Louisville #3: Safest Cities for Families with Young Children

More great news for our city! Sperling’s has rated Louisville, KY the third safest city for families with young children. How do their rankings work? I wondered the same thing myself.

Photo of family with two young girls in front of a new home
Parents looking to keep their children safe need to look no further than Louisville, KY.
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Derby Guide for Those Last Minute Needs

Design*Sponge, the best design blog ever, has just posted its Louisville City Guide! Among the hot spots are places for your last-minute Derby needs for your home, yourself, and for entertaining out-of-town guests.

Elizabeth's Timeless Attire
When in Louisville, dress like a Louisvillian! Make sure to visit Elizabeth’s Timeless Attire. What a great name for shop!
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Louisville Home Buyers Are Choosing Deals Over New Construction

We all have heard that the housing market is “down.” It’s taking longer for people to sell their homes and some just won’t sell at all. (This is primarily true in the higher price ranges.) While this is tremendous news for Louisville home buyers, sellers continue to have a difficult time.

Photo of Louisville new construction home
New construction is almost always more expensive than buying existing homes.
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Louisville Housing Market Report, 7 Year Period End March 2011

I took the time to add the historical trend line to these charts as I do in our monthly Louisville Housing Reports. And the trend is nothing if not consistent. March home sales in Jefferson and Oldham Counties have, like previous months, trailed 2010 and only barely topped 2009.

Louisville Home Sales: 7 Year Monthly Chart for period ending March 2011
Each month we will bring to you an easy-to-read chart on how both Jefferson County and Oldham County home sales have performed over the past 7 years.
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5 Must-Know Moving Tips for Louisville Home Sellers

As a Louisville home seller, you’ll need to find out more about moving your belongings before getting started. Moving can be an organized state of affairs or it can be a disorganized disaster just waiting to happen. Here are five must-know moving tips you need to know before planning your move.

Photo of Moving Truck - 5 Must-Know Moving Tips for Louisville Home Sellers
Moving days can be stressful but yours doesn’t have to be.
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Louisville #2 Fast Food City, Yikes!

Always on the lookout to see how Louisville stacks up to our competition. Today I see The Daily Beast ranked our nation’s cities by their concentration of fast food restaurants.

Subway restaurant in Louisville KY
One of the reported 34,246 Subway restaurants in 95 countries. Via street view on Google Maps, this one happens to be in Springhurst in the East End of Louisville.
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History of NuLu: Louisville’s East Market District

Louisville’s East Market district has changed dramatically throughout the city’s history. In the mid-1800s, it was a city park named Woodland Gardens. The park was frequented by new Louisvillians, particularly German immigrants who were new to America.

Photo of the view from 806 E. Market St.
The view from the Shine Contracting office onto E. Market Street.
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Painting The Town Louisville Style

Need a little update for your home without spending too much? Try a new paint color! PPG Porter Paints just introduced the Louisville Color Collection, in honor of the company’s 90 year anniversary.

Louisville Color Collection by PPG Porter Paints
Kentucky Hot Brown (bottom left) is one of 75 hand-picked colors PPG Porter Paints chose to celebrate 90 years of business in Louisville, KY.
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Unemployment Proves Bigger Factor in Louisville Real Estate Than Rates, Prices

This piece is going to show you why unemployment proves bigger factor than home prices or interest rates. Experts like Donald Trump and John Paulson have been touting the benefits of investing in real estate since October 2010. On this site, we’ve highlighted the very positive positions of the three key financial indicators for real estate:

  1. Interest rates
  2. Home prices
  3. Inventory
Chart of Metro Louisville Unemployment Rates, 2006-2011 - Unemployment Proves Bigger Factor in Louisville Real Estate Than Rates
Since late 2008, unemployment rates have jumped significantly. It is interesting that this coincides with the time frame in which Louisville real estate dropped.
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Keepin’ It Local at the Louisville Home and Garden Show

I’m still thinking about the Home & Garden Show and how great it was to learn about some of the good things Louisville area businesses are doing. I love our unique, local options!

Giant Concrete Giraffe
Looking for those hard-to-find items? How about a 20-foot concrete giraffe? The Home and Garden Show has one! | Photo Tre Pryor
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