It seems the popular press today didn’t listen to their parents growing up. I’m sure you’ve heard the instruction, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Apparently, only bad news sells commercial time, newspaper subscriptions, and online ad clicks.
Well, here at Louisville Homes Blog, I’d rather tell you the whole story and let you figure out what it means. So here in our ultra-concise delivery method is the 2008 Year in Review for Louisville, KY Real Estate.
Home Values in Louisville
First, you need to understand that most valuations you find online are truly estimates. Some are wildly inaccurate while most are merely averages. Averages are fine if your home is an average home but most aren’t. Even still, with the plethora of free online information, we’d be silly to dismiss it.
According to this chart from RealtyTrac, the median home value in Louisville dropped about $1,300 in value during 2008. This amounts to about a 1% loss.
We reported in November one analyst reported the drop in value to be -3.6%. If you look at Trulia, they have 2008 being almost a wash.
I think a drop of 2-3% is probably reasonable, which is a real negative when you consider home values in Louisville have risen 4-5% every year for the past five decades.
Home Sales in Louisville
This calculation is quite simple and very reliable given that the data is coming directly from Louisville’s MLS system.
As you can see, Louisville has certainly dropped from the high number of sales in 2005 and 2006. But properties are still selling in numbers larger than the first three years of this decade.
Foreclosures in Louisville
Since this is the most negative news in real estate today, it’s no big surprise to hear the media clamor on and on about it. So how is Louisville doing compared to the rest of the nation?
About as expected, things are the worst on either coast and Florida. The good news for us in Kentucky is that we have fewer foreclosures than our neighbors in Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana. As always, be conservative when considering an amount to borrow for the purchase of your home.
Conclusion
All in all, it was a down year for real estate here in Louisville but not nearly as bad as the media has made it out to be. Given the historically low interest rates and depending on your situation, now could possibly be the best time to make a move in real estate.
