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Livingston Parish Market Update - April 2008

Livingston Parish Real Estate Market Update - April 2008

This update examines the condition of the real estate market in Livingston parish. For the purposes of this analysis, data for detached single family homes in Livingston Parish that was extracted from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors MLS database was used. Sales recorded through April 2008 are included in the analysis as well as the inventory of active listings as of 5/5. The data and my subsequent analysis, while deemed reliable, is not guaranteed.

The average price of a home in Livingston parish is more or less the same in 2008 as it was in 2007. The good news is that Livingston parish hasn't seen the dramatic drop in prices that some other portions of the nation have experienced.

April unit sales were down in both the re-sale and new home market segments. While the re-sale segment has seen April unit sales drop to pre-Katrina levels, new home sales remain at a five-year low.

Overall the six month moving average for unit sales is still trending downward but the re-sale segment is holding steady. One expects to see improvement as seasonality kicks in and we should see improvement during the peak selling season.

Over 80% of re-sale homes sold in the parish during 2008 were priced at or below $200K. The supply of homes over $200K exceeds the demand and it is a buyer's market. While only 20% of 2008 home sales were over $200K, over 40% of the inventory is priced over $200K

For new homes, there is a 7.4 month supply overall at current 2008 absorption rates... a little too much but not that bad. The price range with the highest velocity is $151K-200K. The market is relatively balanced here with a 6.1 month supply of new home. The next highest velocity is seen in the $101K-150K price range where it is a sellers market with only 3.6 months supply on hand. There is a surplus of new homes prices over $200K with over a year's supply in all price ranges from $200K up. Over 46% of the inventory is in these upper price ranges while accounting for only about 26% of the demand.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about this report or if you'd like to discuss representation in buying, selling or building a home. Customized reports for a particular market segment or area can also be generated.

As always, I welcome readers to visit my websites at www.DonAndAlishaStern.com, www.TheHomeVendor.com, www.LiveAscension.com or www.PelicanPointHomes.net for real estate information about and to search for homes within the Greater Baton Rouge area. Click here to search for homes.

Contact me via e-mail or call me at (225) 413-3624 for more information.

Posted by Don Stern ~ Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate on 05/11/2008 03:58 PM

Comments (3)

This post has been included in Louisiana Information Livingston Parish, LA Information
Post is included in group: Market Updates

3 Comments on Livingston Parish Market Update - April 2008

Wow- this is great data! So, if I'm reading this right, it's not that bad of a time to buy a new home. That's not what I keep hearing on the news, but maybe they just talking about national averages. Seems like the new home builders are trying to suck peopke in. <a href="http://www.schumacherhomes-louisiana.com/">Schumacher Homes</a> is offering to make your mortgage payment for the first year so you can try to get your house sold- nobody would have ever done that 2 years ago.

So, if I build a house today and sell it in three years, I would probably break even if the local market stayed the way it has been, right?

07/14/2008 05:27 PM

by Henry J.

I don't know about the markets and averages, but my nephew and neice (in-law) built with Schumacher Homes and they were pretty happy overall. Their house actually came in $2,200 under budget. I've never heard of that happenning to anyone else- usually it's the other way around (I've heard about being $25,000 over budget before).

Good luck if you decide to build.

07/16/2008 01:38 PM

by Bonnie Rae

Thanks, Bonnie... do you know of any other good builders in the area except Schumacher Homes? I'd like to consider all of the options if I decide to build. Maybe someone else is offering no payments for 1.5 years!? That would definitely get me past the housing market problem.

07/16/2008 02:02 PM

by Henry J.

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