Tim Houk

Capital Region home sales down 6.2%

The number of houses sold in metro Baton Rouge fell by 6.2% during 2009, despite an increase in sales in Ascension and Livingston parishes. There were 6,905 houses sold in the Capital Region, according to the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. That compares with the 7,362 MLS sales that happened in 2008. East Baton Rouge Parish home sales were down 10.6% for the year, going from 4,467 sales in 2008 to 3,992 in 2009. That outweighed the 3.3% sales gains reported in Livingston, where there were 1,233 MLS transactions compared with 1,193 in 2008, and the 3% gain in Ascension, which went from 1,236 sales in 2008 to 1,274 in 2009. The other Capital Region category, which includes MLS sales in parishes such as West Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana and Iberville, likewise reported a drop in sales, from 466 in 2008 to 406 in 2009. As in most parts of the U.S., local sales were driven by first-time homebuyers and all the incentives given to them. That outcome is reflected in the drop in average sale prices. In 2008, the average sale price in metro Baton Rouge was $201,521, falling to $191,252.