Is building your Louisville dream home part of your retirement plans? Or, would downsizing and traveling the world be more your style? A lot of people may not consider their Louisville real estate when they are planning for retirement. Savings and income is the main focus for retirement planning but real estate can play an important part of the process. (By the way, I know a great Louisville financial planner, if you need one.) If you are financially set up for retirement, where do you want to be and what kind of lifestyle do you want to be living? The answers to these questions will

Lots of great neighborhoods across a fairly wide price range. This shot is of Beech Spring Farm one of Louisville's newest high-end subdivision. Each Friday we'll be counting down the wealthiest ZIP codes in Louisville, Kentucky. Today's is 40241 and it comes in at the #6 wealthiest ZIP in Louisville. You know what else? It's also my home! Sad part is that our household is likely bringing the average down. Average Household Income: $100,750 Average/Median Home Value: $261,352/$228,316 Number of Homes over $1M: 52 Source: BusinessFirstofLouisville.com This ZIP contains some g

Find these fun and colorful birdies at Dandelion. It's that time of the year again—decorating, parties, and gifts! Fortunately our fair city has great local shops waiting to help. Don't worry, there's still 12 shopping days until Christmas! I love the animal-motif decorations at Dandelion, 3729 Lexington Rd (Vogue Center). These cute birds brighten up any tree, wreath or garland. There are also owls, penguins, and rabbits. Dandelion also has luscious scented candles and cute holiday-boxed matches that make a perfect hostess gift for any holiday event. The fleur de lis re

Wide open spaces mark this ZIP code, very rural living. Simpsonville is part of it but not nearly all. Each Friday we'll be counting down the wealthiest ZIP codes in Louisville, Kentucky. Our #7 wealthiest ZIP in Louisville today is 40067, located on the Eastern edge of Louisville. Almost 45 square miles, homes in this area generally have very large lots and healthy dose of privace. Average Household Income: $100,027 Average/Median Home Value: $364,949/$228,947 Number of Homes over $1M: 102 Source: BusinessFirstofLouisville.com Other than the Cardinal Club and a few smaller

Louisville was the top city in the nation for livability in 2008. But just a year later it doesn't crack the Top 15? Makes you wonder. Each day my little electronic minions spider across the interwebs to find news items related to Louisville KY, local real estate and other assorted topics. They do their job fairly well; quite well when you consider what I'm paying them. My scouts report back with titles like Best Places to Live With the Lowest Cost of Living (Kiplinger) and Safest U.S. Cities for Families with Young Children (Sperling's) all touting the great attributes of our cit

12/3/2011 - Most areas saw a drop in home sale activity during November 2011. Prices would slightly down with a few exceptions—most notably Areas 8 and 9. This past 3 year span has seen the largest drop in home values going back for decades. Sellers are being forced to make a tough decision while buyers are grabbing up bargains. Below you'll find our monthly reports for the following Louisville housing markets. These charts display Louisville home sales and Louisville median home values with a trend-line. This Louisville real estate area map defines the MLS areas. Monthly Reports:

Large lots with a healthy dose of privacy characterize homes in and around Fisherville. Each Friday we'll be counting down the wealthiest ZIP codes in Louisville, Kentucky. Today, the 8th wealthiest ZIP code by Average Household Income is 40023 or Fisherville. 40023 is only about 20 square miles. A very rural setting but still in Jefferson County and close to Jeffersontown. Average Household Income: $99,667 Average/Median Home Value: $317,252/$259,173 Number of Homes over $1M: 23 Source: BusinessFirstofLouisville.com There aren't many official developments or neighborhoods bu

Homes like this one in Summerfield by the Lake highlight what amazing properties live in Crestwood. Each Friday we'll be counting down the wealthiest ZIP codes in Louisville, Kentucky. Today, the 9th wealthiest ZIP code in Louisville is just outside Jefferson County to the northest in Oldham County. 40014 is approximately 57 square miles large and has a number of very nice neighborhoods. Average Household Income: $98,119 Average/Median Home Value: $261,421/$230,956 Number of Homes over $1M: 22 Source: BusinessFirstofLouisville.com There are a few Best Louisville Neighbo

This is the first of a 3-part series on real estate myths. There are many misconceptions when it comes to buying and selling Louisville real estate that I believe we can correct. If you have more specific questions, feel free to contact the LHB Editor. Replacing the front door on a home is still the only home improvement that surveys say will provide a greater return than the investment. Because there is so much information flooding our lives today, it's more important than ever to distinguish the truth from the myth. Whether is myths about foreclosures or myths about home improvemen

This Floyds Knobs home has acres of wide open spaces but is still just minutes from downtown Louisville. Each Friday we'll be counting down the wealthiest ZIP codes in Louisville, Kentucky. Today, the 10th wealthiest ZIP code in Louisville isn't actually in Kentucky, it's in Indiana. 47119 is approximately 41 square miles, just across the bridge, you know... the broken bridge? Average Household Income: $94,010 Average/Median Home Value: $241,119/$186,330 Number of Homes over $1M: 36 Source: BusinessFirstofLouisville.com Northwest of downtown, Floyds Knobs has some amaz

Buying a Louisville condo isn't the same as buying a Louisville single family home. It's important to understand the differences. Here is a very basic checklist that you should use before buying a Louisville condo. This checklist should be put together before looking at any units and making a decision based on emotion instead of logic. By sticking to this checklist you be able to find the perfect condo that you love and meets all of your criteria. 1. What is your price range? Whether you're buying a house, townhouse or condo, you'll always need to figure out how much you can afford

Sales activity was steadily rising in Louisville through 2005. For the past four years home sales have been stagnant. The health of any real estate market is measured by steady increases in home values along with activity levels that trend upward along with population growth. The same is true for Louisville real estate. Going back 10 years gives us a more historical viewpoint on where we were and where we are now. Looking Back on Louisville Home Sales From 1995 to 1999, home sales in Louisville rose more than 25%! The next three years saw activity remain level, each year having roug

Obtaining a mortgage can be intimidating but understanding the entire process makes the task easier. There are multiple steps involved in the mortgage process, regardless of whether an individual is buying a new home or refinancing an existing loan. In most cases, home refinancing is less complicated than acquiring a new mortgage. 1. Getting Pre-Qualified and Pre-Approved Pre-qualification and pre-approval for a loan are the first steps in obtaining a mortgage. During the pre-qualification process the lender estimates how much the buyer can afford and the amount the bank may be willing

11/4/2011 - Strong month for most of these Louisville areas in terms of home sales activity. Home prices in many took a big hit but a few are performing quite well, especially against the backdrop of national home value decreases. Below you'll find our monthly reports for the following Louisville housing markets. These charts display Louisville home sales and Louisville median home values with a trend-line. This Louisville real estate area map defines the MLS areas. Monthly Reports: Period Ending October 2011 Another solid month for Area 2 with home sales activity up for the 5th st

This Louisville real estate market report covers the monthly home sales for the past six years in Jefferson County (Louisville, KY) and is published monthly. It can also be found under Housing Reports for Jefferson Co. Sales. Do you have an real estate questions? Please contact Tre Pryor, REALTOR your trusted advisor in Louisville real estate.

Homes listed on a Friday were 12 percent more likely to sell within 90 days according to study. Study's are done all the time. They can be frivolous, somewhat worthwhile or ground-breaking. On a scale of 1-to-10, I'll give this one a 6.5. If the question is, "When should I list my Louisville home?" The answer would be on a Friday! According to Redfin, a Seattle-based real estate company, after analyzing 1.2 million listings, homes listed on a Friday were 12 percent more likely to sell within 90 days. "Our theory is that since homebuyers tend to tour homes on the weekends (Saturd

Mark Twain popularized this famous quote, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." By their very nature, numbers can be manipulated to show many results, even opposing ones, and still be factually accurate. In the world of real estate, this is true as well. But careful attention usually discerns the treasures within. Organizations collect and manipulate data in a myriad of ways. Then when the time comes to report, let's say home sales in Louisville, do they include all homes? What about condos? They're "homes" too! How about the surrounding counties? Most of

While a home with a gorgeous pool maybe strongly appeal to certain house hunters, it won't to the bulk of Louisville home buyers. A basic concept in marketing anything is having an item appeal to the most amount of people possible. This concept also applies to selling your Louisville home. The more appealing it is to the market as a whole, the faster it will sell. If you're thinking about doing some home improvements to add value to your home, here are some that you may want to avoid. These improvements will not add as much value as kitchen or bathroom renovations would when you are se

CoreLogic, a data-analysis company serving multiple sectors, published today the following housing information on Louisville real estate. In Louisville-Jefferson County, home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 1.2 percent in August 2011 compared to August 2010 and declined by 2.3 percent* in July 2011 compared to July 2010. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 0.2 percent in August 2011 compared to August 2010 and declined by 1.5 percent* in July 2011 compared to July 2010. [Editor: After the initial email, CoreLogic sent out another with corrected data

Source: Trulia American Dream survey Under the heading Optimistic Signs of Long-Term Housing Demand comes this infographic that shows Home Ownership leads the with way with a 57% to the question, "What do you think is the best long-term investment?" This beating 401k, other retirment planns, even investing in gold. Makes sense to me!