New Orleans Ready for Recovery

New Orleans is making a comeback from Hurricane Katrina's floods, but its progress could be impeded by a lack of affordable housing and other challenges, a demographer said in a report presented Friday.

Average rents have risen about 40 percent, and the average selling price of homes in areas not affected by flooding rose about 25 percent since the storm, wrote Greg Rigamer, chief executive officer of GCR & Associates Inc.

Rigamer reported that the city is making a comeback and addressing "fundamental" recovery issues, including infrastructure. Sales tax collections in several neighboring parishes are above pre-Katrina levels; in the city, they're at about 75 percent, the report said.

from the AP via Forbes