Capital Region home sales up 17% in July

The number of homes sold in the Capital Region in July increased by 17% from the year before, thanks to a spike in sales in Ascension Parish. According to figures from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, there were 614 sales in July, compared with 526 in July 2010. The average sale price was slightly down, from $196,527 in 2010 to $194,992. Ascension Parish helped drive the spike in sales; there were 120 MLS sales in the parish in July, compared with 77 in July 2010. The average sale price in Ascension was down slightly, from $214,455 in 2010 to $211,417. Livingston Parish had an 18% jump in sales, going from 87 to 103. The average sale price fell in Livingston from $156,024 to $152,835. East Baton Rouge Parish had the smallest gain, with sales increasing 10%, from 313 to 344. The average sale price in East Baton Rouge also fell, from $206,755 to $201,427. The other category, which includes MLS sales in parishes such as West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee and Iberville, was the only area to see an increase in the average sale price, jumping from $174,930 to $198,345. Yet sales slightly dropped in those parishes, from 49 to 47. Through the first seven months of the year, 3,740 homes were sold in the metro area, with an average sale price of $192,574. That’s down 9% from the 4,112 local MLS sales through July 2010, which had an average sale price of $193,652.