Home prices in the greater New Orleans region were on the rise at the end of 2018, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors.
The median price of a single-family home in the New Orleans region was $206,600 in the last three months of 2018, up 3.3% from the same period in 2017, according to the report. The median home price for 2018 as a whole was $210,100.
The preliminary figures are part of the National Association of Realtor's quarterly report on median home prices, which tracks sales in metro areas across the country four times a year. The report provides a high-level overview of the housing market in our area, looking at prices across the entire New Orleans-Metairie metropolitan statistical area. The New Orleans-Metairie MSA covers eight parishes, including Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany and St. James.
To be sure, prices in New Orleans and surrounding suburbs are selling well above the median stated in the report. The average price for a single-family home in Orleans Parish was $354,962 for the first six months of 2018, according to an August 2018 report prepared by Real Property Associates, using data provided by the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors and Gulf South Real Estate Information Network. Prices in Orleans Parish were up 8.6% in the first half of last year, according to that report.
Other areas, including the River Parishes, have tracked closer to the median. For example, the August 2018 report found prices averaged $152,999 in St. John, and $224,088 in St. Charles. Prices in both parishes were also up in the first half of last year.
The NAR report shows prices in the New Orleans area fall below the median for the nation as a whole. The median price for a single-family home in the U.S. was $257,600 in the last quarter of 2018, according to the report. That was a 4% increase from the same period in 2017.
New Orleans-area prices were also below the median for the southern United States. The median price across the South was $228,200, up 3.3%.
The report noted home prices rose at a slower pace in the final quarter of 2018 in most metro markets thanks to a growing number of homes being built or put up for sale. In a press release, Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said the growing inventory will put a damper on growth. Yun expects national prices to rise "at a slower and healthier pace" in 2019.
Overall, home prices were up in 163 of the 178 MSAs tracked by the report.
