By Deon Roberts, Online Editor
It seems like years ago – nearly four years ago, to be exact – that New Orleans learned of plans to convert the Krauss Department Store building into more than 200 condos.
Today, the project appears to be in the homestretch. According to a story today by CityBusiness reporter Ariella Cohen, the developer, Elie Khoury, says the luxury condos are almost sold out.
“We only have 30 left to sell,” Khoury said.
Today’s Krauss announcement is a rare example of a condo project making headlines in New Orleans these days. How things have changed from before Katrina, when the New Orleans condo market was booming and prices were rising. Before Katrina, real estate mogul Donald Trump even said he planned to do a mega project involving condos at 555 Poydras St.
Katrina hit in August 2005, and for months after the storm, it seemed that a new condo project was being announced every other day, all over the city. The flurry subsided, though. Now, the news is mostly void of major condo announcements.
So where did the condos go?
It’s likely that after Katrina developers saw New Orleans as a blank slate that would need housing to replace the thousands of homes destroyed by the storm. But the city’s population did not return quickly; the population is still well below pre-K levels. The city has also lost a lot of its professional class, such as doctors, who are more likely to buy a pricey condo.
New Orleans’ problems aside, the nation is dealing with a real estate meltdown. That could be chilling development in New Orleans, too.
Whatever the reason for the slowdown in New Orleans condo activity, there’s no arguing that the headlines aren’t the same as they were before the storm.•
2 responses so far ↓
BRichman // Friday, August 15, 2008 at 11:18 am |
The Condo craze has cooled off significantly because of the rise in insurance costs. The increased premiums have made condo fees astronomical. Also with the increased amount of single family homes on the market with dropping prices, people can now afford a home just as easily as a condo. Also, with GO-ZONE tax incentives being as illusive as a magic trick, the government red tape has made feasible developments vanish into thin air. Abra Cadabra!
Greg // Friday, August 15, 2008 at 1:41 pm |
Condo sales fell apartment nationally. They had been driven by the frenzy of the housing bubble. New Orleans is not completely immune to national trends. That frenzy is way over.
Look for more decline. I know one development where only 11 of 32 condos are locally owned. With inflation, energy prices, the housing bust, look for out of state buyers to become scarcer.