Lisa Heindel, New Orleans West Bank Real Estate

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.

Current real estate activity in Belle Chasse LA:

53 homes are for sale

• High list price $1,100,000
• Low list price $99,000
• Average list price $355,572
• Median list price $292,450

12 homes are under contract or pending sale, with an average list price of $347,809.

Based on the number of homes sold in September (6), there is an 8.8 month supply of homes for sale in Belle Chasse.

Belle Chasse LA – Number of Homes Sold – September 2009

As of September 2009, there have been 50 homes sold in Belle Chasse this year, compared to 59 at the same time last year (a decrease of 15% in the number of sales).  The area continues to buck the financing trend with the majority (67%) of home buyers using conventional mortgages instead of the more popular FHA loans.

Belle Chasse LA | Average Home Sale Price | September 2009

Home prices in Belle Chasse have dropped significantly from 2008 to 2009 (21%), ending September with an average home sale price of $262,411, reversing the increasing prices the area has experienced for the last few years.  However, unless you purchased your Belle Chasse home in 2006-2008, the odds are good that you have still seen an increase in the amount of equity you have in your home.

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

Belle Chasse LA homes for sale
Belle Chasse Real Estate Market Reports

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

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

Those are the exact words we heard from a seller recently.

Why?  Because after all of the back and forth negotiations were finished and a price and terms were agreed on, the buyer’s inspection report came back with several problems that the seller did not know existed.  In order to keep the purchasers from cancelling the contract and walking away from the house, the seller spent over $2,000 having things fixed.  Since he had already agreed to a darn good deal for the buyers, he felt a little short changed.

What do Louisiana purchase agreements say about inspections?

The first thing that our contracts say about inspections is that both parties are agreeing that the price was negotiated based on the apparent condition of the property.  This is an important fact, because if there are needed repairs that were not readily apparent to a buyer, this often becomes an issue for them (or their lender or insurance company).

What if you are selling your home “AS IS”?

Most sellers in Louisiana list their homes as being sold “As Is With a Waiver of Redhibition”.  However, this clause only becomes effective at the act of sale and does not preclude the buyer from doing any and all inspections, as shown in the purchase agreement below.

Did you catch that Option 1?  If the buyer is not satisfied with the condition of the property, they can elect to terminate the agreement to purchase (and get their deposit back as well) without any questions.  In our experience, however, unless there are an extreme number of hidden defects, most buyers will provide a list of items they are not satisfied with and request repairs be made by the seller.

What happens if the repairs are expensive?

Again, it becomes a renegotiation of your contract.  With so many homes for sale on the West Bank, buyers are typically not willing to take on someone else’s deferred maintenance on big tickets items such as roofs, plumbing and air and heating systems.  Buyers may request that expensive repairs be made at the seller’s expense or they may ask for a lower purchase price to offset the need to make repairs after they move in. 

It’s important to know, though, that many FHA and VA lenders are looking closely at the condition of properties they are taking as collateral and they may not be willing to extend a loan on a home that is in need of major repairs.  Since the majority of home sales this year have been to FHA or VA buyers, taking care of repairs may be the only way to avoid either reducing the sales price or waiting longer on the market for the more elusive conventional or cash buyers.

Inspections results must be disclosed

If you have your home inspected (whether it’s done before listing or by a potential buyer), you will need to update your disclosures to provide any new information to the next prospective buyer.

We have long been proponents of having a house inspected before it goes on the market, but find that most home owners don’t want to spend the $300-$400 up front.  If our seller’s home had been inspected first, there would have been no expensive surprises that ended up reducing the money that he was going to leave the closing table with.

Need more information on home inspections?  The Louisiana State Board of Home Inspectors has a great frequently asked questions page.

The West Bank Living Team provides professional real estate services and advice to home buyers and sellers on the West Bank of New Orleans.  Feel free to contact us for assistance with any of your real estate needs or questions.

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!