The Acadiana, La., area had a second straight record year in home sales in 2019 in terms of homes sold and total dollar volume thanks in part to a busy December.
In the nine-parish area, 5,591 homes were sold, a jump of over 6% from last year's total of 5,268, after 426 were sold in December, the highest amount for that month on record, according to real estate analyst Bill Bacque with Market Scope Consulting. The dollar amount for the year was $1.083 billion after just topping the $1 billion mark in 2018 for the first time.
Much of that activity came from outside Lafayette Parish than inside with 2,186 homes, 39% of homes sold. That percentage is up from 33.6% five years ago and is up from the 1,892 homes sold in 2018.
Dollar volume outside Lafayette Parish was also up: $315 million in 2019 after $250.8 million in 2018 and also up 23.9% from five years ago, Bacque noted.
"The decade ended with two back-to-back record years for both our regional and Lafayette Parish housing markets," Bacque wrote. "While one can always find some basis for negativity, when examining the fundamental numbers, it is hard to complain about the strength, resiliency and durability of our Acadiana residential marketplace. With a lot to be optimistic about looking forward in 2020, it seems like it will truly be another happy new year."
Home sales in Lafayette Parish still posted a record with 3,405 homes sold compared to the 3,376 sold in 2018. The previous mark of 3,311 came in 2015 before the oil and gas industry collapsed.
Dollar volume in Lafayette Parish finished at $768.7 million, up from the $754.5 million from 2018.
Outside of Lafayette Parish, Iberia led the way with 499 homes sold, up from 412 in 2018, a 21% increase. St. Landry Parish was second with 492 sold, up from 438 in 2018, a 12% bump. Both parishes had average home sale prices under $150,000.
St. Martin Parish posted the highest average home sale price at $171,334, a 21% jump from $141,171 in 2018.
The top-selling areas inside Lafayette Parish were the north Youngsville area (798 homes sold, up from 727 in 2018), the area west of there near Maurice (431, down from 477) and south Youngsville (406, down from 434).
