Today, I wanted to spotlight a businessman in the Louisville area:  David Fenley.  David Fenley is a Louisville office space developer that has specialized in class A office space. His company currently has over 21 office buildings that contains 3,000,000+ sq.ft. of class A office space and the company is one of the largest office developers in the entire state of Kentucky.

David Fenley’s specialty has been to build executive office suites in a more efficient manner than traditional/older class B buildings – offering the opportunity for persons to move up from class B space, to the executive suites – and get it done for less money than if they had stayed in the lower end class B space in the first place. I’m sure some of you are immediately asking how the heck can it be cheaper to rent a Louisville executive office suite, than it is to be in an older 20 or 30 year old office building.

Here’s the answer: Older office buildings had a tendency to be less efficiently designed – relying on more rectangular shapes for the footprint of the building. This results in relatively narrow ends of the building, with very long sides. So, to get from one end of the building to the other – a person would have to travel a greater distance because of the long rectangular sides. This results in odd sized office space within the building, and less efficient flow from office to office.
David Fenley has focused on more efficient space concepts that are more boxy or square in nature. This results in an even distribution of distance and space within the building. To get from one end of the building to the other, its all the same distance. This results in a more uniform layout/design of the interior space for the persons leasing, as well as more efficient movement throughout the building, and more efficient parking design.

So, while a person may need 10,000 sq.ft. for a 30 year old class B office building, they probably only need 6,000 sq.ft in the more efficiently designed buildings. Add in the upgraded and high end technological innovations and improvements in the new class a office buildings such as upgraded wiring (computers weren’t popular 30 years ago – the power loads can put a tremendous strain on older buildings), better insulation using modern materials for more comfort inside, impressive aesthetics, and more – and it becomes clearly evident that its not only cheaper to consider Louisville office space in a David Fenley building – its more comfortable, and a better place to do business.

Some background on the Fenley family:
David Fenley is a Louisville native whose family roots and local Louisville Kentucky ties goes back to the late 1800s. His ancestors owned and operated a dairy in the Valley Station area on the south side of Louisville back in 1875. Through the years, the Fenley family has been involved numerous business interests, and ventures within the Louisville metro area.

David Fenley – Louisville Office Space is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

From an “on the ground” perspective, we’ve begun noticing an increase in activity right now.  There are fewer persons looking, but the ones that are – are generally serious.  [So, if you have someone wanting to schedule a showing to get in to see your home - its probably in your best interest to try to accommodate them to get in to see it.]  Additionally to the homes that are being sold, many Louisville home sellers are tiring of their home being for sale on the market, and pulling their listing.  The sales, combined with the withdrawls (or cancellations), is reducing the overall inventory on the market.  This should give buyers less to pick from and not suffer quite as much from choice overload – all of which should help strengthen the Louisville real estate market.

We anticipate a stronger real estate market here in Louisville in 2009, than we saw in 2008.  Our job market remains relatively strong, and our home prices didn’t grow, generally speaking, at unsustainable rates like it did in the markets that have been hardest hit – as such, we should be among the first in the country to experience a rebound.  We think we are getting close to the “bottoming out” that everyone is always looking for – and if you are wanting to get into a new home, the next month or two are probably your golden opportunity to get in at the lower end of the market.

Louisville House Prices Decline 5% is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

Before we get into the August 2008 numbers, I wanted to recap all of the numbers for this year.  So, lets take a look at the data and see what we can make of it:

January 1 – August 31 2007

Homes Sold 10513

Average Sales Price $174,428

Median Sales Price $140,000

January 1 – August 31 2008

Homes Sold 8021

Average Sales Price $170,711

Median Sales Price $137,000

So, as you can see – theres been a fairly stiff decrease in the number of the Homes Sold in Louisville this year of nearly 24%.  Interestingly enough though, theres only been a slightly over 2% decrease in the Average Sales Price, and Median Sales Price.

This would indicate that while the total number of homes that are selling has dropped – the prices for which they are selling haven’t been affected too much overall.

So, now lets take a closer look at the August numbers.

August 2007

Homes Sold 1521

Average Selling Price $179,715

Median Selling Price $141,750

Average Days on Market (DOM) 74

August 2008

Homes Sold 965

Average Selling Price $181,472

Median Selling Price $140,000

Average Days on Market (DOM) 90

The total number of sales is down significantly (965 vs. 1521, which equates to an almost 37% decrease in the number of sales) .  And the average days on market has increased from 2.5 months to approximately 3 months.  But, probably more interesting is that the average selling price actually went up.  This would indicate that the higher end properties ($1,000,000+) while being fewer in number for the overall sales, are actually increasing the overall average value for Louisville homes sold.

So, what does this mean for a person looking to buy or sell Louisville real estate?  It means that homes are selling, albeit at a slower rate than in the past – BUT it does not mean they are selling for substantially less than they were previously.  (Sorry to those out there looking for a slam dunk deal in buying a Louisville home for 20 or 30 cents on the dollar.  It just isn’t commonplace here at this point in time.)

For Buyers: Theres lots of inventory to select from.  Currently there are over 10,000 homes for sale in the Louisville market.  There are homes that represent a good value out there.  You just have to dig through them and find the one you want.  But – don’t expect to steal it.  Prices are holding fairly firm for those houses that are selling.

For Sellers:  Lots of inventory (read: competition) and longer market times are the norm.  If you want to get your home sold, you need to price it appropriately AND be the nicest within whatever price point you are currently competing.  No matter the price range, you will want to be at the lower end of that price range to get your home sold.

August 2008: Louisville Real Estate Market Softens is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

The livability awards are judged by numerous urban government specialists – which includes among others, mayors & ex-mayors to evaluate the criteria which includes how much a city has improved its quality of life for its community.

One of the key components for Louisville’s win was the Healthy Hometown Movement which began in September 2004.  It stresses a variety of things which include physical activities such as bicycling, nutrition, and an overall healthy lifestyle.

There were over 200 applicants for the competition.  Congratulations to Louisville Kentucky – most livable large city in the United States!

Louisville KY is Most Livable City is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

To delve more into the numbers, Kentucky had 745 filings during that time frame which accounts for 1 out of 2534 homes in KY. And if you compare those numbers to a different time frame, like the year previously for May 2007, the rate of foreclosures was only an increase of 2.2%.

Kentucky ranked well, particularly if you examine some of its nearby neighbors. Ohio ranked #9. Illinois ranked #11. With Indiana right behind them at #12. Tennessee was #14. Virginia was #15.

The only immediate neighbor doing better was actually West Virginia, who ranked #49.

So, while the numbers can be a big shocker to see headlines of a 46.1% increase in foreclosures. Its really somewhat relative to the overall picture. Kentucky is a relatively stable real estate market overall. And it is certainly fairing better than most of the rest of the country.

Kentucky Foreclosures Increase 46.1% is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

And if you compare those numbers to the national average that has experienced a 65% INCREASE in foreclosures, you can see clearly that the Louisville real estate market is definitely bucking the trend.

To get into specifics:  288 foreclosure filings were made in the metropolitan Louisville homes market for April 2008.  This equates to approximately 1 in every 1874 homes in the area.  Nationally, there was approximately 1 foreclosure filing made for every 519 homes.

And even on a larger perspective of the entire state of Kentucky, Kentucky ranks 43rd for foreclosure rates with 1 in every 3710 homes making a foreclosure filing.  Our nearby neighbor Indiana, was ranked 11th with 1 in every 544 homes filing.

Again, the “bad” real estate markets continue to fair poorly:  Out of the top 10 highest foreclosure rates in the entire country for metropolitan areas, 9 of the 10 were in Florida and California.

The overall real estate market softening that Louisville has experienced has been slight – and its not been primarily from a market correction as much as it is due to a build up with inventory and a softening of the national economy overall.  Basically, a lot of the problems (which aren’t many) that Louisville may be having is primarily due to everyone else muddying things up – and not really from what we’ve been doing on our own accord.

The Louisville homes market should continue to strengthen despite a softening economy nationally, provided no major changes occur that would have a negative impact, and housing inventory remains constant or declines.

Louisville Foreclosure Rate Declines is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

For those persons wanting to view new properties currently on the market, please visit this page of our site:

Louisville New Homes For Sale

Its spring – and that means that the Louisville new homes celebration is going to be underway this weekend May 10-11, and next weekend May 17-18, 2008.  Over 150 Louisville new homes (single family & patio homes) are going to be featured from the metropolitan Louisville real estate market.  According to The Sentinel News, some of the developments that are participating in this year’s tour include:

Norton Commons

Locust Creek

Beech Spring Farm

Rock Springs

Saratoga Springs

Longwood

Heather Green

Sycamore Run

Summerfield by the Lake

Notting Hill

Ballard Woods

Flatrock Ridge

Williamsgate

Cedar Glen

Waterstone

Chatham Park at Polo Fields

Nachand Springs

Landis Lakes

Cardinal Oaks

The Villas at Pinnacle Place

The new Louisville homes will be open during the hours of 1:00 – 5:00 pm May 10-11, and May 17-18, 2008.  Louisville real estate agents, as well as builders will be available to answer questions.

Price ranges for the Louisville homes participating in the showcase range in value from $130,000 all the way to $1.1 million.

So, be sure and come out this weekend or the next and check out whats available in the new Louisville homes market today!

Louisville New Homes is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

Well, the efforts of those Louisville homes owners apparently worked, as the Louisville Metro Council approved the downgrade in zoning use on approximately 475 acres in the Thixton Lane area. The downgrade in zoning now requires that those properties be developed be done so on tracts of 5 acres or larger for approval.

This is typically a fairly irregular request and the home owners in the area wanted to use it as a means of preventing real estate development from running rampant in their area and that the interior services such as roadways would be unable to handle a big increase in volume of use if real estate developments were allowed to come into the area and gain approval for a higher density project.

This collective effort was the result of several years of continued and never wavering support headed by Mark Durbin who is serving as president of the Thixton Lane Neighbors organization that was the original entity to place the request before the Louisville Kentucky Metropolitan Council.

Mark Durbin gave credit to Louisville council representative Robin Engel who is with the 22nd district, in assisting in getting this approval passed by the metro government of Louisville.

Congratulations to the Thixton Lane Neighbors! You’ve managed to succeed where many others would have wavered in their resolve.

Louisville Real Estate Zoning Downgrade: Thixton Lane is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

The Street Rod Nationals is more than a car show.  Its an event.  Approximately 30,000 spectators attends the event, and it draws 11,000 classic street rods to the event.  The economic impact for the Louisville KY metropolitan area is approximately $15 million per year.

To give some background on the event, it was first held in Louisville in 1992.  And the show has been held continuously in Louisville from 1997-2008.  The Street Rods Nationals are going to be held July 31 – August 3, 2008 this year at the Kentucky Fairgrounds and Exposition Center.

Louisville is very fortunate to be host for the event, and the privilege of having it here for the next 13 years is a wonderful thing.

Even if you don’t plan on attending the Street Rod Nationals – you can bet you will be a part of it.  You will see lots of classics, and hot rods roaming all over the entire city.  And for several days prior (and after) the event, you will see them coming into town from all over the country.

The only suggestion I have regarding the event is, its usually so blasted hot.  It would be nice if it was held a little earlier, or a little later.  Lots of cars sitting on the asphalt of the Expo Center, and August heat (the arguably most uncomfortable month for this area), can make things a little hard on everyone.  Just remember to pace yourself, drink lots of water, wear sunscreen – and bring your camera!

It would be nice if all of these persons would just make Louisville home – so we could enjoy the vehicles year round.

Louisville Kentucky will host Street Rod Nationals through 2020 is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

The 97 acres is comprised of 3 tracts that are as follows:

40 acres of Prospect KY real estate that are currently owned by Laura Lee Brown (heir to the Brown-Forman fortune) and Steve Wilson’s Dogwood Hill and are located along the 2 branches of Goose Creek.

37 acres of Fisherville KY real estate that is currently owned by Frances Aprile called Littledove Farm.  She was encouraged by her daughter Emma to place the farm into the conversation easement.  An additional benefit of the act, will most likely include lower property taxes as well as inheritance taxes for Emma.

The remaining real estate that was donated as part of these conservation easments is wetlands located by the Renaissance Zone industrial park near the Louisville International Airport just south of the main proper city limits of Louisville.

These 97 acres bring the total amount of real estate controlled by the trust to approximately 343 acres in the Louisville and Jefferson County KY city limits.

The Trust acts as a quasi-public entity and its administration is overseen by various individuals and agencies which include the Metro Parks, Metropolitan Sewer District, as well as the Louisville planning & design services & public works agencies.

The preservation of green space within the community helps preserve the long term charm and character of the area.  Development pressures continue to mount against persons that own large tracts of property within Louisville.  Property values continue to increase, and by giving the property to a conservation easement, it helps ease some of those pressures that property owners may be feeling about going ahead and selling to real estate developers.

Louisville KY Land Trust Gains 97 acres is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate