Those who rent in Louisiana find the state a little sub-par when it comes to overall satisfaction, but most say they’re happy about the quality of its schools, its overall safety and tax rates in the state. A new national survey conducted by ApartmentList.com shows renters in Louisiana are dissatisfied with their access to recreational activities and aren’t likely to recommend that others move to their cities.
“Louisiana renters report overall dissatisfaction, but they do give it high marks for safety and schools,” says Andrew Tam, vice president of data science for the website, in a press release. “The U.S. renter population is at its highest level in 20 years, and the data suggests that concerns about the economy make Louisiana a less attractive place for this important demographic. Creating an environment that is attractive to renters is more important now than ever, and Louisiana could do better.”
Louisiana is ranked No. 32 in the nation for renter satisfaction by the website, which compiled the ratings and rankings based on a national survey of more than 18,000 renters. Renters in Louisiana graded the state a C- overall. The overall grade is comparable to neighboring states Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas, which earned C’s and Ds. The top-rated states for renters are Utah, Idaho, Minnesota, Colorado, and Oklahoma. The lowest-rated states are Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine and South Carolina.
According to the survey, 26% of renters in Louisiana believe the state’s economy is on the right track, earning the state a B+ grade in that category. Louisiana also earned an A+ for quality of schools, with 67% of renters reporting satisfaction with local schools. Also, 71% of Louisiana renters say they expect to buy a home in the future, which is significantly higher than the 60% of respondents who said the same nationwide.
In another recent report, online real estate database website Zillow said average rents jumped 4% nationwide during the first quarter of this year. Rents rose 2.6% in Baton Rouge over the past year, Zillow says, meaning more residents could be looking to buy
Real estate website Trulia also recently released data comparing the cost of renting versus and buying a home in the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. According to the data, it’s 50% cheaper to buy a home in Baton Rouge than it is to rent one.
Trulia came to the 50% figure by analyzing rental rates and purchasing prices of similar homes. To calculate the numbers, Trulia assumed buyers would live in their homes for seven years with an average 3.8% mortgage rate on a 30-year loan, and would have paid 20% down.
States where the percentage difference between buying and renting were smaller can make deciding whether to buy difficult, writes Trulia’s Housing Economist Ralph McLaughlin, but data showed its cheaper to buy in most states.
—Deanna Narveson
