The average sale price of a home in Lafayette Parish through April is the highest on record, data shows.
Data through last month indicates the 982 homes sold in the parish so far this year have sold at an average price of $285,805, which is up slightly from a year ago, according to analyst Bill Bacque with Market Scope Consulting.
If the price holds by the end of the year, it would return to a pattern of rising each year stretching from 2017 until last year when the average sale price slid back less than 1%. The higher costs for homes have come mostly from existing home sales, which the average price has risen 3.4%.
The average cost of a newly built home, however, is down 5% as home builders have offered more incentives for buyers in the lower price ranges to combat the current higher interest rates. That has pushed new home sales up nearly 17% from a year ago.
It’s also helped push new listings well above last year’s pace with new construction up nearly 37%. New listings for existing home sale are up nearly 10%.
It’s a similar story playing out across the country as median home sale prices either stayed the same or rose in each of the 50 most populous metro markets in the country as of April 28, according to a report from Redfin, a national brokerage firm. The national median price rose nearly 5%.
Outside Lafayette Parish, it’s a different story as the average sale prices for the year is at $187,927, which is 4% below that point a year ago and less than the average two year ago, data shows.