Residential Construction Market Analysis in the State of Louisiana, USA
Building costs are 2% above the national average in the state of Louisiana, and equivalent to the states of Delaware and Maryland. In a few countries in the world, there is the real possibility of buying your own house or being able to invest in the real estate market. One of those countries is the United States, where anyone, no matter where they are, can aspire to fulfill the dream of owning their own home. The country is made up of 50 states, which vary according to their nature, amount of population, buildings, etc. That is why we will dedicate a special article to Louisiana, a state with the southern charm that is attracting more and more people both to invest in it and to live there.
Louisiana Construction Outlook
Something important that you should know about Louisiana is that what is known as “counties” in all the other states of the country are called parishes here, and it has a total of 64. It is probable that this denomination comes from the French influence that received during the colonization, after all, you must not forget that the city of New Orleans is located here.
Louisiana is one of the few states that preserved colonial structures, which makes a walk down Bourbon Street feel like you’re in France. Even in the residential neighborhoods, you will find two-story colonial houses, where the walls seem to be made of bricks or wooden planks in other cases.
Contrary to what you might imagine, the most modern buildings are found in the city of Monroe, although even they are quite 80s in style. Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport have some buildings but are mostly small towns with residential houses. They are the typical towns that you are used to seeing in American series or movies.
The climate is temperate but a large number of hurricanes usually occur, so all constructions, regardless of whether they are houses or buildings, must anticipate this. It is necessary that they are built with waterproof materials, and even ideally in the case of houses to have them have a certain height to prevent them from flooding quickly, especially if they are near terrestrial water surfaces. It is also important that the windows and doors are resistant since the winds are usually very strong throughout the year.
Louisiana Housing Market Analysis and Forecast
This does not mean that everything is bad if you want to buy a house to live in, there are many properties, either houses or land, that you can get for a fair price. If you are looking for cheap values, you should look in smaller cities or towns such as Monroe, Hammond, or Houman. In these cities, you will find simple houses, perfect for a middle-class family. In addition, the school districts are very good, including some public schools that provide high-quality education. In these cities, you will find the same community values as in a small town, which makes it perfect for families with children or to start your family there.
If you still want to live in something similar to a big city, keep in mind that for $300,000 you can buy a 3,063 square foot house in Shreveport, which is a good price. In cities like New Orleans, for the same price, you will get approximately 1,900 square feet of land.
In case you are looking to invest, the best cities are New Orleans and Baton Rouge, since they always receive new people who want to live there, and you can even invest in buildings suitable for tourism (rent with Airbnb). With all the money you make in March during Mardi Gras you will already be recovering a large part of your investment without a doubt.
Louisiana Average House Price (Median Home Price)
The value of an average median home is $258,000 in case you’re looking to buy, which is surprising considering the estimated value is $200,000 (we talked about this in the previous point). This shows you that there is a huge amount of demand to buy properties in Louisiana. However, even that doesn’t make the prices completely unaffordable, and it’s still a much cheaper state than others.
If you are looking for houses that are only one story, then you can also find cheaper prices. These houses range from $150,000 to $200,000 and have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, garage, and a large garden. Unlike other states, most of the properties for sale have a large garden, since it is a state full of nature.
Two- to three-story luxury homes with more than 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a completely renovated kitchen can range from $300,000 to $700,000. There are very few properties that exceed $800,000 and these are usually mansions or historic houses that have ample value since they were part of historical moments in the history of the United States.
Proposed Residential Building Projects in Louisiana
In New Orleans, there is a trend in the residential construction market to build small buildings. They are not the typical skyscrapers that you would see in another big city, but they are buildings with a maximum of 10 floors (in most cases 6), prepared to have between 20 and 40 apartments. Most of the buildings that are being built are opting for a colonial style, highlighting the red bricks and leaving them visible, although inside they retain all the luxury.
They are completely new apartments, with state-of-the-art equipment and a minimalist style, which can later be changed by the buyer. The buildings usually have gyms or some kind of extra space to attract more buyers, such as swimming pools, recreation spaces, etc. In the other cities, there are a lot of houses under construction. They are usually large two-story houses with a large number of rooms since most families in Louisiana are made up of a large number of members.
Building Costs Per Square Foot for Single Family Homes in the State of Louisiana, USA
Building costs are 2% above the national average in the state of Louisiana, and equivalent to the states of Delaware and Maryland.
Class 1 – Luxury Single Family Homes
The building cost per square foot for luxury private homes in Louisiana ranges from $351.79 per sqft to $539.27 per sqft, with the average being $415.16 per sqft. As the bar chart shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.
Class 2 – Semi Luxury Single Family Homes
The building cost per square foot for semi-luxury private homes in Louisiana ranges from $213.80 per sqft to $327.73 per sqft, with the average being $252.31 per sqft. As the bar chart shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.
Class 3 – Best Standard Single Family Homes
The building cost per square foot for best-standard private homes in Louisiana ranges from $138.21per sqft to $209.93 per sqft, with the average being $161.81 per sqft. As the bar chart shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.
Class 4 – Good Standard Single Family Homes
The building cost per square foot for good-standard private homes in Louisiana ranges from $100.87 per sqft to $154.68 per sqft, with the average being $119.04 per sqft. As the bar graph shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.
Class 5 – Average Standard Single Family Homes
The building cost per square foot for average-standard private homes in Louisiana ranges from $81.88 per sqft to $125.39 per sqft, with the average being $96.55 per sqft. As the bar graph shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.
Class 6 – Minimum Standard Single Family Homes
The building cost per square foot for minimum-standard private homes in Louisiana ranges from $64.58 per sqft to $98.98 per sqft, with the average being $76.18 per sqft. As the bar graph shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.
List of 10 Metropolitan Areas/Cities in Louisiana – Percentage Deviation of the City/Town Building Cost from the National Average ($X), in Descending Order:
There are 308 municipalities grouped into 64 counties in the state of Louisiana. The bar chart below indicates that building costs vary in each metro city/town. The construction cost per square foot in each of these metropolitan cities varies from the state and national average by a certain percentage based on the location factor also known as the local modifier.
The percentage deviation of building costs from the National Average for each metropolitan area in Louisiana is shown below.
If $X is the Average National Building Cost in the USA, then it will cost the following to build a residential property in each metro city/town in Louisiana:
Louisiana Average 2% (2% more than X)
- Monroe 712 -8%
- Minden 710 -5%
- Shreveport 711 -4%
- Mandeville 704 -3%
- New Orleans 700-701 2%
- Alexandria 713-714 4%
- Houma 703 4%
- Lafayette 705 8%
- Baton Rouge 707-708 10%
- Lake Charles 706 13%
The Metropolitan Area List above as well as the Bar Graphs below shows that Monroe is the cheapest city to build a private home in the state of Louisiana, and Lake Charles is the most expensive city to build a home. Building costs are -8% below the national average in Monroe and 13% above the national average in Lake Charles.
Cheapest Places To Build in Louisiana:
Monroe is the cheapest to place to build at -8% below the national average, followed by Minden City at -5%. The third cheapest place to build is Shreveport at -4% below the national average. The fourth cheapest city to build a house is Mandeville at -3% below the national average. The fifth cheapest place to build is New Orleans at 2% above the USA average, followed by Alexandria and Houma at 4%.
Expensive Places To Build in Louisiana:
If anything between 5% and 10% is considered expensive, then there are 2 such metropolitan areas in the state of Louisiana. The cost of building a home in Lafayette is 8% above the US average. Home building costs in Baton Rouge are 10% above the national average.
More Expensive Places To Build in Louisiana:
If anything between 10% and 15% is considered more expensive, then there is one such metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. Building costs in the City of Lake Charles are 13% above the USA average.
Very Expensive Places To Build in Louisiana
The most expensive places to build a house in the USA are those 15% above the national average. There are no such places in Louisiana.
Louisiana State Average Costs:
Private home building costs in the state of Louisiana are 2% above the US average. Construction costs in New Orleans are equivalent to the state average. Residential development costs in Mandeville are closer to the state average by a deviation of 1%. Lake Charles is the most expensive city to build a home in Louisiana, and the state of Louisiana is number 37 on the national ascending costs scale.