Accurate Valuations Group (Home Appraisals) has completed an analysis of the East Baton Rouge Parish housing market from First Quarter 2010 versus First Quarter 2011. The results are below. Click the chart to view in a larger size.

This is a lot of data to report on in one (1) article with “20″ zip codes. A short summary follows:

Number of Home Sales Increased Over 2010! For the number of home sales, only 9 zip codes reported a smaller number of sales. And, Ten (10) Zip Codes experienced more sales in Q1 2011 than in Q1 2010, which is great news for our market.

Average Sales Prices Overall Decline! This is consistent with the CoreLogic report on national home prices falling for the 7th straight month, as reported on Thursday, April 7, 2011. Thirteen (13) of the 20 Zip Codes showed declining average sales prices versus only Seven (7) showing increases. Local home prices are continuing to correct.

Average Sales Price Per Square Foot Overall Declines! This is consistent with the CoreLogic report. Fifteen (15) of the 20 Zip Codes showed declining average sales prices per sq. ft. versus only Seven (5) showing either no change or just slight increases.

Biggest Gainers. Zip Code 70807, the Scotlandville market, showed a 450% increase in number of home sales. Zip Code 70739, the Central or Greenwell Springs market, showed a +16.2% increase in Average Sales Prices AND +5.6% in Average Sales Price Per Sq. Ft.. Central is a “hot” market viewed by locals as having a favorable school district.

Largest Declines. Zip Code 70820, the market below LSU off Brightside, showed a -35.3% decrease in number of home sales. Zip Code 70802, the market in and around Central Business District, showed a -33.4% decline in Average Sales Prices AND -30.2% decline in Average Sales Price Per Sq. Ft..

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Author’s Bio:
Bill Cobb is Greater Baton Rouge’s Home Appraiser frequently called upon by banks, homeowners, and savvy real estate investors to assess property values. A home appraiser with 20 years experience, Bill Cobb brings a wealth of knowledge to the table as a home appraiser.

Bill’s company, Accurate Valuations 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
info@accuratevg.com
http://www.accuratevg.com/

There’s some good news for the Baker housing market! A segment of the Baker market is now increasing in median sales price from the March 2009 period, see charting below. The parameters of the GBRAR MLS search included homes from $70,000 to $135,000, 16 years old plus, 3 bedrooms in 70714 zip code – data extracted on April 14, 2010.

Why I stated “some good news”. For the home I appraising at approximately 1,300sf, there were 33 competing listings, indicating an oversupplied market. And, since April of 2008, previous 2 years, 20% of solds in MLS were REOs or foreclosures (20 REOs out of a total 102 comparable sales). Baker was one of the markets that investors took advantage of immediately after Hurricane Katrina buying low and selling very high. This resulted in a series of foreclosures within the Baker market dating back to 2007.

Tags: Baker Louisiana Real Estate, Baker Louisiana Real Estate Appraisers, Baker Louisiana FHA Appraisers, 70714, Baker Louisiana Homes, Baker Louisiana Housing

In this video, FHA Appraisers East Baton Rouge Report on some good news for the Greater Baton Rouge Housing Market – Baton Rouge Makes Best of 2009 Housing Markets To Rise In Future!

Tags: baton rouge, Baton Rouge Estate Appraisers, baton rouge real estate, baton rouge real estate agents, baton rouge real estate appraisers, baton rouge realtors, Denham Springs, Denham Springs Appraisers, Denham Springs FHA Appraisers, Denham Springs Real Estate, Greater Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge, FHA Appraisers Baton Rouge

http://www.fhaappraisersbatonrouge.com/

Office: 225-293-1500 or 1-888-678-3544

Fax: 1-866-663-6065

Staff Email: fastvalue2@cox.net

Bill Cobb, Accurate Valuations Group Appraiser, has operated as a home appraiser for 18 years now primarily in the Greater Baton Rouge, Louisiana market. Bill performs Conventional, FHA and RD/Rural Development home appraisals. For more information on Accurate Valuations Home Appraisal Group, visit FHA Appraisers in East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension & Livingston Parishes.

Our Service Areas: All of East & West Baton Rouge, Western Half of Livingston Parish (Denham Springs, Walker, Watson & Livingston) and Northern Ascension Parish (Prairieville, Gonzales, Geismar, Saint Amant, Sorrento)

Housingwire.com is reporting that FHA Condo Financing May Be Evaporating! Read the article here! Here’s a snippet:

“In a letter to lenders, the Federal Housing Agency (FHA) produced new guidelines that would constrict financing for condominiums. Since then, brokers and condo owners report that FHA financing for condos is going from a flood to a trickle.

In a letter released Nov. 6, the FHA provided temporary guidance effective for all case numbers assigned on or after Dec. 7, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2009. The FHA provided the letter to address current housing market conditions.

The spot approval process will be eliminated for all case numbers on or after Feb. 1, 2010 under the new guidelines. The FHA created the process, allowing consumers to purchase a unit in a non-approved condominium project that has limited FHA involvement.”

(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.”

Housingwire.com is reporting that Congressional Bill Raises Required Down Payment to 5% for FHA Loans. Here’s the Link to the Article.

Snippet:

“A bill introduced in Congress Monday would increase the minimum down payment for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages from 3.5% to 5%.

The FHA Taxpayer Protection Act of 2009 — HR 3706 — would also prohibit financing initial service charges, appraisals, inspections, or other fees or closing costs with any part of an FHA mortgage.

The bill’s author, Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), said the current policy of allowing closing costs to be rolled into the mortgage effectively reduces FHA down payments to as low as 2.5% because borrowers don’t have to have as much cash on hand at closing.”

Tony Zito (Zito Real Estate Group Baton Rouge) has some interesting new numbers regarding comparisons of 09/2008 versus 09/2009 showing a +46% increase in home sales (374 vs 547). While this is positive, one must remember that in 09/2008, there was a sharp decline of home sales due to Hurricane Gustav. The 09/2009 are encouraging at 547 home sales for the month, shows this market is improving. 09/2007 numbers were 655, so we’re only off 16% from the 2007 highs…..VERY ENCOURAGING!

Actives and Pending aren’t moving significantly. Actives/Pendings on 9/5/09 were 3694 and 1057. Actives/Pendings on 10/5/09 were 3647 and 1006.

10/05/09
Active-3647
Pending-1006

09/05/09
Active-3694
Pending01057

Solds:
Sep 09-547
Sep 08-374
Sep 07-655
Sep 06-841
Sep 05-1766
Sep 04-635

Source: Tony Zito, Zito Real Estate Group and GBRAR MLS (Data Used With Permission).