New Orleans Furnished Apartments: Market Update

I decided to start posting market updates about the furnished housing market to help travelers who are looking for turn key housing in New Orleans. Many travelers have a budget that falls somewhere between the two rental types. I reviewed 130 property listings for rent using Zillow and CHBO for each segment. Keep reading to learn more or jump to the graphic below for immediate results...

I frequently see travel nurses looking for low-cost housing options online. Quite often, their budget is between $1000-$1200 per month. That price puts them right between unfurnished and furnished rental averages making their search more difficult.

Many travel nurses will settle for poorer housing or landlords compromise with a reduced rate. It is an interesting dynamic as both sides need flexibility in this challenging market. While there is still steady demand for local long term housing, short term housing rates are decreasing because of travel restrictions and changing work practices during the covid-19 pandemic.

I broke down the furnished rental market numbers by taking a snapshot of listed one and two bedroom properties in the New Orleans metro area. I focused on one and two bedroom rentals because most business travelers are single or couples without kids.

The average price for unfurnished 1 bedroom rentals was $850 per month while furnished rentals averaged $1855 per month. There were some luxurious outliers listed that skewed the average a bit. Without those, the average comes down to about $1770 per month. This means the reviewed furnished rentals are roughly double the cost of unfurnished rentals.

The result is similar for two bedroom units. Unfurnished two bedroom rentals were $1358 per month while furnished rentals averaged $2775 per month.

Tenants usually pay one price for furnished housing which includes all utilities, cable/wifi, furnishings, kitchen equipment, linens and towels. The amenities will vary in quality from place to place so its always best to see the place in person before committing to a lease and deposit.

I hope this helps travelers get a realistic picture of the New Orleans rental market. This is a small sample size and I hope to build upon this first study with upcoming monthly market snapshots. Next, I will look to evaluate the cost to set up utilities and lease furniture to better compare furnished and unfurnished properties.