Well, that was fun! ::Insert Eye Roll::
All joking aside, 2023 was tough for the Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate Market. We ended the year down 26% from 2022 in volume.
What happened? Well, rates jumped from 5% to 8% in what seemed to be overnight. That halted a number of buyers. They found they couldn’t buy the house they wanted at that interest rate. Those who still wanted to make the leap struggled to find homes to choose from. Sellers that were sitting on those 2% & 3% interest rates had no intention of giving them up to make a move, causing a shortage of inventory.
Throw in the softening economy, and it was a perfect storm.
Fortunately, as the year ended, things started to loosen up, and rates started to trend downward. We believe this trend will continue since it’s an election year. We won’t trend back to the 3% rates but will probably settle in the 5% area.
Our prediction for buyers is that they will now see more competition when looking at homes, therefore causing them to get into bidding wars again. Hopefully, it’s not as crazy as we saw in 2020 & 2021, but bidding wars are a real possibility.
Sellers need to be prepared, though; with the higher rates, buyers need closing assistance and are looking for move-in ready homes. They don’t have any extra funds to update after they move in. Getting your home in tip-top shape will bring you more money when it’s all said and done.
Now, let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit 2023.
Ascension Parish
2023 in Ascension Parish saw a median price of $307,500 for detached single-family homes. With 1270 homes closing, the volume was down 31%. Out of those homes closed, they were on the market for a median of eighteen days, and the list price-to-sales price ratio dropped one percent to 98.6% from 2022.
There are currently 258 homes on the market, with a median list price of $385,000. This equals a 2.6-month supply of homes on the market in Ascension Parish.
East Baton Rouge Parish
In 2023, East Baton Rouge Parish saw a median price of $280,000 for detached single-family homes. Out of the 4,008 homes closed in 2023, they were on the market for a median of nineteen days, and the list price-to-sales price ratio dropped one percent to 97.6%. Volume was down 23% from 2022.
There are currently 1293 homes on the market, with a median list price of $315,000. This equals a 3.9-month supply of homes in the East Baton Rouge Parish market.
Livingston Parish
In 2023, Livingston Parish saw a median sales price of $245,490 for detached single-family homes. Out of the 1599 homes closed in 2023, they were on the market for a median of twenty-two days, and the list-to-sales price ratio was 98.5%! Volume was down 31.9%.
There are currently 486 detached single-family homes on the market, with a median list price of $275,000. This equals a 3.6-month supply of homes in the Livingston Parish market.
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Join us next month as we review the Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate Market for January 2024.
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* All data gathered using ROAM MLS as of January 9, 2024
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