The market isn’t standing still. It’s just not moving the way you might expect.

Hey hey, it’s John Ray!

You ever have one of those conversations where somebody tells you the real estate market is terrible, and then five minutes later somebody else tells you their neighbor just sold their house for more than they expected?

I have those conversations all the time.

And depending on who you’re talking to, both people might be telling you the truth. That’s the interesting thing about real estate. Two houses in the same neighborhood can have completely different experiences on the market. One sells in a weekend, and another sits for months. One seller gets close to asking price, while another ends up making some pretty significant concessions.

That’s why I spend time looking at these numbers every month. Not because I think statistics tell us everything, but because they help us understand what’s actually happening beneath all the noise.

And August 2026 gave us a pretty interesting story.

Across Lafayette and the surrounding Acadiana communities, inventory was slightly higher, buyer activity was almost identical to last year, and home prices barely moved. But there was one number that really caught my attention, and I think it tells us something important about the opportunities available to homeowners who are considering selling.

Let’s get into it.

A Little More Inventory

Acadiana finished August with 3,009 homes available for sale, compared to 2,952 in August 2025. That’s an increase of approximately 1.9%, or just 57 additional homes across our market.

Now, I know that seeing more than 3,000 homes for sale might sound like a lot. And depending on the neighborhood or price range you’re looking at, it certainly can feel like buyers have plenty of choices. But when we compare that number to where we were a year ago, the difference is relatively small.

Something else caught my attention. We had 618 new listings come onto the market in August, compared to 659 last year. That’s about a 6.2% decrease.

So, while the total number of available homes is slightly higher, fewer new properties entered the market during the month.

For homeowners thinking about selling, that’s worth paying attention to. You have competition, absolutely. But it’s not as though hundreds of additional homes are suddenly flooding the market compared to last year.

The bigger question is how your home stacks up against the choices buyers already have.

Buyers Haven’t Disappeared

If you’ve spent any time listening to conversations about real estate lately, you’ve probably heard somebody say that buyers just aren’t buying anymore.

Well, the August numbers tell a different story.

There were 5,236 home showings across Acadiana in August 2026, compared to 5,274 during the same month last year. That’s a difference of just 38 showings, or less than 1%.

And those buyers weren’t simply walking through houses to pass the time. We recorded 564 pending sales in August, compared to 561 last year.

Three more homes went under contract than a year ago.

That’s about as steady as you can get.

Now, I don’t think that means every seller should expect buyers to line up at their front door. It does mean that people are still looking for homes, still making decisions, and still writing offers.

The challenge for sellers isn’t necessarily finding a market with buyers in it. The challenge is giving those buyers a reason to choose your home over everything else they’re considering.

And believe me, they’re comparing.

They’re looking at the pictures, studying the price, checking out the neighborhood, calculating their monthly payment, and trying to decide whether the house feels like the right fit.

Sometimes they’re comparing your house to the one down the street. Sometimes they’re comparing it to a brand-new home on the other side of town.

That’s why how we position a home matters so much.

Sales Are Holding Steady

Acadiana recorded 486 closed home sales in August, compared to 501 in August 2025. That’s a decrease of approximately 3%.

Is that something we should pay attention to? Of course. But I don’t think it’s a reason to sound the alarm.

Remember, closings generally represent contracts that were written several weeks earlier. The number of pending sales gives us a different perspective on what buyers are doing more recently, and those numbers were essentially unchanged from last year.

When you put those two statistics together, I see a market that’s still moving, even if it’s not moving at the pace some people might prefer.

And that’s an important distinction.

Because people don’t stop needing homes just because interest rates change or the market becomes more competitive. Families grow. Children leave home. Jobs change. People relocate, get married, retire, and decide they want something different.

Life keeps happening.

And real estate keeps happening right alongside it.

What About Home Prices?

Here’s another number that might surprise you.

The median sold price in Acadiana was $234,655 in August 2026, compared to $235,500 in August 2025.

That’s a difference of just $845.

Less than half of one percent.

With all the conversations about whether home prices are going up, coming down, or getting ready to do something dramatic, August’s numbers were pretty uneventful.

And sometimes uneventful is a good thing.

But I do want to make an important distinction. The median sold price tells us the midpoint of the homes that sold during a particular period. It doesn’t necessarily tell us how much an individual property has appreciated or depreciated.

A home in River Ranch may be experiencing something entirely different from a home in Carencro. A newer property in Youngsville may have different competition than an older home in Lafayette. And even within the same neighborhood, condition, updates, floor plan, and location can make a significant difference.

That’s why I always encourage homeowners to be careful about applying broad market statistics to their own property.

If you want to know what your home is worth, we need to look at your home and the market surrounding it.

Not just the Acadiana average.

Sellers Are Getting Closer to Asking Price

Now, here’s the statistic that really got my attention.

In August 2025, homes that closed sold for an average of 97.32% of their list price.

In August 2026, that number increased to 98.08%.

Think about that for a minute.

We have slightly more inventory. Buyers have choices. Homes are taking about the same amount of time to sell. And yet, the sellers who successfully closed their homes received a higher percentage of their asking price than they did a year ago.

That’s encouraging.

But I also think we need to understand what that number does and doesn’t tell us. It doesn’t mean every seller is getting 98% of whatever price they decide to put on their home. And it certainly doesn’t mean pricing doesn’t matter.

In fact, I think it reinforces just how important pricing has become.

When a home is priced appropriately, prepared thoughtfully, and marketed well, buyers can recognize its value. And when buyers recognize value, they’re often more willing to make a serious offer.

On the other hand, when a home comes onto the market overpriced, it can spend weeks waiting for buyers to catch up to a number they may never agree with.

I’ve seen it happen.

And one of the hardest conversations in real estate is explaining to a seller that the price they hoped to get simply isn’t what buyers are willing to pay.

That’s why I believe those conversations need to happen before we put the sign in the yard.

How Long Are Homes Taking?

The average days on market in August was 71 days, compared to 70 days last year.

One day.

That’s the difference.

So, despite having slightly more inventory available, homes aren’t taking dramatically longer to sell than they did a year ago.

Of course, 71 days is an average. Some homes will sell much faster, and others will take considerably longer. The condition of the property, its location, the asking price, and the competition all influence how quickly a buyer comes along.

But there’s something I want sellers to understand about that number.

You don’t necessarily have 71 days to make a good first impression.

Your home gets a lot of attention when it first hits the market. Buyers who have been watching listings in your neighborhood will notice it. Their agents will notice it. And they’ll begin making comparisons almost immediately.

That’s why I don’t love the idea of putting a house on the market at an inflated price just to see what happens.

Those first few weeks matter.

I’d much rather spend the time preparing the property, studying the competition, and developing a thoughtful pricing and marketing strategy before we launch than spend the next several weeks trying to recover from a poor first impression.

A Market With Choices

One of the numbers I pay close attention to every month is the absorption rate, sometimes called months of inventory.

In August, Acadiana’s absorption rate increased to 6.19 months, compared to 5.89 months a year ago.

In simple terms, this estimates how long it would take to sell the homes currently available if sales continued at the prevailing pace and no additional homes were listed.

Generally speaking, a market with around five to six months of inventory is considered relatively balanced. At just over six months, Acadiana is giving buyers a little more breathing room.

They have choices. They can compare properties. They may have more opportunities to negotiate than they did during the years when homes seemed to sell almost as quickly as they hit the market.

But that doesn’t mean sellers are out of luck.

Far from it.

It means sellers need to understand the environment they’re competing in. And it means that simply having a home for sale isn’t enough to make it stand out.

The presentation matters. The price matters. The marketing matters.

And sometimes the little things make a bigger difference than we expect.

New Construction Is a Different Story

There’s another part of our housing market that I think deserves a little attention, especially if you’re considering selling a home in an area with a lot of new development.

New construction.

In August 2026, there were 703 new construction homes available across Acadiana, compared to 766 a year earlier. That’s a decrease of approximately 8.2%.

Builders also brought fewer new properties to market, with 123 new listings compared to 152 in August 2025.

But here’s where things get interesting.

New construction pending sales increased slightly from 138 to 142, while closed sales jumped from 126 to 144. That’s an increase of approximately 14.3% in new construction closings.

New homes also sold a little faster, averaging 80 days on market compared to 82 days last year. And the absorption rate for new construction dropped from 6.08 months to 4.88 months.

So, while the overall Acadiana market has a little more inventory than it did last year, the new construction market actually has less supply and a stronger pace of closings.

Why does that matter to you?

Because if you’re selling an existing home, you might be competing against a builder whether you realize it or not.

And builders can sometimes offer incentives that individual homeowners simply can’t match. Interest rate buydowns, closing cost assistance, warranties, and other promotions can make a brand-new home attractive to buyers who are focused on their monthly payment.

But that doesn’t mean your home can’t compete.

An established neighborhood, mature trees, a larger lot, fencing, window treatments, custom improvements, or simply being closer to the places someone wants to be can all make a resale home incredibly appealing.

The key is knowing what makes your home different and communicating that value to the right buyers.

Because sometimes the house with the most to offer isn’t the newest one.

Your First Impression Matters

If there’s one thing I hope homeowners take away from the August market report, it’s this: the market is stable, but buyers are selective.

And when buyers have choices, the way your home enters the market matters.

Before somebody ever schedules a showing, they’ve probably already looked at your pictures, compared your price to other listings, and formed an opinion about whether your home is worth seeing.

That’s why I believe selling a home starts long before the listing goes live.

It starts with an honest conversation about your goals. It continues with a careful look at the competition, a plan for preparing the property, professional presentation, and a marketing strategy designed to reach the people most likely to buy it.

None of those things guarantees a particular result.

But together, they put you in a much better position to compete.

And in a market where buyers have options, that’s exactly where I want my sellers to be.

So, Is Now a Good Time to Sell?

I get asked this question all the time.

And my answer usually starts with another question.

What’s making you think about selling?

Because the right time to make a move isn’t always determined by whether inventory is up 1.9% or the median sold price is down 0.4%.

Maybe you’ve outgrown your home. Maybe you’ve got more space than you need. Maybe you’re relocating for work, wanting to be closer to family, or simply ready for something different.

Those things matter.

And so does understanding what the market will realistically allow you to accomplish.

The August numbers tell us that buyers are still active, pending sales are holding steady, and home prices are remarkably stable. They also tell us that sellers who successfully closed received an average of more than 98% of their asking price.

That’s encouraging.

But it doesn’t mean every home will sell quickly or for the price its owner hopes to receive.

It means there’s opportunity for homeowners who approach the process with a thoughtful plan.

The Market Is Only Part of Your Story

Here’s what I’ve learned after helping families buy and sell homes across Acadiana.

The numbers are important. They help us understand what’s happening, make informed decisions, and develop a strategy. But they never tell the whole story.

Behind every home sale is somebody making a decision about their life.

Sometimes it’s an exciting new beginning. Sometimes it’s a difficult transition. Sometimes it’s something you’ve been planning for years, and sometimes life changes your plans before you’ve even had a chance to think about them.

That’s why I don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all answer to whether you should buy or sell a home.

I believe there’s a conversation worth having.

And if you’ve been wondering what your home might sell for in today’s Lafayette or Acadiana market, I’d love to sit down and help you figure that out. We’ll look at the homes you’re competing against, what buyers are actually paying, and what a move might look like for you.

No pressure. No guessing. Just a real conversation about your home and your next chapter.

Because the market matters.

But your story matters more.

Hey hey, it’s John Ray!

John Ray Perkins III | The John Ray Group at Keller Williams Realty of Acadiana

Serving Lafayette, Youngsville, Broussard, Carencro, Scott, and the surrounding Acadiana communities.

Acadiana Real Estate Market Update: August 2026

The market isn’t standing still. It’s just not moving the way you might expect.

Hey hey, it’s John Ray!

You ever have one of those conversations where somebody tells you the real estate market is terrible, and then five minutes later somebody else tells you their neighbor just sold their house for more than they expected?

I have those conversations all the time.

And depending on who you’re talking to, both people might be telling you the truth. That’s the interesting thing about real estate. Two houses in the same neighborhood can have completely different experiences on the market. One sells in a weekend, and another sits for months. One seller gets close to asking price, while another ends up making some pretty significant concessions.

That’s why I spend time looking at these numbers every month. Not because I think statistics tell us everything, but because they help us understand what’s actually happening beneath all the noise.

And August 2026 gave us a pretty interesting story.

Across Lafayette and the surrounding Acadiana communities, inventory was slightly higher, buyer activity was almost identical to last year, and home prices barely moved. But there was one number that really caught my attention, and I think it tells us something important about the opportunities available to homeowners who are considering selling.

Let’s get into it.

A Little More Inventory

Acadiana finished August with 3,009 homes available for sale, compared to 2,952 in August 2025. That’s an increase of approximately 1.9%, or just 57 additional homes across our market.

Now, I know that seeing more than 3,000 homes for sale might sound like a lot. And depending on the neighborhood or price range you’re looking at, it certainly can feel like buyers have plenty of choices. But when we compare that number to where we were a year ago, the difference is relatively small.

Something else caught my attention. We had 618 new listings come onto the market in August, compared to 659 last year. That’s about a 6.2% decrease.

So, while the total number of available homes is slightly higher, fewer new properties entered the market during the month.

For homeowners thinking about selling, that’s worth paying attention to. You have competition, absolutely. But it’s not as though hundreds of additional homes are suddenly flooding the market compared to last year.

The bigger question is how your home stacks up against the choices buyers already have.

Buyers Haven’t Disappeared

If you’ve spent any time listening to conversations about real estate lately, you’ve probably heard somebody say that buyers just aren’t buying anymore.

Well, the August numbers tell a different story.

There were 5,236 home showings across Acadiana in August 2026, compared to 5,274 during the same month last year. That’s a difference of just 38 showings, or less than 1%.

And those buyers weren’t simply walking through houses to pass the time. We recorded 564 pending sales in August, compared to 561 last year.

Three more homes went under contract than a year ago.

That’s about as steady as you can get.

Now, I don’t think that means every seller should expect buyers to line up at their front door. It does mean that people are still looking for homes, still making decisions, and still writing offers.

The challenge for sellers isn’t necessarily finding a market with buyers in it. The challenge is giving those buyers a reason to choose your home over everything else they’re considering.

And believe me, they’re comparing.

They’re looking at the pictures, studying the price, checking out the neighborhood, calculating their monthly payment, and trying to decide whether the house feels like the right fit.

Sometimes they’re comparing your house to the one down the street. Sometimes they’re comparing it to a brand-new home on the other side of town.

That’s why how we position a home matters so much.

Sales Are Holding Steady

Acadiana recorded 486 closed home sales in August, compared to 501 in August 2025. That’s a decrease of approximately 3%.

Is that something we should pay attention to? Of course. But I don’t think it’s a reason to sound the alarm.

Remember, closings generally represent contracts that were written several weeks earlier. The number of pending sales gives us a different perspective on what buyers are doing more recently, and those numbers were essentially unchanged from last year.

When you put those two statistics together, I see a market that’s still moving, even if it’s not moving at the pace some people might prefer.

And that’s an important distinction.

Because people don’t stop needing homes just because interest rates change or the market becomes more competitive. Families grow. Children leave home. Jobs change. People relocate, get married, retire, and decide they want something different.

Life keeps happening.

And real estate keeps happening right alongside it.

What About Home Prices?

Here’s another number that might surprise you.

The median sold price in Acadiana was $234,655 in August 2026, compared to $235,500 in August 2025.

That’s a difference of just $845.

Less than half of one percent.

With all the conversations about whether home prices are going up, coming down, or getting ready to do something dramatic, August’s numbers were pretty uneventful.

And sometimes uneventful is a good thing.

But I do want to make an important distinction. The median sold price tells us the midpoint of the homes that sold during a particular period. It doesn’t necessarily tell us how much an individual property has appreciated or depreciated.

A home in River Ranch may be experiencing something entirely different from a home in Carencro. A newer property in Youngsville may have different competition than an older home in Lafayette. And even within the same neighborhood, condition, updates, floor plan, and location can make a significant difference.

That’s why I always encourage homeowners to be careful about applying broad market statistics to their own property.

If you want to know what your home is worth, we need to look at your home and the market surrounding it.

Not just the Acadiana average.

Sellers Are Getting Closer to Asking Price

Now, here’s the statistic that really got my attention.

In August 2025, homes that closed sold for an average of 97.32% of their list price.

In August 2026, that number increased to 98.08%.

Think about that for a minute.

We have slightly more inventory. Buyers have choices. Homes are taking about the same amount of time to sell. And yet, the sellers who successfully closed their homes received a higher percentage of their asking price than they did a year ago.

That’s encouraging.

But I also think we need to understand what that number does and doesn’t tell us. It doesn’t mean every seller is getting 98% of whatever price they decide to put on their home. And it certainly doesn’t mean pricing doesn’t matter.

In fact, I think it reinforces just how important pricing has become.

When a home is priced appropriately, prepared thoughtfully, and marketed well, buyers can recognize its value. And when buyers recognize value, they’re often more willing to make a serious offer.

On the other hand, when a home comes onto the market overpriced, it can spend weeks waiting for buyers to catch up to a number they may never agree with.

I’ve seen it happen.

And one of the hardest conversations in real estate is explaining to a seller that the price they hoped to get simply isn’t what buyers are willing to pay.

That’s why I believe those conversations need to happen before we put the sign in the yard.

How Long Are Homes Taking?

The average days on market in August was 71 days, compared to 70 days last year.

One day.

That’s the difference.

So, despite having slightly more inventory available, homes aren’t taking dramatically longer to sell than they did a year ago.

Of course, 71 days is an average. Some homes will sell much faster, and others will take considerably longer. The condition of the property, its location, the asking price, and the competition all influence how quickly a buyer comes along.

But there’s something I want sellers to understand about that number.

You don’t necessarily have 71 days to make a good first impression.

Your home gets a lot of attention when it first hits the market. Buyers who have been watching listings in your neighborhood will notice it. Their agents will notice it. And they’ll begin making comparisons almost immediately.

That’s why I don’t love the idea of putting a house on the market at an inflated price just to see what happens.

Those first few weeks matter.

I’d much rather spend the time preparing the property, studying the competition, and developing a thoughtful pricing and marketing strategy before we launch than spend the next several weeks trying to recover from a poor first impression.

A Market With Choices

One of the numbers I pay close attention to every month is the absorption rate, sometimes called months of inventory.

In August, Acadiana’s absorption rate increased to 6.19 months, compared to 5.89 months a year ago.

In simple terms, this estimates how long it would take to sell the homes currently available if sales continued at the prevailing pace and no additional homes were listed.

Generally speaking, a market with around five to six months of inventory is considered relatively balanced. At just over six months, Acadiana is giving buyers a little more breathing room.

They have choices. They can compare properties. They may have more opportunities to negotiate than they did during the years when homes seemed to sell almost as quickly as they hit the market.

But that doesn’t mean sellers are out of luck.

Far from it.

It means sellers need to understand the environment they’re competing in. And it means that simply having a home for sale isn’t enough to make it stand out.

The presentation matters. The price matters. The marketing matters.

And sometimes the little things make a bigger difference than we expect.

New Construction Is a Different Story

There’s another part of our housing market that I think deserves a little attention, especially if you’re considering selling a home in an area with a lot of new development.

New construction.

In August 2026, there were 703 new construction homes available across Acadiana, compared to 766 a year earlier. That’s a decrease of approximately 8.2%.

Builders also brought fewer new properties to market, with 123 new listings compared to 152 in August 2025.

But here’s where things get interesting.

New construction pending sales increased slightly from 138 to 142, while closed sales jumped from 126 to 144. That’s an increase of approximately 14.3% in new construction closings.

New homes also sold a little faster, averaging 80 days on market compared to 82 days last year. And the absorption rate for new construction dropped from 6.08 months to 4.88 months.

So, while the overall Acadiana market has a little more inventory than it did last year, the new construction market actually has less supply and a stronger pace of closings.

Why does that matter to you?

Because if you’re selling an existing home, you might be competing against a builder whether you realize it or not.

And builders can sometimes offer incentives that individual homeowners simply can’t match. Interest rate buydowns, closing cost assistance, warranties, and other promotions can make a brand-new home attractive to buyers who are focused on their monthly payment.

But that doesn’t mean your home can’t compete.

An established neighborhood, mature trees, a larger lot, fencing, window treatments, custom improvements, or simply being closer to the places someone wants to be can all make a resale home incredibly appealing.

The key is knowing what makes your home different and communicating that value to the right buyers.

Because sometimes the house with the most to offer isn’t the newest one.

Your First Impression Matters

If there’s one thing I hope homeowners take away from the August market report, it’s this: the market is stable, but buyers are selective.

And when buyers have choices, the way your home enters the market matters.

Before somebody ever schedules a showing, they’ve probably already looked at your pictures, compared your price to other listings, and formed an opinion about whether your home is worth seeing.

That’s why I believe selling a home starts long before the listing goes live.

It starts with an honest conversation about your goals. It continues with a careful look at the competition, a plan for preparing the property, professional presentation, and a marketing strategy designed to reach the people most likely to buy it.

None of those things guarantees a particular result.

But together, they put you in a much better position to compete.

And in a market where buyers have options, that’s exactly where I want my sellers to be.

So, Is Now a Good Time to Sell?

I get asked this question all the time.

And my answer usually starts with another question.

What’s making you think about selling?

Because the right time to make a move isn’t always determined by whether inventory is up 1.9% or the median sold price is down 0.4%.

Maybe you’ve outgrown your home. Maybe you’ve got more space than you need. Maybe you’re relocating for work, wanting to be closer to family, or simply ready for something different.

Those things matter.

And so does understanding what the market will realistically allow you to accomplish.

The August numbers tell us that buyers are still active, pending sales are holding steady, and home prices are remarkably stable. They also tell us that sellers who successfully closed received an average of more than 98% of their asking price.

That’s encouraging.

But it doesn’t mean every home will sell quickly or for the price its owner hopes to receive.

It means there’s opportunity for homeowners who approach the process with a thoughtful plan.

The Market Is Only Part of Your Story

Here’s what I’ve learned after helping families buy and sell homes across Acadiana.

The numbers are important. They help us understand what’s happening, make informed decisions, and develop a strategy. But they never tell the whole story.

Behind every home sale is somebody making a decision about their life.

Sometimes it’s an exciting new beginning. Sometimes it’s a difficult transition. Sometimes it’s something you’ve been planning for years, and sometimes life changes your plans before you’ve even had a chance to think about them.

That’s why I don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all answer to whether you should buy or sell a home.

I believe there’s a conversation worth having.

And if you’ve been wondering what your home might sell for in today’s Lafayette or Acadiana market, I’d love to sit down and help you figure that out. We’ll look at the homes you’re competing against, what buyers are actually paying, and what a move might look like for you.

No pressure. No guessing. Just a real conversation about your home and your next chapter.

Because the market matters.

But your story matters more.

Hey hey, it’s John Ray!

John Ray Perkins III | The John Ray Group at Keller Williams Realty of Acadiana

Serving Lafayette, Youngsville, Broussard, Carencro, Scott, and the surrounding Acadiana communities.