Louisville House Prices Down 3.6% YTD

While it’s been a tough year for Louisville real estate, at least we can take some solace in knowing our market isn’t behaving like some of those in Florida, California and some other states. But for a city where home appreciation has run 4%-5% annually, any kind of departure from that trend isn’t expected or welcome.

I read this in the CJ today:

The weak performance continued a downward trend of the past several months, and pushed the area’s year-to-date median price decline to 3.6 percent

Some are predicting a rebound in 1Q of ‘09 but others say the worst is yet to come. We can’t worry about what the future holds as much as we should make our decisions on what makes the most sense, right here and now.

Best Louisville Neighborhoods: Landis Lakes

Landis Lakes, just south of Lake Forest off Shelbyville Road, is a gorgeous neighborhood with some remarkable homes. The price range for homes in this neighborhood start in the low $400’s and move up to the high $600’s. These are large homes, averaging around 3,400 square feet on generally 1/3-acre lots.

Being located just outside of the Gene Snyder Expressway, Landis Lakes is close to a great deal of new development, both commercial and residential. It’s also very close to the Christian Academy of Louisville’s English Station campus. Read More »

This post is one in an ongoing series of spotlights on the Best Louisville Neighborhoods. If you have a neighborhood that you think deserves coverage, please contact us.

Home Improvements That Are Eco-Friendly Too!

I saw this article—Top 10 Ideas for Eco-Friendly Home Improvements—a while back and thought I’d share with you. If you can find that the environment-friendly solution also saves you money, then I get really excited!

Be sure to read the whole piece because I just pulled my favorite five ideas.

  • Every year tons of water gets flushed in your bathrooms. So when you are considering remodeling your home then opt for dual flush in your bathroom. So depending upon the need you can use powerful mode or gentle mode. This step will reduce your yearly water consumption.
  • When you want to renovate your flooring then you can go for cork floor. Besides being natural cork flooring is comfortable to walk on and durable. Cork floorings are available in a wide range of designs and colors.
  • Instead of replacing entire flooring you can reuse or refinish the existing material. This is easily possible in case you have other type of flooring beneath your wood flooring.
  • In case you are opting for carpet tiles then carpet padding is not compulsory. It is better to avoid carpet padding. Avoid padding will reduce the additional material, labor and chemicals used to install. Carpet padding also increases the need to keep your carpet clean and it becomes hard to clean without using harsh chemicals.
  • In case you are not going for big renovation then you can simply switch to eco-friendly furnishing. The best way is to purchase used furniture this step will reduce the demand on forest and materials to be made from scratch. Used furniture besides being eco-friendly is also a cost efficient move.

4th Street Live to Expand

A new land deal was approved by the city council that will allow developers the opportunity to expand 4th Street Live in Louisville’s downtown.

After a three-hour debate, Metro Council Democrats voted in lock step last night to approve the $12 million purchase of three acres of prime real estate that will allow The Cordish Cos. to expand 4th Street Live. The development, called Center City, would potentially be worth $250 million.

It looks like the deal wasn’t what the council wanted, money-wise, but the Democrats went along with Mayor Abramson, who’s consistently wanted to spend more tax dollars in the downtown area.

October 2008 Home Sales in Louisville, KY

More down than up this month, but where sale numbers are down, prices are rising. Looks like values are balancing out as we head into the Holidays. If you have any questions, please contact me.

October 2008

AREA SALES AVERAGE DoM
0 Central Downtown District 8 Up Arrow $162,848 Up Arrow 103 Up Arrow
1 Downtwn/Old&WestLouisville/Shively 107 Up Arrow $43,226 Down Arrow 67 Down Arrow
2 Butchertown/Highlands/Germantwn 58 Up Arrow $164,055 Down Arrow 62 Up Arrow
3 Brownsboro/StMatthews 41 Down Arrow $229,671 Up Arrow 60 Down Arrow
4 Pleasure Rdg/Valley Station 56 Up Arrow $103,127 Down Arrow 73 Down Arrow
5 Auburndale/Fairdale/Iroquois Park 66 Down Arrow $99,799 Down Arrow 93 Up Arrow
6 Buechel/Highview/Okolona/FernCreek 115 Down Arrow $135,527 Up Arrow 62 Down Arrow
7 FernCrk/Hikes Point/Jeffersontown 80 Down Arrow $156,692 Up Arrow 74 Down Arrow
8 Hurstbourne/Middletwn/Anchrg 78 Up Arrow $252,153 Down Arrow 72 Down Arrow
9 Anchrg/Lyndn/Prospct/UpRvrRd 86 Down Arrow $220,969 Down Arrow 83 Up Arrow
11 Bullitt Co. 67 Down Arrow $163,767 Up Arrow 82 Down Arrow
19 Spencer Co. 23 Up Arrow $150,891 Down Arrow 93 Down Arrow
20 Oldham Co. – North 26 Up Arrow $269,452 Down Arrow 92 Down Arrow
21 Oldham Co. – South 29 Down Arrow $187,413 Down Arrow 96 Up Arrow
30 Shelby Co. 22 Down Arrow $138,559 Down Arrow 79 Down Arrow

Source: MetroSearch, Inc. Values are not warranted by LHB.