Editor’s note: This story has been updated to replace an image. An earlier version of this story had the picture of a different house. Business Report regrets the error.
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. There was movement in the $2 million-plus segment of the market for the first time since 2010. Also, the last few months of the year were some of the busiest local realtors who list and sell top-dollar properties can remember in recent years. Even the traditionally slow holiday season saw a flurry of activity.
On the surface, at least, it’s a good sign. Experts say it suggests the economy is recovering and that 2013 will continue to show signs of improvement.
“It tells me that the upper-end segment of the market is really picking up,” says Quita Cutrer of Burns & Co., who handled several of the top 10 sales last year, including a $2.5 million sale in Bocage, a $2 million sale in the Country Club of Louisiana, and a $2.5 million purchase agreement in CCL that was signed in December but has not yet closed. “We haven’t seen this level of activity in a while.”
While that’s all good news, Cutrer also characterizes 2012 as one of the most challenging years in her nearly four-decade career, a lament others echo. Buyers want deals. Sellers want top dollar. Homes priced between $500,000 and $1 million continue to languish, even while more expensive ones move, and financing is hard to get for all but the wealthiest of buyers.
“It took every bit of experience I had to negotiate some of the deals,” Cutrer says. “Every deal was a struggle every step of the way.”
In other words, it’s still not an easy time to be in real estate—at least not yet. But it’s not as bad as it has been in recent years, and, overall, realtors are optimistic about what the year ahead holds, particularly where high-end home sales are concerned.
How did we get this information?
Business Report obtained the information through a variety of sources and all information was verified by checking public records at the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court’s office.
| List price | $2,750,000 | Address | 7666 Bocage Blvd. | |
| Subdivision | Bocage | Square feet of living space | 7,813 | |
| Bedrooms | 6 | Bathrooms | 7 full, 2 part | |
| Year built | 2003 | Seller | Bocage One LLC | |
| Buyer | Texas DBS Investments LLC | Listing agent | Quita Cutrer | |
| Selling agent | Jennifer Oliver | Closing date | Nov. 5, 2012 |
| List price | $1,990,000 | Address | 19332 S Lakeway Dr. | |
| Subdivision | Country Club of Louisiana | Square feet of living space | 5,624 | |
| Bedrooms | 5 | Bathrooms | 4 full, 1 part | |
| Age | 16-20 years | Seller | Curtis and Beth Partington | |
| Buyer | Donald and Kathleen Carmouche | Listing agent | Quita Cutrer | |
| Selling agent | Ricky Gautreau | Closing date | Feb. 29, 2012 |
| List price | $2,299,000 | Address | 19614 S. Muirfield Circle | |
| Subdivision | Country Club of Louisiana | Square feet of living space | 5,290 | |
| Bedrooms | 4 | Bathrooms | 4 full, 2 part | |
| Year built | 1996 | Seller | Chad and Amy David | |
| Buyer | Richard and Gloria Dodson | Listing agent | Quita Cutrer | |
| Selling agent | Quita Cutrer | Closing date | March 30, 2012 |
| List price | $1,725,000 | Address | 17931 Shoal Creek Dr. | |
| Subdivision | Country Club of Louisiana | Square feet of living space | 5,264 | |
| Bedrooms | 4 | Bathrooms | 4 full, 1 part | |
| Year built | 1990 | Seller | Shelli Patty, trustee, Randel and Shelli Patty Living Trust |
|
| Buyer | Gerald Garrison and Linda Jennings |
Listing agent | Lisa Landers | |
| Selling agent | Mary Armstrong | Closing date | Sept. 28, 2012 |
| List price | $1,490,000 | Address | 19635 S. Muirfield Circle | |
| Subdivision | Country Club of Louisiana | Square feet of living space | 5,628 | |
| Bedrooms | 4 | Bathrooms | 4 full, 1 part | |
| Year built | n/a | Seller | Keith David Lemoine | |
| Buyer | Chad and Amy David | Listing agent | Jerry Del Rio | |
| Selling agent | Quita Cutrer | Closing date | May 11, 2012 |
| List price | $1,495,000 | Address | 6925 Woodstock Dr. | |
| Subdivision | Bocage Estates | Square feet of living space | 5,704 | |
| Bedrooms | 4 | Bathrooms | 3 full, 1 part | |
| Age | 1-3 years | Seller | Mark Washauer | |
| Buyer | Henry Watson Jr. | Listing agent | Lisa Landers | |
| Selling agent | Danielle Engels | Closing date | Dec. 10, 2012 |
| List price | $1,595,000 | Address | 911 Steele Blvd. | |
| Subdivision | Steele Place | Square feet of living space | 5,671 | |
| Bedrooms | 5 | Bathrooms | 6 full, 1 part | |
| Age | 51-75 years | Seller | Joseph and Allison Graham | |
| Buyer | Tim and Aza Bowlin | Listing agent | Ann Mullins | |
| Selling agent | Heather Kirkpatrick | Closing date | Sept. 21, 2012 |
| List price | $1,395,000 | Address | 19210 S. Lakeway Ave. | |
| Subdivision | Country Club of Louisiana | Square feet of living space | 4,653 | |
| Bedrooms | 4 | Bathrooms | 4 full, 1 part | |
| Year built | 2005 | Seller | Marius and Denise Sharon | |
| Buyer | Victory Marcello | Listing agent | Jerry Del Rio | |
| Selling agent | Quita Cutrer | Closing date | Nov. 19, 2012 |
| List price | $1,300,000 | Address | 3022 McCarroll Dr. | |
| Subdivision | Jefferson Place | Square feet of living space | 4,701 | |
| Bedrooms | 4 | Bathrooms | 3 full | |
| Year built | 2005 | Seller | Charlotte Wright | |
| Buyer | Flagstone Properties LLC | Listing agent | Barbara Anne Eaton | |
| Selling agent | Michael Glisson | Closing date | Feb. 1, 2012 |
| List price | $1,950,000 | Address | 19506 Perkins Road East | |
| Subdivision | Rural tract | Square feet of living space | 6,499 | |
| Bedrooms | 4 | Bathrooms | 4 | |
| Year built | 1999 | Seller | Daniel Brown | |
| Buyer | Bocage One LLC | Listing agent | Jerry Del Rio | |
| Selling agent | n/a | Closing date | Nov. 15, 2012 |
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 last year’s top transactions. “They’re hanging on to what they think they should get for them.”
$18 million
11001 Highland Road
29,561 square feet
Includes separate guest house, saltwater pool, gym, home theater, wine cellar, outdoor kitchen and fully stocked pond
$6.95 million
18002 N. Mission Hills Ave.
Country Club of Louisiana
11,509 square feet
Includes 7-car garage, theater, game room, bar and workout room
$3.49 million
18433 N. Mission Hills Ave.
Country Club of Louisiana
6,825 square feet
Includes separate guest house, 7-car garage, outdoor kitchen and fireplace, and gunite pool
