THE GOOD NEWS!

There’s Confidence in the local Greater Baton Rouge housing market! The home purchase appraisal orders have really picked up this week with momentum like I haven’t seen yet this year. Just this week, we’ve seen a surge of orders for home purchases. Bill Cobb, Appraiser

THE NOT-SO GOOD NEWS!

Baton Rouge Business Report‘s Real Estate Weekly reports the housing market as “flat” in Louisiana and down in Baton Rouge.

According to the Businss Report, “The number of houses sold in Louisiana during the first quarter was virtually unchanged from the first three months of 2010. There were 5,604 homes sold through the end of March, according to figures from the Louisiana Realtors. That’s 0.6% more than the 5,568 homes sold through the first quarter of 2010. Houma-Thibodaux was the strongest metro market, with 202 homes sold during the quarter, a 14.1% increase over the first three months of 2010. The Lake Charles market also saw a double-digit percentage increase, with 289 sales, 10.3% more than the 262 sold in the first quarter of 2010. Home sales were up 7.9% in New Orleans to 1,837, 2.6% in Lafayette to 640, and 2.5% in Alexandria-Pineville to 248. Shreveport-Bossier City had the biggest sales drop, falling 12.8%. There were 775 homes sold during the first quarter, compared with 889 the year before. Monroe had a 4% drop in sales, to 388; and Baton Rouge was down 3.3%, to 1,225. Statewide, the average sale price of a home fell by 1.5%, from $177,381 to $174,687. For the rest of Real Estate Weekly, click here.

AND, LOCAL AGENT, RYAN SPENCER, OFFERS HIS UPDATE!

“1st Quarter 2010 to 2011 Avg. List Price $198,078/$192,161
Avg. Sale Price $191,506/$185,769
Avg. Days on the Market 95/104
List to Sale Price Ratio 96.68%/96.67%
Months of Inventory 9.19/10.76

The home buyer tax credit was in effect last year which may have boosted sales numbers in the first quarter of 2010. Despite tough economic times our market is still pretty strong overall. If you have any questions please contact me at 225-505-5619 or email me at ryan.spencer@coldwellbanker.com“

The LREC or Louisiana REALTORS are reporting on comprehensive housing numbers for 2010, including 4th quarter 2010. So, the source for this report and charts and graphs is LREC.

NUMBER OF SALES DOWN 7.3%. Overall, the number of Greater Baton Rouge Home Sales was down 7.3% for 2010. Total volume for 2010 was 5,708 versus 6,160 for 2009.

AVERAGE SALES PRICE. The average home sales price increased in 2010 to $202,138 vs $197,587 for 2009. This would appear to be due to strong local employment numbers of 355,797 in 2010 versus 354,044 in 2009. However, the Baton Rouge Business Report just reported this morning that “B.R. home price index drops for fifth month running“. So, according to the CoreLogic Home Price Index for Louisiana, Baton Rouge home prices are continuing to correct to the downside, not the upside, and I would agree. And, a look at the median sales prices would be more helpful than average sales prices since average sales prices can include homes from $10,000 up to $3,000,000 – outliers.

SOME IMPROVEMENT. Not all areas are declining though, but marketing time periods are well over 6 months. I’m appraising the 2011 St. Jude Dream Home in Prairieville and the general market of competing solds and listings is showing a rising median sales price, but very long marketing time periods of well over 6 months. Some homes in one local high end development on Highway 73 in Prairieville have been on the market since 2008 without selling.

AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET. The average days on market remained almost unchanged at 90 days in 2010 versus 91 in 2009.

The LREC or Louisiana REALTORS (source) is reporting on the state of Louisiana foreclosures as of fourth quarter 2010. There report is below.

http://batonrougerealestateappraisers.net/

According to the Louisiana Realtors eNews Digest, Fannie Mae is tightening underwriting guidelines. The Fannie Mae Tightens article is here!

Here’s a snippet:

“Fannie Mae is tightening its underwriting criteria by raising the minimum credit score for automated underwriting (Desktop Underwriter) from 580 to at least 620 for all loans, justified on the grounds that this action “will support prudent risk management and better ensure sustainable homeownership.” Even higher minimum credit scores may apply for both manual and automated underwriting, depending on factors such as the loan-to-value ratio and the number of units in the structure. The minimum credit score applies to all mortgage loans delivered to Fannie Mae, including FHA and other government-backed loans. Fannie is also changing the maximum debt-to-income ratio for Desktop Underwriter to 45 percent, but will allow 50 percent if there are “strong compensating factors.” Other changes are also being made. For more information, view these related Fannie Mae documents:

Fannie Mae Announcement 09-29 (PDF file) Summary and FAQs (PDF file)”