Local housing market remains steady

By Howell Dennis

CROWLEY – Residential sales in Acadia Parish remained solid during the first quarter of 2008.

“There may be a downward trend nationally in home sales but here in Acadia Parish we’ve been lucky enough to remain steady,” said Letza Fogleman of Fogleman and Fruge Realty in Crowley. “The market may have slowed a bit over the previous post-Katrina year but we’re still doing well.”

In 2007, 190 homes were sold in Acadia Parish for which was slightly down from 206 in 2006. In the first quarter of 2008, 46 homes have been sold.

The total sales so far in 2008 have totaled $5,052,450. The total for 2007 was $20,747,733 which was down from $23,715,900 in 2006, the year following the infamous hurricane season of 2005.

The median price for a home in Acadia parish has been $72,500 in 2008. This is down from the previous two years in which the median was $85,000 in 2006 and $89,500 in 2007. The median price reflects the average price for the homes sold during that period of time.

As of today, there are 99 active homes on the market with an average listing price of $144,278.

Though home sales seem to have gone down since the boom in 2006, when compared to the years before the 2005 storm season, sales have stayed strong.