Compare and Contrast

The New York Times, a national newspaper of some repute, claims that the real estate market is booming in New Orleans.

The local paper, the Times Picayune, has a slightly different take.

Which one is right?

There are speculators who are pushing up the prices of some properties, but the fact that the local political scene is a mess is pushing people to reconsider staying in New Orleans if they weren't already displaced by the flooding. The population is way down in the city, and much of the housing stock is damaged or destroyed.

Considering that the housing stock in New Orleans was devastated by the flooding due to failures in the levee system, the system isn't fully operational, and there are questions about those parts of the levees that didn't fail, people aren't waiting around to find out. The political situation remains a mess in Louisiana. I didn't give Mayor Nagin the monkier Whiplash for no reason. The guy changed his mind on major aspects of rebuilding the city faster than you could possibly imagine.

People are speculating about certain parts of the city - namely the areas that didn't flood, and will continue to buy there. The rest of the city continues to be a wasteland as rebuilding plans are still being debated and resisted by those who fear change.