A jam-packed St. Bernard Parish public forum this week presented the parish in a stark light compared to its neighbors New Orleans, St. Tammany, Jefferson and Plaquemines. The forum examined ways parish real estate, population and land use have changed, for the better and worse, during the past 15 years and beyond, from Hurricane Katrina to decades before, all the way back to the 1960s.
St. Bernard Parish property values were presented in stark contrast to neighboring parishes during a jam-packed forum this week in Violet. While home prices across the metro New Orleans area showed healthy gains between 2000-2011, consultants helping put together St. Bernard's master plan told residents that median home prices in the parish were almost stagnant.
One consultant helping with the master plan told residents it is unrealistic to expect St. Bernard Parish to grow back to its pre-Hurricane Katrina population of approximately 65,000.
Jeff Winston of Boulder, Co.-based MIG/Winston Associates speaks to a crowd in Violet about the planning process and early studies of St. Bernard Parish.
"St. Bernard used to be a place where the housing fit the needs for one's whole life, from apartments to starter homes to nice move-up homes," said Jeff Winston of Boulder, Co.-based MIG/Winston Associates, who is spearheading St. Bernard's recently launched comprehensive master land use and zoning plan process. "Now that appears less the case."
While the value of median homes in St. Bernard dropped only slightly from 2000 to 2011 -- from about $85,000 to $83,000 -- median home values in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany and Plaquemines parishes all increased by at least $20,000, according to an analysis presented Monday by Charles Buki, founder of Alexandria, Va.-based czb LLC, who is handling strategy and analysis for the planning process.
St. Tammany led that pack, jumping about $53,000, from medium home values of $184,693 in 2000 to $237,675 in 2011. Meanwhile, between 2000 and 2011, New Orleans median home values jumped $31,121 from $138,524 to $169,645, and Jefferson median home values rose about $20,000, from $125,554 to $145,947, according the czb study.
St. Bernard's real estate market largely caters to families with combined annual incomes of between $20,000 and $60,000, based on that study.
"It does not make financial sense to move (to St. Bernard) right now," Buki told the about 200-strong crowd in Violet this week. "Right now, it makes sense for the dollar stores to be here and for Wal-Mart to be here ... but St. Bernard is not retaining families that can make choices except for folks who already are emotionally attached to being here."
The czb study showed that St. Tammany generally attracts families with combined incomes of between $100,000 and $200,000, and Jefferson caters to families who have a $75,000 annual income.
Buki said it is unrealistic for St. Bernard to expect to get back to its pre-Katrina population of about 65,000. He pegged the more realistic number at 45,000.
"If you want things to change, you need to control the market, but it won't change unless you can adapt," he said. "And property values are a function of the demand to live here -- when it goes up, property values go up and then you have more tax dollars to make improvements."
St. Bernard government will hold additional meetings on its comprehensive planning process in the coming months. The process is expected to wrap up by September.