Louisville Real Estate Blog and News

20 Reasons To Relocate Your Family For Work

2013-05-16T11:19:00-07:00

This Post Was Re-Printed With Permission of Whitefence Savings. http://savings.whitefence.com. Relocating can be a difficult decision to make, but what if it’s for your job? Here are 20 reasons hard workers give for relocating their families for work. 1. More Money One great reason to relocate is that you’ll receive a raise to go along with the move. Money can be a major determining factor when it comes to relocation for professional reasons. If it’s a large enough raise, it can help you live a more luxurious life or give you the chance to start a college fund for your kids when you didn’t have that opportunity before. Read more.

The 10 Hottest Housing Markets of 2013...So Far

2013-05-13T08:00:00-07:00

After a long and painful downturn in the housing market, home prices in many—but not all—regions of the U.S. are showing signs of recovery. According to Zillow, a real estate listing website, home values rose 5.1% across the U.S. between February 2012 and February 2013. Many local housing markets are performing considerably better than the country as a whole. Home values rose more than 13% in 10 of the 30 largest housing markets for which Zillow has data, and rose more than 20% in five of them. Read more.

Are Pocket Listings Unethical?

2013-05-02T10:29:00-07:00

With the housing rebound in full swing, “pocket listings” are growing in many parts of the country as some sellers look to preserve their privacy, and brokers use them to trigger an aura of exclusivity to a listing. But some in the industry worry that exclusivity may be crossing an ethical line. Pocket listings refer to situations in which real estate agents purposely keep sales information about a home off the multiple listing services, and brokers only show that house to people they expect to actually purchase it. The National Association of REALTORS® does not have an official policy on pocket listings, spokesman Walt Molony told CNNMoney. But some real estate boards say they don’t like the practice. Read more.

Residential Real Estate 101

2013-04-29T12:41:00-07:00

Residential Real Estate 101 This article was contributed by Madoline Hatter. Madoline is a freelance writer and blog junkie from ChangeOfAddressForm.com. You can reach her at: m.hatter12 @ gmail.com. As a real estate investor or a first-time buyer, you need to understand what type of residence may be a good investment depending on market conditions. You may want a property that will provide positive cash flow. You may want to buy and hold property that can produce income each month. Or you may want to find a property in excellent condition in which to live.

Investing in Residential real estate

The most common form of investing in real estate is buying residential properties. For the most part, it provides a place to live for the owner or the tenant. Either way, this is the safest type of investment for many average income families. The degree to which the house is treated as investment depends on the buyer's personal situation and interest. One characteristic of all these residences is that they can generate a constant income. The other characteristic common to them is that the property will require monthly mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities and repairs wherever needed.

Residential properties, in general, come in different styles, sizes and shapes.

1. A single-family house - This can be a tiny home about 500 square feet size, or a mansion with a 8000 square feet living area. Single family houses come in ranch style homes with one or more bathroom, or they can be townhouses. All these homes' architectural styles may vary, the structure may be unique, such as bungalows, slatboxes, colonials and so on. But the one common element in all these houses is that they are all designed for a single family to live on the property.

2. Duplexes and Triplexes - Much like a single-family home, duplexes offer living spaces for families - not just one but two. The homes normally have a single wall separating the two families and access to the outside without going through each others unit. Triplexes are similar to duplexes except that these structures have three separate living units to accommodate three families. Residential property that has more than four separate living units are categorized under commercial properties.

3. Condominiums- A special type of real estate more common among city dwellers due to space constraints. Ownership of a condominium allows a person to own a portion of the building that constitute the apartment complex. The condominium owner typically receives a deed to the property with joint ownership in common areas, such as pool, community park, gym and other common facilities.

Finally, a professional realtor's knowledge of the local real estate market may help you determine what type of property is likely to yield positive cash flow and be a good investment.

One Reason Many Fortunes Are Made In Real Estate

2013-04-25T17:07:00-07:00

Are you sure you want to be a landlord? I have clients who love to regale me with stories about their fun experiences with tenants. Like the one who took almost every fixture when he moved out: carpeting, curtain rods, towel bars, you name it — even a toilet, believe it or not. Indeed, putting up with tenants can be a real pain. But that negative consideration is offset by improving real estate markets in many areas and favorable tax rules that aren't available for other types of investments. In fact, favorable tax rules are a big reason why so many fortunes are made in real estate. The other big reason is that leveraging real-estate investments with mortgage debt can greatly multiply the upside potential. Read more.

Helpful Apps During The Moving Process

2013-03-20T10:59:00-07:00

By Guest Blogger Doug Chapman at www.homedaddys.com. The thought of moving makes most all of us cringe thinking about how much time and effort is going to be put into the process. It is a daunting task, even an inconvenient task, but we have all done it in our lives probably more than once. It doesn’t matter if you are moving into a new house or a new apartment, whether you are single or married with kids, there are going to be hassles involved throughout the duration of the move. However, the iPhone provides movers with a great selection of apps that will help streamline the move so that you are able to accomplish everything you need to during the course of the entire course of moving. Here are five of the best apps that will help you from the time you open your garage doors, pack up your storage unit, and move into the house. Every step of your move: Moving List (by New Gravity Ventures) This app on the iPhone is a no brainer to get and it only costs $2.99. It provides you with a checklist for ideas and suggestions for tasks that are needed when you are ready to move. It covers a variety of things that you must have when you get ready to move, from checklists of hiring a moving company to ways of saving money during the move. It also gives you the best ways to prepare the moving boxes with packing tape and other supplies, and it makes sure to give you a time line of when to get everything ready as well as when to call and get your utilities done. Moving To Do List (by Red Box Productions) If you want a cheaper app (and I mean monetary, not in actual context), this is also a great. It is $1.99 and allows you to create your own checklist for a nearly anything, from selecting what type of move it is, to adding photos and sounds, to choosing from an “extensive catalog” of over 300 tasks to add to your to-do list. The app even allows you to create your own lists if it doesn’t appear in their database. It gives you the opportunity to sort your lists as well as provide you with many reminder alerts so that something doesn’t slip your mind during the hectic time of moving. Move Planner This is another moving checklist app that helps with the pre-move process. It is $1.99 as well and provides much of the same information and opportunities as many other apps. They provide less than the “Moving to Do List” app with only 100 checklist listings, but they also allow you to add your own and sort the tasks by subjects. Additionally much like many other moving apps, this one allows you to sort the tasks by date to make sure you are on top of things and not falling behind on anything. This app isn’t as populated as many of the other ones, but this one definitely is easy to navigate on your iPhone, iPad, or Android, whichever you think is the best tablet. My Move This free app is one of the best moving apps out there in my opinion because it gets to the nuts and bolts of what is really needed to do when you are moving. It provides much of the same checklists that all of the other apps have to do before, during and even after the move. This app allows you to request free quotes from professional moving companies as well as to search for licensed movers in each state. It also gives you the chance to ask questions and see what other people have said about their moves and what the professionals have answered. Around Me This app is great for when you are getting ready for the move, but this is more for figuring out your surroundings rather than helping in the elbow grease portion of the move. This is a free app that recognizes where you are and it finds the nearest businesses, restaurants, banks, gas stations movie theatres – pretty much anything. You can plug in where you are moving to and it will give you all of the information. This app can also be used no matter where you are and it doesn’t have to be before you actually move. It can be used once you move in or even when you are out and about elsewhere. The price is right and the app provides everything you need to know in your surrounding area. Author: Doug Chapman is a staff writer for HomeDaddys, a stay at home dad blog. He specializes in diapers and sippy cups, but is a successful real estate investor on the side.

Tips For Staging Your Home

2013-03-15T08:41:00-07:00

By Guest Blogger Doug Chapman at www.homedaddys.com. Selling your house is a process that not only will cause tense moments, but it will also make you do things that you haven’t done since you moved in – CLEAN THE ENTIRE HOUSE! That was a joke, sort of. Regardless, when you are getting ready to stage your house, you want it to be in tip-top shape so that the prospective buyer can walk right in and feel like it is their home right from the start. There are many things you can do to make it a neutral house, and most of them just take a little elbow grease or some light lifting to accomplish. Here are four ideas to take into consideration when you are about to put your house on the market: Upgrade The Fireplace You need to get rid of the ragged, old brass screen that probably has kinks all through it. Replacing it is inexpensive, but it will go a long way when potential buyers come through the living room. Make sure you also give the entire fireplace a makeover, you know cleaning it entirely like you probably haven’t done since you moved in the house! Polish it all so that it lights up the room, and it will make your living room that much more appealing than you ever imagined. Light The House When buyers come into the house, the last thing they want to see are dark rooms. Even if they are coming at night, make sure to open the curtains and let the light come through the windows. Feel free to add additional lighting fixtures throughout each room and make sure the bulbs on each lamp are new so they don’t start flickering during the tour! Increase the watts on your light bulbs and you can never have too many lamps, especially in the living and family rooms. Replace Old Appliances Whether you are going to include the kitchen appliances in the sale, which is pretty standard these days, you still want to replace your old ones with updated, clean ones. The last thing you want is for potential buyers to see the old stove or refrigerator and make the rest of the kitchen look dated as well. Even if you are going to try and not spend money to replace every kitchen appliance, you can always scrub them clean like you never have before so that the buyer sees you put the effort into making the house look that much better. You don’t want them walking into the kitchen and be turned off by old appliances. Clean The Clutter This might be the most important thing to do when you are preparing to stage your house. You HAVE to remove the clutter from the house and find storage space for all of your “junk”, whether it is renting out storage space or stacking it neatly in the garage. Don’t hesitate to get rid of some of the furniture in each room to make them look bigger as well. Also, pack away all of the personal clutter around the house so that the buyer can look at it as ‘their’ home and not yours. They want to be able to picture what they are able to do with the house rather than seeing your wedding pictures hung or your college sorority sisters collage on the end table. And if you have kids, make sure that their toys don’t encompass the entire house. Put them in a closet or put them in the storage unit for the time being. It will go a long way.

Seller's Market Developing in Much of the U.S.

2013-02-22T11:53:00-07:00

Existing-home sales edged up in January, while a seller’s market is developing and home prices continue to rise steadily above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales rose in every region but the West, which is the region most constrained by limited inventory. Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million in January from a downwardly revised 4.90 million in December, and are 9.1 percent above the 4.51 million-unit pace in January 2012. Read more.

10 Things Real Estate Listing Sites Won't Say

2012-12-11T14:10:00-07:00

Once upon a time, house hunting meant perusing local newspapers and being led through properties by a real-estate agent. Nowadays, most home buyers head straight to their computers: A record 90% searched online this year, up from 65% a decade ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. Trouble is, homes listed for sale online aren’t always actually available. More than a third of home listings that are labeled as “active” on third-party listing sites Trulia and Zillow are no longer for sale, according to a 2012 study by consulting firm WAV Group that was sponsored by online brokerage Redfin (which also lists properties for sale). For their part, Trulia and Zillow say such outdated posts can be the result of real-estate agents inputting information incorrectly or forgetting to make updates. Read more.

Louisville Homes Sales Up 19% In January

2013-02-19T07:45:00-07:00

Members of the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors sold 880 houses and condos in January, a 19 percent increase from a year earlier. The median sale in January — the point at which half of homes sold for more and half for less — was $133,000, a 6 percent increase from a year earlier, the association said. “Our members are looking forward to a strong spring selling season, building on relatively good winter months,” Louisville Realtors President Paul Ogden said in the group’s monthly news release. Read more.

Home Prices Grow At Fastest Pace in 7 Years

2013-02-18T08:27:00-07:00

Home prices in the fourth quarter of 2012 showed a rate of annual appreciation greater than in any quarter since the end of 2005 the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said today. There were 133 metropolitan areas in which median prices rose during the quarter out of the 152 tracked by NAR. Prices increase in 120 areas in the third quarter and only 29 one year earlier. Twenty-nine areas posted price declines in the recent period. Read more.

Another Way To Look At Louisville Home Sales

2013-02-08T14:31:00-07:00

More than half of homes listed on the Louisville real estate market in 2012 ended up selling, a dramatic improvement from the previous five years, according to statistics analyzed by Louisville agent Greg Fleischaker. As we reported last month, sales by the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors jumped 16 percent in 2012. Read more.

6 DIY Updates That Can Increase Your Home's Value By More Than $10,000

2011-05-04T09:23:00-07:00

Simple, affordable do-it-yourself projects such as cleaning and decluttering and just adding lighting can help increase a home’s resale value, according to HomeGain’s annual home improvement and staging survey. HomeGain, an online real estate marketing resource, surveyed nearly 600 real estate professionals in creating a list of the top do-it-yourself home improvement projects that offer the biggest return for your buck. Read more.

The Daily Mail in London Features New Kentucky Select Listing

2012-11-12T13:48:00-07:00

As reported by The Daily Mail Online: "The sprawling Kentucky mansion built by the liquor mogul behind Jack Daniel's whiskey is now up for sale for $6 million in Harrods Creek, an exclusive neighborhood of Louisville. 'The Avish,' the stately, columned 20,000 square foot manor, was developed in 1910 by Owsley Brown and his wife, Laura Lyons. Construction on the home was completed in 1925. The name translates to 'Rocky Hill' in Gaelic, which was the name of the family's ancestral home in Ireland. Mr Brown's father, George Garvin Brown, had founded Brown-Forman, the liquor company whose brands now include Jack Daniel's, Southern Comfort and Finlandia Vodka. The home was most recently inhabited by Owsley Brown Frazier, a fourth generation member of the Brown dynasty who had served as a director on the Brown-Forman board and had been an active philanthropist in Louisville." Read the article in its entirety.

Putting Your Home In Its Best Light

2012-08-27T12:29:00-07:00

CHICAGO (MarketWatch)—Good pictures are crucial in marketing a home for sale. Just ask Clarissa and Mark Padilla, who were able to get a contract on their Sherman Oaks, Calif., condo unit in less than two weeks—and at a price they wanted. Clarissa Padilla attributes the quick sale to the professional photography that marketed the home and was able to lure about 20 to 25 people to an open house the first weekend. “When we saw the photos, we fell in love with our place all over again,” she said. “The colors were so bright, and it made it look fresh and very spacious. It’s only 950 square feet. [The pictures] made it look huge.” Read more.

Nationwide Real Estate Supply Down and Prices Up

2012-08-24T08:46:00-07:00

Sales of existing homes rose in July even with constraints of affordable inventory, and the national median price is showing five consecutive months of year-over-year increases, according to the National Association of Realtors ®. Monthly sales rose in every region but the West, where inventory is very tight. Total existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, grew 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.47 million in July from 4.37 million in June, and are 10.4 percent above the 4.05 million-unit pace in July 2011. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said housing affordability conditions are very good. “Mortgage interest rates have been at record lows this year while rents have been rising at faster rates. Combined, these factors are helping to unleash a pent-up demand,” he said. “However, the market is constrained by unnecessarily tight lending standards and shrinking inventory supplies, so housing could easily be much stronger without these abnormal frictions.” Read more.

Louisville Home Values On The Upswing

2012-08-20T06:43:00-07:00

Today, we report another month of positive real estate news as Louisville home sales were up 18 percent over last year! Eight hundred, fifty-two homes were sold in July 2012, compared to just 720 in July 2011. While this was just shy of May and June’s identical 859 homes sold, activity was likely affected by the record heat wave blasting the area, and might have been higher. For some historical perspective, 678 Louisville homes were sold in July 2010, 926 in July 2009, and 696 in July 2008. Louisville home values are also improving. The median home sale price for the month dipped from $147,000 in June to $144,590 in July but with the trend still moving upward, there may be some optimism for those holding to the view of a recovering real estate market. Read more.

Cost of Living in Louisville About 11 Percent Below National Average

2012-06-10T05:50:00-07:00

Since 1968, the Council for Community and Economic Research and its predecessor have compiled data measuring differences in the cost of living in American cities. The Courier-Journal analyzed the organization’s most recent Cost of Living Index — which covers the first three months of 2012 — to see how Louisville compares. The council is an Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit group whose members include chambers of commerce, economic development professionals and universities. Every three months, it gathers prices on dozens of goods and services in more than 300 metro areas. After living in Manhattan for almost a decade, Jon Salomon got used to paying $10 a drink or more at pretty much any bar in town. In 2008, he moved to Louisville and after a night out, the bar tab gave him a bit of sticker shot — in a good way. “I would sort of look at it with some disbelief,” Salomon said, joking that with drinks about half as expensive here, he was tempted “to buy rounds for the whole bar.”According to the Council for Community and Economic Research (also known as C2ER), it’s about 2.5 times more expensive to live in Manhattan than in Louisville. Read more.

Multiple Bid Situations Return To Louisville Market

2012-05-20T06:59:00-07:00

Some Louisville-area real estate agents are noticing something that hasn’t happened in a long time: getting multiple offers on the same property. Since the housing market crashed four years ago, all the leverage has been with buyers as sales tanked and prices declined in Louisville and throughout the country. But now sales and prices are on the rebound in Louisville — at least, compared to a year ago — and some agents say sellers are getting more than one offer on houses and condos that are in “move-in” condition and are listed for a fair price. Read more.

Louisville Home Sales Rise 26% in February

2012-03-22T15:32:00-07:00

Louisville Realtors logged their eighth-straight month of sales gains in February with a 26 percent increase from a year earlier. Members of the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors sold 774 houses and condos last month, compared to 614 in February 2011. “The warm start to 2012 continues to offer a few degrees of positive news,” the group said in a news release. More sales are in the pipeline, too. Realtors helped buyers sign 1,111 contracts last month, a 22 percent increase from a year earlier. Read more.

Home Buying: Most Affordable In Decades

2012-02-26T07:22:00-07:00

Buying a home is now more affordable than it has been in the last twenty years. Thanks to continued declines in home prices and rock-bottom mortgage rates, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index hit a record level of affordability. According to the index, 75.9% of all new and existing homes sold during the three months ended Dec. 31 could have been comfortably purchased by families earning the national median income of $64,200. That was the highest percentage recorded in the 20-year history of the index, and a sharp increase from just three months earlier when 72.9% of all homes sold were considered affordable. Read more.

10 Cities Where List Prices Soared Last Month

2011-12-22T12:34:00-07:00

Median list prices nationwide have risen 4.05 percent on a year-over-year basis, according to November housing data of 146 metro areas from Realtor.com. Fewer cities are reporting year-over-year list price declines, “suggesting a growing optimism on the part of sellers about 2012 market conditions,” according to Realtor.com. So where have prices risen the most in the last month? The following are the 10 cities that saw the largest median list price increases from October to November. Read more.

1763 Sulgrave Selected As WSJ House of the Day

2011-11-01T13:07:00-07:00

The Wall Street Journal Online has today selected 1763 Sulgrave Rd as its House of the Day. The home is currently listed by Sandy Gulick and Kentucky Select Properties for $2,950,000. This house near Cherokee Park in Louisville, Ky., includes a Tuscan-inspired courtyard, nearly 4 acres, and a pool as well as a sunroom and a wine room. The current owner designed the interiors, adding a mix of French, English, Chinese, Japanese and contemporary furniture. The 8,741-square-foot home has six bedrooms and 5½ bathrooms. Dorothy Cherry says she and her late husband, Wendell Cherry, bought this Greek Revival home in Louisville, Ky., 33 years ago, just a month before they married. 'I called it my honeymoon cottage,' Ms. Cherry says. Read more.

6 Lowball Offer Mistakes Buyers Make

2011-10-10T08:13:00-07:00

For some home sellers, it was a long summer without a home sale. That means this fall, some buyers — smelling the desperation — may be able to cut a better deal. “Sellers who had their homes on the market all summer are anxious to move on, especially before the holidays hit,” said Bill Golden, a real-estate agent with ReMax in Atlanta. The closer it gets to the holidays, the more anxious unsuccessful sellers can become, he said. Read more.

KY Select Listing Featured as Wall Street Journal House of the Day

2011-09-22T07:59:00-07:00

1639 Spring Dr. has the distinction of being named a Wall Street Journal 'House of the Day'. Incredible home on one of the most desirable streets in the Highlands! This wonderful house has a floor plan that is absolutely perfect for entertaining. Stunning new kitchen and butlers pantry - 9 foot island, custom cabinetry and granite counter tops. Gorgeous windows create a lovely light filled home with fantastic views of impeccable grounds. New 2 car garage and newly renovated carriage house with full bath and kitchen. The new master bath has double vanities, marble counter tops and an extra large walk-in shower. Read more.

12 Housing Markets Seeing The Biggest Turnarounds

2011-09-12T10:42:00-07:00

The National Association of Home Builders is debuting a new economic index that highlights metro areas that are seeing the most improvement in their housing markets. The First American Improving Markets Index reveals 12 metro areas that have seen a turnaround for at least six months in three core economic areas — housing permits, employment, and housing prices. 'Despite the challenging conditions in the national economy and housing sector, there are areas throughout the country where we are seeing pockets of improvement,' Bob Nielsen, chairman of NAHB, said in a statement. 'We created this new index to shine a light on those housing markets across the country that have stabilized and have begun to show signs of recovery.' Read more.

Louisville Home Sales Hallelujah?

2011-08-22T06:27:00-07:00

For the first time in 12 months, Louisville Realtors sold more houses and condos in July than they did a year earlier. The most likely explanation is that Realtors are no longer comparing their monthly sales to figures boosted by the long-expired federal tax credits (like the one that was worth up to $8,000 for first-time buyers). Though deadlines were extended, all the tax credit deals were pretty much closed by June 2010. 'Realtors® may be quietly putting the Home Buyer Tax Credit sales figures into the history books, as they move to a post HBTC market,' the group said. Buyers still have a lot of choices, while sellers have a lot of competition. There were 26 percent more houses and condos on the market on July 31 than a year earlier. Read more.

Will S&P Downgrade Affect Mortgage Interest Rates?

2011-08-08T12:28:00-07:00

Standard & Poor downgraded the U.S.'s credit rating on Friday, despite Congress reaching a deal in the final hours on the debt ceiling crisis last week. And now many of your customers may be asking: What does this mean for interest rates? The impact on your wallet of the Standard & Poor's downgrade of the nation's credit rating is similar to what would happen if your own credit score declined: The cost of borrowing money is likely to go up,” the Washington Post explained in the aftermath of S&P’s decision. S&P downgraded the U.S.'s top-notch AAA credit rating for the first time in history, moving it down one notch to AA+; the rating reflects a downgrade in S&P’s confidence in the U.S. government’s ability to repay its debts over time. It’s not clear, however, whether S&P’s downgrade will instantly effect rates, analysts say. Read more.

Top 5 Characteristics Buyers Want In A Real Estate Agent

2011-07-06T17:16:00-07:00

1. Honesty and Credibility Win them over with the truth!
When these buyers talked about honesty and credibility, it often came with stories about past negative experiences with agents. The stories were about agents trying to push them towards a more expensive purchase and a strong dislike for the false sense of urgency they feel agents create when it comes to placing an offer on a house. Buyers have expressed how hard it is to trust anyone in today’s real estate market so it’s even more important for agents to help them feel comfortable. Read more.

Owning A Home Retains Its Allure According to NY Times Poll

2011-06-30T13:22:00-07:00

Nearly nine in 10 Americans say homeownership is an important part of the American dream, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. And they are keen on making sure it stays that way, for themselves and everyone else. Support for helping people in financial distress over housing is higher than support for helping those without a job for many months. Read more.

Spring Buying Boosts Home Prices

2011-06-28T10:46:00-07:00

Home prices in most major U.S. cities are rising for the first time in eight months, boosted by an annual wave of spring buying. Analysts cautioned that the increases may be temporary and don't signal a rebound for the depressed home market. Prices rose in 13 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home-price index, according to the April report released Tuesday. The sharpest increases were in Washington, D.C. The next-largest were in San Francisco, Atlanta and Seattle. Read more.

Freddie Mac Claims Better Days Ahead In Housing

2011-06-28T09:35:00-07:00

Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said mortgage rates will likely remain historical lows of between 4.5 percent and 5 percent for the remainder of the year. Also, he expects more buyers to stop waiting on the sidelines as recent price drops in home prices have improved affordability. Nothaft said consumers’ uncertainty about the economy has caused them to delay home purchases and other “big-ticket items.” 'Some potential buyers who have the means to buy are awaiting clearer signs that home values have firmed,' Nothaft says. But Nothaft says they should be getting their signs in the second half of the year, with projected job gains, and a growing, improved economy. Read more.

According to WSJ, Kentucky Borrowers Have More Trouble Getting Mortgages

2011-06-27T12:58:00-07:00

A recent analysis in the Wall Street Journal concludes that Kentucky was one of the most difficult states in 2010 for borrowers to get a loan or refinance. Nationwide, lenders denied 26.8 percent of loan applications in 2010. In Kentucky that number was 31.1 percent of borrowers. The most common reason for denying loans, according the Journal, was 'insufficient collateral'. Read more.

Louisville Named 2011 Best City for Families by Parenting.com

2011-06-17T09:36:00-07:00

Louisville named #10 best city in the United States for families to live in 2011 study by Parenting.com. The top-ranked American cities to live and raise a family were judged on great schools, affordable homes, low crime rates, jobs and parkland. Read more.

Be A Nosy Neighbor At Nearby Open Houses

2011-06-11T07:59:00-07:00

Going to the open house of a home for sale down the block may make you feel like a nosy neighbor. But there are good reasons, beyond sheer curiosity, to take a peek inside.By knowing the selling prices and how properties look inside, homeowners can become more educated about values in their neighborhood, said Karen Goodman, a real-estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in the St. Louis area. Read more.

U.S. Halts Mortgage Fees To Three Big Banks

2011-06-09T11:17:00-07:00

The Obama administration on Thursday halted payments to three of the largest U.S. banks until they make “substantial” improvements to their performance in a mortgage assistance program. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., and Wells Fargo & Co. can no longer receive fees from the program known as the Making Home Affordable Program, until they make changes to ensure their processes work better, the Treasury Department announced. The program seeks to help troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure. The big banks have been broadly criticized for foreclosure documentation errors, and in many cases, institutions have assigned only a single employee to rapidly approve numerous foreclosures. Read more.

A Few Thoughts on Zestimates

2011-05-23T10:54:00-07:00

I have had several inquiries recently about incorrect real estate information on the site Zillow.com, particularly as it relates to their “Zestimate” valuation tool. As the site states, “A Zestimate home valuation is Zillow's estimated market value. It is not an appraisal. Use it as a starting point to determine a home's value.” As I have noted in my replies, neither our office nor our agents have the ability to remedy incorrect information on the Zillow site. Zillow.com gets the majority of its information from publically available data sources such as tax records, PVA info and recent sales information. Unfortunately, if the data from any of these sources is wrong it impacts (often significantly) the value of a home’s Zestimate. Homeowners can join Zillow and manually enter information about their homes. They then must choose to make this information “public” so the site can include the homeowner’s data in their valuation model. I’ll give you an example of how wildly inaccurate a Zestimate can be: Say someone purchased a house in 2005 for $200,000 and it was 2,000 square feet ($100 per square foot). In 2007, the homeowner added a 600 sq foot family room/kitchen addition (investing, say, $120,000). Unless this homeowner joins Zillow and manually enters the information about adding the square footage and other renovations, Zillow and its Zestimate will attach a value to the house based on the data is has, i.e. that the homeowner paid $200,000 for it in 2005 and assuming it is still only 2,000 sq ft. I have yet to see a Zestimate that, in my opinion, “over values” a house. In the handful of examples I have checked on, Zestimates have undervalued houses by anywhere from $50,000 to more than $200,000 depending on the amount of renovations, etc. When my clients ask me about Zillow and why their house has such a low Zestimate, I try to put it in broader perspective. I say that a Zestimate is only a tool and it’s only as good as the information that it has access to (ever heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out”?). Zestimates actually help real estate agents because they reinforce that determining a house’s value is far from an exact science. You can’t just dump a bunch of numbers into a blender and come up with the “magic number”. Determining a house’s market value requires some quantitative data (i.e. square footage, $$ amount of renovations), but just as much if not more qualitative data (i.e. this house has structural problems, this house is 3 doors down from a crack house, the house next door was not on the MLS but sold for $25,000 over the asking price, etc).

Easy Ways To Freshen Up Any Space

2011-05-20T10:14:00-07:00

Spice up a space with a rug, whether a large rug that gives definition to a living room area or a carpet runner that enhances an otherwise dull hallway. Rugs can be a great, low-cost lifesaver when staging properties. You can use a rug over any type of flooring–tile, hardwood, laminate, slate, and, yes, even carpeting. A rug can add pops of color or pattern to make a room more visually interesting (even if it’s otherwise vacant) and provide definition to a large room. Read more.

Americans Shed Mortgage Debt At Record Pace

2011-05-16T07:37:00-07:00

Low interest rates, defaults and refinancings have shaved more than $100 billion off the nation's annual mortgage bill — an amount comparable to all unemployment benefits for one year or this year's Social Security payroll tax cut. 'This is a form of economic stimulus that goes to Main Street rather than Wall Street,' says Nicholas Carroll, a journalist on consumer finance and author of Walk Away From Debt for a Better Future. When freed from a mortgage payment, people's first purchases tend to be necessities, such as socks and underwear, he says. Read more.

Existing Home Sales Rise in Most States in First Quarter

2011-05-10T11:50:00-07:00

Existing-home sales continued to recover in the first quarter with gains recorded in 49 states and the District of Columbia, while 22 percent of the available metropolitan areas saw prices rise from a year ago, according to the latest survey by the National Association of Realtors®. Total state existing-home sales, including single-family and condo, rose 8.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.14 million in the first quarter from 4.75 million in the fourth quarter, and are only 0.8 percent below a 5.18 million pace during the same period in 2010. Read more.

KY Select Listing 1763 Sulgrave Rd Named One of Ten Most Interesting Houses on the Web for Derby Week

2011-05-04T09:29:00-07:00

Enjoy the Kentucky Derby from this Louisville Beauty! Whether its bourbon and branch or the official drink of the Kentucky Derby, the Mint Julep, you'll want to drink it from this veranda overlooking the gracious lawns and boxwood garden. This stately southern mansion is the epitome of what young women dream of, reading those southern historical novels while curled up in the porch swing on lazy summer afternoons. Read more.

FHA and Fannie Mae Offer Loans for Home Energy Improvements

2011-05-02T06:17:00-07:00

If you've been looking for a way to pay for energy improvements to your house, two little-publicized new mortgage programs could provide the cash you need. Both the Federal Housing Administration and mortgage investor Fannie Mae recently have launched options in the energy conservation arena. Here's a quick overview, with some pros and cons: The FHA's PowerSaver program allows eligible owners to borrow up to $25,000 at fixed rates between 5% and 7% for as long as 20 years to finance high-efficiency windows and doors, heating and ventilating systems, solar panels, geothermal systems, insulation and duct sealing, among other retrofits. Read more.

The Foreclosure Prevention Program That Works

2011-04-25T07:27:00-07:00

As Republicans try to kill an Obama administration foreclosure prevention program that even Democrats agree hasn’t lived up to expectations, a program in Pennsylvania is being lauded for being simpler, cheaper and more effective. It’s called the Pennsylvania Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program and was established in 1984, long before the recent mortgage crisis. The program gives bridge loans to people who have recently lost their jobs. Loans do not accrue interest until the participant’s income is restored. Read more.

Home Sales Up Nearly 4%

2011-04-21T07:59:00-07:00

Investors drove up U.S. home sales last month, plunking down cash to grab cheap homes at risk of foreclosure. But purchases made by first-time homebuyers, who are crucial to a housing recovery, fell. Sales of previously occupied homes rose in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That's up 3.7 percent from 4.92 million in February. Read more.

When Decor Makes Home Sale Harder

2011-04-15T15:27:00-07:00

“What’s fine for living is not always fine for selling,” said Donna Dazzo, president of Designed To Appeal, a home-staging company that serves New York and the Hamptons. “You want to portray a lifestyle that people can relate to and aspire to,” she said. “You have to have them fall in love as soon as they walk in the door. ' Staging got its start a decade ago when the housing market was on fire and every seller wanted to up the value of their home both emotionally and physically by making it more attractive and purchase-worthy than the house next door. More.

Bardstown Rd Farmers Market Getting Greener

2011-04-13T18:53:00-07:00

As the Bardstown Road Farmers Market switches to its summer hours Saturday, plans also are in the works to add new “green” amenities and make other improvements to its setting. The Metropolitan Sewer District plans a $600,000-plus community demonstration drainage project — including two rain gardens — at Bardstown Road Presbyterian Church, where the busy year-round market is held in the parking lot. Read more.

Pending Homes Sales Rise According to NAR

2011-03-31T17:25:00-07:00

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, rose 2.1 percent to 90.8, based on contracts signed in February, from 88.9 in January. The index is 8.2 percent below 98.9 recorded in February 2010. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says it’s important to look at the broader trend. “Month-to-month movements can be instructive, but in this uneven recovery it’s important to look at the longer term performance,” he said. “Pending home sales have trended up very nicely since bottoming out last June, even with periodic monthly declines. Contract activity is now 20 percent above the low point immediately following expiration of the home buyer tax credit.” Read more.

Buyers Ready To Snatch Spring Bargains

2011-03-22T11:19:00-07:00

Bargain prices on housing combined with low interest rates below 5 percent may bring the real estate market its busiest spring season in years, economists say. Distressed sales continue to put downward pressure on home prices, which may lure more buyers off the fence and ready to snag a deal during the typical prime-time buying season. Some builders are ramping up discounts on new homes as well as boosting commissions to brokers to try to spark more transactions. Sellers of existing-homes also are getting more competitive in pricing their homes. 'After three years of the housing downturn, people are becoming much more realistic in terms of valuing their homes,' says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®. Read more.

Spring Cleaning and Other Tips from HGTV

2011-03-21T08:06:00-07:00

Clean house and update home decor for spring with HGTV's best home decorating, cleaning and home-improvement tips. Get article.

9 Things Home Buyers Want In 2011

2011-03-15T13:33:00-07:00

Today's homebuyers want it all. Some items on the shopping list: a home in great condition with rooms that can do double duty. Areas that mingle indoor and outdoor living -- patios, porches, decks and outdoor rooms -- are always a plus. And so are those features that offer a little luxury, like garden tubs, first-rate appliances and high-dollar countertops. They're also going back to basics: searching for solid, well-maintained properties that will give them their money's worth. Read more.