10294 W Winston #10, Baton Rouge 225.234.0022

Great location! Why not enjoy the perks of a home without all of the hassle and work?! This condo features two beds and 2.5 baths, has a balcony and a large front porch area and is on the second floor of a gated community. Washer and dryer included! Enjoy the views of a 7.9 acre lake from the pier and gazebo. Sit and relax by the community swimming pool, or break a sweat in the fitness center. All of this and easy access to anywhere you want to go. Call for a showing!

431 Centenary Dr, Baton Rouge 225.234.0022

Come home to a unique property on 2.5 lots within walking distance of LSU! This four bedroom two bath home has all of the charm of yesteryear with all of the conveniences of today. Nestled in an established, quiet neighborhood with beautiful mature trees and very low traffic flow, this community has a tranquil and serene feel. Inside the home you will find an open concept kitchen, breakfast and den area with 1920's wide-plank knotty pine floors, The kitchen features double ovens, a Vermont soapstone sink and custom designed copper range hood. The formal dining area has beautiful, custom built-in antique buffet. There is a large utility room with a second refrigerator, utility sink and plenty of storage. In the master bathroom there is a claw-foot tub and separate shower and the master bedroom overlooks the pool. Outside the home there is a separate guest room with a bathroom/workshop. There is a deck great for grilling out and relaxing with a book and a lagoon-like swimming pool with a waterfall. If you are looking for a home full of amenities and quiet comfort, schedule your private showing today!

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

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.

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.

Home builders say student loan debt crisis linked to lower home values

From the Baton Rouge Business Report:

A new analysis of government data by the National Association of Home Builders says there's a connection between rising student loan debt and the onset of the housing slump. The analysis says home-owning parents who, in a healthy economy, would have used a home equity loan to help finance their kids' tuition weren't able to do so when the housing crisis led to a decline in loan availability. As a result, it says, students have increasingly taken out loans on their own behalf. "The data thus do not necessarily reveal a sharp increase in borrowing for college education, but rather a shifting in the form of borrowing," the analysis says. "And this is yet another consequence of the harm inflicted on the middle class as home prices fell, leading to a nearly 40% decline in median household net worth." The NAHB cites the 2010 edition of the Federal Reserve's survey of household balance sheets, the Survey of Consumer Finances, for the statistic on average net worth. The analysis also says any impact on housing demand caused by a forecast bursting of the student loan debt bubble will not be catastrophic as some in the industry are predicting. You can check out the NAHB's complete analysis here.

Still a Buyer's Market

From the Baton Rouge Business Report:

Real estate pros have been saying for years that the market isn't as weak as we've been hearing, that the bad stuff was only happening in other places, and that the recovery from the non-slump was right around the corner. ? So when Don Stern of Realty Executives South Louisiana, who helped compile the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors' yearly report on Baton Rouge-area real estate trends, says, “The bleeding has stopped,” it's easy to be cynical and note that we've heard that before.

But in fact, people who sell homes for a living can point to a few encouraging factors. According to the annual Trends report, the number of home sales in the Capital Region increased in 2011, although the uptick was small enough that the report's authors still say the market is in a “plateau.”

And in April 2012, sales were up 21% over the same month last year, although much of the action consisted of sales of homes sold for less than $250,000.

Stern says when there's less than 5½ months' worth of inventory available, it's considered a seller's market. Between 5½ and 6½ is a neutral market; more than 6½ is a buyer's market.
“Overall, we're in a buyer's market right now,” he says. “But [inventory] has dropped over the past few months.”

In fact, he says Ascension and Livingston parishes are trending toward a neutral or even a seller's market. East Baton Rouge Parish still has an oversupply of housing, he says, although the average number of days on market is beginning to decrease. (The vast majority of home sales in the Baton Rouge area are concentrated in Ascension, Livingston and East Baton Rouge parishes.)

Even though the total number of sales was up last year, the average sale price was down slightly. The apparent culprit was the higher-than-average percentage of real estate-owned or REO sales, which typically are lender-owned foreclosures. In East Baton Rouge, for example, about one in four home resales was an REO.

Still, the number of foreclosures does not appear to be skyrocketing and certainly is not approaching the levels seen in Florida, Nevada and other hard-hit states. Unless there's a large hidden inventory of homes destined for foreclosure, Stern says, the number of REO sales isn't a major concern.

“We're working through the foreclosure inventory,” Stern says. “If one just looks at average [price], foreclosures have a chilling effect. But if you take the foreclosures out, people [on average] haven't lost value in their homes.”

Sales of attached single-family homes­—that is, condos and townhouses—continue to decrease, as do sales of homes worth more than $400,000. In general, resales are up, while new construction is down.

Baton Rouge home sales soar 25% in May

From the Baton Rouge Business Report:

In a continuation of a trend seen every month this year, home sales in the eight-parish region tracked by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors were once again significantly better in May compared to the same month last year. The 729 home sales recorded in May by GBRAR as of this morning represent a 24.6% increase over the 585 sold in May 2011. While the sales increase may have been expected in light of similar monthly gains seen so far in 2012, an increase in the average sales price in May will likely come as a pleasant surprise to area realtors. At $197,683, the average home sale in May this year was just shy of 1% better than the $195,885 average sales price in May 2011—and 5% better than the average sales price in April. The monthly average home sale price has consistently been about 5% lower this year compared to 2011. Through May, year-to-date home sales in the Capital Region stand at 2,949. That's 19.9% better than the 2,458 sold through May of last year, 1% better than the 2,918 sold in 2010, and 12.8% better than the 2,614 sold in 2009. A total of 3,309 sales were recorded through May in 2008, which is about 12.2% more than this year. East Baton Rouge Parish led the May sales increase, with 424 sales—95 more than in May 2011, or a 28.8% increase.

Pending, closed home sales in B.R. continue steady rise

From the Baton Rouge Business Report:

While the National Association of Realtors reports pending sales across the United States stumbled for the first time this year during April—with its index off 5% compared to March, though up 14% over April 2011—the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors says 39% more sales were inked in the eight-parish region in April on the year. GBRAR President Linda Gaspard says it's "more evidence that the Greater Baton Rouge area housing market continues to strengthen. Area realtors are seeing the increase in business, and it's very exciting to know this market is performing so well." One-third of the way through the year, 2012 sales were at 2,219, up 18.5% over the 1,873 sales recorded through April last year, according to GBRAR. That's also slightly better than the 2,128 homes sold through April in 2010 and the 2,003 sold in 2009. The 2,535 home sales in 2008 are 12.5% better than this year's figures through April. Though last month's final figures were not yet available as of press time, May is looking to have been another strong month in the Baton Rouge area. Early reports from GBRAR show sales up nearly 15% over the 585 sales on the month last year, and that number is likely to climb when the final tally is in. The GBRAR notes that all the statistics indicate increases in pending and closed sales will continue in coming months. The 39% increase in pending sales during April is particularly promising, as home sales are typically closed a month or two after they're signed, meaning monthly sales figures should continue to be positive into the summer. —Steve Sanoski

Home sales in Baton Rouge up 21% in April

From the Baton Rouge Business Report With 616 sales recorded as of this morning, 20.8% more homes were sold in April across the eight-parish region tracked by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors compared to the same month a year ago, GBRAR reports. Last April, a total of 510 home sales were recorded. East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston and the five other parishes lumped into GBRAR's "other" statistical category—West Baton Rouge, Iberville, East Feliciana, West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee parishes—all posted year-over-year sales increases. The average sales price, however, continued a downward year-over-year trend in April, decreasing about 4.3% to $188,441, compared to $196,877 in April 2011. Nonetheless, the increase in overall sales pushed total volume up 15.5% to $409.9 million on the month. A strong April builds on first-quarter figures in 2012 that were the best since 2008. Year-to-date, total sales now stand at 2,213, up 18.2% over the 1,873 sales recorded through April last year. For historical comparison, 2,128 homes were sold through April in 2010, while 2,003 were sold over the four-month period in 2009 and 2,535 in the same period of 2008. You can check out the complete sales report from GBRAR here.