NOLA ROI rate? Multifamily rental questions

[Marcea Schwilke]

Hi everyone!

My husband and I have been landlords in other cities, but want to invest in NOLA since we live here now. What would you say is the average ROI for a multifamily rental here?

Do you usually find your properties on MLS? If not, where are you finding them? We are looking for a multifamily rental property and are concentrating our search in Uptown, Midcity, or Marigny, but aren't finding much in our price range. Good luck, right?! Any other neighborhoods we should be considering?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

All the best,

Marcea Schwilke

[Braden Smith]

Hi @Marcea Schwilke. I am a local investor and realtor here in the New Orleans area. As you may have noticed we have a rather unique real estate market here. Most other major metro areas have clearly defined lines between good and bad areas, where here things can change drastically from one block to the next. This makes our market much more of a challenge than most, as you really have to know where the lines are. Property values can be quite different from one block to the next. This just takes time to learn.

As far as an average ROI for multifamily... that would be hard to say. I look at cash flow rather than a percent ROI.

Our market is completely saturated with real estate investors, so finding good deals has become quite difficult. You won't find them on the MLS that's for sure. Check out or local REIA which is NOREIA and connect with some of the local wholesalers. But the best way to find good deals in our area is direct to seller through whatever means you choose, wether it be cold calling, direct mail, internet, etc.

I'm not sure what price you are looking for, but prices in Orleans parish are at a premium, even for average condition properties. In our area we only have so much land to go around as we are surrounded by water with the lake to the north and the river to the south, and this drives prices up. The demand is high and the supply is low. The areas you will find lower prices are in not so good neighborhoods. You may be able to find some things in a decent price range in neighborhoods that are in transition, but that all depends on what you feel comfortable with.

If there are any questions I can answer for you, fell free to reach out.