Troy Jowers, New Orleans Realtor

Greeting from New Orleans...it's Carnival time again! Though Mardi Gras day isn't until February 21 this year, 12th night (the feast of the Epiphany) on January 6 is actually the date the season gets started each year. If you've never been to our great city for the celebration, it's a bucket list item everyone should do once. The most congested time is the Thursday through Tuesday leading up to Mardi Gras day (Feb 16 - 21 this year). This is when the biggest parades role and the city hosts over one million visitors.

If you're looking for the experience but a bit less of a crowd, try the weekend before (Feb 10-12), locally referred to as the "first weekend of Mardi Gras". There's still plenty of great parades rolling, the locals are out and about, and we have a fraction of the revelers on that weekend. The photo below is one of the floats from the Krewe of King Arthur that rolls "first Sunday".

Another gem from the first weekend is the Mystic Krewe of Barkus. The name is a play on one of our larger parades, Bacchus. Barkus is a fantastic dog parade through the French Quarter, where the King and Queen are canine as are most of the participants in the parade. The Krewe raises funds for local animal shelters and groups. Below is their official poster from 2011 with the theme "A Broadway Tail: Barkus Brings Down The House". More info at their web site: www.barkus.org.

And keep in mind, the event is celebrated all over southern Louisiana, not just New Orleans. And in the metro area, it's not just in the French Quarter and Uptown. Our friends and neighbors on the West Bank (the other side of the Mississippi River) and in the suburb of Metairie throw a heck of a party too! Happy Mardi Gras, ya'll!!

The 2011 horse racing season has oficially kicked off at the Fair Grounds Race Course in Mid City. If you have not gone, go. It's a New Orleans tradition and tons of fun. If you decide not to have a bite, at the race's check out Brooks' Seahorse Saloon in the Fairgrounds Triangle Neighborhood right outside the Gentilly gates. Great neighborhood bar atmosphere and the chicken strips aren't too shabby either! More at the Fair Grounds web site!

I live in a very small, working class neighborhood in the center of New Orleans. Though we always hold a neighborhood event for Night Out Against Crime, we have never held it where it would make most sense...in our one public space. It's a hitorically crime riddled, city-owned playground owned by the city, where most parents will not let their children play. In 2011 our neighborhood association and neaby associations have all been fighting to get our playground back. Our efforts will culminate in having this year's event in the playground and it's by far a bigger event than in the past. Civic actions do work, and they do pay off with patience and perserverance. I'll post again after the October 11 event hopefully with great pics!

If you're in the area please stop by!

A recent summarizing article from REALTOR Mag, the online magazine of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), listed 10 American cities where Clear Capital's Home Data Index expects home prices to rise in 2011. New Orleans has come in at number 10 on that list, with an expected rise of 0.5%. The article from NAR (which pulled its information from MSNBC) can be found here.

What's even more impressive about this news for folks not too familiar with our market is that we did not experience nearly the decline in prices over past few years that many others did. From the market's recent post-Katrina height in 2007 through 2010, prices have slipped somewhere in the single digits citywide, whereas many cities across the country experienced drops well over 30%. So to have our market already beginning to rise is great news for the many folks who flocked to the city in the wake of Katrina.

It's already shaping up to be a stellar 2011, especially for condos, which were the hardest hit sector of our market (thanks to the knee jerk reaction that strangled condo lending recently). And incidentally, the other 9 cities in the list were:

1. Washington, D.C.: 6.5 percent price increase
2. Houston: 3.6 percent price increase
3. Honolulu: 3.4 percent price increase
4. Memphis, Tenn.: 3.2 percent price increase
5. Columbus, Ohio: 2.1 percent price increase
6. Dallas: 1.4 percent price increase
7. New York: 1.3 percent price increase
8. Birmingham, Ala.: 0.9 percent price increase
9. Pittsburgh: 0.8 percent price increase

When you're looking for your next real estate investment location, contact me about why the rebirth of New Orleans is your best bet!

NEW ORLEANS BY THE NUMBERS
Market Reports by Troy Jowers, RE/MAX Real Estate Partners

Condos (Uptown/Garden Dist/Warehouse Dist/French Quarter/Marigny)
Number of units selling still struggle, but looking up. Prices holding their own.
Year to Date December 2010