Cheapest Homes in Louisiana
Louisiana has had several waves of economic disaster hit their state, so when I talk about the cheapest homes in Louisiana, I'm talking about cut-rate prices. New Orleans has yet to quite recover from the damage of Hurricane Katrina, while the BP oil spill was another blow to the local economy. Sandwiched between those was the national and worldwide economic crisis, which saw housing prices take a dive across state lines and on every level of housing development.
If you have a steady, well-paying job and can afford a home in Louisiana, though, the recession and the real estate market crash is a boon. You probably won't find lower housing prices in the next thirty years than you can find right now, so it's a good time to lock in a mortgage, if you have a good credit score and the ability to pay steadily. So let's take a look at the most inexpensive residences to purchase in Louisiana.
Cheap Houses in New Orleans
You'll find a lot of cheap housing in the New Orleans area, so bear with me. Let's start with a $27,500 residence on Toledano Street, which has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a 1,136 square feet. Casa Calvo Street features a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom living space selling for $39,000. With its three arched doorways, this residence reminds me something of a church, but if that appeals to you, this is a cheap residence with a lot of accommodations.
If you want a substantial looking brick building, you can find a foreclosed home at Oxford Place with four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms with an asking price of $79,000. This is an impressive looking home which reminds me something of a high falutin' fraternity house you would see in movies. A more down-to-Earth option can be found on Lauderdale Drive for $55,890, which has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a total of 1,080 square feet inside.
Mandeville Street features a much smaller option--a little white house with 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, and only 520 square feet for $52,000. I doubt you'll have to pay that amount to get into this home, which does you the favor of putting you in the middle of the city. For those who don't want the upkeep on their own place with their own yard, but who do want to own, you can pay $64,000 for a three bedroom, one bathroom apartment on St. Mary Street with the auspicious number of 420 square feet.
The cheapest living arrangement I found for sale in New Orleans is the Westbend Parkway Apartment #2, which offers a 1 bed, 1 bath condo with 663 square feet for $21,652. A residence with twice the floorspace (1,260 sq feet) with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom on Louisiana Avenue Parkway is selling for $42.900.
Venice Boulevard has a 3 bed, 2 bath foreclosure selling for $22,500, while South Roman Street has a similar 3 bed, 2 bathroom layout with an asking price of $24,900.
Cheapest Houses in Baton Rogue
The price of housing isn't consistently as cheap in Baton Rogue as it is in New Orleans. That's understandable, considering Baton Rogue is much further off the coast from New Orleans and wasn't hit by Katrina with anything like the same destruction. I did find at least one house with a price lower than $20,000, though, so you can find good bargains in the city where Louisiana State University, better known as LSU, is found.
North 47th Street is where the cheapest house currently on the market in Baton Rouge is found. This 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home is selling for $19,900. Harco Drive has a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom place selling for $33,500, which is as good of a deal in its own way. A similar home is the 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom residence on Progress Road in Baton Rouge, which has an asking price of $32,500. One other similar offer is a 3 bed, 1 bath option on Wayne Drive selling for an even $35,000.
You can also find a 1 bed, 1 bath house on Jasper Avenue selling for $45,000, while a 2 bed, 1 bath residence on North 38th Street is selling for $22,500.
Cheapest Houses in Shreveport
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana, only about 20,000 people smaller than Baton Rouge (#2). If you aren't familiar with Shreveport, it is set off from the other major population centers in the northwestern quarter of the state. Shreveport and its close neighbor, Bossier City, are known for their riverboat casinos. All the East Texas and North Texas (Dallas) gamblers who don't dash for Southern Oklahoma to gamble come to Shreveport and Bossier City--while I'm sure a significant number of Louisianans also attend. Shreveport is on the other end of Louisiana from New Orleans, so it's housing prices weren't as affected by Hurricane Katrina than elsewhere in the state. Still, you can find a few good deals.
For instance, there's a current listing for a 3 bed, 1 bath residence on Mayfield Street selling for $19,900. Another residence selling for cheap is a 3 bed, 1 bath home on Joanna Drive, which is selling for $33,900.
Timberman Place and Hilton Drive each have three bedroom, 2 bathrooms homes selling for $69,000. You can find a 4 bed, 2 bath trailer on Simpkins Drive selling for $55,000, while Silver Pine Lane has a substantial looking house with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms selling for $83,900.
Living Arrangements in Louisiana
New Orleans has nearly 500,000 people, while Baton Rogue has 228,000 and Shreveport has 200,000 people, so these three cities are going to dominate my coverage of this housing market. But keep in mind that Metairie, Lafayette, and Lake Charles all are cities all over 100,000 people in population, so these are economic centers to explore when studying for a move to Louisiana. When looking for a home in Shreveport, you should look in Bossier City, too, as the two cities are practically joined together.
From its parishes (instead of counties) and all the other holdovers from French rule a little over two centuries ago to the influence of Cajuns and Caribbean peoples and Creoles alike, New Orleans has a style and culture all its own. Living in Louisiana is like no other living experience in the world. So if you're going to move to New Orleans, Shreveport, or Baton Rouge anyway, find a good home at a cheap price, learn how to cook Cajun food, and start to live the good life of bourbon, jazz, and maybe even a little Zydeco.