectural monstrosities (what's up with the faux Tuscan villas shoehorned onto a 60' wide lot?), little diversity, terrible streets, and OP politics.

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As a Lakeview resident, I disagree with your overall characterization but must say that this is hilariously true.

It's clearly a bubble, but it won't be coming down any time soon. It's an in-demand market for a reason.

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I drive thru and see architectural monstrosities (what's up with the faux Tuscan villas shoehorned onto a 60' wide lot?)

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I'm no architecture snob but it's funny to compare pre-2005 and post-2005 houses in LV. You will have these plain, blue collar looking 1500 sq foot brick houses surrounded on all sides by brand new tricked out 2-story homes built to within a foot of the property line.

I just paid about $300 a square foot in Uptown. I don't see the prices coming down very much over the next few years. The market is crazy right now. Having said that, I couldn't care less if the market did go down. We bought where we wanted to and couldn't see myself living in Lakeview or Old Metry.