Capital Region home sales down 4%

Home sales in Baton Rouge were down 4% in August compared with the year before. There were 630 homes sold in metro Baton Rouge last month, according to figures from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service. That compares with the 658 sales that happened in August 2008. For the second consecutive month, Livingston Parish reported a year-over-year increase in home sales, with 121 houses sold, compared to 103 sales in August 2008. One of the reasons for the increase in sales may have been discounts; average sale prices were down 7%, to $158,487. Sales were down 5% in Ascension Parish, going from 120 in August 2008, to 114 last month. But the average sale price in the parish posted a 5% increase, from $205,349 to $215,972. In the other category, which includes MLS sales in parishes such as East and West Feliciana, West Baton Rouge, Iberville and Pointe Coupee, the number of home sales was slightly down, from 39 to 37, but the average sale price was up 15%, to $228,161. East Baton Rouge had a 9.6% drop in sales numbers, from 396 to 358, and average sale price fell from $199,087 to $187,747. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, September’s sales figures should be an improvement over September 2008, when Hurricane Gustav shut the local real estate market down for a week. Year to date, home sales are down 16.7% from 5,930 to 4,604. The average sale price is down 5.2%, from $205,292 to $194,478.