Acadiana Real Estate Market Update: September 2026

Acadiana Real Estate Market Update: September 2026

Buyers are still looking. Homes are taking longer to sell. And the right strategy is making all the difference.

You know, one of the questions I get asked most often is, “John Ray, how’s the market?”

And depending on who you ask, you might get two completely different answers. Talk to somebody whose house has been sitting on the market for three months, and they’ll tell you things have slowed down. Talk to somebody who just sold their house for close to asking price, and they’ll tell you the market is doing just fine.

So who’s right?

Well, that’s what makes real estate interesting. Sometimes both of them are.

I spent some time digging through the September numbers for Acadiana, and there’s a story here worth talking about. Buyers are still out looking at homes. Prices are holding up. There are actually fewer homes available than there were a year ago. But homes are taking longer to sell, and fewer of those showings are turning into contracts.

Let’s talk about what that means.

Buyers Are Still Looking

Let’s start with a number that caught my attention. In September, there were 4,566 home showings across Acadiana, compared to 4,491 in September of last year. That’s an increase of about 1.7%.

Now, that’s not some enormous jump. We’re talking about 75 additional showings. But I think it’s important because it tells us something that we sometimes forget when we’re hearing all the negative talk about the housing market.

People are still looking for homes.

They’re scheduling appointments, walking through front doors, opening cabinets, checking out backyards, and trying to imagine their furniture in somebody else’s living room.

But here’s where things get interesting. While showings increased, pending sales actually decreased from 523 last September to 506 this September. That’s a 3.3% decline. Closed sales also dropped from 490 to 466, or about 4.9%.

So we’ve got more showings, but fewer contracts and closings.

What does that tell me? Buyers haven’t disappeared. They’re just being more selective about what they’re willing to buy.

And if you’re thinking about selling your house, that’s something worth paying attention to.

Fewer Homes for Sale

Here’s another number that might surprise you. Acadiana finished September with 2,907 homes available for sale. At the same time last year, we had 2,949.

That’s 42 fewer homes, a decrease of about 1.4%.

We also saw fewer new listings hit the market during the month. September brought 558 new listings compared to 618 last year, a decrease of nearly 10%.

Now, I’ve talked plenty over the last year about buyers having more choices, and they still do. But these numbers tell us inventory isn’t continuing to grow compared to where we were a year ago.

For sellers, that’s potentially good news. Fewer new listings mean fewer new homes entering the competition for buyer attention.

But here’s the catch. Just because there are fewer homes available doesn’t automatically mean yours is going to sell.

Buyers are still comparing what they’re seeing, and they’re being pretty particular about where they spend their money.

Homes Are Taking Longer

If there’s one number from September that I think sellers really need to understand, it’s this one.

The average home that sold in Acadiana spent 78 days on the market, compared to 65 days in September 2025.

That’s 13 additional days, or a 20% increase.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. “John Ray, does that mean my house is going to take almost three months to sell?”

Not necessarily.

Remember, we’re looking at an average across Acadiana. A home in River Ranch isn’t necessarily competing with the same buyers as a home in Carencro. A $200,000 house in Scott has a different audience than a $600,000 house in Youngsville.

But the overall trend is worth understanding.

Buyers are taking their time. They’re looking at more options, comparing prices, and paying attention to condition. And in many cases, they’re perfectly willing to wait for the right house.

That’s why I believe what happens after a showing is becoming just as important as getting the showing in the first place.

Are buyers coming back for a second look? What are they saying about the condition? How does the price compare to similar homes? Are other houses in the neighborhood going under contract while yours is still sitting?

Those are the questions we need to be asking.

Prices Are Holding

Now, here’s where September gets particularly interesting.

Even though homes are taking longer to sell, the median sold price actually increased.

In September 2025, the median sold price across Acadiana was $230,000. This September, it was $237,250, an increase of about 3.2%.

And sellers who successfully closed received an average of 97.70% of their asking price, compared to 97.54% last year.

Think about that for a minute. Homes are taking longer to sell. We’re seeing fewer contracts and closings. But the homes that are selling are still closing relatively close to their asking prices.

That’s not what I’d call a market where sellers have lost all their negotiating power.

But I do think it’s a market where getting the price right from the beginning matters more than ever.

One important distinction: a 3.2% increase in the median sold price doesn’t mean your individual home appreciated by 3.2%. The types, sizes, locations, and price ranges of homes selling can change from month to month.

If you want to know what your home is worth, we need to look at your home and the properties it’s actually competing against.

What About Inventory?

Another number I watch closely is the absorption rate. In September, Acadiana’s absorption rate increased from 6.02 months last year to 6.24 months.

Basically, that means at the recent pace of sales, it would take a little over six months to sell the homes currently available if no additional properties came on the market.

It’s one way we measure the balance between supply and demand.

And what this number tells me is that buyers still have options. They don’t necessarily have to make a decision on the first house they see.

They’re comparing kitchens, floor plans, roofs, updates, neighborhoods, monthly payments, and just about everything else you can imagine.

And sometimes they’re comparing your house to something you might not have considered.

A brand-new one.

New Construction Matters

If you’ve driven through Youngsville, Broussard, Carencro, or some of the other growing areas around Acadiana lately, you’ve probably noticed that builders are still busy.

New construction continues to be an important part of our housing market, and it’s something resale sellers need to understand.

At the end of September, there were 687 new-construction homes available, compared to 745 last year. That’s a decrease of about 7.8%.

But builders added 144 new listings during the month, compared to 125 in September 2025.

Meanwhile, pending new-construction sales dropped from 146 to 125, and closings decreased from 121 to 112. The average time on market increased from 72 days to 94 days.

Even new construction is taking longer to sell.

The median sold price for new construction was $255,000, compared to $260,895 last September, and the average sale-to-list price ratio was 99.33%.

Why does all this matter if you’re selling an existing home?

Because depending on your location and price range, you may be competing with a builder who can offer closing-cost assistance, financing incentives, warranties, or other benefits that make a brand-new home attractive.

And buyers are paying attention to those things.

That doesn’t mean your home can’t compete. It just means we need to understand the competition before we decide how to position it.

The First Few Weeks Matter

I’ve had this conversation with sellers more times than I can count.

“John Ray, let’s just start a little high. We can always come down later.”

And I understand the thinking. Nobody wants to leave money on the table. If there’s a chance somebody will pay more, why wouldn’t we try?

But here’s the problem.

When your house first hits the market, it’s new. Buyers who’ve been watching for months get an alert. Agents notice it. People who’ve been waiting for something in your neighborhood finally have a reason to schedule a showing.

That’s an opportunity we don’t want to waste.

If we start too high, some of those buyers may never walk through the door. And by the time we make a price adjustment, we’ve lost some of the excitement that comes with being a new listing.

Now, I’m not suggesting we price every house below market value or give away your equity. Quite the opposite. I want to protect as much of your equity as possible.

But protecting your equity starts with understanding what buyers are willing to pay, how your home compares to the competition, and what we need to do to make it stand out.

The September numbers reinforce that point. With more than 4,500 showings happening across Acadiana, there was buyer activity in the market.

The challenge was turning that attention into offers.

So, How’s the Market?

If you asked me how the Acadiana real estate market was doing in September 2026, I’d tell you it was a market with opportunity, but not necessarily an easy one.

Buyers were still out looking at homes. Inventory was slightly lower than the year before. Median sold prices were higher, and sellers who closed were still receiving nearly 98% of their asking prices.

At the same time, homes were taking longer to sell, and fewer properties were making it from showing to contract.

I don’t think those numbers tell us that the market is bad. I think they tell us the market is asking us to be more thoughtful.

For buyers, there’s an opportunity to take your time, compare your options, and negotiate when the circumstances make sense.

For sellers, there’s an opportunity too. But it starts with being realistic about price, preparing your home well, presenting it professionally, and paying attention to what buyers are telling us.

And that’s why I always come back to the same thing.

Real estate is local. Really local.

What’s happening across Acadiana is helpful to understand, but it doesn’t tell us everything about what’s happening in your neighborhood, your subdivision, or your price range.

If you’re thinking about selling, I’d love to sit down with you and look at what homes like yours are actually selling for, how long they’re taking to sell, and what we’d be competing against.

And if you’re thinking about buying, let’s talk about where the opportunities might be.

Because the numbers are important. But what they mean for you is what really matters.

Hey hey, it’s John Ray!

And whether you’re buying, selling, or just curious about what’s happening in the Acadiana real estate market, I’m always happy to have that conversation.