Luxury buyers & sellers
Homes over $500,000, including English Turn estates. Last year I sold a $1,000,000 home to a Tulane doctor I'd worked with for more than a year. Patient, deliberate, exactly right.
REALTOR® · Keller Williams Realty New Orleans
Nichell Thompson, New Orleans Real Estate Agent
Twenty-eight years selling luxury gated communities, historic homes, and unique neighborhoods across New Orleans.
I help buyers, sellers, and relocating professionals make confident moves, from first homes to luxury listings. You'll always know exactly where you stand.
28
Years in real estate
375
Transactions closed
$75M+
Total volume sold
5.0★
Google rating · 10 reviews
100% of my business comes from referrals and repeat clients.
About Nichell
I came to real estate sideways, and I've never looked back.
Before beginning my real estate career, I worked in a full-time position that allowed me to interact with people from all walks of life every day. While working full-time, I began selling real estate on the side. The more homes I sold, the more I realized how much I enjoyed helping people achieve homeownership. What started as a part-time endeavor quickly became a passion, and eventually I knew it was my calling.
Today, after more than 28 years as a full-time Realtor®, I still feel the same excitement every time I help a client buy, sell, or invest in real estate.
As a New Orleans native, this city is deeply woven into who I am. My family is here, my roots are here, and my heart is here. My husband is a flight attendant, which means we could live almost anywhere in the country. Yet time and time again, we choose New Orleans.
Why? Because there's nowhere else quite like it.
From the incredible food and rich culture to the festivals, music, architecture, and sense of community, New Orleans has a spirit all its own. Whether it's Mardi Gras, Saints football, French Quarter Festival, Jazz Fest, Essence Festival, or simply gathering with friends during crawfish season, there's always something to celebrate. It's a city full of character, tradition, and joy.
I often tell people that New Orleans isn't for everyone. You either love it or you don't. For me, it's absolutely enchanting.
That love for New Orleans is what drives me to help others find their place here. Whether you're relocating, buying your first home, moving up, downsizing, or investing, I bring not only decades of real estate experience but also a genuine appreciation for the neighborhoods, communities, and lifestyle that make this city so special.
When you work with me, you're not just hiring a Realtor®. You're partnering with a local expert who is passionate about helping you find your place in one of the most unique cities in the world.
Join The Krewe Of Sold® and let me help you write your next chapter in New Orleans.
What I do
Where my experience runs deep
I work across the whole city and every price point, but these are the moves I'm known for.
Relocation & Tulane moves
Executives and physicians relocating to New Orleans, including Tulane faculty and doctors. I know the neighborhoods that fit a new chapter, and how to buy them sight-mostly-unseen.
Sports & entertainment
As part of the Keller Williams Sports & Entertainment Division, I work discreetly with professional athletes, including Saints players, who need privacy, speed, and the right address.
First-time buyers
Most prospects ask the same first question: how do I get started, and how much do I need? I walk you through it plainly: credit, pre-approval, down payment. No pressure.
Move-up sellers
Selling one home and buying the next at the same time takes coordination. I've handled three-property chains for one family, listing two homes and closing on the new one together.
Out-of-state referral partners
Agents around the country send me their New Orleans clients. I treat every referral like my own, and report back, so the relationship stays strong on both ends.
Where I sell
New Orleans neighborhoods I know block by block
I sell across the whole city. These three are where buyers ask for me most.
Lower Garden District
Typically $400K – $1.2M+"One of the most desirable neighborhoods in New Orleans: historic charm, walkability, and urban convenience in one."
The Lower Garden District sits just upriver of the Central Business District, bounded roughly by the river, Jackson Avenue, and St. Charles. It's one of the few places in New Orleans where you can own a piece of real history and still walk to coffee, dinner, and the streetcar.
The architecture is the draw: Greek Revival and Italianate townhouses, raised center-hall homes, and shotgun cottages, many beautifully restored around Coliseum Square. Magazine Street runs through it with independent boutiques, restaurants, and neighborhood bars, and the St. Charles streetcar puts you in the CBD or Uptown without a car.
Prices here cover a wide band, from renovated cottages and condos in the mid-$400s to grand restored townhouses well past seven figures. It suits buyers who want character and walkability over square footage and a big yard: young professionals, downsizers, pied-à-terre buyers, and anyone who wants to live where the city actually happens. If you're weighing the Lower Garden District against Uptown or the Warehouse District, I can walk you through the real trade-offs on noise, parking, flood zones, and resale.
New Aurora / English Turn
Typically $500K – $2M+"A private, gated, country-club lifestyle just minutes from downtown. Hard to find anywhere else here."
English Turn is one of the most distinctive addresses in the New Orleans area. Set on the West Bank in the New Aurora area of Algiers, it's a gated golf community built around a championship course, with a level of privacy and security you simply don't find in the older urban neighborhoods.
The homes are larger and newer than most of the city's historic stock: custom estates, golf-course frontage, generous lots, garages, and the kind of square footage move-up and luxury buyers are looking for. The lifestyle is the product: gated entry, the club, the course, and quiet streets, all within a short drive of downtown New Orleans.
This is where I send buyers who want space, newer construction, and a guarded front gate without leaving the metro area, including relocating executives, physicians, and professional athletes who value discretion. Pricing generally runs from the $500,000s into the millions depending on the home and its position on the course. If you're comparing English Turn to Lakeview or the North Shore, I'll give you a straight read on commute, insurance, and how each one holds value.
Irish Channel
Typically $350K – $900K"Colorful shotgun homes and Creole cottages, beautifully renovated while keeping their New Orleans character."
The Irish Channel runs between Magazine Street and the river, tucked just below the Garden District. It's known for its colorful shotgun homes, Creole cottages, and historic architecture, and over the last decade many of those homes have been thoughtfully renovated while keeping the character that makes the block feel like New Orleans.
It's a genuinely walkable, neighborly part of the city. You're steps from the Magazine Street corridor's restaurants and shops, close to the river, and an easy reach from the Garden District and Uptown. The mix of long-time residents and newcomers gives it a real sense of community.
Pricing tends to land below the Garden District for comparable proximity, which is exactly why buyers love it: renovated singles and doubles in the mid-$300s to mid-$600s, with larger restored homes reaching higher. It suits first-time buyers stretching for character, investors eyeing doubles, and anyone who wants Garden District access at a friendlier number. I can tell you which blocks have held up best and what to watch for in older renovations.
Looking somewhere else in the city? Tell me where. I sell across all of New Orleans, or you can browse all KW New Orleans listings.
How I work
The first 24 hours with a new client
No mystery, no pressure. Here's exactly what happens when we start working together.
I assess what you need
My first call is all questions. How many beds and baths? What square footage, yard, garage? Which part of the city do you want to live in? It starts with listening.
We talk timeline and money
What's your timeline? Have you spoken to a lender? Do you know your credit score, and what's your budget? Getting these straight early saves everyone time and disappointment.
I start sending you homes
Based on your answers, I add you to my contacts and send properties that fit. You start seeing real options quickly, not generic listings.
I learn your aesthetic
I follow up to ask which homes you liked and why. What style appeals to you? I'm building a feel for the house you actually want, so every showing gets sharper.
Why work with me
Clients who know every agent in town still pick me.
One of the deals I'm proudest of came from a friend of more than 20 years. I sold him his first house. Years later, he and his wife came back to me to sell both of their homes and buy a new one together: three transactions, one family, complete trust. It still brings me to tears that they chose me.
What they told me afterward stays with me: they picked me because they'd heard I'm the best real estate agent in New Orleans, and that my reputation here is impeccable. They had options: high school classmates in the business, agents everywhere. They chose me anyway.
That's the standard I hold every transaction to. One hundred percent of my business comes from referrals and repeat clients, because people don't send me their family unless I earned it the first time. Often, my client becomes my friend once the deal is done.
What I believe
I'll tell you the truth about this market, even when it's not what you want to hear.
This is a tough market right now. I have over 14 listings ranging from $85,000 to $585,000 all over the city: Oak Harbor in Slidell, Gentilly Terrace, English Turn, the Irish Channel. Some have been on the market for more than 180 days. Pretending otherwise doesn't help you. Knowing it does. The right price, the right preparation, and patience are how homes still sell here, and I'd rather set honest expectations than chase a fantasy number.
What I won't do
- Work with sellers who aren't ethical.
- Work with buyers who aren't realistic about their budget.
- Work with people who don't value me as a professional.
Saying no to the wrong fit is how I protect the clients who are the right fit. Have a question about your own situation? Call me at 504-261-5182.
In their words
What clients say
★★★★★
"I've worked with Nichell multiple times to rent out my St. Charles Ave condo, and every experience has been excellent. She gives thoughtful, honest advice that helps me make confident decisions as an owner. She communicates clearly, sets realistic expectations, and is a strong negotiator. Should I ever decide to sell the condo, Nichell will have the listing."
★★★★★
"Working with Nichell is always a pleasant experience. She takes the time to know what I want and delivers on it every time. With her knowledge and expertise, she negotiates the best deals without asking. For every purchase, I'm contacting Nichell."
★★★★★
"Brilliant Realtor who provides valuable, candid feedback. I found Nichell to be patient, trustworthy and very thorough. Highly recommended."
Good questions
The things buyers and sellers actually ask
it is having its ups and downs right now. It is rather slow, and things are taking longer to get sold, but it's moving.
Less than most people expect. The first real step costs nothing. We talk, I learn your timeline and budget, and I connect you with a lender to check your credit and pre-approval. From there you'll know your real numbers: down payment options, closing costs, and what monthly payment fits your life. Some New Orleans buyers put down 3 to 5 percent, some pay cash. I'll never push you toward a price you're not comfortable with.
My first call is about you. How many beds and baths? What square footage, yard, garage? Which part of the city feels like home? What's your timeline, and have you talked to a lender yet? Once I understand what you want, I add you to my contacts and start sending properties that fit. Then I follow up to learn which ones you like and why. I'm reading your aesthetic so every showing gets closer to the right house.
Twenty-eight years, 375 closings, and 100% of my business comes from referrals and repeat clients. People who hired me once and sent me their family. I was born here, I sell across the whole city from English Turn to the Irish Channel, and I'm part of Keller Williams Realty New Orleans, a multi-generational, family-owned brokerage. You'll always know exactly where you stand, because I tell you the truth even when it costs me the deal.
Let's talk
Ready to make your move?
Whether you're buying, selling, or just weighing your options, the first step costs nothing. Tell me where you are and I'll tell you straight what I think.
Call504-261-5182
Text504-261-5182
OfficeKeller Williams Realty New Orleans · 8601 Leake Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118