House Real Estate Market Strong in Vermilion Parish

The real estate business in Vermilion Parish was strong in 2019, based on the data from the Realtors association of Acadiana Multiple Listing Services (MLS).
James Noel Jr. of Sunrise Realty in Abbeville provided the Meridional with numbers of last year’s real estate market in Vermilion Parish.
The sale of single family detached dwellings (not counting mobile homes) were up 25 percent from a year ago. According to MLS, 360 homes sold in Vermilion Parish in 2019. Last year there were 275 homes.
There is no surprise where most sales took place in 2019.
The Maurice area had the most increase in home sales in 2019, while the Abbeville area had the second-highest amount of sales.
There were 141 homes sold in the Maurice area last year, or twice as many as the year before, according to MLS. Most of those homes were in or around the Village of Maurice. Gabriel Gardens and Vincent Trace Subdivisions, which are located in the Village, each had 29 new homes sold. Picard Farms, also in the Village, had 22 new homes sold.
Noel said he is not surprised by where people want to live.
“Lafayette people are moving south,” said Noel. “When it flooded in Lafayette (2016), people were looking to escape the flooding. They saw the Maurice and Abbeville areas had the high ground, plus, Vermilion Parish has great public schools. Those two things make for a great place to live.”
Noel expects the Maurice building explosion to continue as the Village expands its infrastructure but it is yet to be determined how the school system will accommodate the increase of students.
The Abbeville area, which extends near the communities of Meaux, Esther, Perry and north east along La. Hwy 338 as well as the city itself, had 137 homes sold.
There were 34 homes sold in Kaplan, 29 in Erath, and five in Gueydan in 2019.
When the parish flooded twice because of storm surges from hurricanes 10 years ago, everyone migrated to anywhere north, said Noel. But when the rains of 2016 came and flooded homes throughout South Louisiana, people are now more selective with where they want to live, Noel added.
“Now, the home buyer is searching for a place that has good drainage,” said Noel. “It is not about just living in the northern part of the parish.”
The average price of homes sold in the parish was $170,000, which is $17,000 more than a year ago.
The highest price home sold in 2019 was for $750,000 on Woodlawn Road, near the Woodlawn Bridge.
The average marketing time in Vermilion Parish for 2019 was 110 days, compared to 120 days in 2018.
Today, there are 149 homes for sale and an additional 29 currently pending in Vermilion Parish.
The Abbeville area has the most homes for sale with 68, and the Maurice area has 37. Kaplan and Erath each have 17 homes for sale.
If you are looking to buy a home in Vermilion, 56 homes are selling with a price tag between $100,000 and $200,000.
There are 27 homes for sale under $100,000 and 46 houses with an asking price between $200,000 to $300,000.
Vermilion Parish has 13 homes for sale in the $300,000 to $400,000 range and 11 that cost more than $400,000.
There are no $1 million homes for sale as of Friday. The most expensive home for sale is $699,900, and it’s located at 204 North Henry Street (behind Park Restaurant, near the Vermilion River) in Abbeville.
“2019 was a good year for real estate in Vermilion Parish,” said Noel. “We expect the trend will continue in 2020.”