The Voice Of Baton Rouge Real Estate

Last week Baton Rouge appeared on yet another list. We are currently 99^th in foreclosure increases on the list of the country’s 100 largest housing markets. During the third quarter the Capital Region had foreclosure filings against only .12% of all homes in the area according to RealtyTrac.com. Syracuse, NY was the only city to beat us with .10% of homes filing foreclosure. 373 homes were foreclosed on in Baton Rouge during the third quarter.

This news gives real numbers and statistics to back the fact that our market is still strong. We still seem to be one of the lucky few areas that aren’t having to deal with the doom and gloom of a national housing crisis. The only bad news is for those investors in our market looking for a steal of a deal. They are not as easy to find as the national media makes it sound, but you can find a steal every once in a while. You can always find a deal, however, it’s just all in how you look at it.
Happy Halloween from Marley!

Well, I haven’t taken the time to keep up with my blog lately. Personally, I was busy getting married and, to be honest, that consumes most of your time! Professionally, I wasn’t sure what part of the current real estate news I was even ready to discuss. It’s hard to combat the downer that is our national media. I won’t pretend to be an economist, and I really didn’t want to try and make everything sound rosy when I’m not exactly sure what all of this financial turmoil means. The good news is I found Baton Rouge on a list today that made me feel like the sky wasn’t falling, even though I never really believed it was.

Baton Rouge appeared today on Business Week Magazine’s List of “The Best Cities For Riding Out a Recession”. The list was compiled from cities with a population of over 200,000 and an unemployment rate not more than 6.1%. Read the article here (http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/10/1014_recession_cities/9.htm) for some interesting statistics on our fair city. 

Remember your home is still the best, most stable investment you can make. Our market is favoring buyers now and the government is giving some great incentives to first time homebuyers. We are slated to have property value increases locally through 2010 despite other parts of the country having losses in real estate value. Baton Rouge is still the place to be!

Now that you’ve decided to purchase a home you are probably highly aware of “for sale” signs all around you. Maybe you’ve decided to find your home by driving around and scouting for these signs or maybe you’ve been receiving emails with listings for months and then you drive by the listings of interest. How ever you came to be sitting in your car in front of that sign dying to know more about the house or just wanting to take a look inside don’t give in to the urge to call the number on the sign!

I know you are probably thinking, why? That sounds crazy! I’ll tell you why it’s crazier to call the number than most people realize. The agent on the sign represents the seller. They have been hired by the seller to represent their best interests and to get the best price for their home. The moment you call and make an appointment or perhaps make an offer you become this agent’s client as well. In Louisiana this is perfectly legal, however, in many states it is not. It is called dual agency and it’s pretty tricky to legally represent both parties equally. I’m sure you’d think twice about a lawyer that represented you and the party you were suing. Obviously there are differences, but a home is usually the largest investment you will make and you should want to be represented fairly.

Currently 80% of buyers start their home search online. Most often this happens 6 months to 1 year before making a purchase. Take this time to meet with several Realtors and hire someone to represent you. You can be sure you feel comfortable with this person and that they understand exactly what you are looking for. Now you have someone in your corner that will tell you the problems with a potential home as opposed to highlighting only the positives to get a house sold. Just think about having your Realtor on speed dial and driving by a sign or two or ten. With just one phone call you can schedule to see all of those homes or ask questions about each. You won’t have to worry about getting a stranger on the phone each time trying to talk you in to scheduling a showing. You’ll be able to comfortably say no and move on to the next house. The best part is YOUR Realtor is going to be paid from the commission the seller is paying in most cases, so what do you have to lose?

The Greater Baton Rouge real estate market is ranked #9 in the country in expected price appreciation as of June.(Source: Money Magazine 6/15/08). Prices in the region are still rising at an average rate of 3% over last year. These statistics show real estate is still a strong investment, especially in our market.

Unfortunately for current sellers, homes are taking slightly longer to sell than in previous years. The average inventory has increased by 26% up to a current 5,895 homes for sale in the Greater Baton Rouge area. Of course, this is all good news for buyers and reason not to delay making a purchase. There is plenty of inventory to choose from and a good chance your investment will appreciate for the next several years.

As you may notice below many of our markets are still at an average sale price below the national median of $208,600. This leaves us room for the predicted future growth and still in a good position.

*DOM = Days On The Market
† = All percentages are cummulative data up to July 10th as compared to 2007 data.

Thank you for taking a moment to read the first addition of Jay & I’s blog. I promise to attempt to entertain you as well as give you current useful real estate information. I personally think the best place to start is with a photo from our local market. I find myself spending hours on the MLS searching for properties and diligently viewing their photos. Occasionally I’ll come across something that is too good not to share. We won’t discuss exactly where this property is other than it is in Baton Rouge, LA, but if you think this is the place for you I can definitely schedule us a showing!

Sometimes when you are shopping for a home you get a little more than you bargained for! I’m sure there is a perfect buyer out there that would love to enter and exit their home to the melodies of a pool-side rock band. I’m not one of those people, but maybe you are. It certainly would lend a festive feel to returning home with an arm load of groceries or leaving on a late night walk of the dog. Now that I think about it I can hardly keep from giggling at the thought of taking out the trash to the sweet sounds of cover music. Maybe I AM one of those people who would enjoy this rare property amenity! Maybe you’ve always wished you could live at ‘Melrose Place.’

Realtors pull out all the stops when it comes to advertising a listing and I’ve often read that it helps to appeal to all five senses. I can say this is the first time I’ve ever associated a sound with a property. My real estate tip for viewing property photos would be don’t assume everything you saw in the photo is still in the same condition as it was at the time the photo was taken. A picture will give you a good start, but a viewing in person is the only way to get the true feel for a property.

Our blog isn’t quite ready yet, but you can check out our website at MoveBR.com in the meantime. Are you ready to move BR?!?