This home (above) on Live Oak Drive is listed for $225,000 for 1,811sf or $124.24 and is under contract or pending. This home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

This is a newer home on Live Oak Drive. According to the West Baton Roue Assessor’s Qualified Sales, this home sold for $195,000 for 1,634sf or $119.34/sf, closed 12/23/2009.

On March 29, 2009, I posted the video below of new Baton Rouge Steel Homes under construction. Above and Below this video is is the follow up photo and video in May 2010 of what these steel homes turned out to look like. Enjoy!

Snow On 12/5/09, The Earliest Recorded Snow On Record In Louisiana

A Good Sign: New Construction Now Taking Place in The Walker Market Now By Vicknair Builders. The Builders Have Had To Lower Their Pricing To Much More Realistic Levels To Sell Homes In This Now Move To A More Affordable Market!

A Good Sign: New Construction Now Taking Place in The Walker Market Now By Vicknair Builders. The Builders Have Had To Lower Their Pricing To Much More Realistic Levels To Sell Homes In This Now Move To A More Affordable Market!

A Good Sign: New Construction Now Taking Place in The Walker Market Now By Vicknair Builders. The Builders Have Had To Lower Their Pricing To Much More Realistic Levels To Sell Homes In This Now Move To A More Affordable Market!

A Vacant and Unfinished Home Sits In Autumn Run Subdivision – An Object Lesson In Why One Shouldn’t Overbuild In A Subdivision Where The Average Home Is 1,500sf to 1,600sf. This Home In The Photo Is Estimated To Be 2,000sf to 2,200sf, Overbuilt By Approximately 35%.

Chart #1 includes ALL solds from November 2008 to November 2009 YTD indicating a +7.36% increase in median sales price. ALL home sales includes both new home construction sales and existing home sales.

Chart #2 includes ONLY solds of existing homes from November 2008 to November 2009 YTD indicating a -0.66% decline in median sales price.

Current Listings. Currently, there are 29 listings within Springlake, from $196,900 up to $288,900. Of these listings, 15 are new construction and 14 are existing homes. The Average Listing Price is $238,655, Average Listing Price Per Sq. Ft. is $139.56/sf, Median Listing Price $239,500 and Average Days On Market 104 days. FSBOBR.com indicates 11 more current listings in Springlake from $198,000 up to $265,900. Assuming the 11 FSBOBR.com listings are not listed in MLS, that would total 40 current listings in Springlake, which would appear to be an oversupply and possibly the reason that the existing median sales price basically didn’t increase from 11/2008 to 11/2009.

(NOTE: This Photo, Taken in 10/2009, Shows New Construction By More “Economy Builders” Priced Below $200,000 Is Still Fairly Brisk Within The Outlying Areas Of Greater Baton Rouge Itself. This is the “New” New Construction Baton Rouge housing market, a market that is much more affordable in pricing. And, this is what is selling. Some of those builders that thought buyers would just keep paying $136/sf to $160/sf and never stop are the ones still holding inventory, paying interest and their banks are sometimes taking it on the chin. In new home construction, in general, under $200K is moving fairly well; Over $250K is Still Not Selling As Fast As It Did in 2006/2007. AND, these $200,000 new homes in the photo are being built in a “former” high end subdivision where the predominant values were $350,000 or about $135/sf. The new price per sq. ft. for the remaining 85% of lots is going to be in the $96/sf to $106/sf. OUCH!!!)

Mark Perry, with Wall Street Pit Global Market Insight, is reporting, along with Business Week, that Baton Rouge Real Estate in 2009 is within THE 20 Strongest Performing Metro Areas in the U.S.. The link to the article is here. A Snippet includes:

“BUSINESS WEEK (”The U.S. Metros Least Touched by Recession”) – America’s strongest economies have one thing in common — home prices that never got too hot or too cold (see charts above comparing the home price index in California to Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma over the last ten years).

Home prices in metros such as San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Little Rock, Ark., and Baton Rouge, La., remained steady through boom and bust. Although no metropolitan area entirely avoided the economic downturn, the most resilient metros were protected by a potent mix of recession-resistant jobs.

The upstate New York areas of Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, and Buffalo suffered from declining jobs in manufacturing, but got significant boosts from sizable health-care, education, and government sectors. Construction is booming in Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s capital, as firms take advantage of financing for post-Katrina hurricane recovery work and service-related companies expand to meet the needs of a growing population. Omaha and the state of Iowa have relatively strong insurance sectors.

Texas, the last state to enter recession, has been bolstered by its oil and gas industries — which have also helped Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Louisiana. Texas also has many other things going for it, including affordable home prices and relatively low wages, which attract corporations.”