Energy Efficiency Rises on Home Buyer’s Priority List
Oct 31, 2008 Residential
A new article in Business First first cites energy efficiency as being “a critical factor” when assessing a homes affordability.
The Louisville nonprofit group’s 2008 report notes that the average Louisville gas bill has risen to $134.78 in August 2008 from $38.56 in August 1998.
“Louisville and our metro area no longer have the low energy costs of the past decades, yet we live with the legacy of housing construction that relied on low energy costs,†said Cathy Hinko, coalition executive director. “Most of the homes in Louisville were built before insulation became a requirement in the local building code. As we look at the age of homes and concentrations of low-income households, we see that the very people least able to afford high consumption live in homes built without energy efficiency measures.â€
While certainly important to lower income families, energy efficiency and long-term durability should be honestly considered by anyone building a new home. Builders like David Landis (Landis Homes) and Vince Kimbel (Kimbel Construction) are making it a focal point of their business.
Tags: David Landis, energy efficient, new construction, Vince Kimbel
PNC Buys National City to Become Kentucky’s Largest Bank
Oct 31, 2008 News
Did you hear the news?
“We’re #1! We’re #1!”
That’s the cry coming from PNC as they essentially doubled in size after the purchase of failing National City become final.
National City was one of many middle tier institutions who hurt their financial viability by going after risky loans. Now they’re paying the ultimate price. Here are the numbers.
The National City deal would make PNC the fifth-largest U.S. bank by deposits, $180 billion, and fourth-biggest by branches, roughly 2,700.
National City, which entered Kentucky about 20 years ago through acquisitions, has been the state’s largest bank by deposits. The bulk of its presence in the state has been in the Louisville area; it’s headquartered in a mirrored tower at Fifth and Main streets downtown.
The bank this week reported a larger-than-expected $5.15 billion third-quarter loss. Excluding a special dividend, the bank lost $729 million, or 85 cents a share.
Tags: National City, PNC
Louisville Finally Featured on HGTV
Oct 26, 2008 News
Great gig if you can find it. Stephanie Mattingly must have been quite excited when HGTV contacted her to audition for one of their TV shows—”My House Is Worth What?” I have no idea why it took so long for them to pick Louisville.
The producers try to show homes in different parts of the country, and Louisville was “one of those cities that we’ve always wanted to come to,” Falcon said. “We were very happy to finally get there.” [link]
According to the article, the show starts airing today on Insight cable Channel 51.
Real Estate Blogs Give Anonymous Posters a Playground
Oct 24, 2008 General
I read an interesting story on the WSJ today called, Housing Blogs Throw Stones. It seems that many are taking out their real estate frustrations by going online and blasting away at other people’s houses… verbally, of course.
That’s the thing about the Internet; without accountability, many fall victim to their baser instincts.
On the other hand, there are those who are using these housing blogs to promote their own property in the hopes that others believe the anonymous posters are sincere.
Ahh… life in the digital age.
What Does the Future Hold for Louisville Real Estate?
Oct 15, 2008 Residential, Trends/Statistics
Forecasting is always a tricky business. From the stock market to fantasy football, the future is, by definition, uncertain. But that doesn’t mean we can’t throw some data into our logic blender and see what comes out, does it?
Earlier this year, Money magazine posted their take on real estate in 2009. But before we go there, let’s look at what they said about 2008.
In an article published April 11 2007, here’s what Money projected for real estate in Louisville, Kentucky for 2008.
According to Louisville’s MLS system, the median sales price for 2008 so far is $135,900. Compare this with 2007’s median of $139,000 and we arrive at a drop of 2.28%. Looks like Money overshot their target.
That brings us to this year’s predictions. Back in May of this year, Money published Where home prices are headed next. Here’s what the experts are projecting for Louisville real estate in 2009.
Given recent events in the stock market and around the globe, if we could have a half percent gain in 2009, I think most people would jump for joy. It’ll be interesting (to say the least) to watch how things play out.
Save Money on Your Heating Bill This Winter
Oct 14, 2008 Home Improvement
Louisville, Kentucky generally has mild winters but that doesn’t mean we should not take advantage of every opportunity to save money on our heating bills. You never know when we’ll have another massive snow storm like we had this past year.
David, over at My Two Dollars, has a great post that gives us 10 tips to save money this winter. I’ve posted his first five below and you can also read the entire article on his site.
1. Install a programmable thermostat. You don’t need to heat your house to 70 degrees if no one is home all day, so set it to heat up the house right before you get home from work. That way you are not running your heater at full blast all afternoon, but rather just keeping the house from freezing over!
2. Install your storm windows and doors. If you have had your screens up all summer and you have glass inserts for the winter, now might be a good time to start putting them in. I hated doing this at my house when I was a kid, so if you spread it out over a few weekends it won’t seem as bad.
3. Open the blinds and drapes during the day and close them at night. During the day, the sun will come in and help warm up your house, and at night you should close them so the heat stays indoors.
4. Have your furnace serviced. Now is the time to make the appointment, before winter comes and everyone else wants theirs done. A serviced and cleaned furnace runs more efficiently, saving you money as you heat your house.
5. Insulate any heating ducts exposed to colder weather. Do you have any exposed heating ducts running through your garage or attic? You might want to think about wrapping them in insulation to prevent the heat from escaping or cooling down as it is working its way around your home.
Best Louisville Neighborhoods: Beech Spring Farm
Oct 13, 2008 Neighborhoods
Home to Homearama in 2006, Beech Spring Farm is another grand, east end neighborhood that caters to homeowners with exquisite tastes. The subdivision is located off Barbour Ln. near Brownsboro Farm, just down Highway 22 from Springhurst and Norton Commons, east of Prospect. This is a great place to consider if you’re looking for high-end homes built within the past five years in a neighborhood located inside the Gene Snyder Expressway, so that you’re close to shopping, restaurants and transportation. Read More »
Tags: beech spring farm, best louisville neighborhood, tre pryor
September 2008 Home Sales in Louisville, KY
Oct 12, 2008 Trends/Statistics
Results vary in September as most are down but for a few regions, such as Area 6, which were up big. We can still take some solace in the fact that Louisville is doing better than most of the country. If you have any questions, please contact me.
September 2008
| AREA | SALES | AVERAGE | DoM |
| 0 Central Downtown District | 0  |
$0 |
0 |
| 1 Downtwn/Old&WestLouisville/Shively | 91  |
$51,212 |
73 |
| 2 Butchertown/Highlands/Germantwn | 54 |
$164,655 |
55 |
| 3 Brownsboro/StMatthews | 53 |
$201,011 |
69 |
| 4 Pleasure Rdg/Valley Station | 47 |
$105,141 |
98 |
| 5 Auburndale/Fairdale/Iroquois Park | 69 |
$109,052 |
80 |
| 6 Buechel/Highview/Okolona/FernCreek | 153 |
$122,395 |
83 |
| 7 FernCrk/Hikes Point/Jeffersontown | 95 |
$152,834 |
81 |
| 8 Hurstbourne/Middletwn/Anchrg | 78 |
$272,989 |
93 |
| 9 Anchrg/Lyndn/Prospct/UpRvrRd | 88 |
$250,154 |
76 |
| 11 Bullitt Co. | 69 |
$139,353 |
94 |
| 19 Spencer Co. | 15 |
$157,701 |
102 |
| 20 Oldham Co. – North | 20 |
$346,155 |
125 |
| 21 Oldham Co. – South | 39 |
$256,042 |
69 |
| 30 Shelby Co. | 36 |
$151,201 |
118 |
Source: MetroSearch, Inc. Values are not warranted by LHB.
