Each Saturday, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® hosts the “Real Estate Today Radio” show with award-winning broadcaster, Gil Gross. The “About” section says:

“Real Estate Today opens doors for buyers and sellers with critical and credible information on the real estate market. It’s fast paced and fact packed with experts, interviews, call-ins, field reports, and timely market conditions.

On radio stations, satellite, and podcasts… even cell phones, Real Estate Today is your instant connection to the American Dream of home ownership.”

The Blog for this show is located at http://www.retradio.com/blog/ .

Today’s show covers the topics listed below:

Listen to today’s show, click the play button below!

Denham Springs Western Livingston Parish Property Tax Appeal Appraisals. In this video, Western Livingston Parish Home Appraiser, Bill Cobb, points out some inaccuracies in tax assessments. However, the vast majority are properly assessed.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is not a cheap shot directed at our public servants as this video is complimentary of them. Our Tax Assessor, Jeff Taylor, is a fair and “I’ll make it right” kind of guy and public servant. We also applaud Jeff for being active in the local community and the annual fund drives to help Livingston Parish kids and their parents buy school uniforms and school supplies. Jeff has visited my church on many occassions,First Pentecostal Church on Range Ave, and possibly yours as well. Bill Cobb, Appraiser

Livingston Parish Assessor, Jeff Taylor, at the Keller Williams Denham Springs Renew|Energize|Donate Event accepting a check for the Assessor’s Office.

Solds In Juban Parc from 1/2010 to 9/27/2010 revealed:

Average Sales Price: $159,943
Average Sold Price Per Sq. Ft.: $102.49/sf
Median Sold Price: $141,900
Number of Sales: 21
Low To High: $137,500 to $235,000
Average Days On Market: 103
Number of Sold REO/Foreclosures Noted In MLS: 0
Current # Listings: 13, 1 Foreclosure
Current Listings Prices: $138,900 To $239,900

NOTE: The 2009 Average and Median Sales Prices were $175,007 and $175,450.

The data within this report is used with the permission of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, extracted on 9/27/2010 from periods 1/1/2009 to 9/27/2010.

These two photos below were taken in Rolling Meadows 70817 and Bellingrath Lakes 70739 during Saturday’s home appraisal inspections and reveal that LSU Tiger Spirit is alive and well in the Greater Baton Rouge community!

There’s a new report out by CNNMoney.com and eCreditDaily.com that says 950,000 Taxpayers Must Repay Homebuyer Tax Credit according to the U.S. Treasury. Read the entire articles at the links above. Buzz is providing a few snippets below.

CNNMoney.com states, “Nearly half of all Americans who claimed the first-time homebuyer tax credit on their 2009 tax returns will have to repay the government. According to a report from the Inspector General for Tax Administration, released to the public Thursday, about 950,000 of the nearly 1.8 million Americans who claimed the tax credit on their 2009 tax returns will have to return the money. The confusion comes because homebuyers were eligible for two different credits, depending on when their homes were purchased. Those who bought properties during 2008 were to deduct, dollar for dollar, up to 10% of the home’s purchase price or $7,500, whichever was less. The catch: The money was a no-interest loan that had to be repaid within 15 years. Had they waited to buy until 2009, they could have gotten a much sweeter deal. Congress extended the credit and made it a refund rather than a loan.”

eCreditDaily.com states, “Nearly 1.8 million taxpayers claimed a total of almost $12.5 billion under the popular first-time homebuyer tax credit program, but more than 950,000 taxpayers will be required to repay the credits because their homes were purchased in 2008, according to a U.S. Treasury report released today. And many more may have to repay the credits “if the homes cease to be the primary residences of the taxpayers within 36 months,” according to the report released by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). TIGTA said the Internal Revenue Service is improving its methodology to more precisely determine how many have to repay the tax credits. Nonetheless, the announcement will come as a shock to taxpayers who purchased homes to take advantage of a program meant to revitalize the depressed housing market.
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 created a new “First-Time Homebuyer Credit” equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, limited to a maximum amount of $7,500. But that original credit served as an interest-free loan that must be repaid over a 15-year period. The following year, the homebuyer tax credit program was expanded and converted into a full credit that does not have to be repaid.”

To view the Treaury report, go to: http://www.ustreas.gov/tigta/auditreports/2010reports/201041086fr.pdf.

Image Source: http://ecreditdaily.com/

Tags: Denham Springs Real Estate, Homebuyer Tax Credit, Mortgages

There were NO MLS SALES in August 2010. Sold Price Per Sq. Ft. Down $3.66/sf in 2010 or -3.8%.

YEAR-TO-DATE SOLDS:

Solds In South Point from 1/1/2010 to 8/31/2010 revealed:
Average Sales Price: $150,040
Average Sold Price Per Sq. Ft.: $92.63 (Avg through 8/09 $96.29)
Median Sold Price: $144,450
Number of Sales: 10
Average Days On Market: 57
Low To High: $121,900 to $189,900
Number of Sold REO/Foreclosures Noted In MLS: 2

NUMBER OF SALES IN 2010 VERSUS 2009: -12.5% Decline

In The Number Of Sales From 1/1/09 – 8/31/09 to 1/1/10 – 8/31/10. In 2009 there were 7 sales at this point and in 2010 there have been 10 sales. So, there have been 3 more sales or +43% in home sales volume. However, 2 of these sales were attributable to foreclosure activity.

CURRENT LISTINGS AS OF 9/8/2010:

Current # GBRMLS Listings: 9, 0 or Zero REO/Foreclosure Listings
Current Listings Prices: $138,500 To $178,900, Average $87.73/sf.

NOTE: Data Used With Permission of the GBRAR GBRMLS. Data was extracted on 9/9/2010 from periods 1/1/2009 to 8/31/2009 and 1/1/2010 through 9/8/2010.

AUGUST 8/1/2010 to 8/31/2010: Only 1 GBRMLS Sale. 12309 Pinebrook Dr, with 1,620sf sold for $144,000 or $88.89/sf.

YEAR-TO-DATE SOLDS:

Solds In Woodland Crossing from 1/1/2010 to 8/31/2010 revealed:
Average Sales Price: $149,057
Average Sold Price Per Sq. Ft.: $93.80 (Avg through 8/09 $90.74)
Median Sold Price: $147,535
Number of Sales: 40
Average Days On Market: 94
Low To High: $118,900 to $210,000
Number of Sold REO/Foreclosures Noted In MLS: 2

NUMBER OF SALES IN 2010 VERSUS 2009: -15% Decline

In The Number Of Sales From 1/1/09 – 8/31/09 to 1/1/10 – 8/31/10. In 2009 there were 47 sales at this point and in 2010 there have been 40 sales. So, there are 7 less sales or -15% in home sales volume.

CURRENT LISTINGS AS OF 9/8/2010:

Current # GBRMLS Listings: 42, 4 REO/Foreclosure Listing
Current Listings Prices: $115,900 To $199,900, Average $89/sf.

NOTE: Data Used With Permission of the GBRAR GBRMLS. Data was extracted on 9/8/2010 from periods 1/1/2010 through 9/8/2010.

This morning, “The Guys” from TBWS reported existing home sale fell 27.2%, the lowest number of sales since 1968, see the video below.

The Baton Rouge Business Report is reporting on a National Assocation of Realtors housing study and I quote: “Sales of previously occupied homes fell to the lowest level in 15 years last month as the economy weakened. The National Association of Realtors says July’s sales fell by more than 27% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million. It was the largest monthly drop on records dating back to 1968. June’s sales pace was revised downward to 5.26 million. Home sales picked up in the spring when the government was offering tax credits. But the market has struggled since the tax credits expired on April 30. It would take 12.5 months to sell off the 4 million unsold homes on the market at the current sales pace. The median sale price was $182,600, up 0.7 percent from a year ago.” I have included three charts below from Mortgage News Daily’s July Existing Home Sales: Recap and Charts to help put this in perspective. I then discuss the local Baton Rouge Housing Market Numbers.

While the NAR study covers the entire U.S., how do the local Western Livingston Parish housing sales numbers compare? By Western Livingston Parish, I’m defining Denham Springs, Watson and Walker, MLS Areas 81, 82 and 83, the more active portion of Livingston Parish. The answer is that I see Western Livingston bucking the national trend. Within the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors data extracted from 1999 through August 25, 2010, covering almost 12 total years, the lowest yearly rate of home sales was in 1999 with 759. As of 8/25/2010, there have been 654 home sales. If this pace of home sales continues, 2010 projections will be approximately 980 sales, which would conclude a healty housing market.

The chart below, extracted from data from the GBRMLS on August 20, 2010, shows that the median sales price in MLS Area 81, Denham Springs north of Interstate 12, has continued to remain stable to increasing slightly. The chart actually shows an increase in median sales price from 8/2009 to 8/2010 of +3.49%. The chart also shows a fairly low 7.4% REO or Foreclosure Rate for this market as well, 235 foreclosures out of 3,175 homes sales since 1/1/2004.

HOWEVER

I want to responsibly point out that just because the NATIONAL “number” of home sales have been declining in 2010 doesn’t mean the LOCAL “housing prices” are equally declining significantly! And, this is an important point. As a home appraiser, the one thing I hear from local homeowners is a misunderstanding of the local market. They say things to me like, “I know this is a horrible time to be refinancing and getting an appraisal with the housing market the way it is, but we just couldn’t pass up the low mortgage rate”. I hear this constantly from locals and you can’t watch the national news and apply that to our local market. Linda Fredericks, former President of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, is correct when she delivered the message that housing marketings are “local” and you can’t apply the national news headlines to a one size fits all local housing market!

Take The Baton Rouge Business ReportPoll: When will the U.S. housing market recover? So far results are:

NOTE: Data Used With Permission of the GBRAR MLS. Data was extracted on 8/25/2010 from periods 1/1/2009 through 8/25/2010.

Tags: Western Livingston Parish, Denham Springs Housing Study, Denham Springs Real Estate, Watson Louisiana Housing Study, Walker Louisiana Housing Study

The Baton Rouge Business Report Daily PM Report is report a Capital Region home sales plunge of 21% in July 2010. “The number of homes sold in metro Baton Rouge fell by 21% in July compared with the year before, as the market corrected itself after being bolstered by the federal homebuyer tax credit. There were 523 homes in the Capital Region sold in July, compared with 665 sales in July 2009, according to figures from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service. An $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers expired earlier this year, and transactions had to be under contract at the end of April to qualify for the money. That led to Capital Region home sales posting 21% and 28% increases in April and May over last year. The average sale price in July was $197,076, down from the $203,735 average in July 2009. Sales were down nearly 31% in Ascension Parish in July, from 111 in 2009 to 77. Livingston Parish saw a 25% drop, from 114 homes changing hands to 85. In East Baton Rouge, there was a 24% drop in home sales, from 414 to 313. The other category, which includes MLS sales in West Baton Rouge, Iberville and the Feliciana parishes, actually saw an 85% increase, from 26 to 48. Through the first seven months of the year, home sales continued to run slightly ahead of the 2009 pace. There were 4,107 homes sold through the end of July, up 3% from the 3,985 sales total at the end of July 2009.”

Denham Springs Home Appraisers News: August 2010 Westminister Estates Housing Numbers Westminister Estates Numbers! In 2010, there have been 8 total sales with an Average Sold Price of $149,438, Median Sales Price of $141,900, Average Sold Price per sq. ft. $91.90/sf and Average Days On Market 107 days. Data Used With Permission of GBRAR MLS. Data was extracted on 8/16/2010 from periods 1/1/2010 through 8/16/2010.

Tags: denham springs, denham springs homes, denham springs houses, westminister estates, homes in denham springs, denham springs homes for sale, homes for sale denham springs, denham springs realtors, denham springs real estate agents