Articles and News about Residential Real Estate

To Sell or Rent Your Louisville Home, That Is the Question!


Although the US economy and the housing market seem to finally be on an upward trend, we are still recovering from what was one of history’s nastiest and most volatile recessions. First-time buyers are still finding it difficult to get a good rate on a mortgage and many people are still struggling to sell their homes.

Photo of a house in Louisville KY
When should a homeowner rent his home rather than sell it?

Because of this, the question arises for sellers; “Should I sell my Louisville home or should I rent it?

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Why Real Estate Is a Good Investment Now

I just read a great piece by Dave Kansas over at SmartMoney called, Real Estate: Finally a Good Investment? (Editor: The article has since been removed) where he admitted that while the real estate market as a whole has a lot of problems, buying residential real estate makes sense.

Chart of Louisville Home Sales 1994-2010
Here you can see a chart of Louisville home sales by year from 1994-2010. This includes all of Louisville and surrounding counties and is taken from the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors (GLAR) data source.
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New Tech Opens Homeowners to Theft

Foursquare logo
Foursquare might be fun but there’s a danger as well.

Isn’t all of our new technology fun? Honestly, raise your hand if you thought a few years ago that for the price of a few hundred dollars a person could let his smartphone “listen” to the music on the car stereo and tell him what song it is, who it’s by and even purchase and download the song immediately? Amazing! That application is called Shazam and it’s free! Wow.

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Real Estate Investing Opportunities Align for Religious Institutions

I’ve written several pieces recently about how the current real estate market in Louisville is lining up well for certain profiles. The current freeze on foreclosures by some of our nation’s largest lenders has muddied the water for getting your hands on capital. But local lenders like Stockyards and Republic both posted healthy quarterly earnings.

Photo of a Louisville Home
Homes like this one may be great investments to use as rental properties or for resale.
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Optimism in New Construction Inches Upward, Louisville Neighborhoods

The National Association of Home Builders charts its members’ outlook towards business in the future. This index is something they use to make decisions on behalf of their membership. News out this month that this index has moved up for the first time in five months.

Home Buying Process spelled out for this family
Optimism in new construction is starting to move higher.
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Freeze on Foreclosures a Mixed Bag, Opportunities and Risks Abound

It’s no secret that the housing market has seen better days, to put it politely. In a typical market, distressed properties account for 7% of all home sales. Some estimate that nationwide, that number is currently around 41%. Louisville real estate is far below both of these.

Photo of a Louisville house
Experts think there are tremendous opportunities in real estate for those with financial means. | Photo: Tre Pryor
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Real Estate Investors Like Louisville

The Wall St. Journal had a piece earlier this week called 10 Best and Worst Markets for Real Estate Investors. It cites a Local Market Monitor, Inc. that looks to utilize “equilibrium” home prices. These take into consideration what home values should probably be in relation to population, job growth, income, and other factors.

Photo of a Louisville home
Certain homes are better suited to rental properties than others but real estate investors can find a lot to like about Louisville. | Photo: Tre Pryor
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10 Reasons To Buy a Louisville Home

Inspired by The Wall St. Journal’s timely and relevant 10 Reasons To Buy a Home, I thought our readers would enjoy hitting the same points but with a hometown flavor. Now we have these reasons to buy a Louisville home.

Photo of a family with their new home
Do you want to buy a Louisville home? You’re not alone.
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Home Sales Activity for Louisville vs. Nation

Came across a great resource on real estate stats for Louisville, KY on Realtor.org. Lots to address but today I’ll just look at this first chart on home sales and growth since 2002.

Chart of Kentucky Home Sales (Red Line) and Sales Growth
This chart is for the entire state of Kentucky but it’s interesting to see how quickly the downturn came back up.
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How Much Can I Afford to Spend on a House?

“How much can I afford to spend on a house” is a relevant question that comes into the mind of thousands of homebuyers all over the world. To answer this question, the home affordability calculators offered by multiple lenders play an important role.

Photo of two men using a laptop and notepad to determine mortgage values
Online mortgage calculators can help prospective home buyers determine the appropriate amount to spend on a new Louisville home.
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