http://www.batonrougerealestateappraisal.com/ – Baton Rouge Certified Home Appraisers: Area Home Sales See Gains In March

The Advocate Newspaper and Chad Calder are reporting “BR-area home sales see gain in March“, click on the link to read the entire article. Below is a snippet:

“The number of homes sold in the Baton Rouge metro area rose slightly in March, though the first quarter was down 2 percent.

The March bright spot is largely due to an increase in Ascension Parish.

The figures, compiled by the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, account for about 85 percent of the market in the eight-parish area.

Realtors sold 600 homes in the metro area in March, 1 percent more than the 594 sold in the same month last year. Dollar volume in March was up 2 percent to $118.0 million.

The quarter, however, still reflects the downward trend that has characterized recent years. There were 1,406 homes sold during the first three months of the year, compared to 1,431 the year before.

Dollar volume was also down 2 percent to $270.3 million for the quarter.“

http://www.batonrougerealestateappraisal.com/ - Greater Baton Rouge In Top Ten Housing Markets For Third Quarter 2009

Local Market Monitor Announces Release of Third Quarter Home Price For Largest US Markets, article here! Here’s a snippet:

“According to the forecast, among the largest US markets—identified as those with populations greater than 600,000—the 10 markets with the best expected performance in home price are:

Baton Rouge, LA
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
Columbia, SC
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
Pittsburgh, PA
San Antonio, TX
Syracuse, NY

These top markets, where home values are expected to remain level, are among those markets that did not have a big housing boom and have had relatively small job losses over the past year. Home prices in these areas are generally below the US average and reflect where the recession has so far had a relatively mild impact. Dallas, San Antonio and Omaha have all experienced a 1.6 percent job loss over the past year, and jobs have actually increased in Baton Rouge.”