New Orleans Real Estate Market Booming

NEW ORLEANS - The 2,200-square-foot house promises three spacious bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths — a bargain at $175,000. Except for the fact that the home, located in one of this city’s previously elegant neighborhoods, has been gutted to the studs and has no drywall, no wallboard, no fixtures.

“Home was flooded by Katrina,” reads the advertisement posted by the listing agent at one of the city’s largest real estate firms. “Ready to turn into your dream home.”

The pitch is less far-fetched than it may seem: Although vast swaths of this hurricane-battered city are still without electricity and basic services, residential real estate sales are at a fever pitch, a shining spot in an otherwise struggling economy.  (Associated Press)