About Jefferson Parish, LA

Current real estate activity in Gretna LA 70053:

53 homes for sale

• High list price $287,100
• Low list price $24,900
• Average list price $148,388
• Median list price $135,000

15 homes are under contract or pending sale, with an average list price of $142,841

Based on the number of homes sold in September 2009 (9), there is a 5.9 month supply of homes for sale in Gretna (a balanced real estate market).

Gretna LA 70053 | Number of Homes Sold | September 2009

Year to date, Gretna has seen 54 successful home sales, compared to 59 at the same time last year.  Not bad, when the majority of the West Bank has seen the number of sales drop substantially from 2008 to 2009.

The average Gretna home sold in September had 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1373 square feet of living area and was on the market for 46 days.  Homes priced right and in the best possible condition can still sell quickly!

The best news for Gretna is that the supply and demand of homes is in balance at this time.  That could change quickly if a large number of homes come on the market for sale, but for now it’s one of the most stable markets on the West Bank of New Orleans.

Home Selling Tips

Gretna LA 70053 | Average Home Sale Prices | September 2009

While the number of Gretna homes sold is holding fairly steady, the average sale price has dropped by 7% from 2008.  This is still not nearly as dramatic of a decrease as some other communities on the West Bank have experienced.  The first time home buyer tax credit is about to expire, so it will be interesting to see if the average prices increase or decrease when that option is no longer available. 

Home Buying Tips

 All data provided by GSREIN and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed

Gretna LA homes for Sale

Find out what's going on in your West Bank neighborhood with this week's free market snapshot.

Questions?  Contact the West Bank Living Team.  It would be our pleasure to assist you with any of your West Bank real estate needs.

Recently, I heard about a 5 year old boy who lives in Algiers named Ben Sarrat.  Ben is fighting an inoperable brain tumor caused by pediatric cancer.  His family is doing everything they can to make Ben’s life happy, including sending him to St. Andrew the Apostle School which has been a dream of his since he was very small.  Attending St. Andrew’s has let Ben meet some great kids – and those kids are showing just how great they are this weekend.

Because they want to help Ben get better, several of his friends and classmates have organized a multi-family bake sale for this Sunday morning at 753 Huckleberry Lane in Terrytown.   Not only can you buy cookies, cupcakes, lemonade and other treats, but there will also be a raffle of a $100 gift certificate to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse (raffle tickets are just $1 each).

People who move to New Orleans from other parts of the country usually think that they are coming to a big city.  Those of us who grew up here or have lived in the metro area for any length of time know that it’s really just a small town surrounded by a lot of other small towns.  And it’s these kind of small town happenings that remind me just how lucky we are over here on the West Bank to have such a caring community that will rally around friends in need.

Please take a moment on Sunday to stop by the bake sale and show some of our little citizens that they don’t have to wait for the world to change – they can change it, in their own way, every single day.

Directions to 753 Huckleberry Lane

The 2009 Gretna Heritage Festival is now part of the history books, and despite the fact that Sunday was dreary and rainy, I’m sure that another new attendance record must have been set.  After spending 3 days on the festival grounds, I didn’t even come close to seeing or hearing everything, but I did get a really good sampling of food, music and fun.

The festival opened on Friday afternoon to a queue of waiting people and more continued to arrive in a steady stream throughout the evening.  Lines quickly formed at the various food booths around dinner time and the arts and crafts vendors seemed to be doing a steady business. 

Saturday was a gorgeous day and I’m sure that any previous records for one day attendance were smashed.  By the time the sun set, it was getting difficult to make your way through the streets because there were so many people. 

It’s a good thing Saturday was so fabulous, because Sunday dawned full of clouds, rain and overall dreariness.  That didn’t keep the die-hards from coming out though, and after the Saints finished trouncing the Jets (GEAUX SAINTS!), even more people showed up to help close out the festival.

The ferry from Canal Street ran back and forth all weekend and most of the trips were at full capacity.

Arts and Crafts

We found some fabulous Tshirts, posters and other art, lots of home decor and if you’re a fleur de lis fan that couldn’t find something you loved there…well, there just might be no pleasing you!

Local artist Terrance Osborne was on hand Saturday, signing prints of some of his most popular pieces.

Posters, books, art, jewelry…something for everyone, including good stories if you took a few minutes to stop and listen.  The ladies below are the authors of the books they were selling and were a delight to visit with!

While people came from all over (we met the nicest folks from Kentucky hanging out in the Italian Village), true West Bankers were showing their pride and snapping up clothes with our different communities on them.  Pssst…..will someone please make an Algiers shirt for next year??

Games and Rides

With pay one price wristbands on Friday evening and Sunday evening, the kids were bouncing from one ride to the next.  There were also many carnival games for them to play (to the chagrin of many moms and dads, I’m sure) in that quest for a “big prize”.

And the food – OH, the food…I gained 10 pounds just walking through the streets. OK, so maybe I sampled a few things here and there :)  If you didn’t leave full, shame on you.

Music

The biggest draw for the festival, though, is the music.  Kerry Brown (who also is responsible for scheduling the Back to the River bands) always does an outstanding job of booking a wide variety of acts, and this year was no different.  While I didn’t make it to some of the biggest draws (Kool & The Gang, Chicago, Jo Dee Messina) I did manage to wander enough to hear some great tunes every day, especially from our local bands and artists.

What a weekend!  Thanks to all of the organizers and volunteers who make this event possible, with a special thanks to Dodie Rackley for helping me get access for all of my photos..  I hope to see you back at the Fest next year….

This is just a sampling of the pictures from the festival.  Click here for more photos of the 2009 Gretna Heritage Festival.   I’ll be slowly adding them over the next couple of days, so check back later!

From it’s start with one stage and a couple of hundred attendees, the Gretna Heritage Festival has come a long, long way!  The fun kicks off again tonight and lasts through the weekend with a stellar line up of music, over 40 food booths, carnival rides and art, jewelry and craft booths to satisfy your need for retail therapy and more.

The weather forecast for Friday is looking a little damp, so throw on your raincoat, pull up your galoshes (or your shrimp boots – we don’t mind) and head on out to Gretna for an amazing start to the weekend.  Just look at the talent that will open the festival this year!

See the entire weekend music schedule 

And this is just the opening night!  Named to the Southeastern Tourism Society’s Top 20 Festivals, Gretna Fest welcomed over 130,000 people last year – it just keeps growing and growing as the word spreads about the quality of the music, the affordability of the food and the warm, welcoming people who make it all happen.

Tickets are $10 per day or $25 for a weekend pass and kids 12 and under are free.  Don’t want to hassle with trying to park nearby?  Free parking and a free shuttle during the festival will be available at the Westside Shopping Center behind Academy Sporting Goods and at Oakwood Center in Terrytown. Pedestrians ride free on the Gretna-Canal Street ferry.

Need more information?  Get it all here:

• Food
  Arts & Crafts
  Rides & Games
  German Beer Garden
  Italian Village

We will be in the Krewe of Choctaw booth selling shrimp poboys, catfish poboys and crawfish pies all weekend – stop in and say HI to the West Bank Living Team.  We’d love to meet you in person!

Just to get you in the mood, here are a few photos from the 2008 Festival

See you this weekend!

It’s pretty hard to impress a New Orleans native with boiled seafood. After all, we learn to peel crawfish and shrimp and pick crabs as soon as we are big enough to sit at the table – mostly because our parents quickly got tired of doing it for us. So while I had heard good things about Perino’s from friends, I didn’t have any really high expectations when we pulled into the parking lot on the West Bank Expressway.

The front of the building is very plain and when you enter there is a to-go counter and a large, open dining room jam packed with cafeteria like tables and chairs for family style seating along with a few arcade games and a claw machine for the kids, big or small. Very 1970s, right down to the neon beer signs and stuffed animals hanging on the walls. Topping each table is a big roll of paper towels, a basket of crackers and butter and a rack of condiments including a huge squeeze bottle of cocktail sauce – the only thing missing is the newspaper covering the tables.

The menu is pretty simple and straightforward. Seasonal boiled and fried seafood and traditional sides such as potatoes, corn and sausage. The specials when we visited were the fried crawfish tails and fried alligator, served in a basket with fries. Since the whole reason we came was because we heard how good the boiled seafood was, we promptly ordered crabs and shrimp and decided to try the crawfish tail basket as well instead of sides.

Thank goodness we ordered the crawfish, because each basket came with a bowl of some of the best gumbo I’ve ever eaten. Filled with shrimp and crab claw meat and perfectly spiced, I think hubby and I set a record for the fastest gumbo eating. We weren’t the only ones impressed, as I heard other diners complimenting it as well. It’s only served by the cup or the bowl, but I’d gladly pay for a gallon of it to serve for dinner at home.

Dear hubby jumped into the crawfish tails (which were pretty darn good) before I could take a picture, but the blue crabs and shrimp were out of this world. Well seasoned and juicy, I knew it was a good meal by the number of paper towels we went through! The wait staff was very friendly, the big screen TV was playing a college football game and there was just a comfortable, old New Orleans feel to the place.

It’s not fancy by any means, but if you are looking for casual, family friendly dining and delicious food, take a drive to Harvey and check out Perino’s Boiling Pot. You won’t be sorry.

Perino’s Boiling Pot is located at 3754 West Bank Expressway in Harvey LA. Open Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 am – 10 pm and until 11 pm on Friday and Saturday. Need more information? Give them a call at (504) 340-5539.