09/16/2026
August closed the book on a two year story in the New Orleans metro, and Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish moved in opposite directions to do it.
Start with the metro. Months supply fell to 5.5, the first August under six months since 2023. The metro spent two years working through an inventory overhang, and August is the month that shows it cleared. Median price up 5.2% to $290,000. Inventory down 3.9%. Days on market down to 63. Sellers held 97.0% of list price, half a point better than a year ago, which on a $290,000 sale is roughly $1,450 that stayed with the seller instead of going across the table.
Now where that clearing actually happened.
✓ ORLEANS PARISH: the fastest correcting market in the metro and still the most negotiable one. Inventory fell 10.9% to 1,663 homes, the metro's sharpest drop, and supply came down to 7.0 months from 8.4. Median $354,000, up 5.8%. Days on market improved to 74 from 86, and sellers held 96.6% of list, up from 95.7%. Year to date closings are up 6.7% while new listings are down 4.4%, which is exactly how a correction happens. Uptown, Lakeview, Mid-City and Algiers buyers still have room, but less of it every month. One caution: the $493,953 average reflects upper tier volume, not broad appreciation. Price to the median.
✓ JEFFERSON PARISH: the only parish in the metro adding inventory, up 8.3% to 1,473 homes, and prices rose anyway. Median $278,750, up 4.2%. Average $342,846, up 6.5%. Supply moved to 5.4 months from 5.1, and Jefferson still posted the metro's fastest time to contract at 59 days. More competition, less time spent competing. Metairie, Kenner, Harahan and River Ridge carry an affordability index of 105 against Orleans Parish's 83, which makes this the eastern metro's payment story.
Financing costs have risen since tAugust, and that will slow the pace. It does not put the overhang back. A metro entering a tighter rate stretch with 5.5 months of supply is in a very different position than one carrying eight months of unsold homes.
So the advice splits by parish. In Orleans, at 96.6% of list, the realistic seller concession is a rate buydown or closing costs, not a price cut. In Jefferson you have company on the market, so pricing discipline and presentation decide whether you get the 59 days or the 90.
Metro median $290,000, up 5.2%. Year to date closings 8,278, up 6.3%.
Metro report plus the parish reports in the comments.
