East Baton Rouge Parish, LA: 1st Quarter 2010 Residential Real Estate Market Update

By Don Stern

Real Estate Agent with Realty Executives South Louisiana

April 07, 2010 03:07 AM

East Baton Rouge Parish Real Estate Market Report - 1Q2010

The data used in this report were extracted from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors MLS database. The data are presumed accurate but are not warranted.

The data presented herein represent sales of detached single family homes in East Baton Rouge parish.

2010 first quarter unit sales were disappointing and are lower than in any of the first quarter results for the previous five years.

When projected through to the end of the year, without substantial increases during the peak selling months we can see that both new construction and re-sale market segments will fall far short even when compared to 2009 which, itself, was disappointing.

The good news, however, is that home values have remained stable. The next chart shows that the average selling price per square foot of living area in the parish has remained relatively flat for the past few years. Homeowner equity has been preserved.

If we look at average selling prices, we can see that the average price of a new home has declined. Given a steady price per square foot that indicates that new home buyers are purchasing smaller homes. The average price of a re-sale home, on the other hand, is currently higher than in any of the previous five years.

Finally, if we look at inventory levels with respect to absorption rates in various price ranges we can see that a Seller's Market exists for new construction priced between $200K and $300K in EBR parish. The highest velocity of new home sales during the first quarter of the year has been in the $251K-300K range with 7.3 homes per month being sold. As has been the case for some time, a severe oversupply of homes priced over $400K exists in both the new construction and previously owned market segments. With absorption rates of 2.3 and 13.7 homes per month, however, we can see that there still is a significant demand for high-end homes but not enough of a demand to balance with the supply.