Zachary, LA: Real Estate Market Report for First Quarter 2010

By Don Stern

Real Estate Agent with Realty Executives South Louisiana

April 09, 2010 08:21 AM

Zachary Real Estate Market Report

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 used represent sales of detached single family homes in Zachary, LA.

Unit sales of new construction in March dropped for the third consecutive month. The re-sale market segment, however, enjoyed an enormous increase in unit sales during March. A total of 17 previously owned homes sold in March and only 12 sold during January and February combined.

Most of the re-sales during March were in the $251K-$300K range although there were sales ranging from $53K to $520K. For the first quarter of 2010, the highest velocity of home sales in the new construction segment was in the $201K to $250K range. In the re-sale market segment the highest velocity of home sales was in the $251K-$300K range. At first quarter absorption rates there is an oversupply of homes. The new construction segment has a 7.5 month supply while the re-sale segment has a 10.6 month supply.

The average price per square foot of living area is, on average, higher for the first quarter of 2010 than the annual average for 2009. The re-sale segment, on the other hand, has seen a drop of about 6% during the first quarter from $109.37/sq.ft. to 102.88/sq.ft.

Looking at monthly trends, it appears that $/sq.ft. is trending upward for new construction, although we do observe a drop in the average for two consecutive months. If the absorption rate of new construction continues to drop off that will put downward pressure on pricing. In the re-sale segment, pricing weakness is observed. This is probably due to an oversupply of homes.