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

So, lets now look at the Louisville real estate market 2008 year in review. If you compare the Louisville metro market for 2008 to 2007, here is what you will find:
A decline of 23.3% fewer homes were sold through November 2008.
The average sales price declined 3.5% (bringing the median price for Louisville to $135,000). The 3.5% drop is significant and insignificant depending on the perspective. How so? Well, its significant in that it represents one of the handful of times over the past several decades, that the Louisville real estate market saw depreciation. And its relatively insignificant from the perspective if you compare it to the other major real estate markets across the country: many saw double digit rates of depreciation this year AND are projected to have double digit rates of depreciation again in 2009.

It is my opinion, that the Louisville real estate market simply got “balled up” so to speak with the rest of the economic problems (high gas prices, banking problems such as AIG and the resulting tightening credit crunch, etc) – and that combined to help make persons more cautious than normally would or probably should have been expected which resulted in lower values and fewer transactions.

I did read an interesting poll on AOL the other day: the vast majority of Americans believe that real estate values declined this year. But when asked if they felt if THEIR HOME VALUE declined, most said no. So, apparently, all the real estate devaluation occurred in their neighbors properties, right?
(An interesting psychological paper could probably be written about that phenomenon….but anyway, back to topic.)

Still, its not all doom and gloom. Some areas of Louisville saw did see appreciation of their homes value. To cite just 2 examples: St. Matthews increased in value approximately 3% in 2008. And the Highlands saw an appreciation of approximately 2%. So it gets back to the old adage: real estate IS local. Even within a relatively small community like Louisville, you can’t say “all home values declined”. And it becomes more important to have a person that knows your area to be able to pinpoint what your home is currently worth, and what it will take to get that home sold in today’s market.

Currently, there are slightly less than 10,000 homes on the market. An improvement from this time last year. But, you can expect that quite a few of the properties were pulled off the market for the holidays, and once New Year’s Day gets here, that a lot of homes that were pulled off for the holidays will be put back on the market.

One boon to potentially aid the Louisville real estate market is the tremendously low mortgage rates. Some 30 year mortgage rates are currently available in the 5% range – which is VERY CHEAP. This should help stimulate the ailing real estate market nationally at least somewhat, as that is fairly unprecedented.

So, what does all of this mean for the Louisville real estate market? Well, its hard to say. Yes, I know thats a cop out. But there are simply too many variables to get a clear read on the good ole crystal ball. Whats going to happen when President-Elect Obama takes office? Whats going to happen to the Big 3 auto makers (GM, Ford, Chrysler)? Will the stock market continue to flounder? What about the foreign policy issues: wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? etc. Will oil prices go back up? Its simply too many variables on a national and international perspective to get a clear picture.

I will say this however: All indicators are that this is a great time to buy Louisville real estate. Louisville has traditionally been a conservative safe haven relative to many other parts of the country. And if you are moving to Louisville, you’ve picked a great time. Mortgage rates are ridiculously low (and cheap money will not remain at this level forever!). Housing inventory is up (law of economics 101: high supply vs. lower demand = cheaper prices). You have the opportunity to purchase Louisville real estate that represent very good values. However, don’t expect steep discounts off the list prices though. Because Louisville is more conservative, most sales typically occur within a few percent of the homes FINAL* list price.
*A Louisville home may have been listed for significantly higher previously and had several price reductions. Whatever the “final” list price is at which it finally sells: is normally within a few percent of the sales price. If that doesn’t make sense, lets use an extreme example: Lets say you have a house worth $200,000. You list it for $1 million dollars. [Absurd, I know. ] You wait a few months. Go through a price reduction from $1 million dollars to $900,000. Then, you wait and drop it again to $800,000. And then $700,000. And so on. When you finally get to a list price at which the home sells, you can normally expect the sale price to be within a few percent of the final list price – whatever it may be. So, eventually when you do get your $200,000 home listed for $200,000, you can reasonably expect that it should sell for around $195,000 +/-. Which is why its HUGELY important to get your home priced correctly in the first place. There simply isn’t the room in this competitive market to be messing around. Get it priced as close to what you think the sale price will ultimately be!

Louisville Real Estate – 2008 Year in Review is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

Do you want to search the Louisville MLS by cell phone?  Well, now you can!

We are able to provide this FREE service – we just need 3 things:

1. Your name

2. Your email address (you will be automatically emailed the listing of any property that you inquire about)

3. Your cell phone number

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Name. Cell Phone. Email.  Thats it!

We’ll get you set up – and you will be able to zoom around town, able to get information on any home that is listed in the Louisville KY MLS system.

Its just that easy!

This feature is being provided by the Louisville REMAX Properties East office as a convenience for our clients.

Search the Louisville MLS by Cell Phone 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

Never thought you could afford a Kentucky horse farm of your own?  Now you may be able to!

Located conveniently immediately northeast of Louisville in LaGrange Kentucky, you will find a lovely nearly 7.5 acre Oldham County horse farm for sale that comes with a 1500 sq.ft. home, barn, RAMM fencing, multiple pastures – and more!  All for the cheap price of $200,000.  This Oldham County KY farm is priced to sell!

Features of this property include:

1500 sq.ft. home

3 Bedrooms

2 Baths

7.47 acres that is Horse Ready!  Barn, RAMM fencing, stalls, etc.

Minutes from downtown LaGrange KY.  And convenient location for shopping, and restaurants!

All of this for $200,000!  This will not last long!

Louisville MLS ID: 1222503

Address:  1425 Dawkins Road

Marketed by REMAX Properties East.

If you’d like to get in to see this fabulous property (or have additional questions) – please select CONTACT JENNIFER.

Oldham County Horse Farm For Sale – CHEAP! is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

1.  Purchase a home between April 9, 2008 through July 1, 2009.

2.  You claim the tax credit when you file you your taxes.  [If you have questions, be sure to ask your accountant.]

3.  The full $7500 tax credit may not be available to all persons.  You may elgibile for a partial credit (or even none).  This usually applies to those persons that earn a large income, or are purchasing a property with a value below a certain threshold.

4.  Its essentially an interest free loan.  You take the credit when you file your taxes the following year.  And then you have to repay the loan over 15 years.  So, if you receieved the full $7500 tax credit benefit, you would have to pay $500 per year back on the credit that received.  [15 years x $500 = $7500]

There are of course numerous volumes of stipulations and exceptions.  As just 1 example, if you go to sell your home and you sell the home in an arm’s length transaction at a fair market price, and received no equity money from the property, then you would not be required to repay the balance of the loan.

Regardless, its a great way for persons to get into a new home.  Even if you take the $7500 credit when you file your taxes, and put it into a CD at your local bank, and just make your payments each year when you file your taxes, you are making money off the interest you accrue.  It gives you added flexibility to have the use of the money.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us and we’ll try to answer your questions, or put you in touch with loan officers and mortage persons that can explain exactly what you should qualify for, and how much you can afford to purchase.  [You also should speak to your accountant, as they should be up to speed on the most recent regulation changes and requirements to participate in the $7500 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.]

Louisville First Time Home Buyers $7500 Tax Credit is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

Some sports fans will immediately respond with “Major League Soccer”.

If you ask someone that is looking to buy a home, they’ll most likely think of MLS as meaning Multiple Listing Service.

But if you ask Sarasota real estate agent, Marc Rasmussen, he’s likely to tell you MLS means one giant headache.  Why, you may ask?

Well, lets go back a few years to the beginning of the story……

Back in March 2002, a real estate trade association publication wrote an article offering advice about good website name selection.  Included in the article was the recommendation that using MLS as part of your name was an excellent tip for those wanting a good domain name.

That brings us to Marc.  In 2003, Marc was trying to register a website name for his real estate business.  Domain names that he tried included his Area real estate, homes, homes for sale, etc – all of which had been taken by others.

So, Marc followed the guidance of his real estate trade publication, and registered TheSarasotaMLS as his website name.  Not a particularly great website name by any stretch – but at least he listened to the good advice of his trade publication, and made due with what he could get.

Marc then went on to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the building, and branding of the website to gain exposure on the internet and to get it in the mind of those within his own local community that he was the expert for Sarasota Homes.

Marc worked hard to increase his brand recognition for his website.  Thousands of dollars were spent on print advertising, and in internet efforts to gain exposure and recognition for his real estate business.

This continued on for several years – and Marc continued to gain more and more prominence.  People “knew” who he, and his website, were.

Then out of the blue last year, the national real estate trade association came to the conclusion that they needed to protect the term “MLS”.

Others joined in and agreed with the national organization with what essentially amounts to affirmations of:

Yea, we do – ’cause customers can be fooled into thinking that they are searching the “real” MLS – when they really aren’t.

But, there is a flaw with their line of thought.  Since the national real estate trade association can only implement rules to affect its own members, it can’t control what NON-MEMBERs do.

(Which means, only NON-MEMBERS would be able to use the term MLS in a website domain.  What?!?!  How is that helping the consumer?  Instead of getting consumers to real estate agents that are members of the trade organization, they’d rather feed them to the sharks by sending them to NON-members??)

Regardless, after a relatively brief period of time, a new policy was quickly approved and implemented that essentially states that transparency is now required within real estate websites such that consumers will be able to recognize that they aren’t searching the “real” MLS – and that they are just on an agent’s or broker’s website.

So, now that you are caught up – that brings us back to Marc….

Marc following what was happening with the new rule implementation, wanted to make sure he was in compliance and not have to deal with getting hassled for any inference that he was in violation or trying to pose as the “real” MLS, so he put a disclaimer on his site in large bold print on his site saying:

“This is not the Sarasota Multiple Listing Service (MLS).”

Marc should be good to go then, right?  Wrong.

Marc was hit with an ethics violation, and brought up on charges by his local trade organization for violation of the new rule.  He now had to go before his peers to plead his case.

After a lot of effort, fortunately, Marc was eventually cleared of any ethics violation.

Yay Marc!

And they all lived happily every after, right?   But, the story doesn’t end there.

Not satisfied with the ethics violation charge that they brought (and lost) against Marc within the local organization; they then filed a complaint with ICANN, the international organization responsible for domain name registration.

Geeze.  Talk about jumping through hoops:

Marc had to go and plead his case again.  Annoying, but it should be a slam dunk, right?  I mean, after all, he did clear his name on the earlier case.

Yet, in a dumbfounding move, ICANN declared that Marc Rasmussen would have to transfer ownership of the domain over to the local real estate trade organization.

Yes, you heard correctly.

Even though other organizations & persons currently use the term MLS, AND an industry trade magazine recommended the use of the term MLS in his domain name, AND the fact that Marc had been using the site for years prior to the implementation of this new rule, AND Marc clearly stated on his own site that he was NOT the “real MLS” – Marc has now been ordered, in a grave miscarriage of justice in my opinion, to transfer ownership of the website to the local trade organization.

Are you kidding me?!!?!? He did exactly what the real estate trade organization publication recommended, and when rules changed, he put disclaimers to the point of being a distraction for his customers on his website that he is NOT the “real” MLS – and he still has to give it up?

Lost are the years of branding & familiarity within the local community.

Lost are the tens of thousands of dollars that he spent on advertising and promotion of the website.

It’s really a tragedy.

In my opinion, at the very least Marc should be allowed to keep the domain name, and redirect it to a new website (so that he would still maintain his search engine ranking and branding as he transitioned from the old name, to the new website name). He now has to build a new website name presence, and brand recognition with customers from scratch.

So, now the fight goes on for Marc.  Hopefully a positive resolution will come of this.  We wish him the best.

Keep fighting the good fight, Marc.

What does MLS mean? is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

PLEASE NOTE:

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

Louisville luxury homes have traditionally been found in the eastern and northeastern parts of the metropolitan community. But a recent increase in high end real estate development in the downtown Waterfront Park area is now giving those luxury properties a run for their money. And interestingly enough, its not expansive mansions and high end houses that are gaining in popularity. Its luxury Louisville condominiums. Yes, condos! Out of the top 20 most expensive properties in the Louisville community (according to tax records), 4 of those properties are located in the Waterfront Park Place condominium tower. There are additionally 5 more Louisville luxury condos valued at over one and a half million dollars at Park Grande (which overlooks Cherokee Park). And if you go a little further out to along US42, there are over 20 luxury condos for sale in the newly opened Regency Tower at Seminary Woods priced at $1 million a piece. [And for those wondering why a somewhat suburban location is commanding such high prices, Seminary Woods is offering valet service for parking of vehicles, wine cellars located in the basement, a concierge, and a fitness center for its residents.]

The Louisville luxury homes market is definitely starting a transition from rolling acres and expansive mansions toward a more urbanized and community feel. It will certainly be interesting to watch this trend as it unfolds in the coming years – and its impact on the luxury Louisville homes market.

For historical reference, the highest valued home in the Louisville market is currently Papa Johns founder, John Schnatters home which is assessed at almost $7.6 million. (And he also owns the #73 most expensive Louisville home – a $1.85 million condo in the Park Grande.) And a great many of the high end homes are owned by business executives and professionals like lawyers & doctors.

The Louisville luxury real estate market trend seems to be to simplify down with less headaches/maintenance and closer to conveniences – but still maintain an ability to entertain guests and friends if so desired. By becoming more urbanized, the luxury home owner now has a more convenient life style – closer to friends, restaurants, and entertainment while still enjoying a luxury life style.

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

The overall feel for the development once completed will be following an open air feel that will allow easy moving and shopping for pedestrians within the development. This should provide some close easy access shopping for local residents – important for the times given the high price of gas for commuting back and forth for every day necessities.

Additionally on another project in the Fern Creek area:

The Louisville Metro Council approved a 5 acre retail development located in the Fern Creek community located at Bardstown Road and Cedar Creek road. Approximately 3,000 new Louisville homes have been approved to be constructed in the area since December 2006, and this commercial real estate development will fill a need for the area. Some of the proposed stores within the project include a Walgreens drugstore, commercial, retail, as well as office space. Despite a slowing Louisville real estate market, the Fern Creek area is continuing to post strong growth with approximately 1500 new homes being built there each year. And with the residential increases, there increases the need for commercial development to service that growing need.

Fern Creek Developments Move Forward 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