Pending sales and new listings in the Baton Rouge area housing market ticked up in October after experiencing declines in August and September, the latest report from the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors shows. According to the GBRAR report, pending sales rose 1.4% in October year over year and new listings increased by 2.9%.  The report displays statistics from three main housing markets in the region: Ascension, East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes. Across the three parishes: New listings increased 2.9% to 1,185. Pending sales increased 1.4% to 745. Closed sales increased 8.4% to 783. The percentage of list price received increased 0.5% to 97.7%.  Days on the market until sale increased 20.7% to 70.   Inventory of homes for sale increased 10.8% to 4,142. Months’ supply of inventory increased 14% to 4.9. While Ascension saw an increase in the median sales price, rising 17.4% to $327,545 in October compared to $278,910 in September 2023, prices fell in Livingston and East Baton Rouge parishes by less than 1%.  In Livingston, the median sales price fell 0.6% to $241,628, while in EBR, it dipped 0.4% to $259,900. The increase in pending sales and new listings could be attributed to the Federal Reserve’s half-point rate cut near the end of September. The cut lowered the central bank’s key rate to roughly 4.8%, down from a two-decade high of 5.3%, where it had stood for 14 months. The Federal Reserve approved a quarter-point interest-rate cut earlier this month, bringing the benchmark federal funds rate between 4.5% and 4.75%.  Take Our Poll