BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Home sales in metro Baton Rouge dropped by 5.7 percent in August, breaking a four-month streak of transactions outperforming 2013 numbers.
According to figures released Wednesday by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, there were 851 home sales that closed in August in the nine-parish area. That compares with 902 closed sales in August 2013.
Tiffany Palmer, secretary treasurer of the GBRAR board of directors, told The Advocate (http://bit.ly/1BazBPF) the August sales figures are in line with the normal ebb and flow, when home sales peak at the start of summer and drop off as back-to-school approaches. "Last August was an exceptional month," she said of 2013.
August was the best month for home sales in the metro area during 2013. In contrast, May was the biggest month for sales so far in 2014 and June was the best month for sales in 2012.
The biggest monthly gainer was Livingston Parish, where sales were up 14.4 percent from 160 to 183.
East Baton Rouge Parish, which accounts for the biggest share of the market, saw sales drop by 6 percent in August to 625 from 647.
Ascension Parish saw the biggest sales decline, falling nearly 24 percent from 197 sales in August 2013 to 150.
Despite the drop in sales, the median home price rose 1.7 percent in August to $179,000 from $176,000.
The average number of days a home was on the market also edged down from 78 days in August 2013 to 77 days.
The number of homes for sale fell 4.9 percent to 4,224. The supply in months was 5.7, compared with 6.3 in 2013.
