A slight decline in December wasn’t enough to offset a record year for home sales in the Baton Rouge metro area last year, according to the final monthly sales report of 2015 from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, released today.
Sales were off 1.5% in December, with 707 sales in the eight-parish region in 2015, compared to 718 sales during the month in 2014. Nonetheless, total sales pushed beyond 9,000 for the first time in history in 2015. GBRAR recorded 9,687 sales last year, an 8% increase over 8,973 sales in 2014.
“I think the continuously dropping inventory that we’ve had, as well as the Fed’s decision to raise rates at the end of year … had a lot to do with people purchasing, rather than just shopping around” in 2015, says GBRAR President Tiffany Palmer, an agent and broker at Pro Sold Realty.
Along with drastically lower inventory, 2015 saw strong average sales prices and fewer average days on the market.
There were 14.3% fewer homes on the market in December than there were during the month in 2014, or 3,317 in 2015, compared to 3,871 the year previous. The average sales price rose 6.6% in 2015 to $216,668, up from $203,224 in 2014. The average number of days a home was on the market in 2015 declined by six days, or 7.1%, to 78 days.
The measure of month’s supply—how long it would take to sell all of the homes on the market at the current sales pace—shrunk by 21.6% between December 2014 and 2015. The months supply figure was at 4 months at the end of last year, compared to 5.1 months at the end of 2014. Realtors typically view any reading below six months as reflective of a seller’s market.
While East Baton Rouge Parish sales were essentially flat in December, Livingston and Ascension parishes both posted decreases on the month. Sales in East Baton Rouge were up 0.3%, with just one more home being sold during the month—a total of 397—than were sold in December 2014.
A total of 127 homes were sold in Livingston in December, a 5.2% decline from the 134 that were sold during the month in 2014. In Ascension, sales were off 14.7% in December, down to 122 from 143.
As for 2016, Palmer says the local market should continue to be strong, though outside factors could have an adverse impact.
“I think it’s going to have a lot to do with the interest rates, and hopefully we don’t have any major natural disasters or anything this year,” she says when asked if 2016 sales could possibly eclipse the 2015 figures. “But so far it’s looking to be another good year.”
As for low oil prices and its effect on the housing market, she says, Baton Rouge is more insulated than markets such as Lafayette or Houma because the local economy is more diversified.
Access the full sales report from GBRAR. And be sure to check out Business Report’s recent cover package on 2015 home sales, including the 10 most expensive home sales of the year.
—Steve Sanoski
