Tim Houk

Sales of new homes collapsed in May, sinking 33% to the lowest level on record, as potential buyers stopped shopping for homes once they could no longer receive a government tax credit. The bleak report from the Commerce Department is the first sign of how the end of short-term federal tax credits could weigh on the nation’s housing market. The credits expired April 30. That’s when a new homebuyer would have had to sign a contract to qualify. “We fear that the appetite to buy a home has disappeared alongside the tax credit,” says Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics. “After all, unemployment remains high, job security is low and credit conditions are tight.”

New home sales in May fell from April to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 300,000, the government says. That was the slowest sales pace on records dating back to 1963. And it’s the largest monthly drop on record. Sales have now sunk 78% from their peak in July 2005. Analysts were startled by the depth of the sales drop. “We all knew there would be a housing hangover from the expiration of the tax credit,” says Mike Larson, real estate and interest rate analyst at Weiss Research. “But this decline takes your breath away.” Sales in the South dropped 25%.

From Baton Rouge Business Report

The number of houses sold in metro Baton Rouge in April was up nearly 18% from the year before, as first-time homebuyers flocked to cash in on a tax credit for buying properties. There were 691 houses sold in April, according to figures from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, compared with 586 MLS sales in April 2009. And despite an increase in first-time buyers, the average sale price was also higher than the year before, from $185,641 to $192,974. Livingston Parish saw the biggest sales gain, jumping up by 67%, from 83 sales to 139. The average sale price in Livingston was slightly lower, dropping from $171,237 to $169,038. Ascension Parish home sales increased from 114 in April 2009 to 124, while the city-parish had the highest average sale price at $217,216, a 7% increase from the year before. East Baton Rouge had the highest sales volume, at 383 MLS deals, compared with 352 from April 2009. The average sale price was $198,061, compared with $182,540. The other category, which includes MLS sales in parishes such as West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee and the Felicianas, saw a gain from 37 sales in 2009 to 45 last month; the average sale price dropped to $156,813 from $193,002. Local Realtors say the Capital Region’s market has rebounded to post-Katrina levels. Through the first four months of the year, home sales are running ahead of 2009, with 2,100 MLS transactions taking place, compared with 2,017 the year before. The average sale price was also up slightly, from $191,015 in 2009 to $192,602. —Timothy Boone

From Baton Rouge Business Report

The percentage of Baton Rouge homeowners falling behind on their mortgage payments and facing foreclosure continued to rise in March, but still at a slower rate than the state and national averages. The percentage of local homeowners who were more than three months behind on their mortgages was 6.64% in March, according to Core Logic, compared with a 4.21% delinquency rate in March 2009. During that time, the percentage of Louisiana homeowners more than three months behind on their mortgages rose from 4.76% to 7.36%, while the U.S. average delinquency rate was 8.93% in March, compared with 5.79% in March 2009. The local foreclosure rate was 2.27% in March, compared with 1.38% in March 2009. That’s below the state average of 2.53% and the national rate of 3.23%. Core Logic gets its data from public sources, including property and tax records and appraisals.

From Baton Rouge Business Report

Central Community School officials have purchased two tracts of land off Sullivan Road for $2.45 million. The sites, which total 84 acres, are between Hooper and Joor roads, says Brian Kidwell, director of business for the school system. Design work for the new upper elementary and middle school has already started; Kidwell says the plan is to have the facilities open by the start of the 2011-12 school year.

From the Baton Rouge Business Report

Capital Region home sales were down 6% in February, when compared to the year before. According to figures from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service, there were 415 homes sold in the Capital Region, compared with 443 in February 2009. Ascension Parish once again saw its sales increase, going from 91 MLS transactions in February 2009 to 94 last month. The average sale price in Ascension was down, however, from $213,461 to $192,596. East Baton Rouge Parish saw its home sales fall by nearly 15%, from 241 to 206. The average sale price was virtually unchanged, from $212,603 in February 2009 to $211,956 last month. Livingston Parish average sale prices increased, from $149,930 in 2009 to $157,000. But the number of homes sold in the parish dropped to 77, from 86 in February 2009. Sales and average prices were up in the other category, which includes MLS sales in parishes such as West Baton Rouge, Iberville and the Felicianas. There were 38 homes sold, at an average price of $166,807, compared with 25 sales and an average price of $154,562 in February 2009. Through the first two months of the year, the number of home sales was down 6% in the Capital Region, to 790, while the average sale price was down 2%, to $189,253.

—Timothy Boone

From the Business Report:

sold residential properties over the last quarter.

Residential sales over the past quarter

From the Baton Rouge Business Report:
Second-consecutive month sales topped 2008: Home sales in metro Baton Rouge were up 4.3% in October compared with the year before. There were 555 houses sold in the area, according to figures obtained today from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. That compares with 532 sales in October 2008. The average sale price was down slightly, from $196,542 in October 2008 to $187,185 last month, showing the continued popularity of the starter-home market. Livingston Parish saw the biggest jump, with the number of houses sold going up 21%, from 85 in October 2008 to 103 last month.