November home sales up 38% locally

There was a 38% increase in the number of homes sold in the Capital Region during November, compared with the year before. There were 576 houses sold in November, according to the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, compared with 417 in November 2008. Average sale prices were down 3.4%, from $185,622 in November 2008, to $179,272. Livingston Parish saw the biggest improvement in sales, with 145 homes sold in November at an average price of $157,954. That’s nearly double the 76 sales that happened last year, at an average price of $144,558. East Baton Rouge also saw a jump in home sales, from 232 in November 2008, to 307. The average sale price was down slightly, from $190,527 to $185,036. Ascension Parish saw the smallest increase in home sales, up from 76 in November 2008, to 90 last month. In the other category, which includes MLS transactions in parishes such as West Baton Rouge, Iberville and the Felicianas, there were 34 homes sold at an average price of $202,970, compared with 25 sales at an average price of $186,950 in November 2008. Through the first 11 months of the year, Capital Region home sales are down 7%, from 6,879 in 2008 to 6,385. The average sale price is down 5.4%, from $202,627 in 2008, to $191,586.