Real estate professionals in the Capital Region say how the area’s residential market performs in 2025 will depend on certain variables.
Tom Cook of Cook, Moore, Davenport & Associates tells Daily Report he expects the first half of the new year to be similar to 2024 because of falling interest rates.
“I think we’ll continue to have good demand and we have less product out there,” he says. “I think the prices will probably stay stable or increase slightly, and the absorption will be good. I think people have gotten used to the interest rate. So a quarter-point drop in the interest rate, I don’t know if it’ll make a huge difference, but it’ll give people peace of mind.”
Cook says he will begin collecting data for the annual Trends seminar soon, which will provide a clearer market picture.
The latest numbers from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors show that home inventory in the Capital Region has increased, as has the average time a home stays on the market. Inventory increased 9.2% in November, while the number of days on the market increased to 73, up from 66 the previous month.
Realtor Jerry Del Rio says the market has been slow partly because interest rates have not been stable.
“Nobody can get a handle on it,” she says. “Nothing is stable. Will we ever go back to a 3% rate? No, I don’t think we will, but it went so low that now people think that’s the norm.”
Quita Cutrer of Burns & Co. says the number of days on market depends on where the property is. She listed a home under $600,000 and four people put full-price offers in within 24 hours. She added that outlier sales significantly impact the average time a home remains on the market. She says fully renovated homes are selling faster than those that need massive renovations.
“It’s an unknown,” she says. “You can get estimates during your inspection period, but when you get into the middle of renovating, it always costs you more.”
Cook says days on market have increased compared to when the rates were 3%, and homes were selling at a breakneck pace. He says potential buyers are settling into the new rates.
“Those homes were selling before they went on the market,” Cook says. “Then they went to 30 days. That’s not an extended period. When you get to 90 days or 120 days, that’s a problem.”
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