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The Current State of Louisiana Real Estate
By: Art Gib
The real estate market can differ all over the country. In many places
housing prices are falling while in others they are staying steady or
even rising. Although the housing market seems bleak in many places the
market is cyclical and bound to change in the future. The Louisiana
real estate market is currently holding strong in most areas including
the popular Baton Rouge as well as in the Covington and Mandeville
areas.
In Baton Rouge, the spring and summer of 2008 found more buyers than
sellers. Houses were generally on the market for 2 to 3 months and
market conditions remained strong. There was a good supply of homes in
various price ranges. The average home was listed at $200,000 and sold
for about 95 percent of the asking price. Most sellers did not receive
multiple offers, however.
Most buyers in the Baton Rouge area this season were repeat buyers rather than first time home owners. The overall market conditions were stronger in Baton Rouge than many other areas although overall activity and growth grew less than 5 percent over last year.
The communities of Covington and Mandeville near New Orleans also experienced steady real estate sales this season. There were more buyers than sellers here as well, although most sellers did not receive more than a few offers for their homes. Homes in the Covington and Mandeville areas were generally on the market for a few months before they sold and homes priced below $300,000 sold faster than those priced above.
Most homeowners got between 90 and 95 percent of their asking price. The market in this area grew slightly more than in the Baton Rouge area from last year with average growth of about 12 percent. The greatest activity was in single family homes with the average price about $275,000.
Louisiana real estate has remained active this year although other areas of the country have not fared as well. Most sellers were able to find buyers within a few months and received an offer within 90 percent of their asking price. Although not as active as the market has been in the past, Louisiana sellers were able to find buyers within a reasonable amount of time.
The future of Louisiana real estate looks positive and is on the right track to pick up in the future. Sellers can expect for activity to increase and buyers can expect more competition in the near future as the real estate market continues to recover.
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