For those wondering what its all about:  think St. James Court Art Fair with an Oldham County KY flair.

Some of the highlights of the event include picture opportunities with Santa Claus, crafts for children, and a host of winter time treats will be available such as chili, cider & baked goods.

There is still some room for artists and artisans to participate – so if you want to be a part of this great event, you better get your application in ASAP.  Call (502) 442-3173 for more information.  But, better hurry if you have interest, space is limited and is filling up quickly.

For those that are planning on attending – we’re confident you’ll have a wonderful time.  This event will have a lot of unique crafts and gifts just perfect for many friends and family for the upcoming holiday season.  And even if you don’t plan on making any purchases, come on out anyway.  Its going to be a wonderful opportunity for you to spend some time sharing it with friends and neighbors in your local Oldham County community – so you really should make an extra effort to attend and make this event a success!

2009 North Oldham High School Tis The Season Artisan & Spirit Fest 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

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

Some of the exceptions to that broad picture, to cite an example, would be Anchorage KY.  Anchorage real estate showed a fairly strong growth from 2007 to 2008, with an average increase of 3.5% appreciation.  Oldham County KY real estate fairy even better, with an average increase from 2007 to 2008 of 4.6% appreciation.  Ok. Ok.  So they don’t compare to some of the “Flip My Home” shows you see on TV.  But you have to remember the Louisville KY real estate market is fairly conservative overall – and those values, especially in today’s real estate market and economy do represent good and strong growth for our area.

Some areas that are exceptions in the other direction for the Louisville homes market, would include Downtown Louisville homes, Old Louisville, West Louisville, and Shively.  Those areas saw extremely strong depreciation from 2007 to 2008 of -22%.  That much of a drop is worrysome to most persons as it would take years of our historical rate of appreciation to regain what they lost in value in just the 1 year timespan.

There is however some brighter news on the horizon.  The new federal housing bill was recently passed, and as part of the $4 billion package, it includes monies allocated to fix up areas designated as blighted and those that have lots of vacant property.  Additionally, there is up to a $7500 tax credit available for first time home buyers.  The $7500 essentially acts as an interest free loan.  The loan has to be repaid (sorry folks!) over the course of 15 years by making annual payments (unless you sell your home prior to the 15 year maturity), but it is interest free – and even if you have to pay it back, the use of that money can be a real boon to persons looking to make their first home purchase.  And as with almost any government program, there is a lot of what ifs that follow along with it.  Consult with your accountant to find out all the ins-and-outs regarding the program after you make your home purchase and are getting ready to file your taxes.

Louisville Homes Prices Fare Well Overall 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

There is now an active voice of opposition against the idea and it is being spear headed by a recently formed coalition called No Oldham Airport (NOA).  The group held its first coalition meeting on January 10, 2008 and the main organizer taking charge of things is Jim Pearson.

More than 600 Oldham County KY homes owners attended the meeting and supported the opposition of having an airport placed in the county.  Some interested Shelby County KY homes owners that reside along the county line were also in attendance to show their support of the coalition’s efforts.

It appears that this group has a tremendous amount of interest and momentum going for it – but it may not be enough to stop the airport from coming.  The airport board has the right/power of eminent domain/condemnation, and can take a tract of real estate or farm that they deem suitable or appropriate for their needs against the current owners wishes.

Under current schematics, the proposed airport would utilize approximately 250 acres and has an estimated price tag of $20 million.

Many Oldham County KY homes owners immediately asked the most obvious question of: “If this airport is needed for Oldham County, why is it being considered only for farms and properties located along the far eastern/southern edge of the County?”

The answer boils down to federal assistance and grant money that can be allocated for the project.  To be eligible for the grant money, the new proposed airport needs to be a minimum of 30 miles away from Bowman Field.

If you are interested in more information regarding NOA, you can contact Mr. Pearson at (502) 225-6211.

Oldham County Kentucky Airport Update is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

This approval was done unanimously by the Oldham County Board of Education – and over some protests and disagreements from various parents of children that are attending the schools within the county. Parents criticized that they were not given an adequate voice for the process and that they went more or less unheard for input on the proposal.

The school officials held their ground that they had adequate input from parents, and that revisions that were made reflected the concerns of most parents of children within the school system – and that these redistricting changes were needed to help deal with the overcrowding problems of the 11,000 students within the school system for Oldham County. Oldham County Kentucky continues to increase student enrollment by approximately 500 students a year presently. And 50% of the county’s elementary schools are currently beyond maximum capacity for the size of their buildings.

This approval marks the 3rd time in 5 years that the continued and long lasting growth of Oldham County KY homes, population and enrollment has forced a redistricting effort to be implemented.

Part of the feeling of concern may stem from 3 subdivisions being made an exemption for 3 subdivisions as part of the proposal. Those 3 subdivisions that were granted exemptions were: Arbor Ridge, Camden Manor and Shelbourn Oaks in Crestwood Kentucky.

Parents main concerns stemmed from having their children moved further away from their homes to attend school.

This is rather an ironic situation where the notoriety that the Oldham County Kentucky schools have received and various awards – have stimulated a tremendous of persons wanting to sell their Louisville homes, and move to purchase real estate in Oldham County. This has caused a tidal wave of persons to move into the area.

Beyond redistricting, there continues to be plans for new schools to be constructed. One school that is under construction is Locust Grove by LaGrange KY. This school is planned to be open for students this fall for the coming school year, and will accommodate approximately 580 students for its currently proposed design and size.

Additionally, existing schools are being enlarged and improved to handle some of the students. Crestwood Elementary will have a larger building within a year that should help share some of the overcrowding problems.

Many persons want the noted and award winning education that the Oldham County schools provide for their children. But the pressure placed on the system to accommodate everyone is quite difficult.

Over the past 10 years, 6 schools have been built – which hasn’t been sufficient. 2 more schools are scheduled to be constructed within the next 5 years. Of the Oldham County high schools 3 main campuses, 2 of the schools are currently being renovated to increase the size of their facilities.

Unfortunately for the residents of Oldham County, don’t expect this to be the last redistricting. As new schools continue to be built, and opened – you can bet that redistricting will occur to spread students out into the new facilities.

But, its not all sour apples. As an upside – if you have to have “problems” – having a school system that is so desirable that people flock to the area in droves so that their children can be placed within the schools is one of the nicer ones to have to deal with.

Oldham County Kentucky Schools Redistricting Approved is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

For reference, voting is tonight Monday February 25, 2008 at 6:00 pm EST at the Oldham County Middle School located at 4305 Brown Boulevard, in Buckner Kentucky.

The school redistricting discussion has been something that has been heavily discussed by everyone for the past month.

The proposal as currently presented would potentially affect and relocate 1,000 elementary students to new schools for the next school year.  As with everything, there are exceptions:  3 neighborhoods will be able to remain at the current school  (they were granted exemptions after families protested from those locales).

The entire redistricting plan is aimed at primarily easing the overcrowding problem.  Oldham County KY real estate has grown briskly over the past few years as pressures from growth in Louisville pushed toward the northeast.  Over the past 10 years, student enrollment has increased an average of 500 students per year, and the current schools are incapable of handling that sustained growth.  If you look at the entire Oldham County Kentucky 10 elementary schools, 5 of them are over capacity.  And that is even with the tremendous amount of new construction that has been going on for the area.  They’ve added 6 new schools over the past 10 years, and 2 more schools are scheduled to be constructed within the next 5 years.  Additionally, Locust Grove Elementary school is slated to open at La Grange KY in the Fall of 2008, and has capacity for 580 students.  Crestwood Elementary is on schedule to be replaced by a larger facility the following winter.

Part of the concerns is that this is the 3rd school redistricting that has been done within the past 5 years.

Some parents have felt that the Oldham County School Board has acted hastily without allowing adequate voicing of concerns & suggestions from those that would be most affected.

The school board chairperson, Joyce Fletcher, stated that she has attempted to communicate with all inquiries from everyone that wrote in letters, or called in to her office.  And that the modifications to the plans for redistricting the schools, were made after taking into consideration of the concerned parties that voiced their opinions.

Hopefully everyone can understand and come to terms with the results of the voting this evening.  Its certain that not everyone will be happy, but hopefully they can feel that pressure that the Oldham County KY Board of Education is feeling from the huge amount of sustained growth that they’ve been experiencing in La Grange, etc.

Ironically, one of the reasons for the tremendous growth, has been the Oldham County schools.  Their award winning record is quite well known in this area, and it further exacerbates the growth quandry that everyone has been dealing with.  Success breeds success & growth.  And people want their children to be a part of the Oldham County school system – so they end up selling their homes in Louisville, and purchasing Oldham County Kentucky real estate and setting up shop there so to speak, and commuting for work back into Louisville.

Good luck to everyone.  Hopefully you will see the results that you would like this evening at the vote!

Oldham County Kentucky School District Vote is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate

To review, if you look at the amount of building permits that were issued from 2005 through present, there is an approximately 35% decrease in the number of permits issued through 2007.  The specific numbers are as follows:

Jefferson County  2007   2098 permits issued

Jefferson County 2005   3212 permits issued

Oldham County 2007  610 permits issued

Oldham County 2005  358 permits issued

To cite a real example by looking at one of the largest regional new home builders in the Lexington, Georgetown, and Louisville Kentucky real estate markets is Dominion Homes.  In 2005, they built 500 homes.  In 2007, they only built 200 homes – and at an average price of $20000 lower than the 2005 prices.

Currently, Dominion Homes is providing discounts of up to $30000 as an incentive to new homes buyers for their single family houses, as well as additional incentives to Louisville real estate agents to bring them buyers for their homes.

Many house builders are waiting for the Louisville real estate market to improve before beginning construction on new projects.  It makes sense from their view - why build a spec home, when you may not be able to get it sold in a timely fashion after its completed?  So, its just better to wait for the market to strengthen this year for new construction, and then kick off the new developments once the real estate market is moving again.

But, this type of business activity is causing a ripple effect through many other sectors.  All of the contractors, manufacturers and suppliers that make everything from the air conditioners to the flooring are feeling the pinch of builders pulling back on new housing starts.

The lumber yards that have traditionally been primarily residential for a majority of their business, are now reaching out to commercial and multi-family real estate developers to try to acquire new business so they can avoid laying off employees.

Additional hurdles to overcome are the tightening loan applications.  Mostly because of the subprime markets and “if you got a pulse, you can get a loan” philosophies of little or no money down – and persons relying on appreciation of their home to build equity, rather than investing any of their own money in the property.

Still, one good thing that we have going in the Louisville real estate market is that we weren’t one of those places where housing values doubled in 3 or 4 years, and as such, our market is much stronger and should recover faster than many other places.

For those looking to make a good purchase, its a great time to buy.  A lot of builders have had inventory for a long period of time, and are wanting to get out from under their carry costs on the homes.  So, even if they have to take a loss – losing a little now, is better than carrying the additional costs for financing for an unknown period of time.  This has opened the door for many buyers that are looking to make a deal in the luxury homes for sale in Louisville KY market.  If you can afford to buy, now is the time to jump in and make a deal.

New Homes For Sale in Louisville KY drop sharply is a post from: Louisville Kentucky Real Estate