[StBernard] St. Bernard falls from top spot in Census gauge of housing-unit growth

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard falls from top spot in Census gauge of housing-unit growth
by Michelle Krupa, The Times-Picayune 
Thursday August 06, 2009, 11:10 AM

Ellis Lucia / The Times-Picayune
(L-R) Bernard Callegari, Chaz Rynkiewicz and Luis Pereira, volunteers who
are construction workers from the New York City area, in the NYC area, cut
and nailed siding into place in 2007 on a house in Violet.After leading the
nation with the highest rate of growth in housing units of any county or
parish in the nation from 2006 to 2007, St. Bernard Parish has dropped off
the leader board entirely for the year ending July 1, 2008, according to
U.S. Census Bureau data released today. 

No New Orleans-area parish made this year's Top 100 list of fastest growing
counties based on housing units. Livingston Parish came in at No. 36 with
3.7 percent growth, with West Feliciana Parish at No. 73 and Ascension
Parish at No. 100, the data show. 


Still, St. Bernard Parish led the metro area in housing-unit growth from
2007 to 2008, adding 206 units for a 2.5 percent bump. New Orleans added
2,674 housing units during the period for a 2.4 precent increase. Also
marking growth of 2.4 percent was St. Tammany Parish, which added 2,300
housing units.

Statewide, Louisiana added 23,760 housing units in the year ending July 1,
2008, for a 1.3 percent increase. Compared with other states, Louisiana
ranked 15th in total number of housing units added. 

Leading the nation in housing-unit growth was Geary County, Kan., with an
8.3 percent increase, followed by Campbell County, Wyo., and Hancock County,
Miss. Another section of coastal Mississippi, Harrison County, was fifth on
the list.

Housing unit estimates use building permits, estimates of future
construction, mobile home shipments and housing-loss estimates loss to
update housing unit change since the 2000 census count.

To see the data by state and parish, click here:
http://www.census.gov/popest/housing/housing.html