NHS Home Ownership, 2006-2010

Supporting and developing first-time homeownership is one of the key strategies being undertaken by public and private entities to spur post-Katrina housing recovery in New Orleans, LA. Homeownership counseling and education combined with millions of dollars of subsidies, usually in the forms of down payment assistance and soft-second mortgages, have helped hundreds of families attain homeownership. While these programs are clearly making a difference to these families and positively impacting the regional economy, little research has been done into the details of these effects. This study represents one of the first robust examinations of where and how these first-time homebuyers are investing their money and the economic impact of this investment. By analyzing the first-time homebuyers who have completed Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans’ homeownership training program between 2006-2010, this report provides a representative sample of all first-time homebuyers in New Orleans during that time period