What $125,000 buys you in New Orleans right now

Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a column that explores what one can rent or buy for a set dollar amount in various New Orleans neighborhoods. Is one person’s studio another person’s Shangri-la? Let’s find out! Today’s price: $125,000.

Photo via Redfin

Photo via Redfin

Photo via Redfin

Photo via Redfin

The $100/month HOA fee is a major plus for this one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo. So is its address near Carondelet and Third, a block north of St. Charles Avenue. We also like that it’s not a studio, and that it sits in a pet-friendly, gated building. The 450-square-foot unit also has wood laminate flooring and easy access to a patio—not bad for $125,000.

Here’s a quaint three-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow in the Lower Ninth Ward, a block off Claiborne Avenue. It sits on a grassy, fenced 4,356-square-foot lot with plenty of driveway parking. Renovated in 2006, its interior features granite countertops, wooden floors, and lots of big windows.

Condos in this hulking, monolithic sky rise by a former Masonic temple go on the market fairly often, but that doesn’t make them any less desirable. What’s unique about this development? Though the circa-1959 building is a little dated, it offers affordable condos that have access to amenities you’d associate with a luxury development—e.g., a pool, gym, sauna, gated parking, and a manned front desk. This 400-square-foot studio is small but practical and gets plenty of natural light. HOA dues are $240/month.

It doesn’t get more quintessentially (or obnoxiously) Nawlins than this bright orange shotgun home in the 7th Ward. At $129,000, this two-bedroom, one-bathroom home comes in a little over the designated price, but an extra $4K brings wood floors, mantels, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a pristine, hall-less footprint.

Finally, here’s a two-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage in the part of the upper 9th Ward formally known as “backatown.” The 1,104-square-foot home is neat and sunny, with wood floors and a side hall spanning the bedroom entrances. The finishes are practical and utilitarian for the most part...but is that a trendy wood panel accent wall lurking in the bathroom? A front porch and fenced back yard provide plenty of outdoor living space, and at $119,000, this home is the cheapest of the bunch.