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Last Modified: May 20, 2009Real Estate

A real estate agent is a licensed professional who assists people when they are buying or selling what is almost always the most expensive and important possession they will ever own. While some people may possess adequate negotiation skills and sufficient legal knowledge to successfully conduct a real estate transaction, most people prefer to utilize the services of a licensed professional real estate agent who is also able to understand their clients’ dreams, special needs and financial capabilities. Real estate agents engage in pro-active marketing and advertising to sell homes, have access to the regional multiple listings services and can locate available properties for buyers that are not listed in the MLS or on the Internet, are able to compare many sources for buyer’s financing options, and customarily provide many other worthwhile services that enable people to live where they want to live.

Average price for a single family home in Shreveport-Bossier City: $150,000

According to the Northwest Louisiana Association of Realtors, the median housing price in the Shreveport-Bossier Metropolitan Area fluctuates around $150,000 for a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home situated on ¼ acre of property, while the national average for a similar home is approximately $202,000. However, the national average home cost includes the lowest housing prices found in America’s rural country areas. It is becoming increasingly impossible to find a house on ¼ acre of land in close proximity to a desirable urban environment for under $250,000 but in Shreveport-Bossier City there is a plethora of excellent available housing at affordable prices. There are also many opportunities for luxurious upscale living at prices that are real bargains when compared with costs for similar luxury homes in other metropolitan areas.

Property taxes are the lowest

Louisiana has the lowest property tax rate in the United States at .00172% of the assessed home value while the national property tax rate average is 11.27%. Louisiana exempts the first $75,000 of a home’s assessed value from taxation and allows people who are 65 years old or older with $62,000 or less in annual adjusted gross income to freeze the assessed value of their home. About one half of all the householders in Louisiana pay less than $175 in property taxes per home annually. For people in other states who agonizingly watch their property taxes increase every year while their income remains at the same level, relocating to Shreveport-Bossier City where properties are so attractive and property taxes are so reasonable may be an excellent idea.

Tax incentives ignite Shreveport’s hot commercial real estate market

Both the State of Louisiana and Shreveport-Bossier City offer programs that have proven to be successful in stimulating a healthy and strong business environment. The City of Shreveport’s Enterprise Zone Program provides tax credits and sales tax rebates to businesses located in officially designated Economic Development Zones. The Economic Development Loan Program provides low-interest loans to investors who renovate commercial and industrial buildings to accommodate new business development. The Shreveport Inner City Economic Development Initiative is designed to stimulate improvement of the inner city business climate and the Technical Assistance Program assists business owners in many different general and specific ways. Louisiana’s Restoration Tax Abatement Program provides additional tax incentives to entrepreneurs who restore and/or improve properties in downtown development districts, economic development districts or historic districts. These programs are successfully assisting many business owners and investors by encouraging the expansion of a hot yet intelligently developed commercial real estate market.

New master planned community developments

Intelligent, innovative and visionary real estate developers have realized that the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan area contains a limited amount of unused prime land that can be developed into residential communities and it makes financial sense to buy them now and develop them to their fullest potential so that they will become perpetual profit generators in the future. Developments such as Island Park on the Shreveport River Front, Southern Trace adjacent to Norris Ferry Road, and The Haven near the intersection of Youree Drive and 70th Street are three examples of a new style of luxurious modern living in which residential life and work are combined in an environmentally friendly setting that features architectural excellence, beautiful landscaping, fitness centers and opportunities for sports and other fun activities. Many new housing developments like these all around the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Area have opened up a bright future for people who have the foresight to make wise property and business investments here.

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