A report that came earlier in the week says that rent is falling, but housing advocates say the report only took a sample of housing and does not address the ongoing housing crisis, which may be pushing some people onto the streets.
"If you read the report, they only use about 400 listings," Andrenecia Morris, Executive Director for HousingNOLA, said.
Morris is an advocate for affordable housing, and she's been watching the market.
"One of the areas where we have the most need is one bedroom apartments, almost at every income level, including the higher income level," Morris said. "It's difficult for those folks to find an apartment they can actually afford."
On top of that regular difficulty, a state program that came online to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina is ending. Morris said landlords were given money upfront to keep small rental property affordable for 10 years.
That, however, is set to change next year. 10 percent of the 2800 units that were built under the program will no longer, essentially, be under rent control. Gradually, the amount of protected units will decreases and rent control will be completely phased out by 2035.
Despite that gradual change, Morris pointed out that the City of New Orleans already lost affordable housing last year.
Another joint city/state plan to build 7,500 affordable housing opportunities from 2016 through 2020 has been losing steam.
"This year, we're on track, but still not meeting the 1500 [opportunities]," Morris said.
That's why Morris said she thinks it's not surprising there are now more newly homeless people, that is, people who don't have a stable place to live.
"So, [initiatives] took a thousand people off the street, but the number of people on the street doubled," she said.
Her agency estimates the average median rent is $950, but the average median income for the City of New Orleans is about $37,000. She said no one should be spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing.
Making matters more complicated, an upcoming bill in the state legislature is set to steer about $20 million toward tourism, away from affordable housing. It would ultimately help pay for the city's streets and drainage.
"We think housing is at the root of all of our trouble, the fact that we're not able to stably house everyone leads to a lot of bad outcomes," Morris said.
To this, the city has come out saying the issue remains a priority and critical funding for infrastructure is necessary for housing solutions.
For now, Morris said work to make housing affordable has become even more important.