Study: Home prices will suffer from closing

NEW ORLEANS - Realtors expect home values to fall by more than 20 percent on the west bank with the closing of the Avondale Shipyard. Most think home prices across the metropolitan area will also be affected. That's according to a study by the Avondale Shipyard Research Project, a consortium of four universities. During initial interviews at the Avondale Shipyard, workers immediately started expressing concerns about housing. Last year, Northrop Grumman said it would close the 5,000-worker shipyard in 2013. The yard, which is down to 3,000 workers, is now owned by Huntington Ingalls, which was spun off from Northrop Grumman. (Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune, AFL-CIO, 09/26/11)