People are Migrating Away from the Large Cities in Louisiana 

New Orleans and Baton Rouge are the two economic engines for the great state of Louisiana.  Those two areas alone make a huge dent in the listing inventory over Louisiana.  Today, we are going to look at the hottest subdivisions that are outside of New Orleans and Baton Rouge proper.  

Louisiana has seen a tremendous amount of growth in the real estate market over the last 5 years and much of that is because of new construction in the suburbs and rural areas of Louisiana.  With a lot of relatively inexpensive raw land available for real estate developers to purchase, we have seen many new subdivisions and neighborhoods pop up throughout the state.

We will be covering some of the hottest new areas and top subdivisions to live that are not in the big cities of Louisiana.  Many of these new and upcoming developments are just on the outskirts of New Orleans and Baton Rouge and make for an easy commute. 

Advantages of NOT Being in the Big Cities

Crime

The first thing that comes to mind when looking at the surge in properties outside of the larger cities in Louisiana is the crime rates within New Orleans and Baton Rouge.  For the vast majority of the smaller towns outside of the Big Easy and LSU Town, they don't even lock their doors at night.  Most of these smaller cities and towns have almost zero crime.  This is a vast difference from the nationally known crime in New Orleans.  

New Construction

With large swaths of land being relatively inexpensive, we are seeing many new developments pop up.  Real estate developers have been on a building spree in Southern Louisiana, with many new subdivisions and neighborhoods being built.  With the rising prices of exisiting real estate inventory in the big cities, purchasing a brand new home on the outskirts becomes a viable option.  

Schools

When it comes to public school education, the larger cities don't have the best reputation.  Many of the best school systems in Louisiana are in the more rural areas.  This doesnt mean that you cannot get a great education in New Orleans and Baton Rouge -- but you will most likely being paying for a private education.  Many younger families have found another option; taking advantage of the better public schools and less expensive housing in the more rural areas.

Lack of Inventory and Price

New Orleans and Baton Rouge have both seen exponential price increases in the price of their homes.  The lack of new construction coupled with low mortgage rates have driven the price of real estate to arguably unaffordable heights.  As an example, according to Zillow, the popular Uptown New Orleans area has an average home price of $632.000.  

Popular Neighborhoods in Rural Louisiana 

Here we will provide some of the outstanding developments that are driving the move to the more rural areas of the state.  By no means is this all of the neighborhoods reaping the benefits of the exodus from the larger cities, but you can get an idea of why people are abandoning the city life for the rural lifestyle. 

Summerfiled Place in Houma

Located in the heart of Houma, LA lies the well established but equally desirable neighborhood known as Summerfield.

Summerfield is an established neighborhood with homes that vary greatly. While the median price for homes is 240,500, homes can be found from mid 100,000s to over 1 million along Southdown Mandalay. The houses in Summerfield Place subdivision range from 1500 to over 3000 square feet with the majority of them having around 1900 square feet of living space. Most houses in Summerfield are over 15 years old, but there have been quite a few built in the past 10 years.

Cypress Reserve in Ponchatoula

Cypress Reserve is a DR Horton development built in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. This is a beautiful community established in 2017, offering buyers several amenities within the comfort of their own neighborhood. Some of these amenities include a vast community pool, a playground and a large neighborhood clubhouse, seeing fit for any event.

Cypress Reserve also offers a taste of outdoor recreation with ponds, a fishing dock, and hiking trails, covered in the vast scenery of the southern outdoors. Cypress Reserve offers an array of beautiful homes varying in 30 different floor plan options of unique craftsmanship. The homes are available in three to five bedroom options. The homes in the Cypress Reserve neighborhood differ in size from 1,364 to 3,173 square feet. Cypress Reserve offers Homes in this wonderful community with starting price from the upper $190,000’s.

Ironwood Estates in Praireville

Ironwood Estates offers new construction as well as previously owned in homes homes starting from the mid-$200s. This subdivision off of HWY 42 has over 100 homes in a country setting, The new construction homes will feature 15 models with many upgrades available. Homes sizes in Ironwood Estates range in size from 1,701 to 2,050 Sq Ft of living area.  Many of the homes feature ceramic tiles, hardwood flooring, Whirlpool appliances, crown molding, custom cabinetry, granite slab in kitchen and bath counters and Whirlpool tub in the Master bath.

Bedico Creek in Madisonville

Bedico Creek is a large gated nature preservation community with numerous home options in Madisonville, LA. Created by David Waltemath, the area is a 1000 acre property with 60% of the land devoted to parks, greenspaces, and other undeveloped spots. There are around 10 active neighborhoods of different style homes from award winning builders.

Executive home sites in Bedico Creek have lots over an acre in size with home prices climbing well into the millions and homes ranging in size from 3000 living to well over 7,000 living. There are also numerous smaller neighborhoods within the community which features home sites on smaller lots ranging in price from 225,000 up to 500,000 or so and homes ranging in size from 1700 living up to just under 3000.  

The nature preserve also features garden and patio home sections for those who prefer a more carefree lifestyle with homes in the $200,000 to lower $300,000 range and roughly 2000 living square foot.

Conclusion 

We have only scraped the surface when referring to some of the popular neighborhoods that are reaping the benefits of the mass migration away from the major cities in Louisiana.