Orleans Parish
New-construction duplexes built to today's code, inside the parish where most of the housing stock was built before anybody worried about wind ratings or elevation.
Schedule a free consultNew Orleans is not one market. It is a few hundred blocks that behave differently from each other, and the block decides more than the neighborhood name does.
Permits go through the City of New Orleans Department of Safety and Permits — not the parish, not the state. Timelines move. We handle the filing and the inspections as part of the build.
Flood zone is determined lot by lot. Two properties on the same street can sit in different zones, and the zone drives two numbers that matter for the rest of your ownership: how high the building has to be elevated, and what you pay for flood insurance every year. We pull the determination before you commit to a lot, not after. In New Orleans the floor of a new building has to sit at least one foot above the base flood elevation on the FEMA map, or three feet above the highest adjacent curb — whichever is higher. We design to that from the first drawing.
Some areas add a historic review layer. Inside a local historic district, exterior design goes in front of the HDLC before you build. It is workable — it is just time, and it has to be planned for instead of discovered.
The classic New Orleans house hack is buying a sixty or eighty-year-old double. It is what is for sale, so it is what people buy. Then the building teaches them what eighty years costs.
The Camelback is a New Orleans original. It is one of our six elevations, and it exists because this city invented the shape — single story in front, two stories in back. If you are building here and you want the building to look like it belongs on the street, that is the one to look at.
Two-level duplexes, 2,496 square feet of living area, 3 bed / 2 bath per side — six bedrooms and four bathrooms under one roof, on one loan. Six elevations. Turn-key, including plans, permits, survey and the builder package.
Do not have a lot? We find and secure buildable lots. You bring the lot or we help you find one — and with your down payment and pre-approval, the lot may be financed into your loan, subject to lender approval.
(504) 407-3199 · [email protected]
Investment Property Builders is a home builder — not a lender, a mortgage broker, or a financial advisor. Prices, loan limits, insurance outcomes and flood determinations vary by lot, by program and over time, and nothing here is a quote or a guarantee. Permitting, elevation and historic-review requirements are set by the City of New Orleans and other authorities, not by us, and they change. Confirm current requirements and costs for your specific property before you commit.
Operated by DuCar Construction, LLC — Louisiana Residential License No. 883334, Commercial License No. 63084. 638 Papworth Ave., Suite C, Metairie, LA 70005. Equal Housing Opportunity.
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Straight answers. Numbers are current as of September 2026.
This is the first question, and it kills more deals than financing does. New Orleans zoning is set by the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. In the historic urban neighborhoods, HU-RD1 and HU-RD2 are the two-family districts, and HU-RM1 and HU-RM2 are multi-family. In the suburban districts it is S-RD for two-family, S-RM1 and S-RM2 for multi-family. The ones that stop you are HU-RS and S-RS: those are single-family only, and no amount of lot width fixes that. Before anyone signs anything we pull the zoning on the specific address, check lot width and setbacks against our footprint, and tell you plainly whether two units fit. Confirm the current designation with the City Planning Commission - districts do get amended.
Short answer: usually no, and you should not buy assuming you can. Orleans Parish caps residential short-term rental permits at one per city block, so even an eligible property is competing for a single slot. A licensed operator has to be physically present while guests are there. The French Quarter and the Historic Garden District are excluded outright. Courts struck down the old primary-residence and homestead-exemption requirements, and as of 2026 the city accepts entities as well as individuals, but the per-block cap and the presence rule are what actually decide it. The city also requires $1,000,000 in commercial general liability insurance. These rules change often - check with the City of New Orleans before you count on that income. Our numbers on this site assume a regular twelve-month lease, which is the underwriting a lender will do anyway.
$322,000 turn-key as of September 2026 for a 3 bed / 2 bath per side, roughly 2,496 square feet, two stories - about $129 a square foot. Add the lot, which has been running $40,000 to $70,000 in the areas we build. A typical project totals about $372,000. Elevations with balconies cost more, and a Camelback runs about $7,000 above the base.
Yes, and it matters. Orleans assesses residential property at 10% of the assessor market value and runs roughly 148 to 150 mills. The homestead exemption takes $7,500 off the assessed value, but only against the part you live in - on a duplex you do not get it on the rented half. On a $410,000 building that works out to roughly $415 a month. Jefferson Parish - Metairie, Kenner, the Westbank - runs a lower millage, so the same building carries cheaper there. That one line is worth comparing before you pick a parish.
Yes. We are a licensed Louisiana contractor - Residential 883334, Commercial 63084 - and we pull the permits through the City of New Orleans Department of Safety and Permits. Orleans runs on its own timeline and its own review, which is different from Jefferson, and it is one of the reasons we will not quote you a schedule until we know which side of the parish line your lot is on.
Still have a question? Call (504) 407-3199 or book a free consult. Hablamos español.
Where We Build
That is the whole answer. We are not limited to one neighborhood or one parish. We build new-construction duplexes across Greater New Orleans, on the lot you choose. The one thing that decides whether a duplex can go up is the zoning on that particular lot.
Not every lot allows two units. Some zoning districts permit a duplex outright, some require going through an approval process first, and some allow one house and nothing more. Two lots on the same street can fall under different districts. The lot decides — not the block, not the neighborhood.
Send us the address or the lot number and we pull the zoning, the setbacks, and the height limit, and tell you straight whether two units fit. If they do not, we say so. That check costs you nothing and takes about a day.
We source buildable lots across the metro — Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany. You are not stuck with a lot that will not take a duplex.
Zoning is set by each parish and can change. Nothing here replaces a zoning verification or a licensed surveyor.