Driven by strong gains in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes, homes sales in the eight-parish region tracked by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors were up 8.8% in October, compared to sales during the same month last year.
The 408 sales in East Baton Rouge represented an 11.5% increase over the 366 sales recorded during the month last year, while sales in Livingston were up 23.5% to 163. The 130 sales tallied in Ascension last month represent a 0.8% decline, though just one more home was sold during October 2014. GBRAR released the figures today.
Sales in Ascension are up 3.6% through the first 10 months of the year, while East Baton Rouge sales are up 12.1% year-to-date and sales in Livingston are up 12.3%. GBRAR also tracks sales data in East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston, West Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana, Iberville and Pointe Coupee parishes.
The number of homes on the market across the eight-parish region shrunk to 3,579 in October, down 13.8% from October a year ago. That left the months supply figure—or the number of months it would take to sell the entire inventory at the current sales pace—at 4.4 months, down from 5.5 months last year in October. Realtors typically view any reading below 6 months to be reflective of a seller’s market.
While the average sales price last month unexpectedly dipped by 5.8% to $207,619—down from $220,426 last October—the average sales price year-to-date remains at $216,738 through October, up 6.9% from $202,667 last year.
Strong pending sales in October suggest November sales may also be strong enough to push 2015 sales beyond the 2014 tally before December even begins. Pending sales were up 17.2% in October to 826.
A total of 8,306 homes have been sold through October in the eight-parish region, or 9% more than the 7,619 sold during the first 10 months of last year. 2014 was a banner year for home sales, with 8,903 total sales—the most recorded annually since the market was upended by an influx of residents following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Access the complete GBRAR home sales reports.
—Steve Sanoski
