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Getting the best bang for your buck has always been important. But these days, with the multitude of choices we are blessed to have, making your decision now becomes a bit trickier.

Last year I wanted to see how different parts of Louisville fared by calculating their sold price per square foot on homes that recently traded hands. I titled the 2014 version Best bang for your buck in Louisville real estate and published it on InsiderLouisville.

This year, I expanded upon the idea by adding three new areas—Highview, Newburg, and Germantown—as well as, comparing how 2015 has changed.

Lastly, I’ll share some observations with this report’s findings. Let’s do this!

Best Bang for Your Buck: Most Expensive Areas

In 2014, the most expensive real estate in Louisville was found in Norton Commons. This year, these properties increased by 3% to again top the list at $193.72/sq.ft. The popularity of this neighborhood continues to rise, despite the price point.

Following on the heels of Norton Commons comes Anchorage, home of country estates and Louisville’s old money. Garnering only a 0.9% increase, Anchorage came in at $172.23/sq.ft.

Rounding out the Top 3 is St. Matthews, which saw an 11.26% increase in sold values, second-most in our survey. The price per sold square foot for St. Matthews came in at $165.12.

One interesting aspect of this kind of analysis is everything that’s not included. Lot size, basement square footage (finished or not) and the number of bedrooms/baths are just a few of the home’s attributes that aren’t directly represented in this calculation.

Best Bang for Your Buck: Least Expensive Areas

Last year, Shively delivered the best bang for your buck when it came to home buying power. In this year’s survey, the newly added area of Newburg came in even lower with $60.30/sq.ft.

Imagine that, you can purchase a house in the Newburg area of Louisville for less than 1/3 the cost of the same-sized home in Norton Commons. Wow.

The next areas in our report came Shively ($61.27/sq.ft.) and Valley Station ($78.95/sq.ft.). Interesting that Valley Station actually gained over 10% from the previous year and still came in as the third least expensive area.

When you analyze these low values you discover both a blessing and a curse.

The most famous real estate adage is, “Location, location, location.” Most of the time, people will pay more for a better location. By extension, they’ll pay less for a less desirable location.

But if you need more space for your family, sacrificing location for a larger home may make sense for you.

Changes in Home Values from 2014 to 2015

                  2014    2015  change
Glenview        128.94  157.47  22.13%
St. Matthews    148.41  165.12  11.26%
Valley Station   71.28   78.95  10.76%
Middletown      105.81  114.86   8.55%
Highlands       138.05  148.50   7.57%
PRP              77.59   82.98   6.95%
Lyndon          100.50  107.15   6.62%
Springhurst     123.73  130.08   5.13%
Jeffersontown   104.79  109.71   4.70%
Lake Forest     138.96  145.16   4.46%
Crescent Hill   138.36  144.28   4.28%
Clifton         113.61  117.83   3.71%
Norton Commons  188.06  193.72   3.01%
Shively          60.56   61.27   1.17%
Anchorage       170.67  172.23   0.91%
Okolona          83.03   82.82  -0.25%
Prospect        146.20  137.67  -5.83%
Germantown              105.54
Higview		         96.18
Newburg		         60.30
Average         119.92  120.59

Notes and Methodology

1. Data was taken from the GLAR database. This is listing data provided by Louisville real estate agents. There are times when a home may be included as part of a given municipality for United States Postal Service reasons but the home is not truly part of that city. Neighborhood values can also be two or more choices. Therefore, the results of this report are not guaranteed but are deemed reliable.
2. For 2015, Norton Commons was removed from within the Prospect bucket where it was included last year, which makes sense when you see the yearly change value.
3. The average is only for the areas surveyed in this report. They do not reflect the city of Louisville or Jefferson County home values.

Observations

After two years of looking at this data, here are some points that stand out:

• The polygon shape used for Glenview last year may not have been drawn correctly as the 2015 results are more in line with what I would expect for this luxury area in Louisville. The smaller sample size might also contribute to this lower-than-expected value.
• Prospect coming in at $137.67 represents a great value for such a highly desirable area, in my opinion.
• For those who love the Highlands lifestyle, consider getting a better bang for your buck by buying a similar home in nearby Clifton or Germantown. Certainly, the nearby luxury neighborhood of Seneca Gardens will higher a much higher sold price per square foot.
• I continue to be amazed at the values coming from St. Matthews. Being centrally located in Louisville has shown some incredible increases in property values over the years.
• Keep in mind these are large areas, in some cases having 400+ properties sold per year. Ask your Realtor to take a more hyper-local approach when it comes to your new home search. If they don’t know what that means, feel free to contact me.