The Commons
Tulane University’s largest construction project since Yulman Stadium, The Commons — a $55 million addition to the Uptown campus — welcomed its first students Monday, Aug. 19. The 77,000-square-foot building serves as a dining hall, gathering space and the new home of Newcomb Institute. The opening allows Tulane to move forward in tearing down Bruff Commons, the university’s dining hall which was built in the 1960s. It will be replaced with a unified residential quad for first-year students.
Greater New Orleans Ranks Second in Nation for Growth in Real Estate Sales
According to real estate data company CoStar, Greater New Orleans was No. 2 in America for growth in real estate sales in 2018.
Last year, “more than 5% of the metro’s inventory traded hands” for the first time in the decade following the recession, according to CoStar’s New Orleans market report. “Planned redevelopment of the former Avondale Shipyard could kick the city’s industrial market into high gear. Its sale to a joint venture last October for $60 million was the largest industrial deal in the past year.”
Top 10 Cities for Industrial Real Estate Sales Growth
1. Austin, TX – 115%
2. New Orleans, LA – 89.1%
3. Cincinnati, OH – 84.1%
4. Norfolk, VA – 83.6%
5. Seattle, WA – 80.8%
6. Fort Lauderdale, FL – 77.7%
7. Richmond, VA – 68.8%
8. Portland, OR – 63.2%
9. Honolulu, HI – 62.9%
10. Kansas City, MO – 59.7%
For more information, visit Costar.com
New Orleans Among Top Metros for Apartment Growth
Contrary to the national trend, construction in New Orleans/Metairie is surging this year, as 134% more apartments are being built compared to last year, according to a recent report by RentCafe.com. Over 1,000 units are estimated to come online in the metro area this year, 800 of which are in New Orleans.
Nationally, however, apartment construction has slowed for the second year, dropping by 8.21% between 2018 and 2019, with an estimate of 299,442 units delivered nationwide this year.
The New Orleans/Metairie market ranked fourth in the nation this year for “Top 10 Metros by Change in Apartment Deliveries,” behind Detroit, San Jose and Riverside.
To view the report, visit RentCafe.com/blog/rental-market/apartment-construction-2019
St. Tammany New Home Supply Highest in 6 Years
Overall St. Tammany New Home Market Data Overview
2nd Q 2017
Listings 207
Sales 188
Est. Supply 3.30
2nd Q 2018
Listings 225
Sales 177
Est. Supply 3.81
1st Q 2019
Listings 185
Sales 121
Est. Supply 4.59
2nd Q 2019
Listings 251
Sales 141
Est. Supply 5.34
New home supply saw a 40% increase from 3.81 to 5.34 months, according to the St. Tammany Parish Market Study Report for the Second Quarter of 2019 (created by Keller Analytics). “This is a higher months’ supply than years past and is the result of a substantial increase in new home listings from 225 to 251, marking the highest new home listing count in the past six years for the second quarter,” notes the report. “At the same time, new home sales decreased from 177 to 141, which is lower than the average new home sales in the 2nd Q for years past.”
Opportunity Zone Activity Increasing
Commercial real estate investment in Opportunity Zone (OZ) communities is on the rise following a sharp decline in investment experienced in 2017 (the year the program launched), according to a new market-specific Opportunity Zone report by national commercial real estate data and insights provider Reonomy. From 2018 to 2019, investment activity in OZs increased by 0.2%, a minor uptick that suggests the program has started to attract investment as intended.
According to the report, 13.6% of the New Orleans/Metairie’s total commercial assets lie in Opportunity Zones (the average of the top 50 metros is 11.8%). Of those New Orleans/Metairie assets, 59.33% are classified as multifamily, 17.1% are general commercial, 12.29% are retail, 5.52% are office, 4.03% are hospitality and 1.74 are industrial.
“As we near the end of our Post-Katrina Recovery Master Plan, we have shifted our focus to preserving and maintaining the nearly $2 billion investment made by the federal government in our school facilities. Thankfully, the voters approved a millage rededication that will provide ongoing facility funding for the preservation and capital needs of our existing school facilities starting in 2021 and we are working with schools and facility experts to develop plans on how to efficiently use those funds.”
NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr., who added that the school system recently presented a facility plan that identified long-term needs, including the need for additional funding for future new construction. The next step, he says, is to explore financing options for those projects.
