State of New Orleans Housing Stock Since Katrina

New Orleans–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. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently presented these key findings.

HUD’s 2009 New Orleans Metropolitan Area Housing Survey is the most comprehensive analysis of the area’s housing stock since the HUD’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.

“This survey presents a startling picture of just how disruptive Hurricane Katrina was to the lives of tens of thousands of families throughout the New Orleans area,” says HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “The numbers also offer clear evidence of where things stood in 2009, providing a benchmark for the Obama Administration’s work to help New Orleans recover and rebuild.”

Dr. Raphael Bostic, HUD’s assistant secretary for Policy Development and Research, adds, “The New Orleans metro area suffered a great deal from Katrina, and that suffering extended beyond just the housing stock to include the generations of families who called that area their home. While fewer families remain in transition, we’re seeing significant increases in the cost of housing, especially for lower and middle-income renters.”

Based on in-depth interviews with residents of approximately 3,000 housing units, HUD estimates that more than 80 percent of the area’s households were forced to move because of Hurricane Katrina and approximately 12 percent still consider themselves in flux. HUD also found that approximately 298,000 households were forced from their homes for at least two weeks after the storm; most families moved twice or three times and some moved as many as ten times.

Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is taking important steps to help remaining displaced families find long-term housing solutions.

Key findings in the 2009 New Orleans Metropolitan Area Housing Survey include:

Composition of the Housing Stock – HUD estimates that in 2009 there were 511,000 residential housing units in the New Orleans metro area compared to 587,000 units in 2004. This 13 percent decline is largely explained by demolition activity, particularly among older single-family attached homes built prior to 1979. In addition, approximately 24,700 new homes were constructed in the New Orleans metro area between 2004 and 2009. Considering the loss of many older homes and the addition of newly built units, the median year of construction of the area’s housing stock is currently 1972 compared to 1960 prior to Hurricane Katrina.  HUD’s 2009 survey also indicates there are an estimated 72,500 vacant housing units in the New Orleans metro area.

Monthly Housing Costs – The median monthly cost of housing in the New Orleans metro area was $882 in 2009 compared to $662 in 2004, a jump of 33.2 percent. The median rent charged to New Orleans-area tenants was $689 in 2004 compared to $876 in 2009, an increase of 27 percent.

Forced to Move – Because of Hurricane Katrina, more than 307,000 households were forced to move from their homes and share housing with others, primarily family and friends.

Damaged Housing – Of the 252,000 owner-occupied housing units that sustained damage during Hurricane Katrina, 90 percent have undergone repair through private insurance payouts, federal flood insurance and/or homeowner assistance grants provided through Louisiana’s HUD-funded Road Home Program.