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New Orleans maintains position as high-rent U.S. city in March of 2017

Affordable housing issues in New Orleans are real

New Orleans Takes To The Streets To Celebrate Mardi Gras
Compared to March of 2016, rent has increased 15 percent.
Photo by Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images

At the start of March, New Orleans is still ranked No. 15 for the city with the most expensive rent in the United States.

According to Zumper’s National Rent Index, the average price of one bedroom apartments in New Orleans is $1,142, and two bedroom units are an average $1,353. In considering March of 2016, rent has increased 15 percent from last year.

The National Rent Index evaluates renting prices in over one million listings, in over 100 cities throughout the United States. The analysis looks at one and two bedrooms units throughout the subject cities.

This past February, The New Orleans City Planning Commission completed a five-month study, evaluating the effectiveness of a Smart Housing Mix ordinance to tackle the city’s affordable housing issues. The Smart Housing Mix ordinance would require medium to large developments to include affordable housing options in new developments.

Two similar and recent developments that are currently utilizing affordable housing incentives are Sidney Torres’ Mid-City apartment complex and the Sacred heart at St. Bernard Avenue multi-use complex.

In a 2015 report conducted by HousingNOLA, 70 percent of New Orleans residents allocate at least one third of their income for housing.