Solds In Centurion Place from 1/2010 to 10/3/2010 revealed:
Average Sales Price: $290,000 ( $325,315 in 2009 )
Average Sold Price Per Sq. Ft.: $95/sf ( $101/sf in 2009 )
Median Sold Price: $285,000 ( $287,500 in 2009 )
Number of Sales: 3 ( 8 in 2009 )
Average Number of Days On Market: 275 (78 in 2009)
Low To High MLS Sales Prices: $289,000 to $329,000
Number of Sold REO/Foreclosures Noted In MLS: 0
Current # Listings: 9, 1 Is A Foreclosure
Current Listings Prices: $282,900 To $499,000

Since 1/2005:
Low To High MLS Sales Prices: $178,000 to $640,000
Average Sales Price: $322,489; Median Sales Price: $287,000

Data for this market report was used with permission of the GBRAR MLS. Data search is from 1/1/2005 to 10/03/2010, extracted on 10/03/2010.

Baton Rouge Home Appraiser, Bill Cobb, with Accurate Valuations Group, recently created a geographical competency map showing the main concentration of appraisal assignments since 2001.  Although Bill has been appraising homes since 1991, only the current data from 2001 forward was used for the map below.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

http://www.batonrougerealestateappraisal.com/

In 2009 For Villa Del Rey, There Were 37 Sales With A Median Sales Price was $145,000, Average Sold Price $68.39/sf, Average Days On Market 124 days. In 2010 For Villa Del Rey, There Have Been 4 Sales With A Median Sales Price was $135,000, Average Sold Price $65.01/sf, Average Days On Market 189 days.

Tags: Baton Rouge Estate Appraisers, baton rouge real estate, baton rouge real estate agents, baton rouge real estate appraisers, baton rouge real estate trends, baton rouge realtors, real estate baton rouge, villa del rey, 70815, baton rouge homes, baton rouge housing

Also, see the Baton Rouge Business Report’s: Dire predictions for commercial mortgage lending and here’s a snippet:

“Nationally, about $3.4 trillion in commercial real estate loans is outstanding, and some experts predict a wave of defaults in the next few years that could make the mortgage meltdown look like a strong wind before a hurricane. While some call for government intervention to head off the next financial crisis, others say the magnitude is too great. The debt crisis facing Dubai, with its custom-island extravagances, could be a global foretaste.

With a largely jobless recovery from the “Great Recession,” the root of the problem seems deep. Millions of office and industrial workers have been laid off this year alone, meaning a diminished need for physical job sites and a rise in commercial vacancies. Although Baton Rouge seems relatively resilient economically, commercial lending trouble has appeared. Mall of Louisiana owner General Growth Properties filed for bankruptcy in the spring, and banks that financed Tommy Spinosa’s Perkins Rowe development foreclosed on the project in the summer.“

FHALoanPros.com is reporting that FHA Loan Limits To Remain Same Through 2010. The article link is here. Here’s a snippet from the article:

“Current loan limits for FHA home loanshave been extended through the end of 2010. This move is expected to help ailing US housing markets by extending the availability of FHA loans to homebuyers and homeowners in higher priced markets. FHA loan limits are based on 125 percent of local median home value, and vary by location. With the demise of sub prime lending, FHA plays a significant role in providing home loans for borrowers who cannot meet conventional mortgage lending requirements. Challenges can include:

Moderate income: FHA allows higher housing expense to income (31 percent) and debt to income (43 percent) ratios than conventional mortgage lenders. Thee ratios, sometimes called front-end and back-end ratios, are determined by dividing borrowers’ estimated housing expenses by gross income, and dividing total installment debts by gross income. FHA also allows non-resident co-borrowers (such as parents) to sign as co-borrowers for primary borrowers needing income assistance. FHA guidelines are generally more lenient than conventional lending requirements.”

Bill Cobb, with Accurate Valuations Group, has launched “FHA Appraisers Baton Rouge Louisiana” blog. The “About” page of this blog says,

Thank you for visiting the “FHA Appraisers In East Baton Rouge Louisiana Blog”. This is a Baton Rouge FHA Real Estate Appraiser Blog Site of Bill Cobb, CREA, of Accurate Valuations Group!

Blog topics include local real estate market trends, appraisal-related issues, SMART Charting or Graphs documenting trends, ”photos from the field”, local interests, and anything Bill finds interesting – people, neighborhoods, coffee and events.

Bill Cobb, CREA is a real estate appraiser based in the Baton Rouge Market. He covers multiple Parishes (or Counties) in the Greater Baton Rouge Region and works for brokers, banks, governmental agencies, Real Estate Agents, attorneys, home owners, insurance agents and more. Beyond the appraisal business, Bill’s passions include building Online Video Business Cards, WordPress CMS Sites (Blogs), WordPress Video Sales Letters For Local Businesses, Embedding Video onto websites and blogs, building affiliate marketing campaigns, building the “BIG 3 In Social Media (Twitter, YouTube & Facebook”, shooting real estate videos for the Greater Baton Rouge Realty Visual Tours site, reading, local First Pentecostal Church, and spending time with family and friends. Vacations For Bill Are Behind A Computer Building Online Marketing Campaigns!

P.O. Box 40515
Baton Rouge, LA 70835
TEL: 225-293-1500
MOBILE: 225-953-0638
TOLL FREE: 1-888-678-3544
FAX: 1-866-663-6065
STAFF EMAIL: fastvalue2@cox.net
http://www.accuratevg.com

SOCIALLY:

Facebook: http://bit.ly/E0rsl

Twitter: http://twitter.com/billcobbsuccess

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/batonrougeappraiser

Mary Thompson, Flowery Branch, GA, issued a post on Active Rain this morning that outlines the changes in FHA Appraisal Policy…..AND, it includes some Good News for FHA Appraisers regarding FEES! The link to the post is here. Here’s the outline of the

1. Good news for appraisers, the AMC’s who normally pay CUT rate fees and who care less about quality appraisal reports and experienced appraisers and more about making money, must pay appraisers based upon normal market rates for completing FHA assignments. However the borrower will wind up paying more for FHA loans as the appraisal fees will be even higher….at least this is my take on the situation as the AMC’s will jack up their prices to the banks to pay the appraisers what they should and to make profit for themselves as well.

2. Mortgage Brokers will no longer be ordering appraisal reports. So this repsonsibility will go to the Banks or the AMC’s.

3. Appraisal reports will only be good for 4 months rather than 6 months.

4. Good NEWS: FHA will allow appraisal reports to be transferred to another lender rather than having another appraisal report completed.

5. The only way another appraisal report can be completed if someone does not agree with value is the report will have to be flawed in some way and it will have to be proved that flaws exist in the report

6. No one can talk to appraisers about value issues. REALTORS, you can still give Appraisers comparable sales data, that is NOT prohibited, you just cannot talk to them about value. The banks and AMC’s can discuss particulars of the assignment, but no one can pressure an appraiser for value PERIOD!

7. As of October 1st only CERTIFIED Appraisers can complete FHA appraisal assignments.

8. FHA will require that the appraiser is knowledgeable in the area that they appraise. So if you find an appraiser coming from way out of the area to do an appraisal, this would be one reason to suspect the accuracy of the report. This has ALWAYS been required of appraisers as part of USPAP ( Competency RULE) but many appraisers would take the job no matter where it was and this is not good, if they have no clue about the area.

9. Banks will be liable for the loans they underwrite, not brokers, so there may be more FHA brokers coming from the picture.

To read more about it click here for the full story:

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/09182009_drastic_fha_guideline_changes.asp

Pass this along, this WILL affect your business as of JANUARY 2010.

It was about 1.5 years ago that I starting saying that we the U.S. Taxpayers would be bailing out FHA. After the mortgage meltdown, when FHA became the “Savoir” of the mortgage market, I began to receiving an increase in calls from the same slimy national mortgage brokers that I had already turned down doing appraisal work for because they seemed to always need $10,000 to $20,000 more than the homes were worth. They didn’t want home appraisals; they wanted a target value hitter. EXCEPT, NOW THEY WERE USING FHA LOANS FOR THEIR DIRTY (UPSIDE DOWN) LOANS. I knew then and there that FHA was in for problems.

From Appraisal Scoop, FHA, Active Rain, Inman News and the list goes on and on….Now the flood of news since yesterday reveals rumblings within FHA that losses are increasing and that FHA is implementing Appraisal Standards similar to HVCC. This is and will get more interesting as time progresses. Remember what I said above about the “slimy mortgage brokers”? Why is FHA reacting with stricter appraisal policy when it’s the slimy mortgage brokers that are wolves wearing sheep’s clothing? I’m not saying that ALL mortgage brokers are “slimy” or unethical. I have worked with reputable mortgage brokers and still do to a more limited extents these days.

The Baton Rouge Business Report is reporting that Louisiana was the biggest gainer in construction jobs in the U.S. in August 2009, adding 4.4% more construction jobs than it did in August 2008. The link is above. This is fortunate because on the same day, the BR Business Report is reporting that 42 States Lose Jobs In August, Up From 29 States in July. That report is located here.

Long-term mortgage rates fell for the third week in a row, with 15-year fixed-rate loans hitting a new record low and the 30-year fixed-rate hovering at just above 5 percent, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.04 percent — with an average 0.7 point — for the week ending Sept. 17, Freddie Mac said, down from 5.07 percent last week and 5.78 percent a year ago.

Source: Inman News

The most recent issue of the Louisiana Real Estate Commissions, “Boundary Lines” (Volume 43, No. 2) reports on Approved AMC (Appraisal Management Company) Leglislation. The highlights are presented below from their newsletter I received on 9/3/2009.

As a home appraiser, I often see this type of scenario: Homeowner wants that swimming pool in the backyard with a lot of nice landscaping. That’s human nature to want nice features with your home, an outlet to help alleviate the monotony and stress of daily living after a hard days work, especially since many of the residential developments today aren’t designed for quality of life amenities, such as with walking and biking paths and trails. However, with a home value of $250,000, a $60,000 investment could bring your cost basis to $310,000 in a $250,000 neighborhood or 24% more than the average home in your subdivision. Would that be wise? Not exactly. Read more below.

There’s 2 answers to the above question: Is It Wise To Invest $60,000 For A Pool and Landscaping On A $250,000 Home?

1.) If money is no object to you and you plan on living and enjoying that home for the rest of your life (not moving), then make that investment because a $50,000 IG Pool is rarely a wise investment. One exception could be a pool installation in a high-end development in the $500K to $1,000,000 range. But the question is for the $250K range. Realize that the market (buyers) don’t pay dollar-for-dollar for such improvements as IG Pools or Landscaping. My 18 years experience as a home appraiser has shown me consistently that the market pays between 15% to 33% of the original cost of these improvements, depending on how nice they are and prevalence of such neighborhood amenities. If you live in a 300 home subdivision and only 5 homes have pools, then the likelihood of your return is much lower. If you live in an older neighborhood where pools were once the amenity to own but are now being filled in with dirt, then that should help one make their decision. It seems that the new the home and neighborhood and the newer the Pool, the more value it adds. So, if you want to spend $50,000 on an upscale gunite pool and only get back maybe $7,500 when you sell, then make that investment knowing this about the market’s reaction to such an amenity and investment.

The Red Circles Represent IG Pools Installed – A High Prevalence Of IG Pools. Before Installing An IG Pool, Research To Find Out The Prevalence Of IG Pools In Your Neighborhood. It’s likely that the more pools, the more a buyer would be willing to pay for such an amenity.

2.) If your investment dollars are counted carefully and you don’t plan on living in that home for more than 3 to 10 years, then such an investment would probably not be wise.

In conclusion, a $60,000 investment on the outside of your home is rarely going to reward you with a dollar-for-dollar reward paid by the buyer at the time of sale. It’s a major over-improvement that “might” return 1/4th to 1/3rd of your original investment. It’s best to find out this answer from an appraiser than a pool salesperson…..Enough Said!

$50,000 Gunite In-Ground Swimming Pool

$10,000 In Newer Landscaping

So, You Might Ask, Where’s The Best Place To Invest Money In My Home For The Best Reward? Stay Tuned To Find Out More. Here’s A Hint: Place Little Reliance On Those Cost-Reward Guides That Tell You If You Invest $15,000 Adding A New Bathroom, Your Reward Will Be $30,000. Those Guides Are Written By The Same Industry That Wants To Add That New Bathroom To Your Home, not from the appraiser that exactly examines the market to determine the true value of such an improvement.

Author’s Bio:

Bill Cobb, CREA, is Greater Baton Rouge’s favorite and most reputable home appraiser frequently called upon by banks, homeowners, and savvy real estate investors to assess property values. A home appraiser with 18 years experience, Bill Cobb brings a wealth of knowledge to the table as a home appraiser.

Bill’s company, Accurate Valuations Home Appraisal Group, serves Greater Baton Rouge (East Baton Rouge Parish, West Baton Rouge Parish, Western Livingston Parish and Northern Ascension Parish).

Contact Bill Cobb and Accurate Valuations Home Appraisal Group for your next home appraisal:

Office: 225-293-1500, Cell: 225-953-0638

Fax: 1-866-663-6065

Staff Email: fastvalue2@cox.net

http://www.batonrougerealestateappraisers.net/

http://www.retradio.com/shows/

The Baton Rouge Business Report Reporter, Bonnie Bauman, just published a fascinating article on Downtown Living entitled, “Work, live, play, grow”. The article features comments from Downtown / Spanish Town Realtor Specialist, Darrell Gissell. The article can be found here. It’s highly recommended reading.

Here’s a snippet as directly quoted:

“Derek Fitch walks out of his condo in the Kress at Third and Main building with Blue, his Scottie, in tow. Fitch heads to the State Capitol for an early morning stroll, then to the Red Stick Farmers Market at Fifth and Main streets, where he loads up on groceries for the week. He picks up some field-grown tomatoes, an assortment of lettuce and cartons of locally grown strawberries.

To top it off, Fitch treats himself to what he considers to be the breakfast of champions—a miniature chocolate chip pecan pie washed down with a cold bottle of Smith’s Creamery chocolate milk. After going home to drop off the groceries and Blue, he walks the few blocks to the YMCA and hops on an elliptical machine to work off the pie and milk.

From there, Fitch walks to the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum to catch Mystery on the Nile. Then it’s back home to freshen up for the evening. He and his wife have planned a date night, which kicks off at his favorite neighborhood restaurant, Stroube’s Chop House at Third Street and North Boulevard. All day his mouth has been watering at the thought of Chef Justin Ferguson’s signature dish, seared duck with sage grits.”

The Baton Rouge Business Report @ http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/2009/jul/22/1095/ is reporting on a First Amercian CoreLogic study. Here’s a snippet:

“Home prices in Baton Rouge were down 1.6% in May compared to a year earlier, a significantly smaller drop than the national average. According to First American CoreLogic, national housing prices were down an average of 9.2% compared to May 2008. First American notes that the year-over-year decline of home prices peaked at 11.9% in January and has improved every month since.”

LA Realtors reports Pending Home Sales Record Fourth Straight Monthly Gain, as directly quoted:

“Pending home sales show a sustained uptrend, rising for four consecutive months with very favorable housing affordability and a first-time buyer tax credit boosting activity, according to the latest survey. The Pending Home Sales Index increased 0.1 percent to 90.7 from an upwardly revised reading of 90.6 in April, and is 6.7 percent higher than May 2008 when it was 85.0. The last time there were four consecutive monthly gains was in October 2004.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, cautions that there could be delays in the number of contracts that go to closing. “Closed existing-home sales have improved but are coming in lower than expected because some contracts are delayed or falling through from the application of new appraisal rules for many transactions,” he said. “Rises in contract activity show buyers are becoming more active even as they face much more stringent loan underwriting standards. Speedy clarification of the appraisal rules could smooth a housing market recovery and support the overall economy.” For more information, see the complete NAR news release.”

RealtyTrac and Baton Rouge Business Report are reporting that Louisiana ranks 39th for Foreclosures, meaning there are 38 more states in the U.S. that have more foreclosures than we do. BR Business Report stated:

“But rate of home seizures may be outstripping national average: Louisiana ranked 39th among all states and the District of Columbia for the percentage of homes facing foreclosure in the first half of the year. According to RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationally, one out of 360 homes in the state faced foreclosure during the first six months of the year, compared with the national average of one foreclosure filing per 84 U.S. homes. The state saw a 34% increase in the number of foreclosure filings over the first half of 2008, ahead of the national increase of nearly 15%. But RealtyTrac cautions that the Louisiana increase may not be as high as advertised due to changes and improvements in how the foreclosure information is collected locally.”

The Baton Rouge Business Report is reporting this morning that area home sales were down 19% for the first 6 months of 2009. The link to the news on 7/13/2009 is at: http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/2009/jul/13/1077/ and here’s a snippet as directly quoted:

“Baton Rouge area home sales are down 19% through the first six months of 2009 as the effects of the national recession continue in the area. According to figures from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, there were 3,298 homes sold in the metro region through June, compared to 4,083 through June 2008. The average sale price was down 6.5%, from $207,072 in 2008 to $193,548. Local real estate officials say the housing market remains fairly strong because employment remains high locally. But tight credit markets and consumer unease are causing a slowdown in sales. The number of houses sold in East Baton Rouge Parish was down 21%, from 2,500 through the first half of 2008 to 1,965 through the end of last month. Livingston Parish saw a bigger drop in overall sales, with 509 homes sold as of June, compared with 670 through the first half of 2008. Ascension Parish had the smallest drop, with the number of houses sold falling by 4.8%, from 670 to 627. In the other category, which includes MLS sales in West Baton Rouge Parish and the Felicianas, there were 197 homes sold as of June, compared to 254 through the first six months of 2008.”

According to the Friday NAR Realtor Email, Mortgage Rates Dropped This Past Week.

“Interest on 30-year fixed mortgages, 15-year fixed loans, five-year adjustable-rate mortgages, and one-year ARMs all fell this week, according to Freddie Mac.

The average on 30-year financing slipped to 5.2 percent from 5.32 percent a week ago.
The 15-year mortgage declined to 4.69 percent, down from 4.77 percent.
Five-year ARMs were down to 4.82 percent from 4.88 percent.
One-year ARMs fell to 4.82 percent from 4.94 percent.

Source: Los Angeles Times (07/10/09)”

The Link is at: http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2009071004?OpenDocument

This was just released by the Baton Business Report PM Edition.  The Title Is: “B.R. housing market named as one of nation’s best”.   The Link is: http://www.businessreport.com/archives/daily-report/2009/jun/23/1047/

Here’s A Snippet as directly quoted:

“More good news about the Baton Rouge housing market: A real estate forecasting service says the Capital Region is one of the 10 best cities in terms of future home prices. Local Market Monitor, which produces the Home Price Forecast for more than 300 cities, says home values should remain level locally over the next 12 months. Officials with Local Market Monitor credit the same factors for Baton Rouge’s stability that have been repeatedly said during the national housing crisis: Home prices in the Capital Region never got out of hand, and economic growth has remained steady locally. Other cities with populations of more than 600,000 in the top 10 include Dallas, Houston and Rochester, N.Y. Alexandria, Monroe and Shreveport-Bossier City made the top 10 list for future home prices in cities with populations under 600,000. The worst housing markets were mostly cities in California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada, where price speculation got out of hand, places such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Fort Lauderdale, FL.”

I was at McDonalds this past week eating breakfast before appraisal inspections and ran across this Great News for the Baton Rouge Economy and Baton Rouge Real Estate Housing Market. In the article, the Brookings Institute ranks the Baton Rouge Economy The #8 Best in the U.S.

The link to the article is here: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/48215657.html

Here’s a snippet as directly quoted:

“The Brookings Institution, among the nation’s most-influential policy groups, ranks Baton Rouge No. 8 among the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas for economic performance during the recession.

For Baton Rouge, the Brookings findings echo what the region’s chamber has been telling business prospects for months: Things are better here.

“This is the most comprehensive study we’ve seen, and it validates how strong our economy really is,” said Adam Knapp, chief executive of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, which has scrutinized every blip in the economy since September for signs of the 18-month recession’s encroachment into the region.”

Bill Cobb is a Louisiana State Certified Residential Appraiser operating as Accurate Valuations Group in the Greater Baton Rouge Market. Bill has 17 years experience as a residential appraiser and carries on the family appraisal career tradition as a third generation appraiser. To learn more about AVG, visit: http://www.batonrougerealestateappraisers.net/

Lakeshore Gardens Is A Newer 3-5 Year Old Residential Development With Approximately 70 homes valued in the $300,000 to $450,000 range. The location is very convenient to the Mall Of Louisiana and the Siegen Lane Retail Corridor.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1156877563611&saved#/group.php?gid=77043574647

2009 Baton Rouge Saint Jude Dream Home Giveaway Sneek-Peak Video. Drawing Is Normally In August Of Each Year.

Drawing Is November 1, 2009

For more information about St Jude Dream Home and To Purchase Tickets, Please Call 225-282-3240

LOCATION:
38386 Rue Chateau
Gonzales, LA 70737
Located Off Babin Rd Near Hwy 621 @ Interstate 10 In Acadiana Of Ascension Subdivision

HOME DETAILS:
3,408sf Living Area
9 Total Rooms
4 Bedrooms
3.5 Bathrooms

Builder: Jairo Alvarez, Alvarez Construction

Lot Donated By Billwood Smith
There Are Many Local Individuals, Professionals & Businesses That Contribute Time & Resources To This Cause….Too Many To List Here, But They Are Greatly Appreciated.

Here’s The 2008 St. Jude Dream Home Video To Show What The 2009 Dream Home May Resemble!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpRgXJLoSmI