Sep 2026
$236K
+0.4% year-over-year
How it’s calculated
Rolling 3-month median sale price vs. same 3 months one year prior.
Lake Charles, LA housing market
Lake Charles, LA metro median sale price $236K in Sep 2026, up 0.4% year over year. Also days on market, price cuts, affordability and ZIP-code figures.
The median sale price in the Lake Charles, LA metro is $236K as of Sep 2026, up 0.4% from a year earlier. FHFA's repeat-sales index for the metro shows a larger change, up 7.7% through Q2 2026, 7.3 points apart; Price reconciliation below shows both.
On median sale price, Lake Charles ($236K) ranks 7th of the 10 Louisiana metros Pecan Street tracks, between Lafayette ($242K) and Houma ($235K). On median days on market, Lake Charles (85 days) ranks 2nd of the 10 Louisiana metros, between Houma (97 days) and Lafayette (81 days). On share of listings with a price cut, Lake Charles (26%) ranks 9th of the 10 Louisiana metros, between New Orleans (28%) and Houma (22%).
Listings spent a median 85 days on market in Sep 2026, the 23rd-most of the 385 U.S. metros Pecan Street ranks on this measure. 26% of active listings carry a price cut, 2.1 points more than a year earlier. That share is the 31st-lowest of the 385 metros. Median asking prices sit about 2% above the median sale price.
At the 7.29% 30-year fixed rate with 20% down, principal and interest on a median-priced home come to $1,294 a month; at 28% of gross income, that takes about $55K a year. The median sale price equals about 13 years of HUD Fair Market Rent, a ratio down 0.1% from a year earlier. That ratio is lower than in most of the 373 metros. Active listings ask a median $128 per square foot, down 0.3% from a year earlier.
In six of the 10 ZIP codes in the table below, median list prices are higher than a year earlier; four are lower.
Headline
Oct 15, 2026
7.29%
30-year fixed
Where it comes from
National benchmark: Optimal Blue OBMMI 30-year conforming, via FRED. An average of rates borrowers have actually locked, updated daily.
The same rate appears on every market page.
Principal & interest
$1,294/mo
$55K/yr income needed
How it’s calculated
Payment — this market’s median sale price with 20% down, on a 30-year fixed loan at the rate shown. Principal and interest only — no property tax, insurance, PMI or HOA.
Income needed — that payment at 28% of gross income. A rule of thumb, not a lending decision.
How Lake Charles compares to other U.S. metros
| Days on market | ↑23rd of 385 (top 6%) |
|---|---|
| Price cuts | ↓355th of 385 |
| Price-to-rent | ↓303rd of 373 |
| Asking-vs-sale gap | ↓211th of 292 |
| Home-price growth | ↓263rd of 383 |
Rank across the U.S. metros Pecan Street tracks, on market data alone — a higher rank means more of that measure (more price cuts, faster price growth, a wider asking-vs-sale gap, a higher price-to-rent ratio, or more days on market). The bar shows where this metro sits within that metric’s own cohort (left is more, right is less); ↑ and ↓ mark the positions furthest from the middle, and rows are ordered the same way. Metrics without data for this metro are omitted.
Affordability
| Price-to-rent ratio | ≈ 13 -0.1% YoY ↓303rd of 373 |
|---|---|
| Asking price / sq ft | $128 -0.3% YoY |
Price-to-rent divides the median sale price by the annual HUD Fair Market Rent (a 3-bedroom, 40th-percentile benchmark), so it is a directional rent-vs-buy read, not a cap rate; its year-over-year change is directional in the same way. Asking price per square foot is the median across active for-sale listings (Realtor.com), as of Sep 2026. The bar under a figure places this metro among the U.S. metros we track on that measure, highest first.
Market pressure
| Listings with a price cut | ≈ 26% +2.1 pts YoY ↓355th of 385 |
|---|
The median asking price $241K runs about 2% above the median sale price $236K.
Price-cut share is the portion of active for-sale listings that have taken a price reduction (Realtor.com), as of Sep 2026. Asking is the median list price of active listings (Realtor.com, this month); sale is the headline median of recent closings (Redfin, a rolling 3-month median) — distinct sources and windows, so the gap is a directional read, not a like-for-like difference. The bar under a figure places this metro among the U.S. metros we track on that measure, highest first.
Market facts
| ZIPs with listing data | 10 shown of 23 |
|---|---|
| MLS board of record | — |
| Price methodology | Redfin vs FHFA HPI |
| Data as of | Sep 2026 |
Recent signals
No signals flagged for this market right now.
Recent notable readings
- The FHFA house price index for the metro fell 1% from Q3 2008 to Q3 2011: the 19th-mildest bust of the 385 U.S. metros Pecan Street tracks with FHFA data; it has risen 63% since Q3 2011: the 7th-smallest rebound of the 382 metros whose prices fell. Q2 2026 is its highest reading on record.
Readings from the latest data that sit at one end of the U.S. metros Pecan Street tracks, from the nightly cross-metro comparison. They are not signal alerts.
Price reconciliation
red · 7.3ppRedfin (metro) +0.4% | FHFA HPI · Q2 2026 +7.7% |
Year-over-year home-price change from two independent methods — Redfin (monthly sold price) and FHFA (quarterly repeat-sales index). When they diverge, the market is mid-shift; cite the figure with that in mind.
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Try it freeZIP-level data
| ZIP | Median list price | Active listings | New listings | Price reductions | Days on market | Home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70546 | $161K↓ | 43↓ | 6↓ | 12↑ | 96↑ | $140K↑ |
| 70601 | $152K↑ | 124↓ | 28↓ | 26↓ | 101↑ | $100K↓ |
| 70605 | $350K↑ | 162↓ | 42↓ | 42↓ | 85↑ | $278K↑ |
| 70607 | $233K↑ | 103↓ | 26↓ | 18 | 66↑ | $204K↑ |
| 70611 | $296K↑ | 76↓ | 22↑ | 22↓ | 61↑ | $257K↑ |
| 70633 | $140K↓ | 27↓ | 4↓ | 6↓ | 105↑ | $158K↑ |
| 70647 | $275K↑ | 33↓ | 14↓ | 4↓ | 71↑ | $247K↑ |
| 70663 | $210K↑ | 70↓ | 24↓ | 20↑ | 76↑ | $185K↑ |
| 70665 | $282K↓ | 38↓ | 20 | 10↑ | 109↑ | $236K↑ |
| 70669 | $231K↓ | 25↓ | 14↓ | 8↓ | 58↓ | $190K↑ |
ZIP figures from Realtor.com listing data; home value from Zillow ZHVI. ZIP codes shown have the most complete listing-data history and active for-sale inventory in this metro; the latest available month is shown per ZIP. Arrows show the direction of each figure against the same three months a year earlier; no arrow means the change rounds to zero or the comparison isn't available.