Why Homes in Lafayette Aren’t Selling As Fast in 2025

Why are homes in Lafayette sitting longer on the market in 2025? And is it something that you should truly be worried about? Today, we're going to be unpacking the biggest reasons why we have this slowdown from higher interest rates to sellers being overpriced. What does it all mean for your next move, whether you're buying, you're selling, or if you just have an eye on the market? So before we assume it's a crash or if you're going to miss out on a good opportunity, let's take a closer look at what's really happening in Lafayette this year. Number one would be that mortgage rates are up. So we have noticed there has been a large reflection of interest rates being higher recently. For a while, it was looking a bit positive. And the fact that rates were coming down just slightly, we were seeing some good changes. They were coming down to about the lower sixes and people were pretty excited to see a more normalizing. The rates seemed to stay pretty stable with only very slight changes. Then all of a sudden, tariffs, announcements, different things started happening in the news that started freaking people out. The stock market seemed to be going up and down a lot. It was very volatile. People were losing some of their retirement funds and people were getting a bit shaky. And with that also came rising rates. So the rates went up. They went all the way up to seven percent, even slightly over seven from actually today's date. They have not stayed there very long. We've only had them rise there for maybe a couple of weeks. And now we're starting to see them on just a slight downward trend. Not much, but they're still hovering very close, if not right at that seven percent area. And of course, this takes away buying power with those higher rates being more than it had been since last year or earlier this year. It tends to really freak out buyers. And because of those higher rates, obviously, they're having to pay more for their property, their monthly note changes, and it goes up. So you're not able to afford more property. It has a tendency to cause people to get a bit shaky where they don't feel as confident in the real estate market. They get a bit more nervous. We know with high insurance costs, that also is a factor. All of these things can really put buyers really in a pause for their search and always kind of waiting on the sidelines, waiting for rates to get better or when they think that the economy or the overall condition of everything just feels and looks better. So buyers are truly really seeing higher monthly payments than they expected. And that's making a lot of folks really want to hit the pause button instead of really jumping in. But the rates are the only things that are truly really slowing people down. There's also a lot of other big changes that are giving buyers more options. Number two would be more homes on the market. Surprisingly, with the pandemic, we know we were seeing such low inventory, extreme low inventory. But now we've seen an uptick on the homes that are actually available. It's taking longer for them to sell. And so you have more availability, more options for buyers to actually look at. Now, are there more homes to sell? Well, yes, compared to last year, we are seeing that the inventory has gone up. Buyers really have more options. They can look at different types of homes, different styles. They can nitpick maybe small things such as carpet versus no carpet or if it has a little bit more square footage, a better backyard, better location, corner lot versus in the center of a street, right? Buyers just really have more options to look at. And so, of course, they're going to take their time or they're going to be a bit more nitpicky about small things. Homes that used to sell in really just a week or even just a couple of weeks are now starting to sit on the market for several weeks, which is making sellers feel a bit deflated. Some realtors even are feeling really deflated by this market because we're finding it much harder to sell than it used to. But it just means you got to roll up the sleeves and you need a bit more elbow grease behind that marketing and making sure that you are priced perfectly. But buyers really truly aren't in a rush like they used to. They used to have multiple offers and multiple people constantly looking at homes. So they had to be really quick to put in offers and jump fast. But with homes to pick from and so many options, now they can take their time. They can compare every single detail. They can really go through it with a fine tooth comb and really find the exact one that they want. While buyers are in the slowdown, many sellers are still thinking that it's 2021. And that's a huge problem, which leads us to our third point, which is sellers are stuck on old prices. Sellers really are priced too high. We're seeing that really across the area. And really, there's kind of a reset moment that I think that we're in. I don't think we're going to see prices drop dramatically. But I do think for a lot of people, just maybe five, 10, $15,000 extra on the price of a home really is kind of making or breaking some people. That's their closing cost. That's any kind of other things that they may have on their note, right? So they really start to affect the price. And so because of that, they're really wanting to see it come down. But sellers are having a hard time facing this, right? They saw the rise and the properties go so much higher after the pandemic. Maybe even some people might have purchased during the pandemic and or trying to sell their home now just a few years later. And they don't have quite the equity because it was such a hot market then. And now we're in kind of a reset or a declining market. So it makes it a little bit tougher. Sellers are really waiting a long time before they're starting to drop the price because it's harder for them to face reality or to sink in. Or maybe their agent is just not willing to tell them the truth. They're a bit nervous to make them upset or to even lose the opportunity of the listing by having them list too high and just hoping that they come down on the price and maybe pray that they get an offer. Really, we are seeing some differences in the prices and things are changing from a year ago. More homes really are starting to see a lot more price reductions. We're seeing that on a regular basis every week. Anywhere up to 100 homes are getting price reductions and seeing big changes. Overpriced homes are the ones that are truly really detrimental because they're sitting on the market the longest. And that's one of the things that you do not want to do as a seller. It's so important that you price your home correctly and that you react to the market's feedback about whether or not they agree with the price of your home. If not, you always want to try a reduction that almost always results in more showings. And that is what's going to help you to get the most amount of money. As sellers were holding out for last year's prices, well, the buyers aren't really taking the bait. And that's why you're seeing more price drops and really these longer wait times across the board. We went all the way up to about 86 days on market for the average area here. And that is really starting to show a true shift. Now, there's another shift that we can even talk about. It's fewer out-of-town buyers are swooping in with quick offers. So we're going to talk about fewer relocations and out-of-town buyers. Now, believe it or not, this channel, I'm very thankful for the fact that I do get to connect with a lot of people who are relocating to this area. And I absolutely love that people want to use me as a resource. But over the years, we have seen that it's not quite as many as we used to moving through other cities to this area. We do have some very high demand areas that seem to be really popular that people want to inquire about, Broussard and Yellowsville. And so those are always going to have some sort of demand or people that are looking to relocate. But it's just not as many when we compare it to last year. Local buyers also, too, are not really quite as urgent. They're taking longer to make decisions, right? They're unsure. They're unsteady. I've seen quite a few cancellations this year over the uncertainty or people just not really wanting to pull the trigger. They're nervous about their decisions. Every little thing they're nitpicking and trying to decide whether or not that's going to make or break this deal for them, even when they're under contract, willing to back out, even with their inspection fees being paid for or the fact that they would lose their deposit. They're still happy to back out of those just to not be stuck in a decision that they feel uncomfortable with. Now, homes used to sell fast to out-of-towners. And now they have to wait for a lot more local interest. So that's one of the things that also could be affecting this slowdown. We're not seeing as many buyers from Houston or Dallas this year. Without that outside demand, homes obviously would take longer. Supply and demand is, of course, the obvious thing when it comes to the housing market. But all of this adds up to a big question. Is this a sign of trouble? Or is this just a return to normal? And that's where we go to number five. Is this a crash or just a true reset? Now, when we look at today's market versus before the pandemic, well, we know it was a more normalized market before that. We really saw prices nice and steady. It was business as usual. There were plenty of options. Home were selling in different time frames if they were priced correctly. It wasn't taking as much work as it seems for a buyer to work or for a seller to be able to find a deal. But now we're really starting to see these longer selling times. And they're even starting to exceed what was pre-pandemic. We're seeing numbers on the declines. And some articles are saying all the way back to 2009 levels of properties, which is not a good sign. But prices are starting to drop. We know for a while they had just leveled off. But now we are starting to see a little bit more decline, a lot more price adjustments, sellers having to come to reality and some decline on the prices. So if you are a buyer and you've been waiting for maybe prices to more normalize, this might be your true opportunity. Now, days on market are higher last year than they were, but they are somewhat similar to our pre-pandemic years. It's just now we have rates to deal with that are much different than what we had then. Rates were more around that 4% mark. So a 2% increase or decrease in your interest rate, we know can affect it by hundreds of dollars, even maybe some for more expensive homes, even by thousands, right? And so prices are truly what we're seeing. They're holding steady, especially for homes that are in highly desirable areas or in locations that people really, really love, or maybe homes that are in perfect condition and offer really everything that a buyer is looking for. Those do still sell fast and we do still see homes that move very, very quickly. But we're not seeing the frantic things that we were seeing on the more market. It's definitely a lot more balanced, a lot more normalized for a lot of people. Just again, it's just making sellers really have to make sure that they are priced correctly from the get-go, that what they're offering is truly of that same value with the quality, the finishes and everything that every buyer is looking for. And then of course, you know, we can settle on the fact that this isn't a crash. It's just Lafayette getting back to a more normal pace, like we saw before things really got wild a few years ago. So what do you do if you're thinking about buying or selling in Lafayette? Well, right now, well, let's talk about some personal advice that I have for buyers and sellers. The best move for sellers to make right now is if you do need to sell, obviously being strong from the pricing, making sure you really look at all of the data and understand where are people truly priced and how can I price myself effectively? Sometimes it means not pricing yourself exactly like the competition. Maybe we go slightly under what the competition is offering because we try to pull more offers or maybe even multiple offers by looking like a great deal. That only lets you as the seller win in that situation, right? If you were going to start at the very top or the highest outside of comps, then it makes you look very unrealistic. So as a seller, you need to be careful. Make sure you price correctly. Your marketing is on target and that you're constantly re-evaluating where your stance is on the market while you're live on the market. If you're not getting showings on that property, you for sure know there is an issue. It's either something that you're offering, but more than likely it is the price. If it's priced correctly, pretty much anything can sell. Now for buyers, take your time. You don't have to be in a hurry, which is great, but don't expect prices to drop dramatically. You may see some price changes, but the benefit that you guys have as a buyer is that you can take advantage of better prices just slightly. Maybe negotiating a lower price on an existing home because a seller needs to sell. Also getting maybe some closing cost assistance. A lot of builders are offering amazing incentives right now. One builder is even offering a interest rate of a four and a half percent. They are giving you a buy down plus closing costs. So if you're interested in those types of properties, definitely DM me. But obviously these price drops are really, really beneficial. Sellers are also willing to negotiate any kind of repairs or different things with the property. And that only works in your favor as a buyer. And of course, not having that stiff competition, you don't have to deal with multiple offers or overbidding or underbidding other people to try to win. Now, you really need to focus on your own needs and your timing, not just the headlines. Don't let the news scare you. Obviously, rely on a local real estate agent because what's happening in our local market may not be what's happening nationally. So it's important that you know everything that's going on. And I would love to be that resource for you and help you understand exactly where we are on the days on market, how much inventory we're looking at, how much competition that you would have if you went on the market. Or really, would you be one of those homes that could be a prime real estate that could sell really quickly and for a great price because of the things that you offer? But if you're selling, be realistic about your price. Get your home looking its absolute best. Me and my team obviously could help you do that. And if you're buying, use the extra time to find the right fit. And don't wait forever, hoping for a huge price drop. If you sit on the sidelines and wait for everything to be perfect, well, guess who else is doing that? Everyone else is thinking the same thing. If you're thinking that, If you want a plan that fits your situation, let's talk about your options. If you're unsure about your next move in Lafayette's changing market call, you can text me. My number is always going to be on the screen. I love when people reach out to me. I'll help you sort through your options and make sure you're making the smartest decision for you and your specific situation. If you're still deciding between Lafayette and some surrounding areas, then make sure you click here and watch my next video. It is about Lafayette real estate. Is it a good investment? And see you guys in the next one.