Real Estate Information Archive

It seems that people are getting more and more concerned about our real estate market.  It is interesting to note that a perception can  become a reality if enough people believe it!  Let's be clear!  Our market, counting all 11 parishes that our MLS services, is up over 6% from the end of July last year until the end of July this year.  This is trending back to a normal market that we have pretty much always experienced here in the Greater Baton Rouge Area ever since I went into real estate almost 25 years ago!  Of course, the exception is the oil bust in the '80's.

I just returned from a quick trip to Las Vegas and Phoenix for a Steve Vai concert, and while there met up with some fellow REALTORS.  To hear their stories and to look at our market is like, as my Mom would say, "daylight and dark".  Houses ARE talking longer to sell, there is some concern about the number of new construction homes in Ascension and Livingston Parishes, and with all the new apartment complexes being built.  Do we have enough people coming in this market to absorb all of these units?  I think that still depends on New Orleans.  We don't have the influx as we did during the year after Katrina, but I still get calls weekly from people who have decided to sell their house in New Orleans and move to Baton Rouge! 

Keep tuned right here for my market updates and you will be the first to know if this market starts to take a turn down!   We still expect a strong market for the next several years!

And, as always, if you have any questions about your specific situation, just give me a call at 225-298-6900!

It has been a very busy summer at the Beach - and I'm specifically speaking of the Alabama Gulf Coast in the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area.  Hurricane Ivan was three years ago, and we are all still holding our breath that we will get through this season without a hurricane!!  The rental that we own, in it's first year being used as a rental, has stayed full all summer.  As summer winds down, rentals are slower, as we expected.  But according to the leasing company, this has been a grand summer at the beach!

For those people who have considered buying a place on the Beach, now is a fabulous time!  As we mentioned in a blog at the first of the year, the prices there have really come down and, in fact, looks like it is starting to turn back up - especially on properties in the $400K range.  We recently sold a property in the Phoenix, 2 BR, for $365K!!!!!  I found another unit in another nice condo with 3 BRs on the beach, for $420K!!!!  Folks, we haven't seen these prices in several years!!! 

Even if you are just curious about what you can afford, either send me an e-mail, or go to our web site at the Beach:  www.GoBeachRealty.com and we'll set you up for an automated property search so that you can see what I'm so excited about.  What better place to create memories with friends and family! 

I recently attended the Star Power Conference in Phoenix with 1600 other agents from around the country and Canada.  Most of the other agents were in markets that were experiencing a real slump - usually because of too much inventory.  Just a few years ago most of these agents were experiencing a market with too few Listings and people bidding in a frenzy over the properties.

Luckily for us in the Greater Baton Rouge market we have a pretty steady market.  I know there is a little concern about over building, but so far, even though our days on the market are longer, the market is still very strong.

I had the priviledge of moderating a class at the conference and also presenting one of my marketing pieces from Orange Beach, AL to the entire group!  The Star Power Conference is a great place to network with other agents across the country, share ideas, and learn new ways to service our clients - or tweak what we already do.  I always love this conference because I come back with a sense of renewal and an appreciation of where we live!

We will start by comparing the new Listings on the market in June 07 to June 06, and group Ascension, East Baton Rouge, and Livingston Parishes for our comparison.

The categores are the number of new Listings that came on the market for the month of June and  the average list price of these homes.  Then we look at the average list price of the homes that sold vs what they sold for, as well as the days on market.  First we look at  June 2006, then June 2007, and finish up with 1 year report from June 2006. 

June 2006

# of New Listings      Ave List Price New Listings          Ave List Price Sold Listings     Sold Price               DOM

1341                        $198, 325                                      $193.179                             $190,309            58   

June 2007

1368                         $226,407                                        $206,176                            $202,661           61

Same comparisions but for 1 year from the first of June 2006.

June 2006-June 2007

14,703  $211,209 (New Listings)                                 $198,472                           $194,852             66

As is evident with these numbers, our market continues to creep up.  So while interest rates have gone up a bit, the market overall remains very strong!  So, go on, Make Your Move!!!

And don't forget to call me if you need a market analysis of your home, or want to start the process with automated home search.  Call me anytime at 225-298-6900!

The question all of us are asking is what effect is the rise in interest rates affecting our market in the Greater Baton Rouge Area.  We have seen a 'slow down' to some extent but due to the time of year, is it just our usual June with lots of families on vacation?  I think it is probably a combination of things - including the increase in interest rates.  However, our phones started ringing again this week and we are starting to see our inventory start to move again.

In the past whenever we had a rise in interest rates you would see a buying frenzy - trying to buy before the market went up any further.  And for those of us who have been around for a while, we remember when 9% was a good rate - and 8% was excellent!  In fact, when we bought our current house 7 years ago, rates had gone up to 7 3/4 so we went with a 7/1 ARM which we rolled over to at 30 year fixed when rates dropped to 6.5%. 

We are also experiencing a lot of new construction on the market which increases our inventory and that sometimes makes people stop buying so quickly because they have more to look at. 

I will post a blog next week once the June stats are in to the Board of Realtors and we will be able to look at some real numbers to compare how our market is doing this year to the first half of last year.

Hurricane season is here once more and one of my friends sent me some phone numbers you might want to keep handy when EXTREME WEATHER hits!

Louisiana office of Homeland Security and Preparedness  225-925-7500  www.dhs.gov

Louisiana State University Hurricane Center (www.hurricane.lsu.edu)   225-578-4813

Louisiana State Police Road Closure Hotline  800-469-4828

Louisiana Department of Insurance   225-342-5900

American Red Cross  866-438-4636

FEMA   800-621-3362

NOAA  National Weather Service    www.nws.noaa.gov

NOAA WEATHER RADIO:  All hazards is a nationwide network of radio statios broadcasting continuous weather information directly from a nearby Nation Weather Service office. NWR broadcasts Naitonal Weather Service warning, watches, forecasts, and other hazard information 24 hours a day.  These stations can be found at these MHz:  162.4, 162.425, 162.450,  162.465, 162.500, 162.525, 162.550

Keep these numbers in a safe place and hope you never need them!

Since the demise of the sub prime market - and the rules are still changing daily - a smart buyer not only gets prequalified, but takes the time to get CREDIT APPROVED!  Yes, this is an approval just pending appraisal and title search.  It takes a little time but if you have a real approval before starting the home search, you will be in great position for better negotiating (a seller might give a little more on a contract where he KNOWS the sale will go through), particularly if you are in a multiple offer situation! 

 Look at it from a seller's view point.  You make an offer on a house, with your pre-qualifying letter from your lender.  What the seller really wants to know is: 

 1.  How is your credit - will you be able to qualify to buy the house 

 2.  Can you really get the loan completed on time 

3.  What happens to the purchase of the seller's new home if you don't qualify? 

 4.  Is your lender telling the truth when they say you are pre-qualified - did they actually run a credit check, verify your income and debts, and know where your downpayment is?

We have seen it time after time - the lender assures the listing agent that this buyer will have no problem, then a day or so before closing, the whole thing blows up.  It's distressing to the buyer but can be catastrophic to the seller.  So, when a seller sees a real Pre-Approval, they know they are dealing with someone who is really prepared to buy, and is willing to negotiate with this purchaser!!!

Ask your lender to have you Credit Approved before you start your home search and you will come out a real winner!

Here's a quick market update for the Ascension Parish Real Estate Market, East Baton Rouge Parish Real Estate Market, and Livingston Parish Real Estate Market.

At the end of April we had a total of 3593 homes for sale, that is 1312 new Listings for the month.

Average list price is now $259, 760 and the Average Days on Market is now 103 Days.

The Closed Property Statistics for the same Parishes:

810 sold in April.  The average list price of the properties that sold was $198,784 and the average sold price was $194,047.  Average Days On Market for SOLD properties was 67.  The List to Sales Price Ratio was 97.62. 

 It is interesting to note that if we compared the sold properties so far this year to what happened in April, the prices are creeping up just a bit - with the average sold price for this year right at $196K.  Days on Market are holding steady.  As I have said before, as rest of the country has a slow down in their market, the Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate Market continues to thrive. 

As a personal observation, it is still the homes in the best condition that are priced right that sell the fastest.  The market isn't as strong as it once was - it is settling into a nice, well rounded market - and having a house in great condition are key to getting top dollar!