Home sales, prices drop in metro Baton Rouge in November

The number of homes sold in metro Baton Rouge in November dropped by 2.4% from the year before, while home prices and the number of properties for sale also decreased.

There were 741 homes sold in the nine-parish region during November, according to figures released Monday by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors' Multiple Listing Service. That was down from 759 MLS sales in November 2018.

Sales gains in Ascension and Livingston parishes were not enough to make up for a drop in activity in East Baton Rouge Parish.

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There were 146 sales in Livingston during November, 3.6% more than the 140 MLS sales a year earlier. Ascension had a 2.8% gain in sales in November from 144 to 148.

East Baton Rouge, which accounts for the biggest share of MLS activity, had a 5.3% decrease in November. There were 374 sales across the parish during the month, compared to 395 in November 2018.

Home prices took a drop. The median sale price for a house in metro Baton Rouge was $199,900 in November, down 2% from $203,950 in November 2018. That means half the houses in the market sold for below that price, half for above that price.

Local real estate experts have said home sales are being crimped because of rising housing prices, despite a drop in interest rates.

The number of days a home was on the market before it was sold went from 64 in November 2018 to 72 last month.

Pending sales, a sign of future activity, were up 16.6% in November to 820 from 703 a year earlier. New listings were down 2% to 1,002 from 1,022.

The number of homes for sale was down 4% to 4,294 from 4,471. That works out to a 4.7-month supply of houses, down from 5.1 a year before. Six months is considered a balanced market supply.

Through the first 11 months of the year, the number of homes sold in the metro area was up 1%, from 9,976 to 10,077. Year-to-date sales dropped 1.5% in East Baton Rouge to 5,220 from 5,297. Livingston had a 6.1% gain to 1,983 MLS sales from 1,869. Ascension had a 3% gain to 1,880 from 1,826.

Tribune Content Agency
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