Builders association's home and garden show returns to Baton Rouge

The Habitat Home & Garden Show returns to the Baton Rouge River Center for its 36th year over the weekend of March 9-10. The Capital Region Builders Association, the show's sponsor, expects to draw more than 200 exhibitors, up from about 175 last year, and more than 5,000 attendees. Along with a wide variety of exhibitors, a number of educational seminars will also be featured, with topics including bath design, kitchen and outdoor kitchen design, choosing and working with a builder, buying a first home, and investing in energy efficiency products. This year's show will also feature information on retrofitting homes and designing safe, comfortable rooms for older residents, including a workshop with certified aging-in-place specialists from around the region. The show is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $7 for adults; and $3 for children ages 6 to 12. There's no charge for children 5 and under; however, strollers are not allowed on the showroom floor.

Read more from Business Report here: http://www.businessreport.com/real-estate-weekly/2122013/Builders_association_s_home_and_garden_show_returns_to_Baton_Rouge#ixzz2LMCzwT8t

High-end home sales increasing in B.R.

Remember when it was a big deal if a Baton Rouge home was on the market for $1 million or more? Those days are long gone. Consider that so far in 2013, more than three-dozen homes are listed for $1 million or more. That's not including the 12 mansions and one luxury penthouse on the block with price tags of at least $2 million. Then there's Paula Pennington de la Bretonne's 29,500-square-foot estate, which sits on 12 acres at 11001 Highland Road. It has an eye-popping asking price of $18 million, which, at more than $608 per square foot, is a record for this market. But top-dollar agents caution against reading too much into the number of expensive homes on the market. Rather, they suggest that some sellers still have unrealistic expectations about what their homes will fetch. "A lot of people are not realistic about what their homes are worth," says Quita Cutrer of Burns & Co., who handled several of 2012's top transactions. "They're hanging on to what they think they should get for them." If 2012 was not a banner year for high-end home sales in Baton Rouge, it was the best local realtors have seen in a while. Take a look at the most expensive home sales of 2012 in Baton Rouge, as compiled by Business Report, here.

Read more from Business Report here: http://www.businessreport.com/real-estate-weekly/2052013/High-end_home_sales_increasing_in_Baton_Rouge#ixzz2K2ePM3Lu

Real Estate Recap: January 15, 2013

Buyer's market: The population of south Baton Rouge along Nicholson Drive has grown a lot in recent years with the creation of new residential developments, but everyday necessities, such as gas and groceries, still remain faraway for most. That's why developer Greg Flores is planning to build retail and commercial office space for a 274-lot neighborhood, Lexington Park, to the south of Lexington Estates. Daily Report has the full story here.

Fore! As anyone who regularly hits the links will tell you, Baton Rouge has a lot of golf courses but not many golf retail outlets. That's why Lafayette businessman Benny Hopson is moving into the market with a new golf store that will not only sell apparel and clubs, but also feature a game simulator and launch monitor. The store, Capital Golf, will be located at 8556 Siegen Lane in the building that formerly housed Blockbuster Video. Hopson acquired the property Monday for $1.1 million from Cedar Lake Inc. Daily Report has more details here.

The lights are much brighter there: Officials are hesitant to respond to a report that Baton Rouge is a finalist—with one other city, not in Louisiana—to land a deal that would bring an IBM facility to downtown. Sources tell Daily Report that the deal would yield more than 500 jobs and would involve a partnership with LSU. But CPEX Director Elizabeth "Boo" Thomas says if Baton Rouge were to land the deal, it would be a game changer for the metro area and would validate the public investment that has been made downtown over the past two decades. The full story can be found here.

This week's poll question: What chance do you think Baton Rouge has of landing the facility that IBM is reportedly considering bringing to downtown?

Read more from Business Report here: http://www.businessreport.com/real-estate-weekly/1152013/recap#ixzz2IMSWc5qx

Real Estate Recap: January 2, 2013

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly

Getting in tune: Perkins Rowe is getting a new tenant that will be part live-music venue, part Mexican restaurant. Lava Cantina is set to open in late spring and will be located in the 6,700-square-foot space next to California Pizza Kitchen that previously housed The Grill Room. "This is the first of its kind," says Steve Vaughn, who is launching the restaurant as a retirement business with his son, Ian Vaughn, who lives in Dallas. "But we hope it will be the first of many." Get more details from Daily Report here.

Double dose: Terry Saban of Tuscaloosa, Ala., the wife of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, has purchased nearly two acres of vacant land at Perkins Rowe for $750,000, according to documents filed at the city-parish Clerk of Court. The two tracts—0.94 acres and 0.85 acres—were contractually signed by Terry Saban as "sole member" of TLS Investments LLC. Daily Report has more details on the deal here.

Further on up the road: Ethan Allen, which has occupied the same site on Florida Boulevard for more than 30 years, is moving to a newly renovated building it purchased earlier this year on Perkins Road at Bluebonnet Boulevard, across from Perkins Rowe. The move across town says a lot about the shifting demographics in Baton Rouge and where retailers perceive the action to be. "You're going to see a lot more shifts from the Florida/Airline area to Perkins/Bluebonnet/Siegen," says realtor Chad Ortte. The full story from Daily Report can be found here.

This week's poll question: Do you plan to buy or sell a home in the new year?

Read more from Business Report here: http://www.businessreport.com/section/businessreport0113?utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RealEstateWeekly#ixzz2GqqzhxlV

Real estate recap: December 18, 2012

A November to remember: Strong November home sales in the eight-parish region tracked by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors have already placed year-to-date 2012 home sales ahead of total sales in 2011, with another month of sales still to report this year. GBRAR reports 566 homes were sold in November in East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston, West Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Iberville and Point Coupee parishes. That's 80 more home sales than were tallied in the region in November 2011, or an increase of about 16%. Daily Report has the full story here.

Planning ahead: Costco Wholesale Corp. has filed a concept plan with the East Baton Rouge Parish Planning Commission to build a 149,000-square-foot warehouse store at the site of the former Coca-Cola bottling plant on Airline Highway. The national warehouse club signed a purchase agreement in April for an undisclosed price to acquire the 28-acre site from Coca-Cola Bottling Company United Gulf Coast. Though the sale has not been finalized, the company is apparently moving forward with plans for its first location in the Baton Rouge market. Read the full story from Daily Report and see renderings of the new store here.

Take out: BD Kitchen Co., one of the city's few locally owned kitchen stores, is closing its Towne Center location at the end of the month, less than two years after opening. Owners Bill Bethea and Ronnie Daley attribute their decision to permanently shutter the store to a lack of marketing support from shopping center management and a lack of foot traffic, the latter being a common complaint of retailers located on the "back," or Jefferson Highway side, of the development. Click here to read the full story from Daily Report.

Read more from Business Report here: http://www.businessreport.com/real-estate-weekly/12182012/recap#ixzz2FhQ023EG

B.R. home sales up 16% in November

Strong November home sales in the eight-parish region tracked by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors have already placed year-to-date 2012 home sales ahead of total sales in 2011, with another month of sales still to report this year. GBRAR reports 566 homes were sold in November in East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston, West Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Iberville and Point Coupee parishes. That's 80 more home sales than were tallied in the region in November 2011, or an increase of about 16%. The average sale price in November, at $206,249, was also considerably higher than that of the same month last year, when the average home sold for $173,096. Through November, 7,064 homes have been sold in the Capital Region this year, which is roughly 15% more than the 6,122 sold through the same 11-month period last year—and exceeds the 6,604 homes sold in all of 2011. The 11-month total this year is also already ahead of annual sales totals in 2010 (6,386) and 2009 (6,899). And unless December sales this year are far below the 482 recorded last December, 2012 should end up being a stronger year than 2008, when 7,284 homes were sold and the area began seeing impacts from the national recession. Total months inventory—or the number of months it would take to sell all homes on the market at the current sales pace—was also down sharply in November compared to last year. Although the months inventory rose to 7.3 in November from 6.5 in October, it is still well below the 10 months inventory recorded in November 2011.

Read more from Business Report here: http://businessreport.com/daily-report/12172012/Baton_Rouge_home_sales_up_16_percent_in_November#ixzz2FKaZsNNe

Capital Region 2012 home sales on pace to match '08 figures

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

Three-quarters of the way through the year, homes sales in the eight-parish region tracked by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors are far outpacing sales in 2011, 2010 and 2009—and are only 1.5% off the year-to-date tally from the pre-recession 2008 sales figures. A total of 5,833 homes have sold in the region through September. That's a nearly 13% increase over the 5,174 sales recorded in the first three quarters of 2011, a 15% increase over the 5,069 sold in 2010, and a roughly 11% increase over the 5,241 sold in 2009. This year's tally through the third quarter indicates just 86 fewer sales than in 2008. GBRAR President-Elect Pat Wattam says she expects 2012 sales to match or exceed 2008 levels when the year is over. "I saw the market turn the corner last November, and what we've seen since is a steady continuation of that," she says. While sales figures are paramount, Wattam says she's also keeping an eye on another figure: the months of inventory for the eight-parish region. In September, it dropped to 6.24 months. A year ago, that figure was at 7.69, and it actually reached as high as 10 months around the start of 2012. Wattam says declining months' inventory is a clear sign of an improving market and that she expects it will continue to fall. She says a healthy market is generally one with about five to eight months of inventory. "With East Baton Rouge dropping below the eight months supply point, that means we're in a very, very steady market. It's not a buyer's market, but it's not a seller's market either," she says. "And in Ascension Parish, that number just dropped to below six months. That tells me it's flipping to a seller's market." —Steve Sanoski

This week's poll question: Do you believe the Capital Region housing market has fully recovered from the recession?

Read more from Business Report here: http://www.businessreport.com/section/businessreport0113?utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=RealEstateWeekly#ixzz2CDYfjKYt

Two more subdivisions proposed for Hoo Shoo Too Road area

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

 

When the 90-home gated community of Mallard Park was proposed north of Hoo Shoo Too Road in May, the city-parish Planning Commission denied the development because the developer refused to connect it to outside streets. The Metro Council gave Mallard Park final approval anyway, overriding the Planning Commission. Now come proposals for 239 more homes in the same area. Oak Ridge Estates would be a 149-lot development south of Elliott Road, a little more than half a mile northwest of the intersection of Elliott and Hoo Shoo Too; Mallard Trails would be a 90-lot development in the 22250 block of Hoo Shoo Too, east of Wood Duck Drive. Both developments appear to have extra connectivity rather than one entrance and exit, says Planning Commission spokesman Ryan Holcomb. "I think we'll be able to get the approval," says Mallard Trails developer George Robinson, declining to give details about the 56-acre subdivision. Applicant Brandon Dodson could not be reached for comment on the proposed 66-acre Oak Ridge Estates. Holcomb says details about both developments could be on the Planning Commission's website by Nov. 2. The commission could hear the proposals Nov. 13. —Adam Pearson

New or upgraded real estate apps opening more doors

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

 

For a while, it seemed as if the real estate industry was rolling out an app a day, each and every one promising to "revolutionize the way homes are bought and sold," as their news releases routinely and breathlessly promised. As The Los Angeles Times reports, the hyperbole has abated a bit, and the pace of introductions seems to have slowed proportionately, but there's still plenty of app activity because consumers have come to expect information on demand about homes on the market. These days, house hunters routinely hit the streets armed with their smartphones, expecting to be able to stand in front of a house on Elm Street and learn everything from the listing price to the property taxes to the square footage in the powder room and more. So the apps are still coming. Click here for a complete overview of a half dozen new or updated apps—including Zillow Rentals, RentCafe, Revestor, House Hunter, HomeSnap and HomeFinder—that are gaining popularity.

This week's poll question: Have you used a real estate–related app when searching for or selling a home?

Real Estate Recap: October 3, 2012

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

Hungry for more: While Galatoire's new restaurant in the Acadian Village Shopping Center on Perkins Road is on target to open before the end of the year as planned, owner John Georges is looking seriously at expanding the venerable New Orleans institution into the Houston market. Georges tells Daily Report he has identified two potential sites in Houston's posh River Oaks neighborhood and that he could open what would be Galatoire's first out-of-state restaurant as soon as next year. Read the full story here.

Industrial giants: LED is working with five industrial prospects that are looking to build projects in Louisiana that are bigger than the Nucor Steel project in St. James Parish, which could be worth as much as $3.4 billion when all is said and done, according to LED Secretary Stephen Moret. Of the five, Moret says, "one, maybe two" could be built in the Capital Region. Those projects could be part of a sustained industrial building boom that might lead to 40,000 new industrial construction jobs in three to five years, he says. Daily Report has the full story here.

On the bright side of the road: Fremin Construction has preliminary plans for luxury townhomes at 3757 Brightside Lane that will be modeled on the company's recent development, Chatsworth Court Condominiums, on South Kenilworth Parkway. The new development is planned for a vacant 2.5-acre tract of land on the south side of Brightside Lane, between the Riverbend subdivision and River Road, but closer to the levee than the adjacent neighborhood. Get more details in the full story here.

Tiger denizen: The 287-unit Tiger Manor apartment complex at State and July streets, not far from LSU's North Gates, has been purchased by a group of investors led by Covington-based Stirling Properties. A sales price was not disclosed. The purchase brings the number of Baton Rouge apartment complexes owned by Stirling Communities I LLC to two, consisting of 367 apartments total. The firm also owns three Lafayette apartment complexes. Stirling Properties will serve as asset manager of Tiger Manor, while Des Moines, Iowa-based BH Management will serve as the primary property manager on-site.

Real Estate Recap: September 25, 2012

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

 

Landmark deal: Columbus, Ohio-based hotel investment firm RockBridge Capital today announced Monday its acquisition of the 290-room Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center downtown, and says the property will undergo a $7.1 million renovation. Prism Hotels & Resorts, which took over management of the downtown property earlier this year, will continue to run the hotel in partnership with the new owner. It was acquired from Commercial Properties Realty Trust, the for-profit arm of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, for an undisclosed price. Daily Report has the full story here.

Estate sale: Paula Pennington de la Bretonne's estate at 11001 Highland Road will likely set a new benchmark for residential real estate sales in Baton Rouge when it officially goes on the market next week. According to local real estate sources, the asking price for the property, which includes a main house and multiple other structures, will exceed $20 million. De la Bretonne's daughter, Shannon Smith, is handling the listing but would not confirm the asking price or discuss the specifics of the home, which was built at de la Bretonne's behest in the early 2000s. Read the full story from Daily Report here.

Queuing up: Smokin Aces BBQ, which is planning an Oct. 1 opening at 2504 Government St., next to Garden District Nursery, will not be Memphis-style, or Kansas City-style, or Carolina-style, or Tennessee-style. Owner Brian Medlin says it will be a little bit of everything, with some home-style flavors thrown in. "Hopefully it will be called Louisiana-style barbecue," says Medlin, who also owns All Star Catering and recently bought the former Sweets BBQ—and its old seasoned smoker with rotisserie ("the backbone of the place," he says)—which will become Smokin Aces. Daily Report has all the details here.

Real Estate Recap: September 18, 2012

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

The sound of silence: Metro Councilman Rodney "Smokie" Bourgeois says he'll recuse himself from voting on a restaurant that is looking to open next to his Perkins Road overpass area restaurant, Georges. City Pork Deli and Charcuterie will likely be before the Metro Council next month for final approval. Bourgeois doesn't appear to have much choice. Section 2.10 of the city-parish plan of government includes a clause prohibiting Metro Council members from voting on items in which they have a "personal or pecuniary interest." Daily Report has the full story here.

Au revoir: Privé Lingerie Boutique is closing its doors at Towne Center today for the final time. "It's been five years, and it's time to move on," owner Heather Savoy says, noting her niche boutique stumbled with the stagnant economy a few years ago and hadn't fully recovered. "It just doesn't make a lot of sense to keep doing it." Savoy says she's going back to work in residential real estate full-time—which she did for 12 years prior to opening Privé in 2007. Towne Center spokeswoman Rebecca Rainer says the shopping center is currently in the final stages of negotiations with two new undisclosed tenants. If both potential tenants do move in, Rainer says, Towne Center will be 100% occupied.

8 years in the making: Since 2004, the Port of Greater Baton Rouge has been piecing together a large tract of land along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. As of today, port director Jay Hardman says, they're just one signature shy of obtaining the last piece of an almost 405-acre puzzle. More than a dozen heirs owned various pieces of the tract. "It'll be a good fit for the port today, as well as for future growth in years to come," says Hardman, who adds that the port commission approved the expansion unanimously. "We're pretty well filled up [currently]. We don't have a lot of green space here at all." The total cost of the tract was nearly $6.5 million in self-generated funds; the port does not receive a tax-based revenue stream.

Capital Region included in amended insurance emergency rule

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

 

The Louisiana Department of Insurance has amended its Emergency Rule 26 to address concerns of insured homeowners in 23 Louisiana parishes—including East Baton Rouge and surrounding parishes—who were recently displaced by Hurricane Isaac. The emergency rule is aimed to assist displaced policyholders by granting extensions on insurance payments, allowing out-of-network medical care without penalties and forbidding the cancellation of a policy due to a storm-related claim. The amended rule clarifies the parishes in which it applies, and also extends the amount of time insured homeowners have to provide the required written notice about their displacement to their insurance companies. That date is now Sept. 25. That's also the deadline for policyholders to pay for insurance premiums due on or after Aug. 26 without penalty, under the emergency rule. The amendment also includes the suspension of other statutes and regulations in regards to policy cancellations, non-renewals, reinstatements, premium payments, claim filings and related provisions. Get all the details by reading the complete amended rule here. The parishes in which the emergency rule applies are: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebone, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.

U.S. housing market on mend, but full recovery is still far off

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

Home prices across the country during the first half of 2012 posted their strongest gains in six years, the clearest sign that more U.S. housing markets have hit bottom. But The Wall Street Journal reports the housing market remains far from normal and that hitting a bottom shouldn't be confused with a full-on recovery, which looks a ways off. Today's rising prices have less to do with surging demand—though hard-hit markets in Arizona, California, and Florida have seen significant investor appetite for distressed homes—than with declines in the number of properties for sale. Inventories of "existing" homes—that is, ones that haven't just been built—are at eight-year lows. New-home inventories are lower than at any time since the U.S. census began tracking them in 1963. In some cities, there are one-third fewer homes listed for sale than a year ago. Here's why prices are rising: There are more buyers chasing fewer homes, and—critically—fewer distressed homes, such as foreclosures. Low inventory is one sign that housing markets may have reached a turning point because many want to buy at the bottom but few want to sell. There are several factors behind the low inventory. Banks have slowed their pace of foreclosures. Investors have snapped up discounted properties that they can convert into rentals. Home builders, struggling for several years to compete on price with foreclosed properties, have added little in the way of new supply. Read the complete story for more details and analysis here.

B.R. home prices fall in July as U.S. posts biggest rise in 6 years

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

 

U.S. home prices jumped 3.8% in the 12 months ending in July, according to a new report out this morning by private real estate data provider CoreLogic. The year-over-year increase was the biggest in six years, further evidence that the American housing market is steadily recovering. CoreLogic says home prices also rose 1.3% in July from June. That's the fifth straight increase in both the monthly and year-over-year price indexes. In Baton Rouge, however, CoreLogic reports home prices declined by 0.9% on the year through July. On a month-over-month basis, the numbers appear to show a more positive trend: Baton Rouge home prices increased by 1.8% from June to July. CoreLogic's price index is the third national index to show steady increases. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index posted its first annual increase in nearly two years last week. And a federal government housing agency has also reported annual increases. Still, the national housing market's recovery is just beginning. U.S. prices are still 27% below their peak in April 2006, CoreLogic notes.

Louisiana home sales up nearly 13% in 2Q

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

Boosted by a better than 20% increase in the Capital Region, home sales across Louisiana were up 12.7% in the three-month period ending June 30, compared to the same quarter in 2011, according to a new report from the state's largest association of realtors. Louisiana Realtors reports the Baton Rouge metro region posted a 20.5% increase in residential sales during the second quarter, and that year-to-date sales six months through the year were up 19.4%. Home prices, however, were down 1.9% in the Capital Region during the second quarter; with the average home going for $203,336. Baton Rouge was among seven of the state's eight metro areas to see an increase in sales during the quarter. Leading the way was Lafayette, which saw a 27% spike in sales. That's the same increase by percentage that the area has had through the first half of 2012. Quarterly sales were up 12.1% in the New Orleans metro area, with year-to-date sales 13.6% better than 2011 figures. The lone metro to see a sales decline was Monroe: down 8.5% for the quarter and generally flat year-to-date, off 0.4%. Year-to-date sales across the state are up 14.7% compared to last year. "In general, the Louisiana housing market has shown significant growth in 2012, and is expected to continue the upward trend through the summer," Louisiana Realtors says in its second-quarter report. You can access the complete report here.

Capital Region home sales up again in July

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

Home sales in the eight-parish region tracked by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors have been significantly higher each month this year compared to 2011 figures, and July was no exception. The 731 sales recorded across the Capital Region as of this morning represent a 15.5% increase over the 633 sold in July 2011. Among the largest parishes in the region, Ascension led the increase. The 158 sales there represented a 32% increase over the 120 sold on the month a year ago. In East Baton Rouge Parish, 408 sales were recorded—an increase of 14% over the 357 sales last July. Livingston Parish posted a rare, yet slight, decrease in sales: just the second month this year that has occurred. Ninety-five homes were sold in Livingston in July, compared to 106 in July last year. Sales in the five other parishes lumped into GBRAR's "other" statistical category—West Baton Rouge, Iberville, East Feliciana, West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee parishes—were up to 70 this July, from 50 last year. Seven months through the year, sales across the entire region are up 18.7%—at 4,482. That's 707 more homes sold thus far this year, compared to the 3,775 sold during the seven-month span last year. It's also 9% better than the 4,112 homes sold through July in 2010. Check out the complete July sales figures for yourself here.

Real Estate Recap: July 31, 2012

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

By the numbers: The percentage of Baton Rouge homes in foreclosure fell to 2.36% in May, according to a report from CoreLogic, down from 2.39% from the month previous and 2.47% in May 2011. The local mortgage delinquency rate—that is, the percentage of home loans three months past due or more—also fell in May to 5.39%. That's down from 5.54% in April, and 5.59% a year ago. Daily Report has the full story here.

Game on: Pinnacle Entertainment plans to officially open the doors of its $368 million L'Auberge Casino & Hotel in Baton Rouge at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 29. Pinnacle says the grand opening will "feature memorable entertainment, dining experiences and an unveiling ceremony capped off with a stunning fireworks display." Details on entertainment specifics were not released but are expected as the opening date nears.

No finer place for sure: U.S.-based IT services firm Ameritas Technologies plans to open an "information technology center" in the Chase Tower South downtown. Ameritas says it will begin hiring in September, plans to open by October, and hopes to have 300 employees by 2016, with the jobs paying an average of $63,000 annually, plus benefits. The company was lured to Baton Rouge with an incentives package, the full details of which you can get from Daily Report here.

This week's poll question: If you built a new house, would you include energy-efficient and maintenance-free amenities?

B.R. ranked in the middle for affordable housing

From the Baton Rouge Business Report, Real Estate Weekly:

Of the roughly 200 U.S. metropolitan areas surveyed for the new "Paycheck to Paycheck" report on first quarter housing affordability from the National Housing Conference and the Center for Housing Police, Baton Rouge ranks No. 83 on the list of most expensive metros to buy a home. On the same report for the first quarter of 2011, Baton Rouge was ranked No. 81. The report says the average home sale price dropped to $157,900 in the first quarter, down from $160,600 in the opening three months of 2011. New Orleans is ranked No. 91 on the list, up from No. 95 last year, with an average sale price of $147,500 in the first quarter of 2012. The Capital Region appears to be more affordable for renters, according to the report, which ranks Baton Rouge No. 128 on the list of the most expensive metros for renters. The average rent for a two-bedroom unit in Baton Rouge is pegged at $752 in the report, much lower than the national average of $949 among the largest 200 metros. New Orleans is ranked at No. 58 on the rental list, with a $948 average. You can get more details and access the complete report here.

June home sales jump 13.5% in Capital Region

From the Baton Rouge Business Report:

Halfway through 2012, home sales in the eight-parish region tracked by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors were up 19% over sales recorded six months into 2011. Year-to-date figures were aided by another strong sales month in June, during which 776 homes were sold, a 13.5% increase over the month last year, according to the GBRAR's latest tally. Sales numbers have been up every month this year, with a total of 3,739 through last month, compared to 3,142 through June 2011. East Baton Rouge Parish has led the sales increases in 2012, up 19.9% with 2,059, compared to 1,717 last year. Ascension Parish's rate of increase isn't far behind, up 19.1% with 710 sales, compared to 596 last year. Livingston Parish sales this year are up 15% to 638, from 555 through June 2011. Sales in the five other parishes lumped into GBRAR's "other" statistical category—West Baton Rouge, Iberville, East Feliciana, West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee parishes—are up 22.2% at 332, from 274. Total year-to-date volume of homes sold in the entire eight-parish region was $706.5 million through June, up 17% over the $603.4 million sold in the same period last year. See the GBRAR's complete sales report here.