The Greater Baton Rouge housing market continues to grow and show stability after the 2016 floods upended the market, a local real estate expert said today.
Last year, there was a 4.4% increase in residential sales over 2016 with nearly 12,000 homes sold, an impressive feat, said RE/MAX real estate agent Kyle Peterson.
“That’s the first time we’ve ever been anywhere near that,” Peterson said this morning during the annual Trends in Baton Rouge Real Estate seminar at L’Auberge Casino and Hotel.
Average sales price of homes also increased by almost $1,000, though the average square foot price increased by just one dollar to $112. The average time for a home to stay on the market decreased from 66 days to 60, a dip attributed to the 2016 flood aftermath that Peterson expects to stabilize over the next year.
While New Orleans continues to reign as the top housing market in the state, the Baton Rouge area is second, with zip codes 70809 in southeast Baton Rouge, 70719 on the west side and 70734 in Ascension Parish being the hottest areas in terms of activity.
“The good thing is that we’re a very stable market,” Peterson says.
Buyers are choosing established subdivisions in centrally-located areas, similar to what happened in 2008 and 2009, Peterson says. For Bluebonnet Terrace, one of the hottest subdivisions in 70809, most of the homes were sold within three days of being put on the market.
In 70819, one of the largest impacted areas by the 2016 floods, there were 125 sales last year, half of which were sold for under $100,000. The Geismar-area 70734 is hot, says Peterson, because “it’s the perfect storm of having a good school system, easy access to industry and also easy access to I-10 and New Orleans.”
In East Baton Rouge Parish, there were 5,084 sales last year, which is down 15% from 2016. The average list price for homes was down 3.3% compared to 2016, but still higher than 2016. Days on the market also dropped by 25.5% to 49 days compared to 2016’s 66 days.
Ascension Parish is a strong seller’s market currently with sales up 1.59% to over $425 million last year. Days on the market for homes also dropped to 44 days from 2016’s 49 days. Homes are selling at 98.7% of their listing price.
Livingston Parish makes up 20% of the Greater Baton Rouge area’s residential sales where many previously flooded homes are returning to the market in “like new” conditions.
New data is showing buyers are slowing to purchase homes in areas that experienced 5 to 6 feet of water during the 2016 floods, Peterson says, but those who do are willing because the renovated houses are hard to beat, they see the flood as an extraordinary event and low inventory of other choices.
