Housing Production Needs: Three Scenarios for New Orleans

In collaboration with The Urban Institute

Allison Plyer Elaine Ortiz Margery Austin Turner  (The Urban Institute) Kathryn L.S. Pettit  (The Urban Institute)

Published: Nov 12, 2009

Four years after Katrina, how much more housing and of what type does New Orleans need? This report provides a clear comparison between supply of subsidized rentals and current demand for subsidies. It also examines future overall demand and demand for subsidies and compares these to the number of units in the pipeline. Finally, this report tackles the tough question: What do you do when market rate vacancies are rising but many people still cannot afford housing?

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Executive Summary
  • Part I: Demographic and Housing Trends
    • Katrina dramatically disrupted demographic and housing trends
    • Regional affordability problems persist in 2008
    • In 2008, the national recession stalled post-Katrina economic recovery
    • Large scale housing production is softening the New Orleans rental market
  • Part II: Housing Production Needs Analysis
    • Alternative futures for New Orleans — Housing production scenarios
    • Factors underlying housing production needs
    • Affordable housing needs
    • Housing in the pipeline
    • Comparing housing needs to projected supply
  • Part III: Policy Implications and Options
    • Ensuring the completion of the current subsidized housing pipeline
    • Helping low–income households gain access to existing housing
    • Investing in information infrastructure to support decision–making and promoting accountability
    • Looking ahead
  • Supplementals
    • Supplemental 1: Scenario Results
    • Supplemental 2: Pipeline Data

 

About Housing in the New Orleans Metro

The Housing in the New Orleans Metro series creates a common base of reliable information around housing and the recovery that is easy to use to support decision making at many levels as the New Orleans area moves from recovery to large–scale community development. Housing policy development must be informed by a solid understanding of not only housing affordability challenges for homeowners and renters, but also economic, employment, income, and demographic trends and regional commuter patterns. The Housing in the New Orleans Metro annual report quantifies housing issues and raises promising policy options that can address current and future housing problems. In addition to the annual report, periodic Housing in the New Orleans Metro briefs highlight new data as they are acquired and analyzed to provide timely support to local, state, and federal decision–making.