There is a glut of vacant apartments in New Orleans but the people who need them can't afford them, according to a study released today by a pair of research organizations.Of course it could be that people are still making poor career choices. We all can't work at Gene's. If only there were something else we could all do.
The study estimates that by next year, the city will have a surplus of at least 6,582 market-rate apartments but a need for 13,429 affordable apartments or housing subsidies that could make higher-rate apartments affordable.
The report was prepared by the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center and the Urban Institute's Center on Metropolitan Housing and Communities.
"This is a problem that the market can't fix," said Allison Plyer, director of the Data Center. "You can't just bring down rents like crazy. And our economy is not paying workers enough for them to pay high post-Katrina rents."
Rents are unlikely to go down, because landlords have been burdened with markedly higher costs for utilities, insurance, construction and taxes since Hurricane Katrina. But renters in the city's largely low-wage, tourism-industry workforce aren't likely to make enough money to afford current market-rate rents in New Orleans, which rose 44 percent between 2004 and 2007, according to the Data Center.
"Politics in New Orleans is the dominant industry, so I decided to get in," (Nagin) said. "Besides tourism, politics dominates everything. I just think it's part of our legacy and our history. Politics is definitely a sport and something that the citizens pay attention to."
Well okay there is always that. 2010 will be the year everybody runs for office. It's the only growth industry left in town.
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