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After experiencing record growth from 2019 to 2022, Baton Rouge’s residential real estate market can now be best described as “stable,” though regulatory uncertainty—particularly in St. George—is an area of some concern.
That’s according to Tom Cook of Cook, Moore, Davenport & Associates, who discussed the local residential market at the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors’ 2026 Trends seminar on Thursday.
Data compiled for the seminar shows total dollar volume rose modestly to about $2.78 billion in 2025, up roughly 3.5% from 2024 but still more than $1 billion below the 2021 peak of about $3.8 billion.
“It was not a banner year for residential,” Cook said, noting that new construction and new home sales volume both fell about 11% from 2024 while sale prices remained largely flat.
Median sale prices increased just 0.19% to $265,000, continuing a trend of minimal appreciation after years of steep gains. Months’ supply rose to about 4.5 months, up significantly from pandemic-era lows but still within a range most analysts would consider healthy.
Homes are also taking longer to sell, with median days on market rising to 30 days in 2025 compared to just seven days at the height of the market in 2021. Still, Cook characterized that timeline as typical.
“If I put my house on the market and it sells in 30 days, I’m going to be happy,” he said.
The most significant shift is happening on the construction side.
Single-family building permits in the Baton Rouge metro area fell to 2,872 in 2025, the lowest level recorded since 2015 and a drop of more than 35% from the 2021 peak. Cook attributed much of that decline to higher interest rates and a lack of available lots.
“There’s demand for lots, but there’s not a lot of lots available to put houses on,” he said.
While the broader market remains stable, Cook pointed to uncertainty tied to the ongoing formation of St. George as one of the most consequential forces shaping the region’s residential development outlook.
“When I called builders and developers, I asked, ‘What’s the biggest trend in Greater Baton Rouge area real estate?’” he said. “They told me, ‘St. George.’”
With the new city still working to stand up its planning and zoning operations, developers have been left grappling with a rapidly evolving, difficult-to-navigate regulatory environment. Cook said some developers described working with St. George as “horrible” and “ridiculous,” while others described the city as “out of touch” and “very hard to deal with.”
“There are good people working there, and I’m not casting aspersions on them,” he said. “But the development community is going nuts because they can’t get anything done.”
A proposed overhaul of St. George’s zoning code is adding to the uncertainty. Cook said efforts to consolidate zoning classifications could result in some properties being downzoned, potentially affecting property values and complicating financing if previously conforming uses are no longer allowed.
As for what the year ahead might look like for the broader market, Cook expects continued stability with only modest changes in pricing, inventory and sales activity, though it’s worth noting that industrial expansion along the Mississippi River could eventually boost housing demand.
“We’re going to have some market stabilization,” he said. “I think the residential market is going to continue to cool.”
