On the market for the first time since it was built in 1976, this Algiers home was designed for entertaining and has all the room you need to spread out and have fun.

Formal living and dining rooms are open to each other, giving you the flexibility to use the space to fit your lifestyle.  Then, there’s the spacious den that features gorgeous wood floors for a warm and welcoming feeling.  Step through the french doors and into the game room that boasts built ins for storage, cable TV hookups and a fully functioning wet bar.

The large galley kitchen has an attached breakfast area, gas cooktop, double wall ovens, dishwasher, disposal and pantry storage.  Solid surface counters are easy to clean, loads of cabinets provide a place for everything and there is plenty of work space for more than one cook.

3 spacious bedrooms all have new carpet and the master has an attached, private bath.  Each bedroom has a roomy closet and a ceiling fan.

The inside laundry room is conveniently located close to the bedrooms and is much more than just a place for the washer and dryer.  There are built in shelves along with 2 closets for additional storage – no more figuring out where to hide the vacuum!

Outdoors, there’s a covered patio, storage shed and rear yard access with room to park a boat.  The 2 car garage with auto door opener finishes out the space, attached to the living area so you don’t have to worry about the weather when leaving or arriving home.  X zone means affordable flood insurance coverage and the seller will transfer the termite contract to a new owner.

3100 Aurora Drive Virtual Tour

If you can’t see the video above, click here

Call Terri Babineaux at 504-258-5178 to schedule your showing today.

• 45 homes are for sale in Belle Chasse, priced from $149,000 to $1,000,000
• 7 homes are under contract, priced from $44,900 to $430,000
• The average home for sale has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2730 square feet and is listed for $373,238
• The average active listing has been on the market for 138 days

Homes sold in Belle Chasse

After a couple of years of declining numbers, home sales in Belle Chasse increased to 72 in 2011, up from 59 the year before.  This is a trend that is being repeated across the West Bank, as the number of sales improves.

See all homes for sale in Belle Chasse LA

Home prices in Belle Chasse

The most active price ranges in 2011 were from $200,000-$400,000, with the $300,000-$400,000 range coming in the winner with the most sales for the year.  Prices in Belle Chasse were off 7% from last year, despite the increase in sales, ending the year at an average sale price of $236,754.  Most of this drop can be attributed to the increase in foreclosure sales, since they are typically priced below market by the banks that own them.   At the same time, we are seeing an increase in seller concessions to make a sale work, whether it is providing a home warranty or assisting the buyer with some of their closing costs.

Overall, the Belle Chasse market is stable and, barring another round of foreclosures, I would anticipate values holding steady this year.

More about real estate in Belle Chasse

• Unlike any other area of the West Bank, Belle Chasse homes were primarily purchased with conventional loans
• 22% of homes sold were foreclosure or short sales, up from 15% in 2010
• 26% of sellers provided a home warranty, up from 22% in 2010
• 21% of sellers provided closing cost assistance to the buyers, up from 19% in 2010.

All data provided by GSREIN and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed

Looking for the place to build your own home?  Affordable Avondale might be just the right spot for you.  3 different lots are available to choose from in the established West Bank neighborhood of Glen Della.  All lots have been cleared, all utilities are available and they are ready to build on.

Lot 46:  65/59 x 100  Corner lot across the street from Kennedy Heights Playground

Lot 11:  55 x 100

Lot 10:  55 x 100 Right next door to lot 11, buy 2 and have plenty of space!

Lot 7:  55 x 100

Drive by to view or call Terri Babineaux at 504-258-5178 for more information.

• 14 single family homes are for sale, priced from $165,000 to $860,000
• 5 homes are under contract, priced from $139,000 to $329,000
• The average home has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 3298 square feet and is listed for $322,136
• The average active listing has been on the market for 210 days

Homes sold in Algiers Point

Sales remained flat from 2010 to 2011 in Algiers Point, ending the year with a total of 22 single family homes sold.

Multi-family homes in the Point:  A total of 13 multi-family properties sold in 2011, at an average price of $151,301 or $66.65 per square foot.

We have recently seen a resurgence of interest in the Point, but are in need of some new blood to hit the market, since the existing homes have not fit what buyers are looking for.  Sellers willing to part with their homes for at or under $200,000 should consider going on the market as quickly as they can.

Home prices in Algiers Point

After a rally in 2010, average prices dropped again in 2011, ending the year down to $180,823.  There is interest in the neighborhood, but so many of the homes have deferred maintenance or partially complete renovations that buyers are choosing to wait it out.  Spending a few dollars to prepare your home for sale would be well advised in any market, but particularly in the Point right now.

More about real estate in Algiers Point

• Foreclosures and short sales made up 18% of homes sold in 2011, up from 15% in 2010, but still one of the lowest rates on the West Bank
• 50% of sellers provided a home warranty in 2011, up from 20% in 2010
• 23% of sellers provided closing cost assistance to the buyers, down from 25% in 2010

See all homes for sale in Algiers

• 163 single family homes are for sale, priced from $24,900 to $825,000
• 32 homes are under contract, priced from $17,100 to $412,000
• The average home for sale has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2052 square feet and is listed for $158,858
• The average active listing has been on the market for 154 days

Homes sold in Algiers LA 70131

Algiers saw a big rebound in the number of homes sold in 2011, ending the year up almost 39% in sales volume.  Unfortunately, 43% of those sales were foreclosures or short sales, which typically are priced below the average market value in a neighborhood.

See all homes for sale in Algiers LA

Home prices in Algiers LA 70131

While we saw a drastic increase in the number of sales, average home prices continued to drop, ending the year down 9.5% from 2010.  The majority of this decline can be attributed to the large percentage of foreclosure sales, which fall below the natural averages in the area.

2011 foreclosure sale average:   $78,553
2011 non-foreclosure sale average:   $159,935

The neighborhoods most affected by foreclosures were Tall Timbers and the streets in and around Huntlee Village, two areas that saw soaring prices after Katrina.  If we continue to see a large volume of foreclosures listed for sale, I don’t expect prices to rally this year.

More about real estate sales in Algiers LA

• 43% of homes sold in 2011 were foreclosures/short sales, up from 33% in 2010
• 31% of sellers provided a home warranty, down from 34% in 2010
• 39% of sellers provided closing cost assistance to buyers, up from 30% in 2010
• FHA loans still remain the most popular way to purchase an Algiers home, so normal resale properties need to be in tip top condition

Selling prices vs listing prices

The following chart shows the percentage of the listing price that sellers received, broken down by the number of days a house was on the market.  Obviously, the highest prices were commanded during the first 30 days on the market, underlining the need for home owners to price their homes correctly from the moment they are listed.

All data provided by GSREIN and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed

These reports can be customized for your neighborhood, so drop us a line or give a call if you need more information on the real estate market in your particular area.

• 91 single family homes are for sale, priced from $19,000 to $860,000
• The average home for sale has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1657 square feet and is listed for $118,208
• 16 homes are under contract, priced from $19,900 to $329,000
• Active listings have been on the market for an average of 257 days
• Based on 2011 sales, there is almost 12 months of inventory in the 70114 zip code

Homes sold in Algiers LA 70114

The number of homes sold in Algiers, 70114, increased yet again in 2011, ending the year at 94 single family home sales.  There doesn’t seem to be any one driving factor behind the increase in sales, but I suspect that there are investors out there scooping up lower end properties in the hopes that as Federal City continues to expand, those same homes will increase in value, whether as a rental or a resale.

There were 35 multi-family properties sold in the area during 2011,from a low of $10,500 to a high of $272,500.  The average multi-family sale price was $89,582 or $39.73 per square foot.

Home prices in Algiers LA 70114

On the opposite end of the spectrum from the number of sales, there are average sale prices.  Down yet again, they ended the year at $87,985, a decrease of almost 15% from 2010.  Between the investors buying very low end properties in need of repair and the foreclosures that made up more than half of homes sold last year, I’m not surprised to see the prices continuing to be depressed.  As long as distressed properties are making up the majority of sales, I don’t see the average prices increasing.

2011 average foreclosure sale: $52,612
2011 average non-foreclosure sale: $128,178

See all homes for sale in Algiers LA

More about Algiers real estate

• Foreclosures and short sales made up 54% of 2011 home sales, up from 41% in 2010
• 13% of sellers provided a home warranty, down from 23% in 2010
• 16% of sellers provided closing cost assistance, down from 31% in 2010
• After the first 30 days on the market, selling prices fall below 90% of asking prices, an indicator that sellers need to be priced right from the moment they hit the market

]]> http://westbankliving.com/market-updates/algiers-la-home-sales-real-estate-year-review/feed/ 0 http://westbankliving.com/market-updates/westwego-avondale-bridge-city-la-home-sales-real-estate-market-review/ http://westbankliving.com/market-updates/westwego-avondale-bridge-city-la-home-sales-real-estate-market-review/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:27:25 +0000 Lisa http://westbankliving.com/?p=19662 Current real estate activity in Westwego and surrounding areas

• 125 homes are for sale, priced from $29,900 to $480,000
• The average home for sale has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1499 square feet and is listed for $124,693
• 27 homes are under contract, priced from $14,400 to $149,900
• The average active listing has been on the market for 156 days

Homes sold in Westwego, Avondale, Bridge City and Waggaman

After 4 years of straight declines, the 70094 zip code finally saw an improvement in the number of homes sold in 2011.  The area ended the year with 164 houses sold – an increase of almost 14%.

What sold?  The majority of homes sold in Westwego, Avondale, Bridge City, Waggaman and Nine Mile Point were foreclosures and short sales.  This distressed market made up a whopping 56% of sales in 2011.  It’s hard for normal resales to compete with the low prices offered by banks on most of these homes, but the good news is that many of them were in less than desirable condition and were not direct competition for most home sellers.  With 37% of the sales in Fair or Poor condition, we can probably expect to see these same houses back on the market at some point, either as a renovation or as a rental.

See all Westwego, Avondale, Bridge City and Waggaman homes for sale

Home prices in Westwego, Avondale, Bridge City and Waggaman

While the number of sales took a nice jump, the average sold price nose-dived by over 28% from 2010 to 2011.  Much of this can be attributed to the huge number of foreclosures that sold at below market values.

The average foreclosure in the area sold for $45,772, while the non-foreclosure sales average was $104,927.  The average days on market for non-foreclosures was 125, while bank owned homes sold in an average of 58 days.

What do we expect for 2012?  If the investors that are snapping up the lower end of the market plan to flip, then we should see a nice inventory of updated housing available by this summer, which could help push that average sale price up.  If their plan is to hold and lease until they see a recovery in the market, at minimum we will see some quality rental properties around the same time and prices may remain flat.  I don’t see much room for lower prices in the area, unless we experience another wave of foreclosures due to the closing of the shipyard.

More about home sales in the 70094 zip code

• 32% of sellers provided closing cost assistance to the buyers, down from 33% in 2010
• 17% of sellers provided a home warranty, down from 26% in 2010
•  56% of homes sold were foreclosures or short sales, up from 37% last year

Listing prices vs selling prices

As is the case in every other West Bank community, a seller’s best chance at the highest price is during the first 30 days on the market.  Even then, the 70094 zip code has one of the widest gaps between list price and selling price during this initial marketing time.  (Most other areas are over 95%)  

Pricing a property correctly from the first day it hits the market provides the highest return for a seller and should be carefully considered before you spend months chasing the market down.

All information is provided by GSREIN and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed

If you can’t see the video above, click here

A little background on listing syndication

Syndicating a listing (ie, your home for sale) means getting it out to all of the online sites that display listings.  The big three that attract the most traffic are Realtor.com, Trulia and Zillow.  They have spent bucketloads of money over the last few years to be sure that they rank on page one of Google for just about any possible home search terms, ensuring thousands upon thousands of eyeballs on their sites each and every day.

The long standing complaint from REALTORS® has been that if they want their pretty face to show up next to their own listings, they must pay the big 3 for the right to do so.  It’s not mandatory.  It’s not forced upon any of them.  It’s a business decision to make whether it benefits them and/or their clients to do so or not.  Some brokers dive in with both feet and buy spots on all of them, some choose to let the listings speak for themselves and some choose to moan and gripe about 3rd parties getting between consumers and agents.

Do home buyers and sellers even care?

All of the hoopla surrounding this announcement has pretty much been confined to the real estate industry.  More specifically, it’s been confined to the portion of the real estate industry that has an active online and social media presence (believe me, that’s not every one of the agents in every market).   The small amount of consumer feedback in the video comments matches my thoughts exactly:  A home seller doesn’t care if their agent is the one that is contacted about their home, they just want to get it sold.

Home sellers don’t care if their agent is the one that gets all of the “leads” on their listing.  Home sellers don’t care if an agent from another company is the one that brings a buyer for their home.  Home sellers couldn’t care less that an agent might have purchased a zip code to garner all of their neighborhood contacts on a particular site.  The bottom line is that a home seller just wants their home sold – for the highest possible price, in the shortest amount of time.  Industry politics and grandstanding don’t have a thing to do with accomplishing that goal.

Home buyers are even less caring.  They move from site to site, signing up to get new listings emailed to them, virtually stalking neighborhoods online in their search for the place that is going to be one of the largest purchases they will ever make.  If a home is not on one of these sites it could potentially be overlooked in their search.  I say potentially because, at the end of the day, the majority of home buyers are working with an agent.  Their agent has access to the MLS (multiple listing service), which has all of the most up to date information on every home for sale in that market.

Who benefits here?

In my opinion, the person who benefits from withholding listings from the major syndicators is the broker holding those listings, since they are increasing their odds of the listing agent information being displayed along with the home information.  What about the seller who hired them to market that home?  Sorry, but you won’t be in any of the places that a large percentage of the home buying population starts their home search.  How is that in the best interests of YOU?

I applaud the ARG group for standing up for what they believe in, but it sounds to me that they are more concerned with making sure that the seller’s agent is the one who gets the contacts and phone calls on their listings than getting their listings the widest exposure.  I welcome you to contact me about any of my listings, but you should know that if I am representing a home seller, I will not represent you as a buyer.  You’ll be referred to a buyer’s agent, because if there is one thing that we believe strongly in, it’s that each person deserves to have their own agent looking out for their best interests.

Ask your agent

If having your home on the big 3 real estate websites is important to you, ask your agent how their brokerage handles this.  Do they freely syndicate or do they attempt to hold their listings in-house?  In New Orleans, all listings are automatically provided to Realtor.com by the MLS.  That’s not so for Trulia or Zillow, so if it’s important to you that your home be advertised there, you should have that discussion with any agent you interview before putting your home on the market.

We’ve actually tested 2 out of 3 of these sites and determined that while we think it’s beneficial to have your home listed on all of them, having our contact information right next to the listing doesn’t make a bit of difference in the number of people that call or get your home sold any faster.

At the end of the day, isn’t that what we are all here for?

One of the newest subdivisions on the West Bank of New Orleans, Pelican Bay offers both resale and new construction homes in Marrero.

With prices under $200,000, Pelican Bay is a good place to start your affordable home search and get all of the bells and whistles that new and newer construction have to offer.

The majority of the homes are 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and range in size from 1400-1800 square feet.  If you custom build, you can tweak that square footage to fit your needs.

The location is tucked away between Ames Blvd and the Lafitte Larose Highway (also known as Leo Kerner), just 30 minutes to downtown New Orleans and a few miles from the Barataria Preserve, with walking trails and nature hikes.

Marrero Community Information and Links

Marrero LA community and school information

Homes for Sale in Pelican Bay

  More homes for sale in Marrero LA

For more information about buying a home in Pelican Bay, contact us.  We’ll be happy to provide you with exclusive representation and help you find your next West Bank home.

• 236 single family homes are for sale, priced from $19,900 to $2,150,000
• The average home for sale has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1708 square feet and is listed for $161,703
• 66 homes are under contract, priced from $22,500 to $425,000
• The average time on market for active listings is 149 days

Homes sold in Marrero LA

After 3 years of steady declines in the number of homes being sold, Marrero ended 2011 with 357 sales – up 12% from 2010.  Spring was slower than 2010, but sales began to pick up in late summer and continue strong through the end of the year.

What did people buy?  43% of the homes sold were distressed properties – either foreclosures or short sales.  This is a common theme across the West Bank, with investors and buyers grabbing what they perceive as the best deals to be had.

See all homes for sale in Marrero LA

Home prices in Marrero LA

While the number of sales increased, which is good news, the average sale prices continued to drop, ending 2011 down by 5% from 2010.  The bulk of home sales were under $140,000, with the $120,000-$140,000 price range the most active.

Much of the drop in average sales prices can be attributed to the large number of foreclosure sales, since they typically sell for less than market value because banks don’t want to keep them on their books and be responsible for the maintenance and taxes.  Condition also is a factor.  When foreclosures are in need of repairs or updates, banks will discount them significantly to sell them quickly.  This puts downward pressure on average prices in a community.

In 2011, the average foreclosure sold for $81,222.  The average owner occupied resale sold for $149,898.  With a gap like that, it’s easy to see how a large number of foreclosures in a particular neighborhood could bring down all of the prices in the area.

What’s your Marrero home worth?

More about Marrero real estate

• The average days on market for homes sold in 2011 was 87, down from 94 in 2010
• 30% of sellers provided a home warranty, down from 38% in 2010
• 34% of sellers provided assistance with buyer closing costs, down from 44% in 2010
• FHA loans continue to be the most popular form of financing (38% of sales), followed by Cash (33%), Conventional loans (21%), VA loans (5%) and other mortgages (4%)

Listing prices vs Selling prices

Obviously, the best chance a seller has of getting the highest possible price is during the first 30 days on the market.  After that initial marketing time, the sales price (as a percentage of the list price) drops off.  While the percentages fluctuate, they are never as high as when a home is priced right and sold quickly.

All of these reports can be customized for your neighborhood.  If you would like us to prepare one for you, just drop us a line or call 504-327-5303.

All data provided by GSREIN and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed