NOLA ranks first nationally in fewest home mortgages

One new report shows that New Orleans is the city that has the fewest homeowners with mortgages.

According to an analysis conducted by LawnStarter, over 41 percents of homes in New Orleans do not have mortgage. Trailing behind New Orleans is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Tampa, Florida; Buffalo, New York; and Miami, Florida.

The 2017 report looks at Data from the 2011-15 American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.

But why is New Orleans ahead when it comes to mortgage-free homes?

In 2013, Zillow published a report that 21 million Americans, nearly 30 percent of homeowners, do not have a mortgages. In the study, Zillow found that homes with lower values tend to garner a larger mortgage-free population.

The average price of a home in 2015 was $339,743. Just before hurricane Katrina, the average price of a home was $228,620.

In an interview with Lawn Starter, Richard Haase, president of Latter & Blum, said that the high mortgage-free percentage of homeowners in New Orleans can be attributed to low interest rates, and investors making sweeping home purchases since Hurricane Katrina.

• New Orleans Is No. 1 Mortgage-Free Metro [LawnStarter]
• New Orleans home prices up 46 percent since Hurricane Katrina; suburbs more modest [Nola.com]
• New Orleans metro home prices climbed in first half of year [Nola.com]
• 20.6 Million U.S. Homeowners Own Homes Free And Clear Of Mortgage Debt [Zillow]