Home sales in the capital region rose by 6.5% in February, as the housing market leveled off after four months of double-digit sales increases following the devastating August flood.
There were 738 home sales in metro Baton Rouge in February, according to figures released Tuesday by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors' Multiple Listing Service. That's up from 693 MLS sales in February 2016.
East Baton Rouge Parish, which accounts for the largest share of the market, had the biggest increase in sales. There were 397 MLS sales in February, an 11.2% increase over the 357 in February 2016.
Ascension Parish, which has long been hurt by a lack of inventory, had a 4.6% increase in sales. There were 137 homes that changed hands in the parish in February, compared with 131 the year before.
Livingston Parish, which was hardest hit by the flood, had a 2.1% increase in sales. There were 145 homes that sold in February, compared with 142 the year before.
The median home sale price was $180,000, down 1.6% from $182,890 in February 2016. That means that half of the homes that sold in the nine-parish region went for more than $180,000, half went for less.
The decline in sale prices reflects the number of flood-damaged homes that changed hands. Ninety-six of the houses that sold in February were listed as "currently damaged," reflecting that they were affected by the August flood or other events. The association set up the category after the flood for people who wanted to sell water-damaged homes that hadn't been gutted or repaired. Realtors are not required to put flooded homes in the category, so there are probably more damaged properties for sale, said Saiward Hromadka, a spokeswoman for the association.
New listings were down 12.7% in February from the year before to 1,052. The number of days a home was on the market plunged from 81 in February 2016 to 62, a sign of the demand for places to live.
Pending sales were up by 8.2% in February to 963 from 787. That's a sign of future home sales.
The number of houses for sale dropped by 22.6 percent in February from the year before to 2,711. That led the supply of homes to fall from 4.2 months to 2.9 months. Six months of supply is considered a normal market.
Through the first two months of the year, MLS sales are up by 13.1% to 1,469 from 1,299 a year ago. Sales were up 18.6% in Livingston at 287; 17.3% in East Baton Rouge at 814; and 4.3% in Ascension at 242.
