In the five years since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf coast, the New Orleans metropolitan area lost 75,000 housing units or nearly 13 percent of its housing stock. In addition, the median monthly cost of housing rose by nearly 33 percent, from $662 in 2004 to $882 in 2009. These are among the key findings of a new housing survey presented today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
HUD’s 2009 New Orleans Metropolitan Area Housing Survey is the most comprehensive analysis of the area’s housing stock since the Department’s last substantive assessment in 2004 (prior to Hurricane Katrina) and includes data from Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, and St. Tammany Parishes. The 2009 survey also provides a critical point of comparison since Hurricane Katrina and offers an in-depth progress report of the redevelopment of the metro area following the storm. HUD plans another housing survey in 2011 to further gauge progress in the restoration of the area’s housing stock. Read More…
